Wyman Pond Racing

I admit there was a bit of snug fit to the loaner jacket, but I look good in whatever I'm wearing.

We don't call them product placement fees, we call them non taxable "kick backs". The treasurer gets NONE of it.

He can work out his own deals.

Winter is in full swing. We need a date for a day trip to Nash Stream.

Someone throw out a date and I'll give it my best shot to be there.

#7

It's better than Caboose.

Ride Report Nash Stream to Pittsburgh 1/5/13

On short notice a Saturday ride was put together by the Pres and his hansom brother. It started as the yearly phone call to get together for Christmas and before long the conversation diverted to a ride Saturday and belated Christmas on Sunday. I had to get home from work late Friday night, find the key to my trailer, get the trailer out of the backyard and put a snowmobile on it, and find my gear before going to bed. All items accomplished.

Overslept by 20 minutes and made it on the road by 4:25am. I picked up the Pres by 5:25. Off to Brookline for Dunkin Donuts, NH registrations and gas and we are off.  I forgot my jacket. Pres delivered his backup.

We arrive at the usual drop spot and are greeted by a nice couple from Lake Winnipesaukee on Polaris. We unloaded and dressed in no time. There were as many trucks and trailers in the lot as Ive ever seen. We had to park waaaay in the back right of the lot. There was 4 inches of fresh overnight snow that covered the ground.

The plan was to head up 5 and 28 and head up the east side trails to Pittsburgh. The trails had an excellent snow base with the loose powder on top. We slip-slided our way both north and east up the mountainous routes. We got a little side tracked and headed further west than planned. Some of the smaller trails have changed route and name a bit. We ended up taking 119 along Deer Mountain, across Seven mile bridge and past Thirteen mile woods. That route took us towards trail 18 past Lake Umabagog. Before we knew it we were at the Town of Errol coming in from the west with 40 miles under our belts.  We had a discussion and ended up getting some gas and snacks before heading for Pittsburg and a late lunch.

It was 11am and the Pres thought it might take 3 hours to get to Pittsburg. I thought that was a bit long of an estimate. The Pres took over the lead for what would be the rest of the day. It was sunny and we were on a mission to get some good riding up route 18.  The first wild thing we saw was a Bobcat on the trail. We scared it and it jumped into the powder and hopped away. They are fat hairy little things, they remind me of myself.

We found our way to 112 up the east side of Pittsburg past Crystal Mountain and Magalloway Mountain. This riding was fast with just two of us. It was cold and I needed to put on another layer. Luckily the Pres new saddlebags held that extra layer for me, pretty good for $50, coincidentally the same price as my oil.  By this time we were seeing lots of sled coming right at us. I noticed many new Ski Doos along the way. Im interested in finding out how much they are outselling the competition these days.  It cant even be close.  A lot of them had these cool green lights on the front to prevent head on collisions. We should look into these.

We circled the Connecticut lakes counterclockwise taking 143 to 5 to141 to enter Pittsburg center from the north. This riding was fast, but still lots of oncoming sleds. We got to the gas station and we found ourselves 5 or 6 sleds back in the gas line. There must have been 80 sleds parked outside the restaurant. We got in there and had a 10 minute wait for a table, not bad. We ate and talked about our route home. I asked the Pres what time it was and he said 3pm. I said 3pm??? I thought it was 1:30, no kidding. 

We could not just take 5 the whole way home because there was a section closed for logging. We wanted to get back to the trucks as soon as we could.  We rode into the sunset most of the way down route 20 to route 5 to 134.  On our quick ride home we were seeing the sunset behind clouds to reflect an orange sky. It was a sight to see.  Along the way we came upon a couple of deer, presumably a baby and a mother. They were running along the trail in front of us. Soon the baby bailed out and jumped off the trail to the left. The mother kept going for a while ahead of us and then bailed out left. When she finally did get off the trail after staying ahead of us for a while, I swear she looked right back at us and gave us THE LOOK. It was just like we had just lost a race to #3. True story, first thing I thought of.

Before long the sun was down and we were back on route 18 (now called 119) and back to route 28. We also came upon another mother and child. This time it was moose! The Pes called me up to ride side by side 40 feet or so behind these huge beasts.  One looked like it had hip dysplasia. It was running weird. We followed them for a while. Im sure our headlights spooked them a bit. By this time the dark and the snow dust started playing tricks on my vision. Nonetheless, we made it back to route 5 for the short ride back to the truck.  The GPS had us riding 199 awesome miles.  The sleds ran perfectly and we both had a great time. Weekend rides are not ideal, but better than sitting around watching Netflix.

We loaded up and got on the road by 6:30 for the 3 hour ride to Leominster. I had a little nap and a coffee so I was fresh enough to get back to North Easton by 10:30. Thanks to the Pres for leading almost the whole day. When there are a lot of sleds out there, it takes a skilled and confident rider to successfully lead. He did it all day long in impressive fashion and it did not go unnoticed.

Whens the next ride? My truck and trailer are ready to go. Throw some dates out there and Ill give it a shot.

#7