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Holyoke-Skinner State Park

I rode yesterday at the Holyoke-Skinner State Park Topeak-Kenda MTB Adventure, and had the greatest time. The trail system there is exceptional in its variety, pacing, technical challenge, and natural beauty.

Max and I drove out to very early to get breakfast before the ride at a Northampton diner. The plan for the day was, “Boys go riding, girls visit museums and shops”. After our atmospheric (but not altogether tasty) fueling stop at the diner, I hightailed it off to the Notch Visitors Center in nearby South Hadley. The weather was perfect, though a little warm; it would eventually reach the high 80s.

The park is a little linear range of mini-mountains with peaks around 1000 feet, just across the Connecticut River from Northampton, probably about 10 miles in length. It’s much higher than the surrounding land, and you can see it from some distance away as you approach it. The range runs along a west/east axis, with a gap in the middle where Route 116 passes through it. The north side of the range is an unrideably steep escarpment (cliffs, really), so most of the trails wind through the jumbled hilly landscape on the south side. Here is an excellent trail map of the area, made by one of the trail builders.
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Icelandic Honeymoon

My wife Max and I just got back from our week-long honeymoon in Iceland. It was quite a trip, both literally and figuratively. I highly recommend it as a destination! It was a bit cold in May, and too soon for some of the tourist facilities and accommodations, but the compensation was that there were no crowds and we could take our time enjoying the spectacles.

You can also check out the photos of the trip on Flickr. I’ve linked to some of the photos, but there are many other pix in the set.

Day 1: Spring Fever

We arrived in Reykjavik on Tuesday morning, after a mere 4-1/2 hour flight from Boston. It was in the upper 60s, sunny, hazy and almost windless. (At the same time, New England was receiving the start of a multi-day pounding of rain leading to this week’s severe flooding.) Everybody was out in T-shirts and shorts, and we soon picked up on the fact that this was a heat wave, Icelandic style. [Continued...]

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