Bike Ride in East Andover
June 2014

It was a perfect day for a bike ride. I went to East Andover and rode
on the old Northern Rail route. It's now a bicycle path. I rode east
for nearly two miles and stopped at a small brook. I worked England,
Italy, Russia, France and Germany.



It was 80F... warm and balmy. The air was fragrant with early summer
flowers. Dandelions in seed lined the trail. Soon I came to a bridge that
crosses Sucker Brook. I stopped.



To the north lay a sprawling valley and a marshy area. It's a perfect spot because the wind coming
from the north kept the mosquitoes at bay. I never got bitten.



Conveniently someone has placed a picnic table right by the brook. I set up here. I tossed a 33 foot
wire over a pine branch and used the Elecraft KX3. I started out on 20 meters.



There are several events going on today, so there's plenty of activity. There's
a field day for Europe, some D-day events and the Alabama QSO Party.
My first station was IZ3GOA, Sergio in Italy. We exchanged quick 599s.
I worked seven stations in barely 15 minutes. Here's my log:

7 Jun-14 2036  14.001 IZ3GOA  CW 599 599 Italy 
7 Jun-14 2042  14.018 R7AB    CW 599 599 Russia  
7 Jun-14 2045  14.040 K4HAL   CW 599 599 ALA  
7 Jun-14 2046  14.011 DM3C/P  CW 599 599 Germany    
7 Jun-14 2049  14.021 IQ0PG   CW 599 599 Italy  
7 Jun-14 2050  14.031 G6YB/P  CW 599 599 England  
7 Jun-14 2052  18.070 TM70BBC CW 599 599 France  

With this I pack up the gear and ride back to the car. This is a place I visit often
in the summer. There are many excellent spots to stop and operate along this
section of the trail.