Pond of Safety Adventure: 9:30 start or 10:00 for shorter version
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
This ride was a good one from Joan Kelly's Fat Tire Cruiser list. It is a combination of familiar terrain (Presidential Rail Trail, Valley Road in Randolph and Jefferson) and some good dirt roads that lead up to a remote, scenic pond that harbors local lore, history and legend. Let's revisit this ride! It will be a new one for most of the Tuesday D+P riders! Last time it was done was June, 2010! Yikes!
There is a mix of surfaces. We start on the Presidential Rail Trail which is a mix of cinder, grass and hard packed dirt, some gravel thrown in here and there for you grind. It is in good condition for mountain bikes and hybrids. We then ride Valley Road, the paved parts have been repaved recently, smooth black velvet, the dirt parts are in good condition. When we intersect with Route 115, we will take a RIGHT and go for a short distance and take a left onto Stag Hollow Road. The road dead ends and we walk-bike up the highway embankment to cross Route 2, heading to Ingerson Road. We will now travel gradually uphill on a scenic dirt road with good views. We keep going on to Pond of Safety Road and end up at the scenic, historic little pond.
Hopefully the fall foliage will be at peak for our viewing pleasure. Hopefully there will be a mix of sun and clouds -- forecasts vary as to how much sun we will have, but all agree that the temperature will be pleasant, in the low 70's! Wow, don't overdress!
You have 2 options, the longer, first preference ride (30 miles) or a shorter ride option (22 miles).
For the longer ride: 9:30 start
The longer ride adds 4 miles of the Presidential Rail Trail in each direction. It is 4 miles of slightly up (1.5% grade) to the Castle Trailhead, but you get a 4 mile fun cruise down at the end of the ride. 30 miles total for the day.
Meet at the parking lot on the Presidential Rail Trail where it crosses Pinkham B Road (Dollly Copp Road) in Randolph. If you drive over on Pinkham B Road for Route 16 be aware that the paved sections are quite an obstacle course as compared to the dirt, which is smoother. Going around via Route 2 is less of an adventure. Meet at the parking area, ready to ride at 9:30 am.
For the Shorter Option: 10:00 start
Meet at the Castle Trailhead which is the height of land on Route 2 in Randolph. it is on the left as you drive west from Gorham, and is marked by a brown hiker sign. It is up the hill from Red's gas station and store. The shorter ride cuts out 8 miles total which might be an option if you don't want to cruise more than 22 miles.
Map: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28746796
Can't decide??? Half of the ride is a gradual uphill, the other half is a glorious easy cruise downhill. Only 15 miles of pedaling for a 30 mile total, good deal.
Carpool for the 9:30 start, 30 miler:
Meet at the JacksonXC and gold course parking lot, across form the J-Town Deli, at 8:40 am.
There is an interesting history of this pond, this info was copied form the Randolph Mountain Club:
The Legend of the Four Soldiers
The Name “Four Soldiers” comes from the days of the American Revolution. It is said that four Continental Army soldiers,William Danforth, Benjamin Hicks, Lazarus Holmes, and Capt. James Ryder, were captured by the British and then released under the condition that they would fight against them no more.
For fear of being arrested if they refused combat upon return, the four soldiers escaped and fled home to the North Country, finding their way to the remote pond, where they lived in safety for more than three years, until the war ended. At the war’s end, the four soldiers were exonerated of their charges of desertion and welcomed back to civilization.
From one generation to the next this legend is passed along. Randolph Paths, Randolph Old and New, other mountain guidebooks, and writings about Randolph and Coos County include versions of this tale of the Four Soldiers at Pond of Safety.
This ride was a good one from Joan Kelly's Fat Tire Cruiser list. It is a combination of familiar terrain (Presidential Rail Trail, Valley Road in Randolph and Jefferson) and some good dirt roads that lead up to a remote, scenic pond that harbors local lore, history and legend. Let's revisit this ride! It will be a new one for most of the Tuesday D+P riders! Last time it was done was June, 2010! Yikes!
There is a mix of surfaces. We start on the Presidential Rail Trail which is a mix of cinder, grass and hard packed dirt, some gravel thrown in here and there for you grind. It is in good condition for mountain bikes and hybrids. We then ride Valley Road, the paved parts have been repaved recently, smooth black velvet, the dirt parts are in good condition. When we intersect with Route 115, we will take a RIGHT and go for a short distance and take a left onto Stag Hollow Road. The road dead ends and we walk-bike up the highway embankment to cross Route 2, heading to Ingerson Road. We will now travel gradually uphill on a scenic dirt road with good views. We keep going on to Pond of Safety Road and end up at the scenic, historic little pond.
Hopefully the fall foliage will be at peak for our viewing pleasure. Hopefully there will be a mix of sun and clouds -- forecasts vary as to how much sun we will have, but all agree that the temperature will be pleasant, in the low 70's! Wow, don't overdress!
You have 2 options, the longer, first preference ride (30 miles) or a shorter ride option (22 miles).
For the longer ride: 9:30 start
The longer ride adds 4 miles of the Presidential Rail Trail in each direction. It is 4 miles of slightly up (1.5% grade) to the Castle Trailhead, but you get a 4 mile fun cruise down at the end of the ride. 30 miles total for the day.
Meet at the parking lot on the Presidential Rail Trail where it crosses Pinkham B Road (Dollly Copp Road) in Randolph. If you drive over on Pinkham B Road for Route 16 be aware that the paved sections are quite an obstacle course as compared to the dirt, which is smoother. Going around via Route 2 is less of an adventure. Meet at the parking area, ready to ride at 9:30 am.
For the Shorter Option: 10:00 start
Meet at the Castle Trailhead which is the height of land on Route 2 in Randolph. it is on the left as you drive west from Gorham, and is marked by a brown hiker sign. It is up the hill from Red's gas station and store. The shorter ride cuts out 8 miles total which might be an option if you don't want to cruise more than 22 miles.
Map: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28746796
Can't decide??? Half of the ride is a gradual uphill, the other half is a glorious easy cruise downhill. Only 15 miles of pedaling for a 30 mile total, good deal.
Carpool for the 9:30 start, 30 miler:
Meet at the JacksonXC and gold course parking lot, across form the J-Town Deli, at 8:40 am.
There is an interesting history of this pond, this info was copied form the Randolph Mountain Club:
The Legend of the Four Soldiers
The Name “Four Soldiers” comes from the days of the American Revolution. It is said that four Continental Army soldiers,William Danforth, Benjamin Hicks, Lazarus Holmes, and Capt. James Ryder, were captured by the British and then released under the condition that they would fight against them no more.
For fear of being arrested if they refused combat upon return, the four soldiers escaped and fled home to the North Country, finding their way to the remote pond, where they lived in safety for more than three years, until the war ended. At the war’s end, the four soldiers were exonerated of their charges of desertion and welcomed back to civilization.
From one generation to the next this legend is passed along. Randolph Paths, Randolph Old and New, other mountain guidebooks, and writings about Randolph and Coos County include versions of this tale of the Four Soldiers at Pond of Safety.
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