Myles Standish State Forest, Carver MA
 

in my quest for recreational cyclocross type riding, anyone check this place out with a wide hybrid, 29er or cyclocross type bike?

I have fond(?) memories of Miles Standish State Mosquito Hatchery from various camping outings there some decades back. I don't know about how things are now, but back then the mosquitos there were like the Tse Tse flies Peter Falk descibed in "the In-Laws. " ."

omg that was pretty funny

I know our seasonal greenhead flies very well, they have a saw like beek or whatever that they use to cut into your flesh to get to the blood. nice thing is they are easy to kill, I once counted killing 13 in a short span with Wifey at a beach. you have to wait until they think the coast is clear but before they set their saw in. just as they are about to bite, they are clueless and won't fly off & you can just easily swat them
http://i1.wp.com/thelocalne.ws/wp-co...size=550%2C550

got down there. best parking this time of year is at the Forest Headquarters. 194 Cranberry Rd, Carver, MA. I found open & working bathrooms & maps on signage, but none to take with me. maybe I can request one by mail?
while there's a variety of terrain to ride what this park really offers is extensive paved bike trails
what makes their trails unique is that they are not straight, level & flat. had to get out of the saddle a lot to climb. great workout. this visit was a recon mission, I guess, I only got in 10 miles but got a good workout
now that I know what I'm in for & where to park I can execute a more thorough ride

these 2 pics show the paved bike trails which are covered by a bed of pine needles in most places. they seem to maintain them very well. I saw lots of smooth well made patches. but there were some bumpy sections too

this shows that the paved bike trails intersect with the bridle paths in some places (or maybe this is a MTB single track?). I parked in the equestrian parking lot by mistake (which is close to the HQ)

lots of other forest roads to explore, but also saw & heard lots of hunters today. we used to be able to explore here with 4x4s. easy to get lost but also easy to find your way out. these roads all have signage saying they are off limits. many have barricades but a lot are still just open with signage saying official vehicles only. I think they are patrolled by Rangers, so best to stay off them except by foot, horse or bicycle

had to watch out for some soft sand but got to find some mud to test the fenders. the 40mm tires came in handy

when I 1st got to the park I explored some abandoned cabins & also "still used" cabins. this info about the "Cottage Program". not especially informative but answered my basic initial questions
http://www.friendsmssf.com/mylescottages.html

this is cranberry country of course, home to Ocean Spray, here's a cranberry bog

http://www.friendsmssf.com/Trails/mssf.pdf

Looks like a fantastic place to get lost for a couple of hours, thanks for the pics!

Those are some awesome looking trails!!

had a great time going back (Rocky Pond Path 3.9 miles from HQ to P7) until I got a flat, and then got a 2nd flat. guess I'm just gonna have to go back again



http://i.imgur.com/YGW0DeC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Lrefsen.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/T58AF7g.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jLyYKTE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wLZViuI.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/puEOEBN.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/i3ok3HS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RM0kcfX.jpg

I used to ride dirt bikes there in the 1970's it's a huge place. Last time I was there, I was on a bicycle riding through in the dark lost, on my way home to East Providence RI. A coyote crossed the road in front of me. Didn't see any others. I was hoping only one would leave me alone. The power line roads go to Boston and beyond. There's a drain pipe that goes under 495 that is big enough to ride a motorcycle through it. There's some real quicksand up near 495. Almost went down in it, but a guy with a truck and a rope pulled me out.

haha cool stuff. yeah great place. I once played submarine commander w an old 4Runner getting stuck in a deep "puddle" on the power lines. w water coming in thru the doors & flooding the floor mats I climbed out & walked 2 miles? (felt like) & found 2 jeeps at a house in the woods. convinced the guys to come pull me out. used both jeeps cuz I was in so deep. when we first got back to the truck there was a frog sitting on the back bumper. after that, I stopped blasting thru water without measuring the depth w a stick first. some things you gotta learn the hard way, right?

:D

When I told a guy at work about the quicksand, he brought in a photo the next day of his bike in the same place
with only about half the gas tank above ground. I have a lot of respect for 4wd vehicles with ropes or winches with cables now.

:eek:

Nice pics! The area looks like the Pine Barrens here on Long Island. I was riding mtb trails out there this morning. No snow here at the moment, and have not managed to find any quicksand yet.

what kind of trails? paved? dirt? sand?

Not much if anything in the way of paved trails in those areas, at least where I've been. I've hunted in areas of the Barrens which are very sandy.

Nice looking ride. I drove there with my Gary Fisher Marlin back in 1999 and don't really remember any specifics other than it was a nice park. It is on my "to-do" list as a weekend overnighter destination with my 520 for 2017.

that paved trail from HQ is all up & down. at 57 it's a hard workout for me. weird that it was so short. I need to do more research to find another longer leg or loop (like Frost Pocket Path 5.4 miles from HQ to East Entrance, or that maze South East of HQ "Camping Pond Loops 6+miles"). with the unpaved (sandy) forest roads frozen, they might have been passable with an icy crust & that would be fun. but these windy paved trails are unique & I'd like to hit them again. ordered some tires to replaced these shreds

& it's a long drive (for me) I really need to get my stuff ready the night before

http://www.friendsmssf.com/Trails/mssf.pdf

I remember doing some mtn biking at Shawme-Crowell in Sandwich around the same timeframe. Again it's not going to be an all day affair but may be a nice place to check out too.

snow showers Saturday 1-3"? :D

new studs came in. got them a size wider for more bushwhacking :D surprising how far out the studs point. guess it's been a while since I've seen new ones. weird that even tho they are a wire bead tire they came doubled up half folded on themselves. must be a geometry problem with flexible concentric circles of infinity or something. seemed to straighten out & mount properly. used body powder. not sure of it helped. was gonna set them today but we got a blizzard so 25 miles on dry pavement will have to wait. the studs rubbed the fenders so took them off & ordered new ones. fun fun :/

http://i.imgur.com/yjun3sb.jpg

this coming Sat gonna be 10 degrees at nite / early morning. 23 degrees during the day in bright sunshine. that's my next ride day. can probably navigate a good length of paved trail & add some hard frozen dirt/sand trails. with no snow on the ground the bike will be the one without studs & new wider tires. just need to plan ahead & assemble my stuff, in advance, Friday night

old tires & old fenders

3"-6" fresh snow by Friday PM then wicked cold Sat am (teens). guess it will have to be the 40mm studded bike to be safe. cant imagine shallow tread 45mm tires would be any good in that much snow, even if there's no ice under it

I did want one more snow ride (not that cold tho) but I was looking forward to clean, dry, hard dirt. shudda called in sick today

I'm below the line for just 1" - 3". I want snow and ice on the pavement today. But it's not going to be under freezing enough (Today Friday) until late at night.

thanks, was hoping you'd chime in. so then it'll pack down a smidge, maybe melt just enough for form a layer of ice under the snow? you near Carver / Plymouth?

.

I'm near Providence. But I ride in that area frequently. Almost weekly. I'm going to be about 34-33 degrees all day. The grass is getting more snow all the time, but, the pavement is just wet.
I want snow on the pavement too. argh! Or ice, even better.

thanks. wish the forest had a webcam. I can look for one in Plymouth but that's so close to the water, it might be warmer like your Providence area

East Falmouth is looking good
https://www.wunderground.com/webcams...io/2/show.html