[Zman]

so i am in town around boston for a day tomorrow (friday) and was thinking of trying to get a ride in. unfortunately not from anywhere around boston so dont know the riding. i have heard that Vietnam was some good solid riding. anyway looking for up then down, not a lot of rolling stuff. if anyone has ideas, and most importantly directions that would be awesome. or maybe even up for hooking up for a ride in the afternoon taht would be sweet. either PM or post. thanks for the help.

 

[Rip]

Pm Splat.

 

[splat]

Where in Boston are you ?

Vietnam is in Milford MA , I495 + rt85 ( 8 Miles South of Mass Pike )

 

[berkshire_rider]

so i am in town around boston for a day tomorrow (friday) and was thinking of trying to get a ride in. unfortunately not from anywhere around boston so dont know the riding. i have heard that Vietnam was some good solid riding. anyway looking for up then down, not a lot of rolling stuff. if anyone has ideas, and most importantly directions that would be awesome. or maybe even up for hooking up for a ride in the afternoon taht would be sweet. either PM or post. thanks for the help.

Splat is definitely the expert guide for 'Nam.

If "looking for up then down, not a lot of rolling stuff" = DH or lift-type riding, you aren't going to find much of that. Vietnam and pretty much all of Mass. riding involves rolling - IE short quick hills that can be tough to climb, with rocks and / or roots, but there's generally a nice decent as a reward.

 

[Zman]

Splat is definitely the expert guide for 'Nam.

If "looking for up then down, not a lot of rolling stuff" = DH or lift-type riding, you aren't going to find much of that. Vietnam and pretty much all of Mass. riding involves rolling - IE short quick hills that can be tough to climb, with rocks and / or roots, but there's generally a nice decent as a reward.

yeah i know it is mostly rolling, but the least amount of rolling the better. i was spoiled out on the west coast. climb for 6 or 7 miles, descned for 8 or so. was awesome. looking forward to going back at the end of the month and getting to ride all over the west coast.

 

[berkshire_rider]

Try and get a tour from Splat. You won't regret it, and 'Nam is pretty flat. There aren't any major hills, just lots of rocks to play on.

 

[splat]

Unfortunatly I'm at work and can't really get out tonight

and tommorow I'm going to be riding Soapstone in CT

 

[splat]

Are you going to be around on Sunday ?

 

[Rip]

Well, if you can find your way to Concord, NH, I can take you to Fox State Forest in Hillsborough or the Hospital Trails in Concord.

 

[Zman]

the downside is that i am really only here today. i have to do the best buddies ride tomorrow, and go to a shop on sunday. but MAYBE later on sunday. not sure though. woudlnt count on it. but that is life

 

[dump]

why is it called "Vietnam?"
that name has always annoyed me.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

why is it called "Vietnam?"
that name has always annoyed me.

I think it goes back to the foggy past when some of the trails were originally established by motorcycle riders. Why would the name be annoying?

J

 

[splat]

why is it called "Vietnam?"
that name has always annoyed me.

well There are Many Variants as to where the name came from , but most all have to do with Vietnam Vets riding Motorcycles in there.

SingleTracks April 1999 #43

Why the heck is it called Vietnam
By Mark Jenks, White Mountains NEMBA

The year: 1988. The place: Jerry's Love Ranch, Bellinghan, MA.
The event: the year end harescramble ride/party.

I had received a flyer in the mail which consisted of a map of Vietnam with a large star marking Saigon. Printed on the map were the details of the FAHQ Racing yearend bash. There would be live music from the Gypsy Stretchmark Orchestra, food, and (of course) an epic ride.

The ride would be on a closed course so street legal registration would not be necessary. This was a good thing because it meant all the juniors could ride. There would have been big problems otherwise seeing as how they were an important part of the team. Plus, two of them had just won New England championships. We loaded up the motorcycles and food on Sat. night so as to get an early start. It's always so nice going through all the motions of a race day and know that we are riding just for fun. (The we I speak of is my son Derek and myself, as he was my motorcycle and bicycle riding partner for many years.)

Upon our arrival we are greeted by our host The Dinge Master alias Tim Dinge. He pulled me aside knowing my thing for tight single track and said, " you remember that cart road we use to pedal to the quarry?" I say, "yeah…" "Well, I cut a really nasty single track loop in there just for the ride today." We were all on motorcycles that day and the trail was brand new; tight and nasty just like Tim said. We had a ball. The ride was great as was the food. And the music? Well, it was strange but good….

I asked Tim about the name Vietnam and how he had figured out the loop. He had been out scouting on his x-c skis and thought that the area would make a great single track. In the spring he began pruning and building the trail. Over the next few years he kept adding bits and pieces to make what is known today in the bicycling community as the Nam. Without the powerline there is about 15 miles of trail. The name was thought up by a couple of Tim's motorcycle riding buddies; Pete and Jack of the Milford gang. They were the ones that put up the sign, Welcome to Vietnam. It wasn't until the 1989 yearend ride party that Cathy and I rode the Nam on our Mountain Bikes. That year the theme was a dual sport ride, meaning both bicycles and motorcycles.

The group was pretty evenly split with about 10 to 12 of each. The Mt. Bike loop was long, since it was laid out on a motorcycle. The hills aren't so big and the distance isn't as long on a motorcycle. Well, after about 4-5 hours one of our riding pals bonked so hard that he just wanted to lay down in the forest and take a nap. He told us not to worry about him. After riding through the maze pulling him along, we found a road. I called the ranch and talked to Tim. Of course I had no idea where we were but wanted him to come pick us up with a large van since some of the riders could ride no further.

That is how I remember Nam; a long nasty ride with people bonking. I haven't been back there for about 10 years. When I saw in SingleTracks last year that there was a NEMBA ride in the Nam I was surprised that any one knew of that place and asked Philip Keyes where they were talking about. What a small world. This is another good example of user groups working together to create a great trail and a great trail riding experience. By the way, the Dinge Master rides his mountain bike on it now as well.

there are a couple of things though that don't add up, where the single track they claimed to have cut , is no where near any of the quaries.

And these guys referenced from above.
http://www.fahq.com/

 

[jdcamb]

I like it there. Next time I will wear pads though. Bigger volume rear tire too. I ruined a new Conti Escape there. Splat stitched a good ride there. I'll be back soon....jdcamb