Truro Hills and Ponds: Mountain biking and paddling in the Cape Cod National Seashore

It's not like we've uncovered all the locals' secrets, but in the nearly 10 years that we've been coming to the Outer Cape we've gotten pretty good at finding the off-the-beaten-path spots that most of the tourists miss. My ride the other day took me to some of our favorites along the Truro / Wellfleet border.

Bay to beach and back, connecting Edward Hopper and Henry Beston: Cape Cod Nat'l Seashore

For 7 out of the last 8 years we've taken a week's vacation at the same part of Outer Cape Cod (Truro), and it seems we keep searching for the perfect rental house with the right combination of price, availability and location, location, location. Maybe this year's house, steps from a quiet bay beach, Fisher Beach, is the one.

Last year's house, tucked behind a dune overlooking the Atlantic, lay on the edge of a vast stretch of ocean beach that evokes Henry Beston's description of the Outer Cape:

At the foot of this cliff a great ocean beach runs north and south unbroken, mile lengthening into mile. Solitary and elemental, unsullied and remote, visited and possessed by the outer sea, these sands might be the end or the beginning of a world.

The landscape surrounding this year's house, just a few miles away, is entirely different. Rolling hills overlook a comparatively calm Cape Cod Bay. Sometimes wooded, sometimes open, this is the landscape of Edward Hopper, the iconic American landscape artist who summered at Fisher Beach for 40 years.

While reading Beston's The Outermost House, I got inspired to put together a mountain bike ride that would connect the two landscapes, staying entirely off pavement. A bay-to-beach-and-back ride.

Fire roads and foot trails: Mountain biking in the Cape Cod National Seashore

Some people are beach people, some are mountain people. I'm most at home in the mountains, but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy some quality beach time too. Just put me in a place where there's large chunks of natural landscape and I'm happy. Luckily we've been able to find just that at the Cape Cod National Seashore, where we've spent a week of summer vacation 6 out the last 7 summers.

Riding out the back door: May 2014

After a slow start to my mountain biking season, May has turned out to be a pretty good month. I’ve been getting out two or even three times a week all month, mostly on the trails out my back door. I’ve logged a couple rides on the Luther Forest trails (three actually), but haven’t hit Spier Falls or SMBA yet (that should change this week).

First ride

The first ride of the season, like the first ski of the winter, is more than just a shakedown outing. It’s the symbolic start of a new season, the closing of one chapter and opening of another. Ski season was great, but I’m ready to move on to mountain biking where just about every day can be a powder day.

There’s no better place for the first ride of the season than my backyard trails. There might be more exciting places to ride, but these are the trails I know best. No drive to the trailhead, just a glide down the driveway and 60 seconds of pavement pedaling leads to “my” 8 miles of single track. The trails here are rolling and flowy with a few twists and turns, fast and fun, perfect for logging a bunch of base miles, perfect for a quick weekend ride, a mid-week night ride, or a first ride of the season.

All Hallows' Eve mountain bike race: 10/29/2013

The idea of a nighttime bike race through the woods really isn’t quite as crazy as it might sound. After all, the proliferation of relatively inexpensive high lumen bike lights has made night riding commonplace, extending the season right up to winter (much to my wife’s chagrin). A nighttime race is just the logical next step.

Riding in the shadow of Whiteface: the Barkeater Trails, Lake Placid

When I got back into mountain biking a year or two ago, one of my first questions – like many beginning riders – was “where?” Right away I heard about the Barkeater Trail Alliance (BETA) and their growing network of purpose-built mountain biking trails around Wilmington and Lake Placid. The Barkeater trails immediately rose to the top of my must-ride list. Finally, a family vacation in Lake Placid last week gave me the chance to sample some of the riding.

Bushwood, one of the trails in BETA's Lussi trail network

Solo at SMBA

I really enjoy mountain biking with other riders. It's great for motivation, skill development and camaraderie. But I end up riding solo pretty frequently, mostly because I often have to fit my rides into a fairly narrow time window. While time was a factor Thursday evening, that wasn't the only reason I was on my own. It had rained hard during the afternoon, and just as I was gearing up at the trailhead, Round 2 started. Wet and muddy trails, rain, and nobody else riding. It was great.

Mountain biking at Spier Falls

I’ve been out on my bike quite a bit since the end of ski season, so it seems like it’s time for a mountain bike trip report. This is from last week, my first-ever time riding the Spier Falls trails at Moreau Lake State Park.

Western Ridge trail

To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure I had the skills for Spier Falls. The reputation is that the riding is great, if you survive. You can read what others have to say about Spier Falls here. In a nutshell, the riding is rocky and technical, comparable to some of the advanced trails at SMBA but with one added twist: a lot more vertical.

Night Ride at SMBA: 09/27/2012

I had a lot of fun riding the trails at SMBA last night. Since we’re rapidly losing light for Blue Sky’s Thursday 6pm rides, they arranged for Light & Motion to demo some of their lights. I’ve ridden at night just one other time (last week), but I'm really enjoying how it changes the experience of mountain biking, focusing your concentration on what’s within the beam of light, and increasing the sensation of speed. The challenge goes up a notch, but the fun and adventure factor goes up two notches. And riding at night should enable me to extend my riding season right up to the start of ski season.

Tuesday night mountain bike race series: 08/28/2012

Sometimes things go wrong in a race, and I had my share of escalating mishaps in Tuesday evening’s Schenectady Central Park mountain bike race, the fourth and final race in the HRRT Hot August Nights series.

Another rider zipping down switchbacks Tuesday evening

MTB race report: HRRT Tuesday night series

I guess it's officially more than just cross-training now, since I rode in my first mountain bike race last night.

Last night’s HRRT Hot August Nights Mountain Bike Race, the first in a 4-race series, was just the sort of fun, low key, local race I was looking for. Not quite 3 dozen riders assembled for the 6pm start at Schenectady’s Central Park mountain bike trails. 19 of us were entered in the “Sport” category (two 5-mile laps), with 15 others in the “Expert” category (three 5-mile laps). Since I’ve never ridden the Schenectady trails before, I got there early and rode for 10 or 15 minutes to get a feel for the terrain.

Pre-race registration at the trailhead

Mountain biking at SMBA: when is riding no longer “just” cross-training?

I haven't posted much about mountain biking this summer, but I’ve been riding once or twice a week since April. Recently – since June - I've been splitting my time between SMBA and the trails on the Saratoga County forestland (the Kalabus-Perry parcel) out my back door. The two are only about 5 miles apart as the crow flies, yet the terrain and trails couldn't be more different. The K-P county forest parcel is part of the Saratoga Sandplains and the trails are smooth and fast, not a rock or a root in sight. SMBA’s terrain, on the other hand, is what you’d expect from the foothills of the Adirondacks: bedrock is close to the surface, there are beaver flows and wetlands, rocks and roots are everywhere, the trails are technical and challenging.

Upcoming mountain biking events

I've been something of a mountain biking hermit since (re)discovering the sport last summer: I ride solo on the same 8-10 miles of single track out my back door once or twice a week. I ride mainly for fun and for fitness, but I know I'd get even more out of the sport by riding with others and checking out some new trails. Some of the organized mountain biking events taking place in the Saratoga region and Adirondacks over the next few months may give me the opportunity to expand my horizons a bit.

Saratoga Mountain Bike Association's Mix Up the Dirt Festival on June 9 is free and open to the public. SMBA's trail system will be open for members and non-members alike to check out. There will be group rides for all ability levels, demonstrations, vendor displays, a barbecue, and a free raffle.

The HRRT “Hot August Nights” Race Series in Schenectady's Central Park is a 4-race series every Tuesday night in August at 6pm. The course, described as a "combo of flats, twisty singletrack (under the trees) and skinnies," is marked with white squares with black arrows and can be pre-ridden anytime. The race prizes caught my attention: "Beer and prizes will randomly distributed among all racers." Free beer is always indicative of an excellent event, and the mid-week timing fits well into my schedule. I've never done a mountain bike race before and fully expect to get my butt kicked.

2 Wheels for my Quiver

This is the time of year when skiers start posting pictures of their ski quiver, like this,

Kalabus-Perry Mountain Bike Ride: 07/14/2011

I cheated on my wife today. No, not like that. I took the day off from work to catch up on a multitude of indoor and outdoor projects that needed attention around the house. She was home too, but left for a couple hours in the middle of the day to run some errands. While she was gone, unknown to her, I put down my paint brush, parked the mower and hopped on my mountain bike for a quick spin through the several hundred acres of county forest that starts at the end of our block.