Tuesday, August 31, 2010

RIDE RECAP: August 30th 2010

Usually, as we move away from summer and into the fall months, we start to see a decrease in the temperature and have to battle some rain and high winds. Well, that was NOT the case last night. It was about 90 degrees when we left the shop and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was pretty amazing.

We left the shop as one group and headed into Wilbraham and Hampden in hopes to find some cooler temperatures. We kept the pace pretty consistent through the ride & ended up with about a 17-18mph average for the 33.5 mile route.

I also want to say thanks to the few new faces that we had on the ride. It is always awesome any time we get new riders and you guys were awesome. Thanks for coming out and joining us. Welcome to the crew!

Anyway, here's the recap:


Thanks again to everyone that showed up. See you soon!

-Scott

p.s. I know that we are losing too much daylight to keep the rides going much longer. I'm going to work on putting together a few weekend rides in order to extend our season a little. Stay tuned to the blog for more details.

Monday, August 30, 2010

GROUP RIDE: Monday August 30th 2010

Hi Everyone!

Well, we finally have the weather on our side! Unfortunately, the sunlight is what's against us this week.

That being said, please be at the shop and ready to roll out at 5:30 on the dot. That will give us 2 solid hours of riding and plenty of time to get the route in.

The A and B GROUPS will be riding the same route. We will split the groups at the shop with the A GROUP leaving the shop first and the B GROUP leaving immediately after.

Here is the route:

A & B GROUP
• 35.2 mile loop
• 17-21 mph average (determined by group)
• rolling hills


See you all at the shop!

-Scott

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

This week's mountain bike ride:

Since we are in a constant battle with diminishing daylight, we are going to be heading into Robinson for this week's mountain bike ride. This way, we will be able to adjust our ride distance if the light begins to fade.

We are also getting closer to the time of year where lights are going to be a crucial part of keeping the mountain bike rides going. If you have lights, please charge 'em up and bring them with you. If you don't have lights, I would strongly suggest that you invest in at least one good light. Head over to the bike shop for the lowdown on what you should be getting.

And finally, we are going to try to start the ride as early as possible. I would like us to be rolling into the park between 5:30 and 5:45. If you are having trouble making that time, please get in contact with us (via email or phone) so that we can make proper adjustments to accommodate.

See you all at the ride!

-Scott

Monday, August 23, 2010

Tonight's Group Ride is CANCELLED!

Hi everyone. It looks like the weather has gotten the best of us. It's pretty gross out, so we're going to give ourselves the night off. The Wednesday mountain bike ride is still on...rain or shine. See you all next week!

-Scott

Sunday, August 22, 2010

GROUP RIDE: Monday August 23rd 2010

Hi Everyone!

We missed out last week on account of the poor weather and it seems like the weather is going to be against us again for this week's ride. Either way, we are going to plan on going out and if we decide to cancel the ride, I'll send an email and post it on the blog by 3PM on Monday.

The other thing that has been looming is our slow decay of daylight. It looks as though the sun is going to be setting around 7:40PM tomorrow. That being said, our rides are going to have to get progressively shorter.

Anyway, here are the routes:

A GROUP
• 37.5 mile loop
• 19-21 mph average
• Lots of hills


B GROUP
• 30.6 mile loop
• 16-18 mph average(dependent on group)

Let's keep our fingers crossed that the rain holds off and hopefully I'll see you all at the shop!

-Scott

RIDE RECAP: August 18th 2010 - Shenipset

Well, we were missing a few people on this ride. It only ended up being myself and Jeff Landry. But that didn't stop us from getting wicked in the woods. Jeff and I ended up doing a hybrid of the the loop he took us on when we were at Shenipset the last time. And we added a nice little loop on the other side of the road. It was super fun! Thanks, Jeff.

And here's the recap:

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

MOUNTAIN BIKE GROUP RIDE - Location revealed!

Hi everyone!

I have been out of town on business, so I haven't had a chance to update the blog with this week's mountain bike ride info. But, I'm back...and here it is.

We'll be heading over to Shenipsit State Park again & Jeff Landry is going to be leading us out. We're going to try to ride some different trails than the last time we were over there. I'm sure it's going to be awesome!

We are going to be meeting at the parking lot at the entrance to the park around 5:30PM and rolling into the woods at 6PM on the dot.

Here is where we are going to meet:
370 Gulf Road, Somers, CT

Hopefully we'll see you all there!

-Scott

Friday, August 13, 2010

GROUP RIDE: Monday August 16th 2010

Hi Everyone!

I am going to be out of town for our upcoming ride. So, Tim & Steve are going to be leading the groups out. Thanks, guys!

Here are the routes for the rides.

A GROUP
• 46.57 mile loop
• 19-21 mph average
• Lots of hills


B GROUP
• 36.37 mile loop
• 16-18 mph average


Have fun and I'll see everyone soon.

-Scott

Thursday, August 12, 2010

RIDE RECAP: August 11th 2010 - Robinson

We had a great ride last night in Robinson. The usual crew was all there, with the exception of a few. You know who you are. And we missed having you guys out there. Hopefully we'll see you next week. Either way, awesome ride!

Here's the recap:

See everyone next week.

-Scott

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Heading back to Robinson

Hey team! This week we are heading back to super fast and super fun Robinson for our mountain bike ride. Same plan as usual...5:30 meet up - 6PM roll in. The sun has been setting earlier and earlier, so if we can get everyone there and ready before 6, that would allow us to roll into the woods early and get a few more minutes of daylight.

See everyone there!

RIDE RECAP: August 9th 2010

Well, the humidity was back last night as we set out for the ride. I can't wait for the fall.

The same as last week, we left the shop as one group and rode together for the first 20-22 miles. We then split off and finished the ride as two groups. Tim and Steve took one group and tacked on another 22 miles finishing with a solid 45 mile ride.

I took the other group and we added about 17 miles finishing with 37.6 and an average of 16.5 mph.

Here's the recap:

Thanks again to everyone that showed up for the ride. It was a blast as usual!

See you all next week.

-Scott

Monday, August 9, 2010

GROUP RIDE: Monday August 9th 2010

Hi Everyone!

We've got a couple really nice rides planned for tonight.

The A GROUP is going to be venturing over the hills and into the Crystal Lake area. There are going to be some really nice climbs & some awesome flat and fast sections.

Here is the A GROUP route:

A GROUP
• 44.7 mile loop
• 19-21 mph average

The B GROUP is going to be heading on a nice large loop. The route is pretty mellow, with only a few short and easy climbs.

Here is the B GROUP route:

A GROUP
• 35.9 mile loop
• 16-18 mph average (depending on group)


Both rides have the same 10 mile route at the end of the ride. If we time it correctly, both groups could potentially meet back up and ride in together.

On a secondary note...I want to make sure that everyone's equipment is ride ready before we head out on tonight's rides. We have had a few issues in that last few rides where equipment has not been properly checked and tuned before the ride. I know that we will occasionally get flats, dropped chains, etc. during rides and those are unavoidable. However, it is everyone's responsibility to make sure that their equipment is tuned and ready to go. It can be a very dangerous situation if a bike is to have a mechanical fail during a ride. Especially if the group is riding fast and tight. Please double check your gear for the rides. Thanks.

Thanks! See you all tonight!!!

-Scott

Thursday, August 5, 2010

RIDE RECAP: August 4th 2010 - BACHELOR ST. TRAILS

It's always nice to get out to a set of trails that you have never ridden before. Challenging...but, nice. I have to say that the Bachelor St. Trails was some of the best mountain biking that I have ever had! All though we haven't had rain in a while and the trails were pretty dry, it was still awesome! The trails are fast, challenging and totally fun.

It is really amazing how lucky we are to live in an area with some of the best bike riding.  I'm not just talking about the terrain, but also the people.  Thanks to everyone that showed up and extra special thanks to Seth for leading the group out!

Now, here's the recap:

See everyone next week!

-Scott

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

MOUNTAIN BIKE GROUP RIDE: August 4th 2010

Hey everyone! 

For this week's mountain bike ride, we are heading up to the Hadley/Amherst, MA area to ride some awesome trails.  Seth is going to be leading the way on what is know as Earl's and then heading over to the Bachelor St. trails for a little.  You can expect a good mix of climbs, descents, single track and technical.  So, in other words...a great deal of AWESOME! 

We will be meeting at Atkin's Farm in Amherst, MA at 5:30 and rolling out at 5:45. 

Here's where we are meeting:
150 West Street, Amherst, MA

See you all there!

-Scott

RIDE RECAP: August 2nd 2010

Good Moring Everyone!

So, last night's ride was awesome!  We planned on taking two groups out, but at 5:25 we only had about 10 of us at the shop.  We decided to stay as one group and do a hybrid of the two loops.  Well, five minutes later we had about 16.  Either way, we stayed together as one group.  We did a couple pretty big climbs and had some really awesome descents.  As always, it was a great ride!

Here's the recap:

Thanks again to everyone that showed up and we'll see you all next week.

-Scott

Sunday, August 1, 2010

GROUP RIDE: Monday August 2nd 2010

WOW!I can't believe that it's already August! Time has been flying this summer. But we have had some of the best group rides that I have ever been on. So thanks to everyone that has come to ride with us.

For this week's A GROUP ride instead of trying to up the mileage, we are going to work it in the hills. It's going to be a tough one, but I promise that the descents will be worth all the work.

Here is the A GROUP route:

A GROUP
• 43.7 mile loop
• 19-21 mph average


The B GROUP will be going on one of my favorite routes in the area. There will be a couple long mellow climbs, some fun descents and a lot of really awesome road to rip on!

Here's the B GROUP route:
B GROUP
• 36 mile loop
• 16-18 mph average (determined by the group)


I can't wait to ride & we'll see everyone at the shop!

-Scott