An Urban Boychick Takes on the Outdoors

Once again I set out to explore an abbreviated version ofone of Cyndi's Loudon County gravel routes. Since I had been slugging down coffee all the way out to Purcellville, my first destination after unloading the bike at Loudon Valley High School was the terminus of the W&OD Trail so I could use the rest room. While there I overheard some locals giving some very confusing directions to a pair of cyclists. I have to give these riders props: it was 8 AM, they had already ridden 40 miles, and they were looking for some local roads to add another 20 before heading back so that they would finish at an even 100 miles for the day. Still, I couldn't help a little bit of a smirk when the locals asked them, "can you handle unpaved roads?" and they said, "no, not on these bikes." Hah! Chalk one up for the gravel grinder over the fancy road bike. As I mentioned, the two locals were giving them very complicated and contradictory ideas. I hope those guys eventually fo...

First of all, let me say that "Mount Greylock" sounds like it should be a terrifying location the Hobbits have to pass through in Lord of the Rings, when in fact it is a pleasant state park in Massachusetts. On a similar note, "Officer Shaft Hunter" sounds more like the name of a gay porn star than the name of an actual Maryland state trooper who lost his life in the line of duty. Don't get me wrong - I mean no disrespect to Officer Hunter or his sacrifice. That's just the first thing I thought of when I noticed that a section of I95 in Maryland had been dedicated to his memory . Perhaps there is something wrong with me. Anyway, I had been really happy that Valerie had agreed to go on a long hike on the Ashuwilltikook Trail. The trail was pretty and was within Valerie's comfort level of wilderness (flat, paved, and with not too many bugs). Still, I had been jonesing to get out into the real outdoors and had been intrigued by the proximity of the aforem...

Yesterday Valerie was ready for a little downtime and so I set off on my on for a bike ride on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail . We had hiked three miles of the trail (six miles round trip) a couple of days earlier and I set out to ride its entire 11.8 mile length. I parked at the southern trail head in Lanesborough and set out. View Along the Ashuwillticook Trail After the first mile or so I started covering the same section we had walked, which includes some lovely lake views. Past our walking turnaround point at Rt. 8 in Cheshire the trail turned more remote, with fewer buildings in site and thicker vegetation surrounding the trail. At about mile 10 I pulled into Adams. I decided to take a quick detour through the town, figuring that if I found a decent place to take I break I'd stop there; otherwise I would continue on to the northern terminus in North Adams. As I was riding through town I heard a loud "SPROING!" sort of noise. I've heard that sound on this ...

We arrived in the Berkshires just in time to participate in the Pittsfield Independence Day 5K! This race was run along the town parade route just ahead of the parade. The good: big cheering section of parade-goers lining the course. The bad: strict time limit. Valerie made it just under the wire. Rainy, cold (by our standards of July weather!) but a lot of fun! At the Completion of the 5K A couple of days later we did a 6 mile walk on the Ashuwillticook rail trail . Pretty trail, with views of lakes and mountains. And convenient places for a lunch break and post-walk ice cream! Ashuuwillticook seems like a pretty long name, but once you get the hang of it it's a lot shorter to say than "Washington and Old Dominion." I returned to this trail for a bike ride, which turned out to be an experience (see separate post ). Along the Ashuwillticook Trail