Riding The Trails Where I Started Mountain Biking

Our trails at home are closed for the season, so I took a trip back to Drummer Hill for a bitter cold ride. These are the trails where I first learned to mountain bike on. I worked on many parts of these trails, but these days, some of the old lines are barely used.
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#mountainbiking #DrummerHill #MTBpov

[@SkillsWithPhil]

Here's a behind the scenes on how I edited this video from Start to Finish kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYPdlYlqgL5_iq8

[@Anotherfunnyword]

I love when Phil says "It doesn't look that bad on camera." and I feel like I'm always like, "Um..."

[@shanemurphy7264]

Yeah, it looks pretty sketchy on my screen 😯

[@Gliese710_]

He could be hitting the hardline road gap and say “it looks kinda small on camera”

[@ANTheWhizkid]

Perfect time for a break, a coffee and some virtual biking with Phil! Thanks for the upload.

[@SkillsWithPhil]

I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for watching :)

[@kobywhitehead9794]

At the moment Phil is easily my favorite KZbinr. I love the way he talks over the riding, the way he talks it feels like it's directly to you and really makes you feel like you are riding with him. One day I dream to have a channel like Phils and hopefully even be just as good as him at riding. I really hope that you continue to produce awesome content and keep shredding!

[@SkillsWithPhil]

Wow, thanks! :)

[@topspot4834]

What a great spot to learn how to ride. Little bit of everything with the perfect amount of sketch!

[@bwompy1294]

My hometown and my favorite local trail. Drummer is fun.

[@topspot4834]

_"That may be icy."_ Phil: _"Yeah. Want me to lead?"_ LOL what a LEGEND 🤣❄️👌

[@crashhole83]

Cool seeing the old bike still being used properly.

[@gratefulhikes]

Nothing like New England riding! Amazing seeing NH in winter with zero snow! What a gift. Thanks for another great video. Be well Phill 🙏

[@rbrt2130]

@9:27 Ian's second "Oh Wow!" cracks me up! haha Sounds so authentic

[@scotchvelo]

My local trails. Good to see ya back in the neighborhood, Phil.

[@samtomm]

I watched the video about pillows and cradles too!! And a lot of them take place in Keene! So cool thanks Phil

[@willbros1499]

Trails were sick! Loved all the little drops to keep it interesting. When you would stop and look at the ground, it was amazing how much the trail was littered with roots and rocks that the GoPro just does not pick up! You're half crazy for trusting there not to be ice on any of those rocks where you were taking off and landing, but it was definitely entertaining to watch!

[@chrisg5107]

So effortless when he rides always looks like he’s having fun. He’s also very likable which is why everybody loves this channel and loves watching his videos… makes you wanna ride

[@hart5745]

I see that you've also seen "Reading the Forested Landscape." As soon as I saw you pointing out that stilted tree I had a good laugh. I live in Swanzey so I ride Drummer pretty often. It was cool to watch Tom Wessels video especially since Part 1 was right around Goose Pond. I really enjoy watching other folks ride Drummer and seeing their line choice and how they approach some of the features. I need to hit up Ian to find that wooden drop. Anyways, great video!

[@T-rick]

Those trails look killer. Love all the rocks!

[@madhessian8338]

I was lucky enough to learn the "old lines" at Irish Hill when riding with someone who has been riding there forever, he kept leaving the trail and hitting these cool natural features, and I eventually asked how he has such a good eye for spotting such cool features on the fly...and he told me, "well that's the old trail, no one really takes the time to hit any of it anymore, everything's gotten shortcutted over the years." Very cool to hear you talking about how places/trails change over time, maybe a good idea for future videos??

[@alexdrouin8168]

Thank you for the great videos I really enjoy watching them. Drummer is awsome!!

[@blueengel68]

I liked that you provided the bike description and travel stats. Nice touch.

[@STcolin]

Always a sweet feeling visiting those first trails you learnt on. Love your videos Phil, just subscribed. Need to go find your learn to jump video.....👍

[@stumpy25lbs]

I just love everything about your videos Phil 🙏🏼

[@martinrupp3919]

Great home trails. Amazing.

[@CharleneMosherC]

This awesome. I have been wanting to get there to ride Drummer Hill. I’m in Nashua NH. Thanks for showing me. 🤙

[@owenkennedy7854]

Ok. It’s on the list now. Incredible place.

[@kcalla56]

Miss riding here in the KSC days. these were my first trails too! Would be great to go back after seeing how many trails I overlooked!

[@a_barn0875]

Man I love your videos I wish I had a mountain bike so I could shred like you man keep it up

[@MotoModzofficial]

nice to see some real mountian bike videos. I like your style. I love doing that stuff. Very fun. I want to start doing that stuff on my channel. Got lots of bike repair videos though. Keep on ridin'' buddy!

[@stinthedude]

🤙another rad vid as always thanks phil

[@paulc7551]

that first person footage makes it looks sooo easy, I'd be walking three quarters of that stuff, Phil just gaps rocks and boosts over anything, epic. "I don't crash on my bike, I crash on my feet"- I wish.

[@TheBounciestBooty]

this looks so chill and relaxing (: deadly spot

[@HerbsmanRevs]

Good spot, good company, good vid 👍 cheers Phil

[@xavier9177]

Sweet video man🤘🏽🔥

[@garyharmon5386]

Enjoyed the video and the video on how you edit them.

[@noah_kress]

the gopro effect does drummer no favors, that canon stump is truly and properly gnarly! we all miss having you in Keene Phil!

[@larrysilverstein8558]

I love you saying what bike youre riding for the day. Also "best mountain bike skills downhill BMX bike riding crazy fast" for your algorithm :)

[@mattwilson5092]

I'm way impressed with how much Ian has progressed.

[@zachariahelias6946]

Your videos make my day.

[@bensfishing3387]

Love your videos

[@Wilderness_Recon]

New England Forests is a great channel to check out if you are into reading the woods. It's definitely one of those channels that are right for that type of stuff. Just saying lol another awesome upload man. 👍

[@ianbresnahan1808]

Exactly what he was referencing! Great content from Tom Wessels.

[@beerenmusli8220]

Awesome Video!!!!

[@LVCMTB]

nice video, nice trails !

[@vchic33]

Classic northeasterner wearing shorts in the middle of January lol. Cheers from Oklahoma! Love your videos.

[@ianbresnahan1808]

😂😂🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

[@andrewmitchel4133]

Awesome to have great local trails. As Phil said, you can't take them for granite...

[@mtbville]

Sweet vid Phil 🤘🔥

[@zsanterre]

Can't wait to get back up there

[@mybadvideos]

Good technical trails. Got there today with my rigid fat bike. In the wet. Was a workout. More like Millstone than Kingdom Trails

[@surfjax23]

Had no idea you were from Keene! My sister lives there and it’s such a cool little New England town I love visiting up there. Will have to bring the bike next time!

[@gavinrogers2922]

Found this channel a few weeks ago because I've been playing Riders Republic and I watch a video as soon as I got home from work

[@timross5324]

Chuncky ,nice ridin man

[@CharleneMosherC]

Dude wearing shorts! Impressive in this temperature. I would be frozen lol

[@halfgeek1394]

I've thought about the reason why the ground is so much rockier and sandier over the river, for quite some time now. I used to ride a lot at Ascutney, Pine Hill, Boston Lot, and now mostly in Woodstock, and they're all a little different. The main difference I noticed is soil density- and New Hampshire has much sandier soil than Vermont. There could be a couple reasons for this, and the most recent one would be that the Upper Valley was carved out by the destruction of an ice dam during the last Ice Age. Massive amounts of soil and rock deposits were transported from the Northeast Kingdom and Quebec and were dumped along the Connecticut River valley, eventually creating Long Island. This could have dumped more silt onto the New Hampshire side of the valley, since the extinct Volcano Mount Ascutney probably diverted much of the force towards the east. While this force destroyed most significant mountains on both sides of the river, Vermont's glacial valleys are still visible up Route 14, 12, 100, and 110. My guess is Vermont had more consistent ridgelines, which caused more of the rock to deposit on the east side of the river, and led to the torrent removing more topsoil from the eastern side of the valley. It is still rocky here, but nowhere near as technical as the terrain just over the Connecticut. The other reason I could imagine the terrain is so different is due to the composition of the soil. Vermont has a lot more clay than southern New Hampshire, which indicates that it was above sea level and a part of a continental landmass for a very long time. New Hampshire was probably formed during the creation of Pangaea, where the ocean floor rose between Africa and North America to create the Appalachian mountains. For example, most of New Hampshire's tallest peaks are devoid of trees due to the lack of soil, and from what I know both states had similar clear-cutting policies until relatively recently, so the fact that Vermont's hilltops remain green stands as proof that it has more dead plant matter, roots, and clay in the soil, which kept the wind and rain from taking it away. Anyway that's just a rant by someone who is interested in geography and geology, but didn't go to school for it so who knows if there's any truth to it.

[@5erTurbo]

Guy is running shorts during winter, respect :D

[@Friskee62]

That was great....

[@haileysarausky571]

I've looked up the question about why VT and NH soil and rock are so different. This VPR article basically answers it www.vpr.org/programs/2017-09-08/how-has-the-geology-of-vermont-affected-its-character ..." About 400 million years ago, Vermont and New Hampshire were far apart, separated by an ocean. Vermont was at the edge of a supercontinent called Rodinia, right up to the state’s eastern border, about where the Connecticut River now lies." ..."land masses drifted towards what’s now Vermont - and then slammed into it. And that’s what created the eastern section of New England, including New Hampshire."

[@user-gj8mn4ce8d]

Have to make it out there to ride someday. Live in Alberta now but tend to forget about the North East Mtn ranges and what they have to offer. Rocky’s here are unbelievable but like that janky landscape in the N east

[@freethommy]

17:04 that was a good portion of luck my friend ...

[@Chach412]

I have the 2020 sensor and that thing handles alottttttt for the travel and climbs wicked good…this vid makes me wanna take a rip up to keene and check it out, sick vid man!

[@SkillsWithPhil]

I love my Sensor. It's the bike I ride the most TBH, but most of my videos show me riding the Force.

[@Chach412]

@@SkillsWithPhil I’m currently building up the new force now!! I’m sure I’ll see ya at the east coast mountains!

[@Jameshelms13]

because those are my absolute favorite

[@acexprt]

not sure if the bike specs are in every video and i havent been noticing them, but if they are a new addition i love it!

[@SkillsWithPhil]

First time I've added it, thanks for noticing and saying something :)

[@tatumthetater-tot9556]

Love the video! I am looking to hit that Jump road gap thingy. How hard is it? And do you know how big it it? Any tips on it?

[@TheAsbrooks]

The trails look nice and clean in the sense no sloppy mud to contend with. Riding this time of year in the UK we spend more time cleaning our bikes than riding them lol

[@SkillsWithPhil]

The temperature was below freezing around 20F out which is around -6C. The trails are frozen solid, so you actually don't get too muddy this time of the year. It also means the dirt feels really weird and it doesn't grip as you would normally expect.

[@TheAsbrooks]

@@SkillsWithPhil I was watching and longing for those days when I'm not covered from head to toe in mud lol..

[@JohnsTrainVideos]

Hey Phil, have you ever ridden that quasi-secret trail thats a bit away from the FOMBA trails in Auburn? It a very interesting, not super well used trail.

[@TheIggyTech]

Man I would've killed to have these trails to begin mountain biking on. I had some super rooty XC trails with *zero* flow T_T

[@aaronridesmtb5301]

Will you ever come down to Rhode Island and ride diamond hill or Lincoln woods. Willem cooper ,who I believe you two were on the same race team, has done a lot of trail building out here

[@BikingwithJP]

3:05 that stump jump needs to be classified as a natural wonder of the world! 🤘

[@SidiNic]

Actually scary on video aswell 😅

[@BikingwithJP]

@@SidiNic agreed - it would be easy to get bucked off that for sure!

[@ianbresnahan1808]

It is seriously gnarly….

[@griffinhawks1102]

Lov the vid keep it if you see this tell my dad I need a full suspension

[@jojoaspi7398]

Ice!... Ice!... Ice!... 🤣

[@MTBwithMiguel]

Phil, how many tokens do you use on your Zeb, if any? Sounds so dialed for your riding. Thansk

[@rad44rr]

You should add a letterbox on the drop! lil pocket for notes/signs from people who've ridden there over the years!

[@indorider]

Pho Keene Great!

[@SkillsWithPhil]

Ha! How is that place? It wasn't around when i was living there.

[@indorider]

Great question Phil. I've nevet eaten there. I just know of two famous things from Keene and they both have names that are frequently mis-pronounced!

[@meirnarum2887]

Just in time for my lunch today

[@krisduttxx]

I wouldn't mind if you made a 4 week build into a 2 part video! :)

[@parks_whalen]

you should ride cedar vaily in charlotte nc

[@lewiswilton3251]

We should make a video facts with Phil hahaha

[@alcosamwel]

phil '' this is the first trail i ever rode a mountainbike on'' that looks way more gnarly than any trail i have ever riden

[@TheRicardoSanchez]

....... there are a few trees immediately following that cut-off stump booter..... I would George of the Jungle any of them.

[@johnsonjay60]

🤙

[@nejcpetric2732]

Hi i have a question. What bottle cage and bottle are you using? Great video

[@SkillsWithPhil]

It's a Lezyne Flow bottle cage.

[@nejcpetric2732]

@@SkillsWithPhil what about the bottle. Lezyne flow?

[@jamesbauman7836]

Noice

[@grantbauroth8209]

Awsome videos! Do you know any bikes I can buy under 1,000 that have full suspension or a good bike?

[@bananaguns9892]

You aren’t really going to get anything full suspension unless you buy used off of a site like Pinkbike and buy an older model. You also could check out you locally bike shop but i doubt they would have one. Your best option is a hard tail and i would recommend either going to a bike shop or getting a used one. If you wanted to buy one new i believe Norco has some for under 1000 but i don’t know how good they are. I have a friend who rode a specialized rockhopper and he could hit anything on his 100mm travel hard tail.

[@cf6174]

Just fyi cheap full suspension is a horrible idea always

[@PiningAway462]

What size bike does Phil ride and how tall is he? The bikes hes on look small. Im 5"7 just test rode a medium sized Roscoe 8 and it felt huge but I've never rode a mountain bike before so what do I know

[@EZ-Videos]

What is the difference between Sketchy and Gnarly?

[@anthonylistro4975]

just realized i live 25 minutes from this place and now i’m omw

[@Just_N3R0]

i have an question is an transition 450tr downhill good?

[@melrosemelrose6567]

Yes

[@digvt]

For those of you interested in Phil's comment on the stump, check out Tom Wessels videos on the New England forest at: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJSvgq1jpLdpqdk

[@scotchvelo]

Tom Wessels, a local legend in his own right.

[@228ashbash]

Hey Phil, quick?. Do you prefer flats or clipins on your bike?

[@SkillsWithPhil]

I ride in flats, so I think that should answer your question :)

[@shanesmith2008]

how does keene have no snow, im live 30 minutes from there and i got like 2 ft

[@Adoogin]

Are you a fan of Tom Wessels too? 😆

[@SkillsWithPhil]

Yes! ian is the one who turned me onto his stuff. He actually he teached (teaches?) in Keene and part of his videos about reading the woods were filmed at Drummer hill, but over on the goose pond side I beleive.

[@willbros1499]

You know I'm usually your biggest fan, and while I still watched of course, the camera angle was a little low on this one, and it clipped the horizon just enough that it was uncomfortable to watch....queasy. I'm hoping that wasn't intended, and it's not something new moving forward (maybe not in superview?) In the meantime, LOVED the interactions in this one, and that's one of the things I love about your channel...you keep it real, and don't make it all about you. Keep 'em coming....but with a little higher camera angle please sir, so I don't yack! LOL

[@SkillsWithPhil]

Yeah I'm fully aware. I can't do anything about it after the video has been recorded. It is what is is. The camera got knocked off its normal angle. I have a mark on my mounts that has the perfect angle, but maybe I didn't tighten the thumbscrew enough or something or I was in a rush, but the camera ended up pointing lower than I'd like.

[@willbros1499]

@@SkillsWithPhil ... Yep, been there, done that. I figured it was something super minor, and I watched it start to finish anyway man. Hope the comment wasn't taken critically...and thanks for replying back to ease my mind that this wasn't an intended change. As you know...I follow all the top YT'ers, and I look to your footage as the gold standard!

[@matthewkramer6444]

🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@Deafrant]

They do call NH the granite state for a reason

[@andrewfiertek5937]

How is it that Keene has less snow than CT?

[@SkillsWithPhil]

Not sure, it's been a weird year to say the least. Keene can be hit or miss with snow. There's a reason why I stopped snowboarding when I lived there but have picked it back up now that I live in vermont. We have 12-14 inches of snow in our yard and we aren't that far away TBH.

[@paytonissteezy]

Early gang! Hi Phil 👋

[@traden6917]

ayo

[@Jameshelms13]

will we still get to see build videos?

[@SkillsWithPhil]

I have some projects that I started this summer but I didn't feel like they felt finished. So yes you will but only when I feel like they're ready.

[@Jameshelms13]

@@SkillsWithPhil okay, awesome no rush or pressure, do what feels right

[@ktvlm3987]

does that drop count as a skinny? 😂

[@sapinva]

Is it 60 degrees there? Your buddy is in shorts.

[@SkillsWithPhil]

It was like around 20. My hands were frozen.

[@D0ra_]

First to comment

[@thomasamos4055]

How is he wearing just shorts??

[@SkillsWithPhil]

having done this before your legs somehow don't notice too much. It's mainly your upper body that needs to stay warm.

[@thomasamos4055]

@@SkillsWithPhil it's mainly the naked padless knees I think. I can wear shorts as long as I've got long socks on.. but he looks underdressed to me

[@joecanuck3751]

Am I the only guy that would have stopped and moved that rock at 6:41?