-Trip Report- Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest: The Silver Line (November 2011)

After the leaves have fallen, the Silver Line magically appears.  Pressed from the foliage, the tannins retreat into the soil bringing relief to mountain bikers fumbling along leaf covered trails.

For a few fleeting weeks, it lends a helping hand until the snow claims the forest floor.

Thank you, Silver Line.  Thank you, Mr. November.

You can read my full review of the trails here.

More photos after the jump.

Alpine Touring Binding Comparison Chart

Oh the places you will go.

If you're thinking of buying a pair of backcountry bindings, then let me make your search a little easier.  I've put together a handy chart of the most popular alpine touring bindings for your viewing pleasure.  Whether you're hucking 20 foot cliffs or rando racing, there's a binding designed specifically for you.

Millstone Hill Trails: The Video

It looks like mountain biking weather for another weekend, so in celebration (okay consolation) I put together a video from my recent trip to Millstone Hill with Brad.

Note that Brad was riding a suspension-less singlespeed that day.  He deserves some sort of trophy.

According to the Millstone management, this is the last weekend that the trails are open.  So get out and enjoy them while you still can!

-Trip Report- Pine Hill Park: Now There's A Reason to go to Rutland (November 2011)

Rutland has long been the Rodney Dangerfield of Vermont towns: it doesn't get any respect. From it's derisive nicknames (i.e. "The Rut", "Rut-vegas") to…well, the title of the article, it takes a lot of flak from the outside world and especially from Vermonters.

After sampling the local trails at Pine Hill Park, I may owe the good folks from Rutland an apology.

-Trip Report- Ascutney: One Week Later (November 2011)

I have the urge to sculpt this out of mashed potatoes.

I swore I wasn't going to write any more mountain biking articles this year.

If you hadn't noticed, we've already switched the graphics over to our winter offering.  Like a department store, the Halloween decorations are already in the box and the garland and lights are up in the windows.  Ski season is clearly on our minds.  This weekend screwed all of that up.

Five Steps to Buying a Cheap Telemark Ski Setup

Gered makes his own climbing skins out of snow.

November is a tough month for skiers. Your mailbox is filling up with ski magazines, your inbox is getting blasted with announcements for ski movie premiers and resort lodging specials, and you've already dusted off your gear and put the ski rack back on your car. Still, the season still seems so very far away. Sure, you may get an October treat to tide you over for a few days but pretty soon it's brown and bleak again and you're counting down the days until you can make some real turns.

1000 Miles from Home

Somewhere near mile 994.

I traveled a thousand miles from home this year....and I did it all on a mountain bike.

Trip Report- Millstone Hill Trails: True Grit (October 2011)

One of the many bedrock spines.

At the geographic heart of the Green Mountains, the trails at Millstone Hill near Barre are the embodiment of Vermont's stern and ingenious spirit and among its premiere mountain biking destinations.

While you probably won't need your climbing harness or pitons, you'll need to bring a heaping helping of true grit.

This is the Year: Alaska Heli-Ski Video

There is only one guy I know who is more fanatical about skiing than Andy: My friend Ben Szekely.

Ben has been gracious to lead me down some of the best lines I have ever skied and this past spring he set some of his own personal bests out in Girdwood, Alaska heli-skiing with Chugach Powder Guides. He put together this video of his footage for a CGP/GoPro contest.

While this guy can rip some big lines, Ben is based in Boston and hones his chops on New England slopes like the rest of us. The brief East Coast cameo in the video is likely the first time heli-skiing and Bretton Woods have ever been associated with one another.

Check out the video and let Ben know what you think.