Berkshire Biking

Pedro's Mountain Bike Festival, a sort of family-oriented "Woodstock" for bike nuts, is what drew me to the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts several years ago.

I've come back every year since.

This annual gathering draws hundreds of mountain bike riders of all levels of experience. They come for the chance to learn from experts, explore new bikes and new trails, and generally party with kindred souls, all of whom love to bike. Almost everyone camps out right on site, so the experience is 24/7.

My biking buddy, David Shedd, and I pulled in just as the festival opened its gates on Friday. His mission was to test new bikes and write a report for EasternSlopes. My mission was to have as much fun as I possibly could without inflicting any permanent scars on myself or any of the bikes I rode.

By most standards, a good day of mountain biking is one with lots of mud, no broken bones and only minimal blood loss. I had three great days: Little blood spilled and my bruises are fading to a lovely mix of purple and yellow.

I had my trusty Trek hardtail with me, but I couldn't resist the siren call of the new bicycles offered for demo. I was like a kid in a candy shop. Too bad I'm not a good enough rider to really take advantage of all this bounty. Still, I tried, switching bikes every hour or so.

Every hour or so, festival goers could either join a clinic or a group ride, with the leaders giving tips and tricks that would take years to learn on your own.

For two-and-a-half days I rode as much as I possibly could. I was testing new bikes, but mainly I was testing myself and learning. Another couple of decades of this and I might be a good mountain bike rider.

As unskilled as I am, I still had fun. So did everyone else. Lots of people outdoors, getting scads of exercise, everyone smiling and happy.

Going Local

The Berkshires seem to be made for bicycling.

Most of the main roads run along river valleys and are relatively flat. The nice, wide shoulders accommodate bikes. The hills between the valleys are laced with single-tracks and dirt roads, perfect for fat-tire biking. And Jiminy Peak offers lift-serviced downhill biking for those who just can't live without some danger in their lives.

On the Monday after the Pedro's Fest ended, I drove down to Great Barrington to join Dr. Ed Weiner and his wife, Marsha, for a bike tour of their neighborhood.

We left their house shortly before 10 in the morning and disappeared into a maze of winding, hilly back roads, some paved, some dirt. My companion, Marilyn, and I were riding our fat-tire Burley tandem bike while Ed and Marsha were pedaling solo Trek hybrids. All our bikes were suited to the dirt  roads.

Even sitting here with a detailed map of the area, I can't quite follow all the twists and turns of our route. But I sure remember the highlights.

Almost immediately after leaving their house, we crossed the Appalachian Trail. We'd cross it again at another spot later on in the day. We pedaled our way up a long hill along the rain-swollen Konkapot River, with a stop at "Black Hole," a local swimming sport complete with rope swings. You'd never find it if you didn't know it was there.

We also pedaled past the former Berkshire National Fish Hatchery, now run entirely by volunteers. They maintain 7 miles of marked nature trails. That will be another adventure for another time.

Then it was on up and down more hills past Gould Farm, a working farm with a psychological rehabilitation center. Gould Farm also maintains its own trail network, winding around, and eventually ending up at, the General Store in Monterey. Here we picked up excellent deli sandwiches to refuel. Instead of eating them there, though, we pedaled up one seemingly endless hill after another on beautiful back roads. We eventually arrivied at Beartown State Forest and picnicked beside a lovely little lake.

After that it was a two-mile roller coaster ride down (and I do mean down) a lovely, winding road. We passed old graveyards and bucolic farm scenes, eventually coming back to our starting point.

In total we traveled just about 20 miles, on a route we never could have found on our own.

If you get a chance to let a local show you their own back yard, don't miss it. Especially if that back yard is in a beautiful section of the Berkshires.