I put the bike on the rack and too it with me while I was running some errands before picking up my daughter from school. The regular MTB with the fenders and stuff. I wanted to explore the abandoned rail bed in Seabrook NH. It started off easily enough. There is a large shopping center that lies along the route of the path and a "secrete" road that leads out of the parking lot, crossing the old rail bed. Found it. I chose to head out south-bound on the trail.
Now, one might suppose that, since I enjoy writing this thing and that this thing is on the Internet and the Internet is for pictures, porn pictures specifically, I might take some once in a while when I am out and about on my bike. Sadly,I do not. I am almost always too involved in the actual riding to stop and snap shots. With that being the case, I will try to describe the experience in words.
The rail-bed itself is overgrown, and had the fully-intact, and partially deteriorated carcass of the railroad upon it. Tracks, ties, the whole nine. However, there is a fairly wide... roadway that runs parallel to it. This road or path is as clear of obsrtruction as any semi-maintained rural dirt road can be. The first part of the trail is made up on undulating hills. I have encountered these formations before on one other abandoned rail road bed and a converted recreational trail. Oddly, other ex-rail beds do NOT have these "whoops" so, even though I theorize that these are the scars that remain when the ties are dug up, I am not sure. I am not sure that the ties along this branch were dug up since a full-intact railway sits a dozen or so feet to the west of the trail. There are a few side paths and trails that lead into residential neighbourhoods. The first obstacle was a train bridge that spans a small roadway. The tracks continue over the bridge and the ties extend out about four feet to the east of the tracks allowing a crossing but with nothing between the ties but thin air, making riding across a daunting proposition.
The path continued on, smoother than before. In short order it came out of the woods across the street from an abandoned municipal building. I was able to pick up the trail on the other side from the parking lot there. This part of the trail in no way lie next to the railroad, but did rejoin it after meandering over an old stone wall and through some twisty trails. I followed this down some more, well into Mass by now and came to a point where a dirt road crossed the path. I turned east there knowing that there was a paved road in that general direction that I could take to start my ride back to the car. It was getting late and I did not want my princess waiting!. The road quickly opened up into a sand pit area that looked pretty expansive. Despite the temptation to explore, I tried my best to pick a direct rout back to the tarmac but wound up with this epic fail:
Getting a 25 pound MTB un-stuck froma spot like this is much, much easier than getting a 300 pound dual-sport un-stuck from a similar predicament. The riding, which had been fairly dry and smooth despite ample evidence of ATV and dirt bike use, got worse from here. Slick and muddy, it was a challenge to navigate safely on a bike with street tires and fenders! When I did come out to civilization again it was not on the road that I had hoped to hit but on one of those small side roads that you can't be sure if it's a road or a drive way that allows multiple branches of the same family to access different houses (and by that I mean trailers) that are on the same property. Either way, the guy on the porch didn't go for a gun when he saw me. In fact, he didn't seem the least bit disturbed to see a stranger ride out of the woods and through his yard / down his street, as the case may be. I quickly took to the streets and got back to the car. It was a wicked fun ride and fueled my imagination with places to explore on a "proper" mountain bike.
Of course, a proper mountain bike would have suited the terrain better than what I had with me, but it did OK. The centerstand didn't fall off this time, and neither did any thing else for that matter. The whole area, path, road and pit, was much cleaner that I have ever seen before. I do not know if there is a community presence in on these trails that picks up trash and stuff or if they are just very under-used. In a way, it would be a shame to see this trail developed into a full-blown MUP. It serve's it purpose as it exists now, in that the riding is by no way so difficult as to dissuade any child or teen for using this as a bike high-way and it's a great place to do a little light mountain biking. Personally, I can't wait to get back in there and explore some more!
Now, one might suppose that, since I enjoy writing this thing and that this thing is on the Internet and the Internet is for pictures, porn pictures specifically, I might take some once in a while when I am out and about on my bike. Sadly,I do not. I am almost always too involved in the actual riding to stop and snap shots. With that being the case, I will try to describe the experience in words.
The rail-bed itself is overgrown, and had the fully-intact, and partially deteriorated carcass of the railroad upon it. Tracks, ties, the whole nine. However, there is a fairly wide... roadway that runs parallel to it. This road or path is as clear of obsrtruction as any semi-maintained rural dirt road can be. The first part of the trail is made up on undulating hills. I have encountered these formations before on one other abandoned rail road bed and a converted recreational trail. Oddly, other ex-rail beds do NOT have these "whoops" so, even though I theorize that these are the scars that remain when the ties are dug up, I am not sure. I am not sure that the ties along this branch were dug up since a full-intact railway sits a dozen or so feet to the west of the trail. There are a few side paths and trails that lead into residential neighbourhoods. The first obstacle was a train bridge that spans a small roadway. The tracks continue over the bridge and the ties extend out about four feet to the east of the tracks allowing a crossing but with nothing between the ties but thin air, making riding across a daunting proposition.
The path continued on, smoother than before. In short order it came out of the woods across the street from an abandoned municipal building. I was able to pick up the trail on the other side from the parking lot there. This part of the trail in no way lie next to the railroad, but did rejoin it after meandering over an old stone wall and through some twisty trails. I followed this down some more, well into Mass by now and came to a point where a dirt road crossed the path. I turned east there knowing that there was a paved road in that general direction that I could take to start my ride back to the car. It was getting late and I did not want my princess waiting!. The road quickly opened up into a sand pit area that looked pretty expansive. Despite the temptation to explore, I tried my best to pick a direct rout back to the tarmac but wound up with this epic fail:
Getting a 25 pound MTB un-stuck froma spot like this is much, much easier than getting a 300 pound dual-sport un-stuck from a similar predicament. The riding, which had been fairly dry and smooth despite ample evidence of ATV and dirt bike use, got worse from here. Slick and muddy, it was a challenge to navigate safely on a bike with street tires and fenders! When I did come out to civilization again it was not on the road that I had hoped to hit but on one of those small side roads that you can't be sure if it's a road or a drive way that allows multiple branches of the same family to access different houses (and by that I mean trailers) that are on the same property. Either way, the guy on the porch didn't go for a gun when he saw me. In fact, he didn't seem the least bit disturbed to see a stranger ride out of the woods and through his yard / down his street, as the case may be. I quickly took to the streets and got back to the car. It was a wicked fun ride and fueled my imagination with places to explore on a "proper" mountain bike.
Of course, a proper mountain bike would have suited the terrain better than what I had with me, but it did OK. The centerstand didn't fall off this time, and neither did any thing else for that matter. The whole area, path, road and pit, was much cleaner that I have ever seen before. I do not know if there is a community presence in on these trails that picks up trash and stuff or if they are just very under-used. In a way, it would be a shame to see this trail developed into a full-blown MUP. It serve's it purpose as it exists now, in that the riding is by no way so difficult as to dissuade any child or teen for using this as a bike high-way and it's a great place to do a little light mountain biking. Personally, I can't wait to get back in there and explore some more!
