The plan for today was to ride! We were super excited about riding the trails and convinced the Sitts to rent a quad and accompany us. Truthfully, it was just a suggestion and they weren't too hard to convince. :) Jericho Motorsports, where they would be renting their ATV for the day, was just a short drive away from the campground. By short drive, I mean it was about 1/2 a mile from the entrance to the state park. It took us longer to get out of the park than to actually get from the park entrance to the store. How handy.
The rental day window was from 9:00 to 4:30, but there was a fair amount of paperwork they needed to complete as well as the safety and operator training, so they were instructed to arrive by 8:30. SO...like giddy little kids excited on Christmas morning, Bill and I got up at 6:00, ate breakfast, prepped the bikes, geared up, and led the way to the shop.
We purchased our temporary New Hampshire trail permits ($40 each for a 10 day pass) and waited while the Sitts took care of their rental paperwork. Fortunately, I was sufficiently occupied and entertained playing with Bentley and Guinness, the store mascots. I miss the Boys. :(
Since all the ATVs were booked, they ended up renting a side by side and once they got everything straightened away (and after the requisite photo)...
...we were off and on the trails by 9:30.
We started out riding the looped section of trails behind the store and then made our way across town (after airing up the tires at the gas station) and took the trail to Success Pond. Like the towns near the Hatfield McCoy trails in West Virginia, Berlin and Gorham allow ATVs to ride the roadways to access the various trailheads. With street legal dual-sports, this made no difference to us, but Shele got a kick out of riding on the road "like an outlaw". :D
The trail to the pond was A LOT of fun. It was winding and sufficiently entertaining without being terribly challenging. There was an awesome section of whoops that gave me a fair amount of out-of-the-saddle practice time (ow, my knees). Every time we ride offroad, it always takes me a little while to get comfortable again. I've spent 22 years riding the street and have little experience on trails. I enjoy it a great deal, but I always enjoy it after the fact. Since I'm pretty much always in a state of pending crash, it takes a little bit away from the immediate fun factor. :D Anyway...
The point in taking the trail to Success Pond was to, well, GET to Success Pond. Unfortunately, the weather had a different idea. It had been lightly raining in little pockets here and there, but soon it started raining heavier so in the interest of time (there was still a lot of trails to ride) and comfort (we were hoping to stay as dry as possible), we turned around and decided this would be a good time to go have some lunch. After a photo op...
...we rode back towards Berlin and
jumped on the trail (directly across the street from Jericho Motorsports) that connects to the campground.
By the way, it took me hours and hours to research this trip. I was specifically looking for a place we could do some riding, but also wanted to find a place where the Sitts could easily get a rental. Berlin, NH turned out to be the perfect place to go. We love having the XTs and since we bought them three years ago, they've accompanied us on every trip. They're SO MUCH FUN and so very convenient to have along. While I always enjoyed our week long motorcycle trips, there was never a time when, at some point, I didn't wish for the convenience and comfort of a car. Especially after the arrival at a hotel after a 600 mile day and the subsequent need to jump back on the bikes and ride to dinner. Ow, my butt. Or the days when it rained all day and we'd be wet, disgusted, and cold to the bone. Needless to say, having the option to ride or not ride is AWESOME! Throw in the uber comforts of "camping" with a memory foam mattress and our own bathroom and kitchen, and... BAM...vacations don't get much better than that! Oh, and they don't get much cheaper than that either. :)
We rode to the camper, ate lunch, and were back on the trails by 2:00. The rain had let up, but had made for some pretty slick, greasy trails. Most were easy. Some were not. I hit a slick section of rock and mud on a climb and promptly dropped the bike. Bill was leading and didn't even know I was down and Bill and Shele came around the corner after I had already righted myself and was in the process of trying to right the bike. I eventually got it righted (at 300 pounds, it's not heavy compared to the FJ [the ORIGINAL FJ mind you], but I still find it a little challenging to lift it up - especially when it always seems to fall tire side high). Anywho...It took me three tries to get going again. In the middle of a steep climb with the back tire now in a rutted muddy groove, the tire kept slipping in the mud and wouldn't hook up. I was thinking I may have to request a push, but fortunately (for my pride's sake), I was eventually able to get some traction and get up the hill. We rode...and rode...and rode some more and ended up on a trail that took us up to the Jericho Warming Hut.
We purchased our temporary New Hampshire trail permits ($40 each for a 10 day pass) and waited while the Sitts took care of their rental paperwork. Fortunately, I was sufficiently occupied and entertained playing with Bentley and Guinness, the store mascots. I miss the Boys. :(
Since all the ATVs were booked, they ended up renting a side by side and once they got everything straightened away (and after the requisite photo)...
We started out riding the looped section of trails behind the store and then made our way across town (after airing up the tires at the gas station) and took the trail to Success Pond. Like the towns near the Hatfield McCoy trails in West Virginia, Berlin and Gorham allow ATVs to ride the roadways to access the various trailheads. With street legal dual-sports, this made no difference to us, but Shele got a kick out of riding on the road "like an outlaw". :D
The trail to the pond was A LOT of fun. It was winding and sufficiently entertaining without being terribly challenging. There was an awesome section of whoops that gave me a fair amount of out-of-the-saddle practice time (ow, my knees). Every time we ride offroad, it always takes me a little while to get comfortable again. I've spent 22 years riding the street and have little experience on trails. I enjoy it a great deal, but I always enjoy it after the fact. Since I'm pretty much always in a state of pending crash, it takes a little bit away from the immediate fun factor. :D Anyway...
The point in taking the trail to Success Pond was to, well, GET to Success Pond. Unfortunately, the weather had a different idea. It had been lightly raining in little pockets here and there, but soon it started raining heavier so in the interest of time (there was still a lot of trails to ride) and comfort (we were hoping to stay as dry as possible), we turned around and decided this would be a good time to go have some lunch. After a photo op...
By the way, it took me hours and hours to research this trip. I was specifically looking for a place we could do some riding, but also wanted to find a place where the Sitts could easily get a rental. Berlin, NH turned out to be the perfect place to go. We love having the XTs and since we bought them three years ago, they've accompanied us on every trip. They're SO MUCH FUN and so very convenient to have along. While I always enjoyed our week long motorcycle trips, there was never a time when, at some point, I didn't wish for the convenience and comfort of a car. Especially after the arrival at a hotel after a 600 mile day and the subsequent need to jump back on the bikes and ride to dinner. Ow, my butt. Or the days when it rained all day and we'd be wet, disgusted, and cold to the bone. Needless to say, having the option to ride or not ride is AWESOME! Throw in the uber comforts of "camping" with a memory foam mattress and our own bathroom and kitchen, and... BAM...vacations don't get much better than that! Oh, and they don't get much cheaper than that either. :)
We rode to the camper, ate lunch, and were back on the trails by 2:00. The rain had let up, but had made for some pretty slick, greasy trails. Most were easy. Some were not. I hit a slick section of rock and mud on a climb and promptly dropped the bike. Bill was leading and didn't even know I was down and Bill and Shele came around the corner after I had already righted myself and was in the process of trying to right the bike. I eventually got it righted (at 300 pounds, it's not heavy compared to the FJ [the ORIGINAL FJ mind you], but I still find it a little challenging to lift it up - especially when it always seems to fall tire side high). Anywho...It took me three tries to get going again. In the middle of a steep climb with the back tire now in a rutted muddy groove, the tire kept slipping in the mud and wouldn't hook up. I was thinking I may have to request a push, but fortunately (for my pride's sake), I was eventually able to get some traction and get up the hill. We rode...and rode...and rode some more and ended up on a trail that took us up to the Jericho Warming Hut.
Given the location in the White Mountains and the thousand plus miles of connecting trails, this area is a little mecca for winter sports activities. Perhaps we can do a snowmobile trip one year. :P We waited out the rain under the pavilion then checked out the hut, signed the register, and posed for a photo.
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| Tyvek painter suits. Who knew they were such effective, cheap rain gear? :) |
Sadly, the afternoon was coming to an end so we planned a route that would give us enough time to get back to the shop by 4:30.
Shele, being the ice cream fiend that she is, had noticed a little shop on the other side of town, so we decided to accompany them. It had started to rain again, and since we were still on the bikes and I only had my chest protector with jersey on (i.e. NOT waterproof) I was cold and had to pass on the ice cream. We sat and chatted a bit and watched a cop on a quad pull over a speeder.
We got a big chuckle out of that. Running radar on an ATV - too funny. I wanted to respond to a few emails while I had (frustratingly sketchy at best) signal, so Bill and Shele headed back and Bill waited for me to wrap up. When we got back to the campground, we stashed our gear, made some tea, and took our chairs over to the Sitt's campsite to chill around the fire for the rest of the night. By 8 o'clock, we were getting quite tired so we went back to the camper, showered, and went to bed. It was a great day. Not only did we get to ride some cool trails and enjoy ourselves on the bikes, but it was great having the Sitts along for the ride and finally able to understand how much fun we have doing this and why we love it so much. A fine day indeed. :)
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