Written by Ken Bell, Thou Shalt Ride Club member
If you want to get a jump on early season riding in Western NY which is anything west of Interstate 81 be prepared for cold, think skiing at 75 mph.
Thou Shalt Ride has been busy in this realm with several rides on pavement and in the adventure bike departments.
Early season had some of us participating on an adventure ride on the Cross PA Adventure Trail. The CPAAT is a series of public gravel and dirt roads mapped out by an individual who has connected all those roads across PA and are very Adventure Bike worthy. It’s all on their FB page. It took us about two hours to reach the starting point and from there it was approximately 175 miles of backroads riding. Starting temp was 34 degrees. This was a ride organized by the person who mapped these roads out and about 20-25 bikes participated with varying types of off road bikes. It was a great group of riders. Check out the FB Page if you have a dirt or adventure bike.
In the interest of keeping our skills at a higher level some of us participated in an advanced technique class hosted by Ken Condon in Southwick, MA. We had no interest in a direct ride to the region so the ride began with an ambling ride through the Adirondacks of NY and ending for the day in Ticonderoga. The following day to Southwick had us zig zagging through the Berkshire Mountains taking us on several scenic byways. The class was very informative and I definitely recommend it. We scattered home the following day since everyone had different obligations to get to. I however pointed the bike to VT to explore another off road trail called the Puppy Dog Trail which is a beautiful ride through VT going bottom to top or obviously you can go in the opposite direction. It’s got some breathtaking scenery along the way and a real tooth rattler! A beautiful ride adjacent to crystal clear creeks, through rolling hills and I’m sure mountain top rides although I never got that far north since I could barely get out of 4th gear. I’m guessing it’s a four day ride, also searchable online. The ride home brought me back through the Adirondacks, on to the windswept shores of Lake Ontario and home.
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