What the?

I was in East Haddam on deliveries on Thursday. Snow free. Like a different country.
Great. I'll head down early Saturday when things are still frozen and ride on dirt.

After futzing w/ my front brake for longer than I wanted I finally hit the road about an hour later than I planned. On the drive down I started noticing trace amounts of snow along the highway. Don't quite remember that.

As I pull off the highway, there is a good inch of snow on the ground. Shouldn't stop me, but when did this happen? What happened to my dirt?

My direction to the trail head take me through Cockaponset State Forest on a dirt road. A now snow covered dirt road. About 3/4's of the way I'm sliding backwards down a hill heading for a ditch. After my second attempt, and a close call with a tree on my slide back down, I figure I better come up with another plan.

As I head back, I begin thinking why not just park and start riding? When I come upon a hunter, I realize this might not be a good plan. But he does give me an alternate route to the trail head.

Finally, almost 2 hours after I planned to ride I'm actually swinging a leg over my bike.

Pick a random color trail blaze and head off into the woods. At first I'm having a hard time getting my rhythm, unfamiliar snow covered rock gardens have a tendency to do that to you. But after about 15 minutes I'm starting to get a flow.

nothing like snow covered rocks to boost your confidence.



Even better, I come across tracks of two other riders. Following their tracks puts my mind at ease that I'll get a good ride in on these foreign trails. I planned on following them for an hour out and then doubling back, but the hour comes and goes, and the trail is just too good to turn back.

tracks of the elusive Pugsley

At about 1.5 hours the two sets of tracks split. I decide to follow the endomorph tracks which head down a fireroad I'm assuming will eventually get me back to my truck. Boring, but safe.

As luck would have it, as I'm cruising down the packed snow double track, I come across the rider who actually made the other set of tracks. Once again my mind is put at ease as he leads the way back to the lot, on some more of New England's finest twisties.

It took some work getting there, but it was definitely worth it.