New Hampshire Trip, Ride Report and Video

This entry I am posting on behalf of two of our faithful ATV Magazine forum members.  After they bragged about getting this trip together I asked them to write up a full report with pictures and video, send it to me and I would post it here for the world to see, and maybe even get a blurb in the magazine itself.  This trip just shows how something like the ATV Magazine forum can bring two members together for an epic ride.  With out further delay I give you forum members warrior~kid and CChagros (aka. CC) with their ride report of the some of the terrain available in New Hampshire.

Report from warrior~kid

“I have been an active member of the ATV Magazine forum for the past 5 years. Over these 5 years I have learned many things about the sport I love, and have made many friends along the way.  Recently I had the opportunity to meet up and ride with one of my best forum friends, cchagros, in his home state of New Hampshire.

My 2007 YFZ450 was loaded up in the trailer, my gear was packed, and my vehicle was ready as I left my house early Monday morning, a 7 and a half hour journey ahead of me. Upon my arrival I met with Chris (forum member cchagros,ed) for the first time in person, went for lunch and discussed the riding schedule for the trip. We went to a local powersports dealer to register my machine with the State of New Hampshire in order to legally ride the trails there. The rest of the first day Chris introduced me to his family, friends, and the area of Newmarket, NH.  Monday evening I had the pleasure of meeting NH_Kingquad, a good friend of Chris, and a fellow forum friend of mine. After a good conversation over wings and beer, we went to sleep for the evening and to rest up for the following day, full of riding.

We arrived at the Hopkinton-Everett Reservoir in Dunbarton, NH, on Tuesday November 17th at approximately 9:30 in the morning. We unloaded our machines, my YFZ, Chris’ Kingquad and Rincon, started up my GoPro Hero Wide helmet camera (whose batteries failed miserably) and hit the trails. Most of my riding has been done in the relatively flat landscape of Eastern Ontario, and for me, the quick hills and sudden elevation changes of New Hampshire were very exciting. The roots and rocks sticking out from the hills made picking lines difficult, and found myself tensing for impact with rocks on my skidplate frequently. It was a beautiful day for riding, however with a lot of rain in the past few weeks, there was tons of sitting water on the trails. Chris and Dave, on the Kingquad and Rincon, respectively, had plenty of protection from all the water. The fenders on my YFZ were not designed with copious amounts of water in mind, so I found myself sopping wet within 30 minutes of being on the trails. After 2 and a half hours of riding, my YFZ had decided it was done swimming for the day, as it had sucked water into the airbox and intake, and refused to run. Dave had to pick his daughter up from school, so I took his spot riding the Rincon for the remainder of the day. I had never ridden a big bore utility machine until that day, and I was pleasantly surprised at the handling and power these machines have to offer. After having ridden a sport machine, and a utility machine on those trails, I am confident in saying that the Hopkinton-Everett Reservoir is a place where 4 wheel drive, and hefty fender protection shines. We headed back to Newmarket late in the afternoon, and I hung up my gear to dry for the next day of riding.

Unfortunately Dave was unable to accompany Chris and I to our next riding spot, Jericho Lake, the following day, due to work. This did work out in my favour as my YFZ seemed in rough shape, with milky oil caps, suggesting water in the oil, Chris would let me ride one of his two machines at Jericho. We woke up early and headed 3 hours north along Highway 16, to Berlin, NH, the home of Jericho Lake ATV Park. We stopped at Jericho Motorsports for a trail map, and hit the trails. Jericho Lake had a lot less standing water than in Dunbarton, the trails were also, for the most part, much faster and well groomed. They consisted of a mix between clear cut switch back trails down the mountainside, to high speed logging truck roads, to tight and technical paths through the woods. There were several rocky hill climbs, steep descents and plenty of changing scenery to keep the ride fun and interesting. The views of the valley and Jericho Lake itself from the tops of the mountains are spectacular to say the least. With well over 60 miles worth of trails there is plenty for a day of riding. Chris and I managed to clock in at just under 60 miles for the day, having ridden most of the trails in the park, save a few. We loaded up just before dark, tired, but satisfied after a day of some of the best riding I have ever done.

We had given up on the rechargeable batteries I invested in for the helmet camera, and we bought a pack of alkalines to use for Jericho. With the working batteries we were able to capture well over 2 hours worth of riding footage.
I had an absolute blast on my trip to New Hampshire. It was very refreshing to ride new and exciting trail systems, and to ride with people that love this sport just as much as I do. If ever you get the opportunity to ride in New Hampshire I strongly urge you to go, I have no doubt you will have an amazing time, have some amazing stories to tell, and pictures to show your friends and family. I would like to thank Chris and Dave for their hospitality during my stay, they are two wonderful people and great riders as well!”

Report from CChagros

“Let me just say, first of all, that its not every day I invite someone I met on the intraweb into my home to spend a few days with my wife, dogs, and myself. After 3 or 4 years of consistently communicating with Mark (warrior~kid, ed) on Messenger, and then through the magic of texting, I felt I knew Mark well enough to take the shot. He did not disappoint. Mark was an excellent guest, and is welcome here anytime he wants to make the trek.

Funny thing happens when you ride with someone half your age. You find yourself feeling old, but at the same time, you feel younger when all is said and done. Mark is an excellent rider, and for someone his size and weight to throw the King Quad around as he did is a credit to his abilities. On the other hand, I wondered if I’d be able to keep up with him. I think I did just fine, and thats where the feeling young part comes into play. The feeling old part happens when you crawl out of bed bruised to hell the next day lol.

After our day in Dunbarton, we went over to NH_KINGQUAD’s (forum member, ed) house for some hot wings. Most don’t know this, but we have a vast selection of hot sauces, mostly from the Carribbean. Our objective is always to make buffalo wings a sport. Its fun to see just how much heat we can handle. Mark was a noob to this, but he did an admirable job dealing with the pain. It makes for some good laughs watching each other turn various shades of red as the habanero takes over.

My only regret was he could not stay a few more days to ride some more. Hopefully, we will fix that next year, or maybe even later this winter.

In closing, it was great to meet face to face finally, as it was when I visited TTP (forum member,ed) in Arizona last year for a Glamis weekend. You hear a lot of horror stories about people meeting via the net, and not being the same when they meet in person.

I’m happy to say Mark is not only a great rider, but an excellent person as well. Please, come back soon for some more riding adventures.

A good time was had by all!”

Thanks CChagros and warrior~kid for an excellent ride report!

To post your own ride report or information about this topic and more visit ATV Magazine’s Forum

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