Last ride of the decade!

A little last minute ride of CT NEMBA members took place at Huntington State Park this morning, in fact it was the last ride of the decade! Starting out we had Heather, Brendan, Derek, Paula, Glenn and Mark. By the time everyone assembled there must have been 2 inches of snow on the ground and it was still coming down.

While waiting for Paula and Glenn to get ready I spoke to a bow hunter that just came out of the woods and was surprised to learn that quite often he runs into guys hunting with firearms in the State Park! Yes, it's bow hunting only but remember for the future, if you are going to be riding Huntington SP during hunting season please wear blaze orange or another bright color and refrain from wearing white! My fears have come to light about opening up bow hunting here.

Heather and Brendan

There was probably 2 inches of snow on the ground when when we started but scary part was the ice hidden underneath the snow! I think everyone got to experience the joys of having their bike slip out from under them during the first five minutes of the ride. An early casualty occurred when Paula's bike slipped out from under her in the Big Burn. She opted to return to the cars and head into town to the coffee shop.

Derek, Glenn, & Brendan

Brendan between the Blues

Realizing that it would be safer if we stuck to single track we did a loop in the Big Burn and then took the single track that intersects with the blue over by the Mica Mines. From there we went north, rolled down the DH trail and hooked back around to the blue trail. From there we headed out onto the lollipop trail. We were almost back at the lower Dodgingtown lot when Heather suggested we go around the lot because it was one huge ice rink and rode a section of trail that I have never ridden before.

Glen riding the boundary cart path

Derek climbing up from the bottom of the DH trail

Heather

Mark

Glenn having a snack

Group shot before the lollipop trail

From l to r: Heather; Brendan; Glen; Mark

Another group shot, only this one includes Derek (r)

Once back onto the Dodgingtown Road, we cut across to one of the carriage roads. Heather, Glenn, and Brendan decided to hit the Rock and Roll Trail, while I opted to take a loop around the main lake and scouted out a potential new area for a new trail that I am going to start building in the spring, and Derek headed back to the cars.