Tribury Gravel Grinder: Flanders Section

I scouted the abandonded road that goes from Lake Quassapaug to Tuttle Road and essentially bisects Flander's Nature Center. It's a great riding trail and is perfect for the Tribury.

I still have to sort out whether or not there is an old abandoned dirt road road on the other side of the Pomperaug River that can be used and what manner or dirt roads exist north of Heritage Village.

Bull$hit at Trumbull

Last weekend I got word from the Trumbull Trails Coalition that someone did a crappy rake & scrape job below The Matrix and created a bootleg trail off the yellow trail which climbs up to the Matrix.  It's something that I had envisioned doing over the summer and while it's a good idea through this section it was done illegally.  Ironically, I was also contacted last week by the Trumbull Parks Commissioner wanting to create a partnership with CTNEMBA for managing trails at P-Valley, apparently there is a lot BS going on at Trumbull and it's pissing everyone off.  This isn't going to help.

On my ride last Saturday, I found what amounts to tagging this bootleg trail and to make matters worse, every other tree along this bootleg is spray painted with a huge orange trail, further indicating that this person who did the trail knows nothing about marking trails, let alone how to build a trail.

Monster Tandeming in Middlebury

The inaugural ride of the Adams Tandem Trail-a-bike was great.  The boys need to learn to work together a little better but they did well.  It was cold on Sunday, mid 40s but the wind brought it down to feeling upper 30s so I bundled the boys up in warm jackets, thermal shirts, ear bands and gloves.  Of course, I wore shorts with a long sleeve jersey and a thermal running top, and then a short sleeve jersey.  I was fine until later when we descended down the Trolley Trail towards the center of Middlebury. 

I took them into the back of Flanders Nature Center, the Whittemore Sanctuary, to check out the old road that goes from Lake Quassapaug to Tuttle Rd that I want to include in my Tribury Monster Cross.  The dirt road is perfect, New England Monster Cross terrain, in fact it seems there are quite a few interesting trails/carriage roads that are worth further exploring.  I think I might have to slap on the 2.1s and roll in there and check out all the trails, as well as explore around the Woodbury Reservoir.

Then it was back to the Trolley Trail and a ride down to the center of Middlebury.  Neither Elliot nor Brodie could shift the gears largely due to their gloves I think.  Still we had a fun time riding to the turn around point and of course we needed a little snack while basking in the sun.  The favorite was the Oreo Cookies while the fruit went untouched.

After snack, we mounted back up and took off back to the starting point.  It's all uphill from here and I could really feel the extra 150 pounds that I was pulling.  The boys were helping a little when they were not fighting with one another about who is not pedaling forwards.

Part of the draw that get's my boys out with me is the chance to run around the park.  In fact, that's one of the reasons we never have gone back to Old Put because I haven't found a decent park along the way.  There is a great park on the North County Trailway in Yorktown Heights that we need to try.  Might have to wait till the spring and work in a ride with my father for that one.  Monroe has Wolfe Park and the Farmington Canal line has Brooksvale Park in Hamden.  Brooksvale doesn't have a lot going on but it does give them a chance to stretch their legs and play on the little Jungle Gym a bit.

Elliot and Brodie just know this park as the Seesaw Park because it has a seesaw of course.  We even run into the same kids from time to time.

Too much snivel gear at P-Valley

I live 20 miles north of the Pequonnock River Valley and due to it's proximity to Long Island Sound and the fact that I live in the Housatonic River Valley, where the morning cold tends to hang around a bit longer, there was a 10 degree difference between my house and P-Valley.  Since my normal shoes were kaput I wore my Gortex riding boots and fleece tights, which was a bit of overkill.

While climbing up the white trail, I met up with two fellow SSers, only these guys were not riding XC, rather they were looking for gappers, which there are many at Trumbull.  The slower of the two was the helmeted but the guy keeping pace with me was not.  I chastised him a bit about not wearing a helmet, especially given the activity he was looking to engage in but he was there to play.  Another Darwin Award recipient.  He did, however, have a nice full susser single speed, obviously for jumping.

I think I found a good route in the Matrix (map below).  Ride the rim trail by staying left until you come to start of the ravine that eventually leads to the Bat Cave, then follow the Slick Rock trail till you hit your second right.  Follow that trail back towards the Rim Trail but bang a quick left and the take you next left onto You've Got Mail and take that back to the Slick Rock trail.  Then head north and down into the Rusty River Valley.

I met up with a huge group of riders, obviously from Cannondale because everyone was on a C'dale rig and wearing garish looking outfits to ensure they were properly identified.  Second guy from the left is their marketing guy.  They were looking for big stuff so I told them about Green Monster but they either didn't find it (or didn't look too hard) because as I was coming down the blue trail I saw them coming out of the Bat Cave.

What I love about the Pequonnock River Valley the most is all the different terrain choices.  It has great climbs, technical descents, lots of technical riding along the river, too.  Of all the places to ride in Fairfield County, Trumbull has everything you could ever want in a place to ride but don't come here looking for smooth single track.  If you want a smooth trail, try riding the rail trail on the other side of the river.

It's hard to believe that some of the best riding is a narrow river valley which is at most in it's widest spot probably a mile wide and four miles long.

Monster Tandem

I finally found an Adam's Tandem Trail-a-Bike, $80 on Craigslist! Now, I can ride with both my sons. When my daughter gets a little taller, I am going to hook this up to the tandem and then take all the kids riding! Can't wait to test it out tomorrow.  I can tell that it's an older model by the simple fact that the seat post connector doesn't have new connector.  Fortunately it fits the one from my single.  Now it's time for a little test ride.

Seats are a little high so it was tough for the boys to mount up

But they got on and off we went

I think were are going to have fun!