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22 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Rolling down Cipperly Road, I crane my neck and hunch down over the steering wheel, searching for the end of the vast, freckled sky that stretches out over the valley. A deep powder blue, with the glare of the li le sun blinding me as it drops down past the velvet mountains that surround Cipperly Farm. No ma er how many green lights I make or me I gain on my drive in, I give it all back as soon as I pull onto this li le gravel drive. I creep along, inspec ng every detail of the beau ful New York countryside, star- ry-eyed and in total disbelief that these lucky people get to wake up to this scene every morning. It's early September, and the apples sit plump on the sagging branches. The suckers shoot from the dead- wood like wild hair, giving the trees a ghostly, wicked look—a stark contrast to the cows grazing in the gold- en patches of pasture in the background. The Septem- ber breeze blows s ff, and I can feel the icy clutches of fall as I pass into the general parking area. I've got a fight to pick with Mother Nature. This is the me of year that should be blessing us with heav- en-like dirt—why is everything covered in a gri y film? My hands are raw from cleaning air filters, and I'm running out of lungs. I offered up my services as a sweeper for the weekend, and the club agreed. I swept this event last year, and you wouldn't believe the number of parts I carried out of the woods—most of which were my own, but at least I looked like I was doing something. The Stateliners have it a li le too good some mes; I figured they'd want the extra burden. I haven't been riding much this summer, and it was pre y apparent Saturday morning during the Pee Wee races. I was the vic m of a stretch of grasstrack that snakes along the hillside. A fresh blanket of glossy dew turned it into a makeshi slip 'n' slide, and I washed out instantly as I grabbed a handful of front brake. I picked up my bike in embarrassed laughter as a mother filmed her six-year-old son riding by me. Thankfully, the kids handled the track like experts, which made my job easy. I don't know how many PWs I could've pushed up those hills. NETRA Round Ten NETRA Round Ten Stateline Riders, Hoosick Falls, NY Stateline Riders, Hoosick Falls, NY By Gavin Bacon By Gavin Bacon Photos By Paul Bickford Photos By Paul Bickford