Mountain Biking during hunting season at Upper Paugussett State Forest

Due to Winter Storm Benji bearing down on Southern New England last Saturday I suggested to my son that we skip his first day of his ski race team training and I would take him skiing at Jiminy Peak on Sunday instead.  He was more that enthusiastic about that since the first day they weren't going to spend all day skiing and he really just loves to ski.  That mean that I was free to ride!

I did some chores in the morning while waiting for the snow to accumulate, no sense taking the big girl out to play with just a dusting, and by the time there was around an inch of snow on the ground I headed out.  Realizing that it was Saturday and on the tail end of dear season I made sure to get all oranged up because Upper Paugussett is an active hunting forest.

Blaze Orange and Belled

Headed out to Upper P for a quick workout on the Raleigh.  I think if I get a slightly shorter stem, somewhere between 50 and 90 mm my cockpit would be perfect on the XL frame.  Still the Raleigh is freaking heavy and I might be destined to conversion land, 1x9, and invariably sold on Craigslist, assuming I can still get a hanger for it.  The other thing I noticed at the get go was my right pedal was loose so I found a nice sunny spot to see what was up with my cleat.  Tried tightening it but that didn't work so I figured it won't come off because it was still on pretty tight and that I will be fine for the ride and fix it when I get home.   

There were no pickups on Sanford Road and only one car in the lot at Echo Valley meaning the this side of the forest should be free and clear of hunters.  Only come to find out that the car belongs to this old Hungarian couple from Fairfield that hunt here regularly.  The wife appears to tag along to be with the husband, now that is love!  While she looks pretty tame I bet she is the skinner of the duo and can gut the kill  like a surgeon.  We chatted about dear and the Gussy Trail.  They know it and said they go up on it but never see dear the higher they climb.  Now that I think about it, I haven't seen dear up there as well.  All the dear that I have seen have been in the other direction, close either to the water or Sanford Road.

The Gussy Trail was really nice today with only one minor issue, the ramp at the new up and over needed some fixing.  A friend of mine and I are going to meet Sunday morning and we are going to cut the trees that are blocking the main trail where I have already rerouted around the blowdowns.  

The plan is to cut the trees on the ground, making a low-bridge situation that you should still be able to ride underneath.  Cutting the high tree just seems too sketchy.  I hope to get some new new skinnies out this, too.   Once this is re-opened there be more choices to vary the ride both up and down the trail.  Third time down Sandy's Re-Route and it's definitely fun to ride, and it serves as an alternative for the equestriennes, too.  Of course, I probably need to clear a bit higher up in some places for them (on Sunday).  Also there are a few sections that need some more benching and I think I might try a berm on the big curve on the lower section.

 

Single Speeding Opening Day of Shotgun Season

As I was riding to the trail head Wednesday morning the shotgun blasts in the not to distant reminded me that today was Opening Day for Shotgun.  I looked down to my bars and noticed that I didn't have my bell, but fortunately I was wearing a blaze orange jersey and I had my old orange Giro MX helmet on.  At least you could see me in the woods.

 

I didn't have a lot of time and my primary intention was to ride up the Gussy to see what it's like to ride the new re-route from the opposite direction.  Everything is great on the reroute until of course you get to that little bit of fall line climb.  On a geared bike, it would be a little slow but it could be done and if you had Granny's help then definitely no problemo.  The singlespeed is a different matter and therefore I think I need to go in and do a little more ramping on the downed tree at start of the climb.  The problem is you can't mash on the pedals going into the climb like any normal singlespeeder would do, rather you have to first negotiate the obstacle which automatically takes the wind out of your sails going into the climb.  I might just have to take the obstacle out all together and bench/berm that section so you can go into it guns a blazing!  

And then there was the Raleigh XXIX and my bottom bracket.  I noticed that it wasn't creaking as it normally does and upon entering the reroute I bounced on a rock and the chain fell off.  The chain fell off a few more times, too.  Clearly, the Bushnell isn't holding very well and I might have to try using locktite to hold it place.  Granted the Raleigh experiment won't be lasting long because I have my sights on another frame.  I will probably end up keeping the Raleigh and turning it into a Single Speed Monstercrosser/Commuter but it's days as my primary single speed mountain bike are numbered.

I didn't see him on the way up, because I wasn't paying attention, but on the way back I did notice some blaze orange camo about 20 yards off the Gussy.  It was a hunter!  I chatted with him for a second and he told me he could hear me coming and new it was a mountain biker and not a deer (a bell would have helped even more here).  In the course of our discourse I recognized him as the infamous Hunter Dumper.  I wished him luck and told him if I see any hooved rats that I would definitely try to send them his way!

I did see a dear much further down the trail but it was headed in the other direction and it was in a hurry.

Orange Season has begun

I completely forgot that opening day of Bow Season in CT is Today, September 15th, which means if you are going to be riding in most State Parks and Forests you'd better be wearing blaze orange or some other dayglo color so you are not mistaken for deer and shot at.  They say bow hunters are pretty discerning in their targets but I have seen that look of desperation in some hunters who need that kill. Summer riding is now at an end.

One thing about yesterday's ride that I forgot to mention, probably distracted due to the 20+ mosquito bites on my ass, was that I kept having an issue with my rear wheel coming lose from the drops.  This happened a few times this weekend at Rocky Neck as well.  I know what I did wrong that is making this happen but what was funny yesterday is when I realized what I had to do and I tried to fix it on the trail is when I got swarmed by all the mosquitoes.  I ended up riding the entire length of the Gussy Trail in the lowest gear.  It kind of sucked but at least the mosquitoes weren't catching up with me and hey, riding beats walking any day.

Got the bike on the stand and I had to take the shifter pod off the bars in order to loosen it when I discovered that the bar clamp could be switched from further in to further out!  Damn, I love SRAM shifters even more and as a matter of fact I did notice that if they were moved a bit more forward it would be more comfortable.  So now I am thinking about switching bars again.  The FUBars are great for straight XC riding but I think I want a little more huckle in my buckle so I am going to flats.  Ideally, I want some flats with a little rearward sweep but I will settle for my Ritchey bars for now.  Just need a new seatpost to get rid of the creak I am getting with the cheapo seatpost I started out with.

Riding Orange before the Snow

Having a young family right now means that most times if I want to ride or only have an hour or two it means riding in the morning when it's the coldest and riding local. After the hunter sighting in the tree stand a couple of weeks ago I have been a little hesitant about riding where there could be hunters because it seems that are a lot more hunters out this year. Maybe it's the economy. Today's ride took me through Upper Paugussett State Forest and I figured it would be best to stick to the logging road and if there was time on the way back I would hit the Gussy Trail.

Looks like someone lost a glove. Not uncommon given the forest gets a lot of use. I figure since the forest road gets the most traffic that riding up and down during hunting season is the safest place to ride. Though being oranged up and wearing bells helps a lot, too. Sorry, no Dillinger love or Houses of the Holy shots this ride. I must say though that I am really enjoying riding the Dillinger. Power transfer with the aluminum frame is awesome and post ride recovery after being a human shock absorber is down to a few hours now, used to be a few days!

Like I said, maybe it's the economy or what but there seems to be many more hunters out in the forest these days. The guy below is from Fairfield but he didn't get any today largely because as he put it, too many Coyotes in the area.

These two guys I met on the west side of the forest heading towards Hanover Rd. They's been hunting the west side all morning but didn't get any thing. In speaking with them I found out they lived across the street and hunted here all the time. They were complaining of Coyotes, too.

This guy looks too young to be smoking

From Upper Paugussett I hammered up Pond Brook Rd and then up Lake George on to the Lake George ROW which is a lot wetter these days. The MX/ATV crowd that uses this route from time to time (illegaly of course) armored one section of the trail in such a way that makes it difficult to negotiate I have been following the route the horsies go off to the side. These is one little section in that by pass that is hike-a-bike and today I found a way around it.

To get around the big water/mud holes I have started formulating a trail of sorts. Remembering when to pick up the by pass is always a challenge because nothing is marked, not to mention when you are riding up from the Dingle Brook loop you hit the ROW at a point to pick up the bypass you have to back track a little and I always forget to do so.

I spent some time bushwhacking coming up from the bench to see if I could find any paths in the woods as an alternate to the fall line, stoopid hiker, path the current trail follows. I can climb this section but I hate fall line climbs and would rather see a winding, curvy path up this ascent. Didn't really find any thing lower down but higher up it got better. One thing I do want to see is whether this bypass trail (marked in blue) connects to the trail that goes out back to the ROW. The problem with the trail today is that it winds up in a stream bed and it would be nice if there was a way around that. Maybe this is it.

Riding back down Pond Brook I came across a bunch of trucks on the side of the road, obviously hunters in a little pow wow buy the bridge on the brook. I stopped to say hello and see how they did. One guy took a deer and had it in the back of the pick up. Turns out, I recognized one of the trucks belonging to the hunter that I saw on November 18th in a tree stand about 100 yards off the trail. The hunter turns out to be my plumber, Tim Conlan, and apparently he was hunting with a buddy that morning who was in another section that I rode right past and didn't even see!

Open Deer Season (Bow) @ Collis P Huntington SP!

This was just brought to my attention by a fellow mountain biker and I am shocked to learn about this now.  There are not many places to ride within Fairfield County that have a complex network of trails and miles and miles of singletrack.  Troutbrook or Pequonnock River Valley (aka Trumbull) are two areas that are similar in complexity but both permit hunting.  Huntington SP, on the other hand, is so busy with equestriennes, mountain bikers, joggers, dog walkers, walkers and hikers, that I can't see why the DEP would open up hunting here.  It's insane! 

This means that there are practically no safe places to ride without the fear of either getting shot at or skewed by an arrow.  Granted, I don't recall of any hunting accidents ocurring in the last five years but knowing that there is the potential for something like that is unnerving, to say the least.  The only places that you can ride in Fairfield County where hunting is not permitted are the following locations:

1. Mianus
2. Wilton Woods
3. Shelton Lakes

There is also Cranberry Park but I hear there is too much dog poo.  There could be more but these are the ones with probably the best networks of singletrack.  Sub-rural-urbia just got a lot smaller.

Cold Toes in the Wet Spot

It was a chilly 45 degrees this morning at 7:30 when I hit the trail and my toes actually got cold half way into the ride.  At the Echo Valley Lot, there were two cars in the lot and that meant there were at least two guys hunting on this side of the forest.  That van looks very familiar.  A couple of years ago I was riding through here and noticed a guy sitting in a van in the lot with the side door wide open.  I stopped to chat.  Asked him if he had gotten any hooved rats, started on about the weather - it was unseasonably warm that fall, on and on - I am pretty gabby.  He wasn't much for words, though, and then I noticed why:  the guy was sitting atop a makeshift porta-potty and he was taking a dump!

Never saw the Van Dumper but ran into these two gents from Stratford.  They didn't get anything but the one on the left said he was creaping up on buck that was rubbing his antlers on a tree.  Didn't have a shot, so while he was trying to get into position, the buck saw him and bolted.

Climbing up the back side of the hill is getting easier and easier.  I just power up and hammer the hill.  A little ways down is a soft spot that is capture a lot of waffle tracks.  I think the Maxis treds are probably Frank's. 

I think those are Maxis Small Block Eights.  On the left is my treds but I have two different tires on so the tracks get kind of blurred.

 If you have been following the development of the Upper Gussy Trail, there is this one area within the trail that is a unique challenge.  Recently it was changed so that horses could pass on the right and bikes should ride on the left.  It's kind of a technical skinny.

Here is a little video I made riding this section.  If you listen closely, you will hear sleigh bells.

Orange Season

Yes, it's Orange Season again. It's that time of year to start wearing blaze orange if you intend on riding Monday through Saturday in forests around the State of Connecticut. Hunting season starts as early as September 15 in most areas. Fortunately, you can't hunt on Sundays and most State Parks, although Bow Hunting is permitted is some.

My latest edition to my collection of orange clothing is this pair of Dakine Gloves. I got them at the Fairfield Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS). Don't think I will ever wear orange pants but now I have gloves, helmet and plenty of shirts.


Not only should you wear blaze orange but wear a bell on your camel or somewhere on your bike. This announces your presence to hunter hiding in the woods. He'll see you first before you see him, most likely. Also, remember to not wear anything white because that can be mistaken for a dear's tail.

Here are links to the various hunting seasons:

Dear Hunting Seasons

Hunting areas in Fairfield County include: Pootatuck SF in New Fairfield (#7); Upper and Lower Paugussett State Forests (#8); Troutbrook in Easton (#26).
Deer hunting starts as early as September 15. Even though there is no hunting on Sundays, please be careful because you never know who might be lurking out there at this time. Also another tip during dear season, avoid wearing anything with white in it. That piece of white clothing could be confused with the white tail of a deer running through the woods.

Turkey Season

Small Game

Good thing I was wearing Blaze Orange!

I was about half way down the Upper Gussy today when I came across a hunter! Yikes! I didn't think there was any hunting right now but did you know it was Coyote Season right now? It is and Upper Paugussett is one of the only places in Fairfield County which is actively hunted during every part of the season. Ironically, I have ran into this guy before. Last spring I came across him setting up Turkey decoys along the connector trail and I thought he was too close to houses but he wasn't. He did say, that it was also squirrel season right now but according to the DEP website for the small game season the only animal that is fair game right now are dirt pigs (aka Woodchucks).

Brought a hand saw with me on this ride and took care of many eye level branches along the trail. Also opened up the trail through the ROW section just below where I met the hunter. I think I just have to make one more trip through with some loppers and it will be pretty clear! The trail is really starting to come together, at least for bikes. I am sure once the horse people see some of the northern sections they are going to want some go arounds and some alternatives, which is understandable. I don't think horses will like some of the rock gardens I have routed the trail through.

I walked the section of the connector trail in which we will have to re-route to get around the bank issue. At point #1 above, even though the topo shows water it's actually land. This section of the trail will require a lot of work and I will plan for an April Trail Building Session to address this section.

I noticed a few weeks ago this new sign just off Hanover Road, which is located at point #2 on the detail map above. I wonder if this was installed with the permission of DEP or not? The trail leading up this is a really nice example of benching. I will try to get a picture of it on Sunday. Since this all that the sign says, I thought it would fitting to take a picture of the Qball leaning against the sign.

I stopped to take some pictures of the wet area off the ROW which I will be putting up a post on the Upper Gussy Blog. Took a nice shot of the Qball in the woods. This bike is a such a pleasure to ride.

From here, I got on the ROW and hammered to the Tunnel of Love, which I cleaned handsomely but after turning around and heading back into the forest, I was going kind of slow and hit something on the turn in which sent me down like a sack of potatoes. The Achilles heal of the 29er, poor maneuverability at low speeds.

The Pursuit of Orange

It's hunting season here in Connecticut and if you want to ride Monday through Saturday and not get mistaken for Bambi then you need to ensure that you are dressed appropriately or ride in areas where hunting is not allowed. You can check to see when hunting season is taking place in Connecticut by looking at the Hunting & Trapping guide on the CT DEP's website. Another good place to check out is whether the location you will be riding is open to hunting or not, but remember, even if it's not open to hunting beware of poachers!

So, if you are going to ride on a day and in an area where there is hunting you might want to ensure that you are wearing blaze orange. Another good tip is to not where a white helmet or one that has white in it. Why you might ask? Have you ever seen a deer running in the woods? It's tail sticks straight up showing the white fur underneath. Why they run this way, I don't know, but if I had to venture a guess I would say so that other deer in the heard could follow. However, that "white tail" that you see is also what a hunter will see and you could get shot at.

Also, don't forget to make a lot of noise. One way to do that is to put some bells on your bike or your CamelBak. Seems kind of stupid and if you get the jingle bells someone might think you are Santa Claus, but if it alerts the hunter to your presence and keeps you safe from a hunting accident then who is the wiser? Of course if ride in non hunting areas then chances of having a hunting accident are significantly reduced.

My clothing choice for riding in the fall this year is now blaze orange. It is a really bright, dayglow color that is easily recognized out in the woods. I started by picking up a few T-Shirts at Target, figuring I could throw them on over a henley or long sleeve T-Shirt or jersey but they just didn't have that familiar glow. Then I found a Lands End/Sears a nice fleece pull over, not blaze orange, but orange that actually went nicely with the Orange Down Vest that I bought from there last spring on clearance. Still, when out in the woods it, it wasn't bright enough. Not to mention it looked good and except for layering, I thought it might be better for less strenuous wear.

I missed the boat on an Ascent Thermal Jersey that was on Nashbar or JensonUSA, it wasn't blaze but it was pretty bright none-the-less. Finally, I went to Cabelas and bought a long sleeve T, and a blaze Henley, shown below. Now that is bright!

I asked Santa for an Orange riding jacket from Adidas but I can't guarantee he will come through on that order. Then, just the other day, I stumbled upon Sierra Trading Post site and while browsing through the jackets I found this marvelous item: The Columbia Sportswear Howling Wind Jacket.

Check out these features:

Columbia Sportswear's Howling Wind jacket, made of no-noise polyester fleece, is breathable and water- and wind-resistant to keep you concealed and comfortable.

• Reverse-zip armpit vents
• Hand pockets
• Moisture-wicking mesh shoulder yoke
• Drawstring waist
• Length: 28”
• Weight: 1 lb. 14 oz.
• 100% polyester

What more could you ask for? What sealed the deal was the zip pit vents. Those are key for riding.

I think my orange riding wardrobe is now complete. Probably pick up a shirt from Bikerag.com that was made specifically for this season in which I had a little input on but I think I have it all now.

Happy Hunting Day

Two more changes for the Qball, a red Salsa Moto stem and a red saddle. Got the stem from a guy on Craig's List and the saddle from riding buddy who bought it off another guy. Great saddle, has titanium rails.


I got the Qball dressed up to ride in North Newtown this morning. Paula wanted to see the Burr Farm area that I posted on Crankfire so I agreed to lead a ride. She checked with her riding posse and found only one other take, Heather. So it was three of us, riding on a Saturday in the middle of hunting season. I usually don't ride on Saturdays because its hunting season, but I was still prepared with a blaze orange Henly that I got from Cabelas. It's really brite!


Riding up from the Pond Brook boat ramp, we headed up Pond Brook Road and turned into the old road right after crossing Pond Brook. Last time I was here the ground was pretty soft but I was amazed to find it so dry. There was no mud!

Started on the first loop going counter clockwise through the horse trails and I cleaned all the hills! Then we started the second loop which starts in Newtown and then moves into Brookfield which is part of the Burr Farm Open Space property.

Then started the second loop which is a series of downhill shots till you get to bench at Dingle Brook. We stopped and took a few pictures.

When we got back to the boat ramp, Paula wanted so more, so we headed off into Upper Paugussett State Forest where we encountered three different groups of hunters and it's shot gun season, now! One hunter I have run into before at the start of bow season last year. He was out showing his kids how to hunt with a 20 gauge, looking to pop a few squirrels but all the squirrels were actually over by the Polly Brody.

We took the connector trail to the old right of way that will be part of my new trail, if DEP ever approves it - its been six months now - and through the tunnel of love, which is an up and over I built from a bunch of trees that were knocked down when that tornado ripped through town last spring.

Then we hit the opening part of my new trail and I got to show off the Play Ground, in which the trail winds around many different kinds of exposed rocks that will make excellent rollers and drops in the future.

Dropped down onto the jeep trail that exits the Forest at Sanford Road and road home.

All in all, it was an 11.5 mile ride!