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All Photos by W3ATB

Tim W3ATB and I rode our bikes to Eagle Pond along the old rail route. We worked Hungary, Israel, Ukraine, Indiana, and Virginia.

We traveled along the old Northern Rail route about four miles. It’s 60F and a perfect spring day. We skirted back and forth across the Black River starting out in Andover.

We stopped at the covered bridge to enjoy the scenery and rest a bit. About a mile and a half from Andover is Potter Place. The local historical society has turned the old station into a museum.

The route is a perfect bike path. Railroad grades are very slight so there are no hills at all. We come to Eagle Pond after riding 40 minutes or so. It’s glorious. Blue sky, sparkling water and some good DX. I’m running the KX3 with a 33 foot wire. I operate mostly on 15M and 17M.

Here’s my log:

25 Apr-14 1855 21.010 HA9RT CW 599 599 Hungary
25 Apr-14 1900 18.076 EM90WF CW 599 599 Ukraine
25 Apr-14 1910 21.018 HA8FK CW 559 599 Hungary
25 Apr-14 1915 18.091 KA4RRU CW 559 599 VA
25 Apr-14 1922 18.078 4Z5IW CW 559 599 Israel

Tim is sitting about 60 feet away running an HB-1B and the Par End fed wire. He’s operating on 20M. He has a nice QSO with an Indiana station. Amazingly, we don’t interfere with each other even though we have parallel vertical wires in close proximity.

We pack up our gear for the return trip and stop several times along the trail. Our butts are sore and our muscles feel the exercise. We’ll be in better shape next time. We pass a few spots with telltale signs of winter. They’ll probably be gone next time too. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow.

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