Borderland State Park Review

I had an opportunity to ride Borderland in North Easton, MA, on Thanksgiving.  It was my third or fourth trip to Borderland, but the first in a couple of years.  I got to the park at about 2:15 in the afternoon knowing that the park closed at 4:30 and not being out in time results in a $25 fine. It'd have to be a quick ride.  I went to the kiosk to grab a map, but there weren't any left.  That was a little worrisome given my time constraints, but I figured worst case, I'd retrace my tracks back out.

I headed in from the visitor's center on the West Side Trail.  At my first intersection I was reminded that the lack of trail maps wouldn't have any negative impact.  All the intersections have a trail map in plexiglass with a "you are here" arrow.  Things were looking up.  The trails were not blown, but they were clear of any blowdowns.  Some recent rain had made for a few wet spots, but the trail was firm under the water.  Just slowed down to keep from throwing up too much water and all was fine.

Slipping the French Trail some tongue!

By the end of my ride, I'd hit just about everything on the map.  There are a few really cool trails that are worth commenting on.  There is one trail called the Ridge Trail that follows over a series of ledge outcroppings.  It was a blast, probably more so since the rocks were dry and super grippy.  I can see them being treacherous when under moister conditions.

Descent down a section of the Ridge Trail

There was another cool area, although I don't recall which trail it was on, in which there were a couple of back to back very long sections over some wetlands which had 12" plank bridges over them. They were both pretty long and a good challenge as they zigged and zagged around the trees.

Skinny boards

Also worth commenting on was a trail called NEMBA trail.  As you can imagine it was designed to be ridden and was a boatload of fun to ride.  I wished I had remembered it a little better as not knowing some of the turns led me to dab more than I would have liked.

All in all, a great ride after stuffing myself full of turkey earlier.  I made it out for about 4:00 and even had time to get five holes in on the disc golf course (need to go back and play that whole course).

The skinny:

• Great trails with some really cool features
• Very well marked with maps at all the turns
• Get out before 4:30 this time of year or be prepared to pay a $25 fine
• $2.00 park entry fee year round - cash or credit cards accepted at kiosk
• Didn't see a soul in orange - maybe no hunting?
• After riding what appears almost everything according to the map, only 7.7 miles put on.
• Maybe could have gotten 10 miles of marked trail - maybe more unmarked?
• Borderland generally sees less snow than central Massachusetts

All in all, I'd recommend getting down and checking the trails out.  Give yourself some time and explore it all.  It's worth the trip.

Turkey Trot Weekend

What a whirlwind of a weekend.  For the past three years, I've had the pleasure of running in the Thompson Turkey Trot.  It's a pretty fantastic foot race put on by Thompson Rec and Thompson Trails with proceeds going to TEEG Food Bank and the Thompson Trails Committee.  The race has been primarily orchestrated by Mike Lajeunesse, whose commitment to our community has been beyond compare.  Unfortunately, this year Mike was simply unable to put together the race due to some personal issues.

I learned of this about a month ago when I reached out to the Thompson Rec Director, Renee Waldron.  The good news is that it looks like the race is back on for 2012 (11/11/12 - mark your calendars).

So with one of my favorite running events of the year canceled, it seemed like there was only one thing to do.  Go rogue!  I had already heard from several people that they were dismayed that the race wasn't being run this year and there was some definite interest right away.

So now I was putting together a small race.  Hmm.  How does one do that?  Well, my job was made easier by the fact that there were no shirts, no sponsors, no money, no water stops.  And I decided to follow the course laid out by Scott Deslongchamps for 2009 (rather than last year's course, which would necessitate a person manning a turnaround).  Hey, this race management stuff is pretty easy.

My biggest concern was getting the course marked.  And cleared.  Uncle Sam helped me with the latter.   Twelve straight days of jury duty stipends were spent on a super-cool toy.  My new Husqvarna 150BT backpack blower.

Here's me hitting the yard Saturday.

 So with leaf blower, chain saw and loppers in tow, I headed down to the 5K loop Saturday afternoon.  Blowing the trails was almost too easy.  Most places it was just walking down the path holding the blower in front of me.  A few places I had to sweep it back and forth, but WAY easier than raking. I cut back a few fallen trees and borrowed stones from a nearby stone wall to use as stepping stones through a marshy area on the trail.  I decided to save the trail marking for the next day to ensure no arrow stealing riff-raff ruined the race. 

I got up this morning and walked the course a for the second time in two days, placing fluorescent green arrows in all the strategic spots.  The course still looked great from the previous afternoon's work.  And the early morning weather was stellar.  Fifty, calm and sunny.  That would change a little as the day progressed.  By race time it would still be warm, but the wind would be heavier and the sun would be more out than in.  Still a great day for racing in the woods.

I finished up marking at 9:00 am, an hour before race time.  I met Scott Deslongchamps on the trail as I was wrapping up.  He was stretching his legs before the race.  Home quickly to change into some running gear and grab Cori (also running) and Harry (hanging out).  Made it back and by the 10 am start, we had 11 runners present.

Turkey Trot 2011 Crew

Michelle Aubin had offered to come down and time for us.  She brought her daughter, Jewelia, with her.  At just about 10 on the nose we were off and running.  I made it across the field and into the woods first.  I was pretty worried about Scott Deslongchamps.  For those who don't know him, he's super fast.  I was relieved to hear he'd raced a 4.3 mile race the day before in Providence and come in 4th over all.  I expected he had spent himself.  After having a good start, my big plan was to put enough of a gap on him to have him out of sight (and not reeling me in).  It worked.  I had a strong race and somehow managed first.

Here are the overall results:

Rob Paton, 22:57, 7:15/mi
Scott Deslongchamps, 23:32, 7:36/mi
Roger Durant, 27:43, 8:57/mi
Chris, 28:35, 9:13/mi
Steve Gracia, 31:15, 10:05/mi
Madison, 31:32, 10:10/mi
Curtis, 32:39, 10:32/mi
Samantha Delp, 33:23, 10:46/mi
Hannah, 35:51, 11:34/mi
Denny, 35:54, 11:35/mi
Cori Paton, 37:04, 11:57/mi

All the trotters did a great job.  It's a tough course, replete with roots, rocks, steep climbs and stream crossings and intermingled with some disused paved road.  Everyone seemed pretty happy with the course and no one got lost, so I was really glad I had gone out and put the time in getting it ready.

After the race we hung around and shot the breeze for a bit.  Once everyone realized there really were no prizes, the shindig broke up.

I went home, changed back into work clothes and headed back down to the dam to perambulate the course and pull down the arrows.  My fourth time doing the full 5K course in less than 24 hours.   

And just to tie some biking into this Pedal Pushing Patons blog, I returned one more time and rode the Dam.  9.753 miles at 9.7 mph average.  And the day before the race, Cori rode 19.5 miles with a group of friends.

She came upon this scary guy on the closed bridge at Five Mile River Road in Putnam.

So naturally, she had to sit with him and take a picture.

And now sitting back, watching some football and enjoying some homemade brews courtesy of John "the Herminator" Herrmann.

Thanks for coming out everyone!  Looking forward to next year's officially sanctioned Turkey Trot.

~Rob

End of Season Road Ride

For about two months now, I have been planning the route for the end of season ride for our group.  We knew that the ride would start off by going past the castle, but after that, we had numerous options.  I elected to take us on a 27 mile squarish loop that took us past some really picturesque farms, some streams and ponds, a couple of Christmas tree farms and rolling countryside. 

A couple of us pre-rode the course a couple of weeks ago to make sure that the roads were in good condition (no broken pavement, decent shoulders, no sand) and check out how heavy the traffic would be for us.  Everyone agreed that it was a challenging but not over the top difficult course.  Only thing we had to worry about now was the weather.

We worried for nothing.  What a gorgeous fall day!

Eleven riders today!  Woo Hoo!!

We started as a group of eleven.  Most of us were dressed in neon lime/yellow jackets to make us more visible to drivers.  It seemed to work.  None of us got hit by cars.  I don't even think there were any close calls.  But the same can not be said for dogs.  We were still in a pretty close pack when someone yelled "dogs."  I happened to be taking pictures over my shoulders when someone behind me hit the little yippy dog that decided to run into the street.  Rider down.  Dog ran back to the house.  Everyone was okay.

Me realizing there is a rider down and Chuck checking back on everyone.

We made two quick stops to look at the castle and then to say hi to the zebra up the street.  Yes, that's right.  There is a zebra that lives up the street from the castle.  And a peacock.  And a 3 legged goat.  And a white tailed deer.  There might be more on the grounds of the castle, but that is all we saw today.

While the guys showed us how to attack the hills, I took the time to look around at what was left of the fall foliage.  While most of it is past, I noticed a few trees that still had some stunning red leaves.  Gorgeous.  The speed demons missed it, I'm sure.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful.  Some relentless uphills that transitioned into some sweet curvy downhills.  Some babbling brooks and glistening ponds.  And rolling countryside with fall colors around the edges.  All gorgeous.


We ended with 26.8 miles.  And then promptly started to replace those calories we had burned.  Great ride, great food, great friends and a fitting end to our riding season.  Can't wait to kick it off again next season!!

~Cori

Recycling: Our October Stats

Our Mileage:  220.26

1. Rob rocked out 106.03 miles on the trails and 42.26 miles on the road.
2. Cori rode 58.03 miles on the road and 4.47 miles on the trails.
3.  Harry rode 9.47 miles on the trails.

Random Stats:

# of races done:  3 (Rob did the Pinnacle Challenge and TVR, Harry did the Youth Race at the TVR).
# of states ridden in: 3 (MA, CT and NH)
# of bike commutes: 2 (both by Rob.  I thought about it once, but it was windy out).
# of replaced part on Rob's Fisher:  9 (2 chain rings, 1 rock ring, 1 chain, 1 cassette, 1 link, 1 bottom bracket, 1 rear brake, 1 set of chain stays).  Doesn't that sound expensive?  Biking is not cheap.
# of rides on Tonry's Niner while parts were all being replaced:  5 (Thanks Mike!!)

Coming in November:

Cori's scenic year end ride with the triathlon training  group.  The beginning of night riding with lights for Rob and his riding group.  Maybe even an explanation of Rob's woes with his Fisher.  We'll see.  No races on the docket this month.

Are you planning on pedaling once daylight savings time hits or is that your end of season?  Let  us know!!

Happy November!
~Cori