Pre-ride GRSF

In the "old days" I rode dual sport bikes in the Georgetown-Rowley State Forest. Then they banned them. I have been back to the forest infrequently since then. Doing map recon though, it seems that there are trails that lead all the way through the GRSF and into Willowdale State Forest and into the Ipswitch Wildlife Sanctuary. I have wanted to try this out as a hike, but that never happened. So, I got the bright idea that I would try it as a ride. I went out to pre-ride some of it today and I was appalled. The forest has received almost no trail maintenance at all, unless you count countless pile of horse crap as maintenance! The trails that were there, for the most part, are gone. The main road is overgrown and no longer a road. It's a trail, The trails that were there before are mostly gone and grown over or swamped out. It's a shame really. With all that you hear about how ATVs and dirt bike destroy the land, it turns out that the only things keeping the land open for the other users were the ATVs and dirt bikes!

Deep Sea Fishing!

I went out for the first time ever today! Out of 30 or so people we scored 8-9 keeper Scup, Hadoc, Poluck and Cod. And two dozen or more Dogfish! A LOT of them. A couple of beers and some Sunburn and call it a day. Pretty proud of my Little Girl who was "doing it all on her own".

Legs Hurt today

Guess 8 miles with an extra 30 pounds is a good start.

Just me and the Boy

We expanded on yesterday's ride. 7.7 miles in 90 degree heat and humidity. We saw two beavers, on in the water one out of  the water. We also saw a weasel, two bunnies and a whole bunch of birds. We watched the Newburport bridge open up for a big sailboat to go through. At the end of it all, he was fighting to keep his helmet on! He LOVED the ride.

The Longest Ride

 So, after a Winter of sitting in the garage, untouched, I attempted to take the 820 out for a spin only to realize that it wouldn't shift right, the back wheel wouldn't turn and the chain was off. This is the only bike that I have set up for general purpose duty and child carrying. With the trout stocked and stripers running as well as work all my other hobbies clamoring for my time, the bike never got fixed. Finally, this last week, I took a wrench and some chain lube to the trusty 820 and got her in running shape again. It just so happens that this is the kick off for The Tour , so of course all I want to ride is the road bike! The baby seat is attached to the 820 though so it was that that I took out, with baby, on Friday evening. The Boy loved it.

It was his first time in the seat this year, and the second ever I think. We had, and still have, a little trailer for him last year. I love pulling that thing along and he loves riding in it. However, despite "knowing" better, I "feel" that it is a little wide for dragging behind me on city streets and wanted to try the baby seat this year. To make a long story short, the Boy loves that seat. I had to fight with him to get him off the bike at the end of the ride! And I was exhausted by then too! In those few miles it was clear to me that i have NOT been cycling enough this year. So we went out again today. Only this time I thought that I'd have my 11 year old peddling along as well.

We went over to the Eastern Marsh Trail  in Salisbury and set off. I could tell right away that her seat was too low, and I had to pump her tires up from nearly flat but she took off like a bat out of hell! After going up and back, she was exhausted and even gave me the "I'm going to die" speech. She made it though! About three miles: the longest bike ride she's even been on. I am quite proud of her for it. I think she did well and am anxious to see how she hangs now that her seat is adjusted better. I hope she lets me take her on another ride tomorrow! The Boy, on the other hand was not peddling, so he had quite the nice time, other than when we were stopped for some thing or other. He got a little antsy then and was eager to be back underway. I am pleasantly surprised at how well he transitioned from trailer to seat and that Trek 820 is the BEST $60 that I ever spent (other than my sixty dollar P-Bass). It was a great family cycle outing and I can not wait to do it again!

The Tribe Has Spoken!

What? What "Tribe"? The tribe of teenagers in Haverhill.

I feel that there is no group of people more oriented to being outdoors that the average gang of Highschoolers. Wherever they are located they will tend to find an out of the way location in the woods or in the fields, where they can "party". In this case, they have found the Crystal Spring Conservation Area here in Haverhill. I came across this lean-to and this mess when I was out exploring and hiking the other day. It was quite a little camp site that I found out here. What is funny is that this is clearly visible from the homes on the other side of the lake, especially at night when the fire is lit. This a big space that is occupied by a lot of kids. It is pretty far into the woods though, about a half mile, maybe a little less. It's only half the story though. I came across a half dozen more little camp-fire sites in this tinny little preserve that is supposed to be all conservation land (this is the city's drinking water supply!). These woods must be FULL of teenagers on a Friday or Saturday night!








This thing was disturbing though. This was construction. It was right on the main trail and right off the roadway. You can see the rode from here and this is huge. What you can not make out so well in the pictures is the face that this thing appears to be occupied! There are two bags of cloths in there and some other junk. There is some one living in this thing, on conservation land, near where Children Play (ok, ok, teenagers drink and fuck, but close enough for this discussion) and it is within 100 feet and in FULL VIEW of the road. Sorry. This is disturbing.

Well, what can be done about it. I suppose that I could "tell the Police". Sadly, I do not have the greatest respect for the greatest proportion of the cops in this town. To be fair, there are sections of this town that keep them busy. Very busy. I think that that has degraded their "detecting" skills and their "rational thought" skills a little. Bad guys are easy to find, identify and round up. Evan having said that, I don not think that there is ANY shadow of a doubt that the local constabulary knows this place exists. Heck, I am sure that this place was where they hung out when they were kids! But they aren't any more. Regular citizens should be allowed to come here and enjoy this land without having to view the eyesore of the camp or be in fear of whoever created that Hobo House. This is the water that we drink for crying out loud and while I have not met too many 16 year olds who's primary concern is Water Quality, it should be important to a grown, police man who's wife and children drink this water. Honestly, other than that I don't know what to do. Reporting it to the Trails Commission or whoever will get the structures removed (probably) and the area cleaned up so that the kids have a nice clean party site to return to! This should be a beautiful, secluded spot to walk the dog, hike or bring my children to enjoy. Sadly, it is a blight and an eye-sore and potentially, a dangerous place to be. Yea. I love Haverhill!

Essex County Greenway?

No way! My own little through-hike, right in my back yard! I have been going into the Georgetown-Rowley state Forest for years, mostly on Dirtbikes. It was only yesterday, however, that I realized that the GRSF abuts The Hood Pond section of the Willodale State Forest which leads into the Pine Swamp Area and then into the Bradley Palmer State Park! I'm not sure where it leads from there! (I can't get the state's mapping program to work smoothly on the computer).