Around Ipswich

Summer is officially here. Around Boston, this means three things: hot weather, humid air and frequent thunderstorms. Fortunately, this wasn't the case last weekend. While it was very warm, the sticky, humid air mass hasn't arrived yet and we could really enjoy the time spent outside.

On Sunday morning I decided to visit (and revisit) some places at the shore. I usually take my bike somewhere into the forest, as this is a place where I can easily find some unpaved roads and trails. But this time my route took me all around the town of Ipswich, to the beach and back.

I left early, around 6:30am and at that time air was still cool and pleasant. While it may not be easy to wake up at dawn, it's sometimes the only way to ride in the summer and stay cool. Once we get the usual July humidity here, already around 9am is too hot to ride.

I parked in Topsfield and took Topsfield Linear Common - a rail trail, south. The trail isn't particularly exciting - just an unpaved path with forest on both sides. But soon I reached the northern end of Grand Wenham Canal and that turned out to be a really nice place to explore. There is a small bridge that you can take to the other side but that soon turned out to be a mistake. The path along the eastern side of the canal is flooded in places. Only the western side is passable.

 The canal was a home of geese and ducks - including some inflatable ones:

Once I reached the end of the canal, I entered Wenham and continued along Route 1A towards the shore. At this point I realized how different this route is from what I'm typically used to. Usually, I end up on some rough and rocky trails, often riding through several steep hills. These things definitely slow me down a lot. This time however, I was flying with an average speed of over 15mph (25km/h), despite riding on a (relatively) heavy bike. All thanks to flat (see the elevation profile) and well-paved road. I guess I forgot what a dramatic difference this makes.

All this means that by 8am I was already at the shore. Here is when I realized that access to Crane Beach isn't free, it costs $30 per car. I decided to ignore that and the gate to my right and try an unmarked gravel road going southeast.

This was one the maintenance road I think, but it ended at a small pier where I had a chance to pause for a minute.

Next, I went back to the Castle Hill Estate. I visited this place earlier with my family so I didn't spend much time at the castle. Instead, I rode my bike to the beach. Fatbike mode on!

Well, alright. That didn't exactly work well. My bike isn't suitable to ride on a deep, loose sand so I didn't really ride on the beach. But the place was still nice - quiet, peaceful, with morning sun illuminating Ipswich Bay.

Since it was still early in the morning, I figured I could ride all the way to Little Neck - a small village on the other side of Ipswich River. To do that, I had to ride back to Ipswich first. I really hated taking the main road (Argilla Rd) so I opted for a smaller one that looked good on the map. Unfortunately, that road (Labor In Vain Rd) turned out to be private (and a part of a gated community). If you ride your bike there do it at your own risk and consider yourself warned.

The ride to Great Neck and Little Neck was simple enough - just follow the main road and stay close to the shore. Both places are your typical New England coastline villages. I think people live there mainly to be on the beach the whole time. At the same time, since both places rise above the sea level quite a bit, there are some nice views from the road overlooking Ipswich Bay.

I got back to Ipswich, which was by now in a full-swing Sunday breakfast more, with many of it's citizens and visitors crowding the downtown. I didn't stop though, but continued north. There, at the intersection of Rt133 and Mile Ln is Clam Box of Ipswich - probably the best seafood place on the North Shore. But since it was way too early for lunch, I was soon on my way.

Next, I entered Willowdale State Forest, which has a nice network of unpaved trails - pretty fun to ride as they aren't too rough so you can pick up some speed. That is - if you don't run into people horseback, as I did.

My plan was to slowly make my way back but cut across the trails in Ipswich River Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately - for the sake of wildlife), I found out that this entire area is closed to bicycles, so I had no choice but to go around and take Perkins Row Rd instead.

After 4.5hrs on the road, I was back at my car in Topsfield. Now I wonder what other places nearby at the shore are here that I haven't visited yet.

Oh, and I'm currently testing my new handlebar bag - Teardrop by BXB (Bags By Bird). It doesn't need a rack or basket support, fits my whole camera gear and is made in USA. But more on that later.

Analog's 4x4 Ride - bikes, beer and a good company

I ride alone. I always ride alone. Maybe it's because I don't know many people around my area who would be interested in the type of rides I usually do. But maybe it's just because when I'm on my bike I want to disconnect from everything and everyone.

Then, earlier this year when Analog Cycles announced their first organized off-road bike ride through some remote places in Vermont, something clicked and I got a feeling that I should give it a try. I registered with no hesitation and started impatiently waiting for the day to come.

To be honest, the only thing I was a bit worried or even afraid of was the weather. Don't get me wrong, I cycled in all types of weather. It's just some weather is better than other and, to be fair, swimming in mud, axle-deep, or riding in pouring rain, is not exactly my type of fun. Sure, it could be "fun" for some time but you probably won't truly enjoy 8 hours and 40 miles of it, would you?

But, the weather was perfect. Well..., almost. It was maybe too sunny for my taste. Nevertheless, that's not something to complain about.

So who and what is Analog Cycles? It's a tiny bike shop well-hidden deep in forest in the village of East Poultney, VT - not too far from NY state border. The owners, James and Candice, are from the area but spent years living in different places in U.S. before returning to their roots. As they admitted, there aren't enough locals who would be interested in custom-made off-road bikes, boutique brands and hand-made things. They exist primarily thanks to the Internet. In fact, they ship pretty much worldwide.

The day of the ride started really early for me. I had to wake up at 5am, then drive 3.5hrs across MA, NH and VT to reach East Poultney. When I arrived, well before the scheduled start time, the grounds around the shop were filled with bikes scattered all around and people getting ready and making their morning coffee. Many folks came the night before and stayed over.

Many bikes arrived clean, only to soon get dirty. Some bikes were already dirty, since why clean them if they get dirty again?

We finally set off at 10am. We picked up a good tempo, starting with an easy roll on some flat, wide gravel roads. The first climb came at about 5 mile mark, at which point the whole group stretched out quite a bit. I guess everyone found own pace because pretty soon we were riding in at least two separate groups - one leading in the front and one partying in the back.

We made a quick stop at the top of the hill where Pond Hill Ranch is located, planning on waiting for the second group. Since they were nowhere to be found, we decided to be good friends and leave them behind. The next section ahead was a fast downhill towards Route 4A.

The second group finally caught up with us at the next quick rest stop on Birdseye Rd. We continued together, this time through a very muddy ATV road that I can't even find on the map. Some of us (myself included), decided to stay cautious and don't take any chances. Like I said earlier, memories from the past year were still pretty fresh and this time I certainly wasn't planing on swimming in mud.

Others, however, were much more brave and aimed for the middle of the largest puddle. 

After the next few miles, we finally got to our lunch spot, which turned out to be a large gravel parking lot. We quickly figured out that the shade provided by a nearby large tree is a much more appropriate place to rest. Food and beer was out to be consumed. Bikes were swapped to be tested. Conversations were going and experiences shared.

With restored energy reserves we continued on. More muddy mess awaited, another long and very strenuous climb and finally a very rocky downhill ride. After about 7 hours of riding (including all stops), we arrived at the "swimming hole", ending the ride by cooling off in Poultney River.

The day was slowly coming to an end and it was time to head back to the shop, set up a campfire, pull out all food provisions and start on that keg of a local brew. Some locals decided to head back home but many of us stayed overnight. Analog Cycles provides a ground to camp for free, as long as you ask and behave nicely.

I was actually pretty tired after this eventful day, not from the distance, since 63km (39mi) isn't really challenging, but more from the constant beating by sun. Eventually, I headed over to my tent but I didn't sleep too well. It turned out that I should've packed ear plugs. This way those damn birds wouldn't have woken me up at 4:30am when sun started rising and they decided to give a concert.

I got up at 5am, packed quietly and drove back home. The "Camp Analog Cycles" was empty and silent. Everyone was still sleeping so I didn't have a chance to say goodbye, but I hope to see those people the next year.

Thank you Candice and James for organizing the event! It was a great fun and I certainly would like to see you again soon.