It was a great day for a ride. My best friend Harry called and wanted my wife and I to go for a ride out of Florida. We met Harry and his wife Jean in Orange and headed for the elk on the hill. We made a quick stop to meet up with another couple and then started the climb. Going up out of Greenfield we could see the destruction that the hurricane had caused. I had heard about it but to see first hand was quite a sight. There were spots of road just totally gone. We arrived in Florida at about 10am, the weather was perfect, about 25 degrees and with little wind. After suiting up we headed out.
We crossed the road and hit the trails, which also were perfect. I knew it would be a good day. We got to the first junction and headed towards Rowe. The trail down over the hill wasn’t in that good of shape, actually. We got to the bottom of the mountain and decided to turn around and head the other direction. I had ridden to Savoy a few times and it was always good; the “K-Cat’s” do a great job.
We rode back up the mountain and passed the intersection we had already come from. The trails from this point were in top-notch condition. We followed corridor 2 all the way to corridor 8. The trail was absolutely superb; it was groomed real well and marked great. We had a group of mixed-ability riders and all had fun along this section. When we got down into “Savoy Country” the riding was simply amazing. We stayed on 8 all the way down to 90 and headed towards the Hilltop for lunch. There were quite a few trail junctions along the way. Most of these were marked above and beyond what they needed to be. Only one sign that we came to could have been a little closer to the intersection was SV08.
We rolled into the Hilltop Restaurant in Plainfield to find the place mobbed with riders. Every sled make and model imaginable was represented. There were even a few vintage machines. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the inside was large and accommodating for all of us. There was even a spot for our gear. It took some time to get served but they were packed. The food was great and we all enjoyed our meals.
On the return trip we took a few different trails, and again, all were in good shape for the amount of sleds out riding. I was impressed with the manners shown by most of the riders we passed. Hand signals, head nods and waving were the rule for the day. We only ran into one “hot dog” out there, and if that’s it for a day’s ride, then that’s a good day.
All in all we had a great time and will return next season. It was nice to go out and do 100 miles and then sleep in your own bed at night. There was good food on the ride and great scenes to be had. If you like hills and forests you will not be disappointed with a ride in this part of Massachusetts.
My wife and I had a great time and would like to thank all of the clubs along that area for a great ride. Dedication to the sport is still out there, and it shows. Even if the amount of volunteers has declined, you would not have noticed it when riding out here. This year I’m planning on hitting every trail on the map in this area. My wife is already looking forward to more onion rings at the Hilltop and a bacon cheeseburger is calling her best friend Jean’s name. On that note I think my Hot Pocket just dinged in the microwave. Sure do wish I were at the Hilltop.
Photos by Dan Gould
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