Grayville

Ride Pictures

We woke up to a beautiful morning. It was about a nice 50-60 maybe warmer, blue skies, the sun was beating down on us and we were all ready to ride, and this ride we had my friend Spencer join us for a ride. We started riding thinking that it was going to be a nice ride with no mechanical problems, but we were wrong.

We started going on the first trail and not even five minutes in Rick had already got a flat tire. As we all wait me and Arch were going around this technical rock loop that was pretty cool. Rick got his bike fixed and we went on through the technical roots and rocks of Grayville. Spencer was having some trouble with the roots and the rocks, but I have to give him a brake because his seat was too high and he was riding FLATS! So with Spencer bringing up the rear we went on. We were flying through the trails having a good time and I was following Kyle’s dad close on his tail and we came up to these trees and I misjudged and I clipped my handle bar on the tree and flipped over the bars and hurt my knee, but I got up and rode on. Spencer was cramping up so he had to leave early and go home which was understandable. After Spencer left we went on and about 30 minutes after he left once again Rick got another flat. He had to fix another tire and he almost blew the tube up. After he fixed that we went on to finish, and Kyle’s dad found out that he had cracked his frame and his whole back triangle was messed up. After talking for a while we were all off to the bike shop.

It was an awesome day to ride and everyone had fun. This is how all the rides should be, except for all the mechanical problems… lol

— Jill

Tolland Bicycle Grand Opening

Pictures Video Clips

Sunday Hunting Bill Passes Senate

Find out more here and what you can do about it, please DON’T WAIT until it’s too late!

Case Mountain

Ride Pictures

Nerac Earth Logo Items Now Available

You can now purchase Nerac Earth logo items from our Nerac Earth store. Our club will get a portion of every sale. All items are guaranteed through cafepress.com. Check it out…buy some stuff and support our club, while getting some cool stuff, all at the same time.

Nerac Earth Flea Market Fundraiser

The dates for the Nerac Earth Fleamarket Fundraiser will be Saturday, July 1st and Sunday, July 2nd. We will be collecting donated items the last 2 weeks of June so clean out your closet and basement and donate all your unwanted goods to the bike club! The selling hours are 8am to 3pm and we’ve been advised to line up at 7am to get a good spot to set up our wares. If you can help out email neracearth@nerac.com with the date and time you can be available to set up, tear down, or sell, sell, sell! Tell your friends, neighbors, family, and co-workers to stop by. Stay tuned for additional information as we get closer to the event.http://www.mansfielddrivein.com/marketplace.asp

Fat Tire Classic (Winding Trails)

Race Pictures Video Clip Race Results

Winding Trails race

Rain, more rain, raining harder, steady rain, pelting rain, non-stop rain. Mud, slop, soupy mud, puddles. You get the idea. I’ve never quite seen singletrack quite like this, there was about 6 inches of chocolate pudding mud throughout all the singletrack. No brakes, no gears, the best part was finishing and being able to clean up and change inside where it was warm. There was even a fire in the fireplace. I’m too tired too add much more except that I sincerely hope the next race is sunny and 70. — Jill

Another muddy race at Winding Trails and the rain was just coming down, keeping us cool through the long 5 mile muddy laps that all of us had to do. There wasn’t a place on the track that wasn’t wet. The downhills were caked with mud and the flats were filled with huge puddles, but the race went on. No one could even ride the downhills, but some of us managed to ride them a little, but a lot of people had to walk their bikes, because there were about 2 foot ruts running down all of downhills. Everyone in the beginning of the day finished on the team but the last riders who rode it which were the experts had to endure 3 laps of the horrible coarse after me and all the other sport riders had just trampled the coarse. I could understand if some of the experts pulled off because that coarse had seen better days. I hope next race the weather will be nice and sunny because I sure don’t want to ride another horrible muddy race. All and all the day was fun except for taking all the cold clothes off in the cold and having to freeze, but it was nice putting the warm clothes on. — Randy

Mansfield Hollow

Out of Control10 Riders: Dave, Rick, Randy, Kyle, John, Arch, Doug, Jim, Mike, Jill

Lot’s of murmuring in the parking lot about wanting to ride slow, painful rides on Tuesday, everyone’s legs are hurting, want to take it easy tonight. Ok, I’m up for an easy pace, we’ve had a bunch of race pace rides lately, we’re due for a lazy ride. Doing the 20 mile loop so jump onto the dam, scoot over to the whoops to ride the lollipop across from the boat launch. Mike jumps out and front and sets a blistering pace, I’m behind him and I have to crunch the pedals to stay with him, he lets me pass on the hill and now I’m in front. Get to the top of the hill and the whole group is on top of me so I go a little faster, then a little faster still, and I’m killing myself in the front but everyone is still lined up right behind me. I thought everyone wanted to ride slow! We make the loop and head back to the boat launch. Lot’s of chit chat while Michael takes a nature break. Randy found a new bike, Arch is going up north, Dave’s circling like a roadie (not my words), blah, blah, blah. Ok, ride up to see if Michael is ok, he tweaks his bike real quick and we’re off. They all get behind me again and I decide to slow it down a bit, we’ve got 15 miles to go, so I encourage Arch to go, he disappears, then Kyle goes, then Randy, then Rick. Ok, I can relax a bit now. No barking dogs today at the road. Regroup on the bridge and I make sure I’m in the middle when we head out again. Scoot around the lake and get attacked by swarms of light-colored bugs on the pavement. Ride into wave after wave of enormous swarms. Seriously nasty. Say Hi to the expert guy on his road bike. Can never remember his name but always see him at the races. Pop back in by the dump, run into 2 crazy boxers after crossing the river. They make crossing the new wooden bridges quite challenging. Yap with Jim a bit, catch up with the group and head over to schoolhouse. This section is quick, everyone is warmed up and some of us get inspired by the terrain and start cranking. Lose Michael for a bit, he meets us at the road crossing before Wolf Rock. Oops. Another fast section so much for the slow ride, I forget that I’m supposed to behave and take off. Pass Rick and Jim and see Dave up ahead hanging on a tree. He sees me charging and takes off and we’re riding wheel to wheel. Oh, what fun I am having!!! He slows down slightly in the rock garden and I pass on the left. Huff and puff to catch up with Arch, I check my HRM – 189bpm. Ouch. Ok, I know I just got these 2 sections mixed up but I’m not sure anyone but Michael will notice. Over the stream which the beavers have entirely covered with branches, through the much, and up the blue. Catch up with Michael, Rick, John, Jim and Doug is right behind me. This is my favorite part, I love to race it – Arch, Randy and Kyle have already taken off so I throw out a challenge to the rest of the crew and give myself a little head start. Take a nice sideways leap off a perfect jumping rock and land in a tree, no injuries but I can see all the headlamps creeping up to me so I get back on and pedal, pedal till I get to the road. We finish up on the road, Rick breaks his chain so Kyle? tows him to the dam so he can fix it. We climb up the hill and it breaks again, the rest of the group bails and Doug, Dave, and I provide some company while Rick fixes the chain. Scoot back the easy way, straight shot back to the parking lot. 18.5 miles total. — Jill

West Hartford Reservoir

Ride Pictures Video Clip

WHR Easter Ride

Riders: John, John, Kyle, Randy, Andy, Doug, Garth, Mike, Jill

Good showing for a holiday ride. No barricades are up, where did the bear go? He mustn’t be hibernating anymore, does that mean he’s wandering the woods? Chilly start but most of us start with one layer, the sun is shining, it’s a glorious day. This ride was so quick it’s difficult to write about so here are the highlights: Start toward the fence, immediate clog up at the turn, slow climb up to the right turn and get some pretty pics of the line-up. Who’s ROP, where is Arch to make them take the techy way up??? Go up the normal way, Kyle makes it up the loose rocky climb to the power lines, lot’s of “almost had it’s”, then Mike powers it up and over standing on the pedals. Hmmmf, nice job boys. I jam everyone up after the downhill by forgetting to pull up on the handlebars and my front tire stops dead at the rock lip. Kyle side slams into me and my bike bike shoots out sideways. WTH just happened? Continue to the 1 footer rock drop, the heckling starts from Mike when Randy goes around and I roll it. Randy’s excuse is he’s on a borrowed bike, I have no excuse. We head over tp the the newish to us trails and whip through the singletrack in no time. Everyone misses the steep rock roller so I go back for it. We stop a couple times but everyone is pretty much together so we don’t stop for long. Finally get down to the rocky, downhill to the boards over the stream crossing. Get on the boards and make it about halfway before bailing to the left. Cross the river, scream down the hill, cross the fireroad, up the muddy trail, into the mini-stretch of singletrack, back out to the fireroad and start across the dyke. Try to avoid a huge mud puddle but find a worse one, glad I had the leg warmers on, having flashbacks to Hopbrook. I’m the last one this time out and the guys in front are too far ahead to tell them to go right up the trail instead of left so Andy and I gripe a little and try to catch everyone. Nice mud bogs on this fireroad, Doug waits for us at the left turn and we head down to the switchbacks and back onto the fireroad. I’m complaining that the ride is going to be too short so John volunteers that he knows a different trail that will take us longer. I’m sorry but WHY did I follow him? Flashback to Case when we ride all the way down blue then back up just to do it. Yup, it was just like that. Ok, last part of this ride is the best. Fast, fast singletrack, log stunts, a nice endo from Kyle – minor blood drawn, John hovers like a good Dad. While he recovers Andy and Randy clean the log stunt, Randy rides the narrow wooden bridge, and Sattar puts in some serious trail maintenance. Mike and Garth are gone, they are racing the last stretch. We finish the ride in just under an hour and a half, too quick. — Jill

Garth Lives!

As you may know, last Sunday’s ride at Case Mountain was rather tough for me. BIG cramping creeped up in my thigh, but never really took hold, so yeah, I went with the “it’s all down hill from here” con. It was a great ride and a great day. Since I may only get to ride on Sundays I decided to go out again. I saw a guy I recognized in a group of three taking off into the woods so I decided to chase them. I followed them just about to Birch Mountain road but took that left to do an outside loop around gay City. Great day. — Garth