Ride Page

Here you will find the reports of our exploits for the month April 2002 more or less as they happened. (Actually, I make all of this stuff up. We never do any rides and most of the people mentioned below are characters in a soon to be released Harry Peeper novel.) If you can make up better stories than me, please leave me a note at bikebob@crocker.com and you too can get yourself published on the web. Do you need any more incentive that that?
Glossary of Names used in these reports: ME (MaryEllen); Marcus P. Marcus, MPM (Marc Lombard); Black Beauty, BB (Marsha Martin); Timster, (Tim Fowler); Jorge, (George Katzar); His Majesty Jack, HMJ (Jack Spanbauer); Queen Nancy, QN (Nancy Spanbauer); Donna the Hon, DTH (Donna Golec); Star, (Dave Walker);  Georgie Boy. GB (George Bernegger); Little Bugger, LB (Casey Golec); JiT, Just-in-Time (Justin Golec); Homer (Michelle Hurley); Tywor (Tyler Golec); Service (Rod Perez); Ranger Rick; RR (Rick Manson); P. J. Wabbit; PJW (Penny Abbott)

Tuesday 4/2: Tonight was the last Tuesday MTB ride for the season. Next week we will begin the road rides and the MTB ride will be on Wednesday. A good sized group arrived at the shop at 6:00 to ride over to the Coke Plant. Along for the ride was PJW, Mark N., Chris Magoon, Freddy, and Liam as well as Joe and myself. After the shop closed Joe and I got ready and we left at 6:25 for the ride over to the Coke Plant. It was a warm spring evening and it was still light out when we left the shop. I rode with PJW, Chris and Freddy over to Gill Road and then we crossed RT. 2 and then headed up the trails for the truck turnout. PJW decided that she wanted to go out to the trails through the swamp, so I led the group out to the entry point. Joe, Liam and Mark had taken the trails behind Stop&Shop and they were going to meet us up on Luke. I rode into the woods and turned on my headlights and after crossing the brook I took the usual route out to Five Points. I did not stop at Five Points, instead I continued up the Ridge Trail to the top of the hill where I waited for the other three riders to join me. Soon after Freddy arrived we could see lights coming up the hill and so we waited for Joe and his bunch to pass before we headed off. I followed the group over to Luke and when I got to the rock at the bottom of the hill, I passed my three companions after they stopped on the rock. I rode up Luke to the water tank where Joe, Mark and Liam were waiting for me and the others to arrive. We waited for a while until all the riders had arrived and then we headed off to ride down the power lines. The trails were pretty much dry and ridable up to this point but when we got out to the power lines, we found that the four wheeled idiots had been out churning up the mud and we had to pick our way through the muck. We paused at the top of Red Rock to rest and then we headed down the Chute. Joe and his crew went down the Messed Up Trail while my group did a similar route, but we went down the road to Jack's Pond. PJW led Chris and Freddy up the hill to the top of the Hill of Doom while I went down to ride up the hill. When I got out to the road the group was waiting for me and then we all headed off to do Double Dip and the Streambed Trail. After we got to the half way point we turned off onto Deer Run and from there we all rode back to the Ridge Trail. I stayed behind and rode with Freddy all the way back to the top of the ridge where Joe and the rest of the riders were waiting. When Freddy and I got up to the hilltop the group waited for a couple of minutes before we all headed down to the swamp. We rode out to the trails behind Lillian Street and then back to the shop. It was a somewhat muddy ride at the end, but all in all it was a good ride.

Thursday 4/4: Tonight was a fairly cold night for this time and we had a small group for our trip over to the Montague Plains. Riding with me tonight was PJW, Homer, Chris Koh, Jack, and Rich Flye. We left town and headed up to the Telephone Pole Trail, which was dry for the first time in a couple of weeks. We did the usual route over to the Toilet Bowl and then we decided to ride over to the western edge of the plains and then take the long route up to Red Rock. We paused at the top for a few minutes before we continued on to Willis Hill. We made good time up and over the top and we soon were down at the bottom of the climb and then PJW took the lead and we headed for the BPT Trail, which PJW really likes to rip. We followed her over to the trail and then we took the usual route back to the start. We headed back to the cars after riding pretty steadily for 1-1/2 hours. I was tired out from it, that's for sure!

Sunday 4/7: It was a bright sunny but somewhat chilly day and only Homer and PJW showed up for the ride in Montague Center. I figured that everyone was still on the other time zone and that they would show up in an hour or so. The three of us did a quick lap around the Plains and then we headed for home. Today was PJW second ride on her new Razorback and since we lowered the air pressure in the rear shock, it actually moves. PJW was really flying on her new ride, it was tough keeping up with her.

Thursday 4/11: After a rainout on Tuesday, we were blessed with sunny skies and 60 degree temps for tonight's ride. I had three routes planned. The first route was a 25 mile loop down River Road that I was going to lead. For those who did not want to do that there was a 20 mill loop over Hillside Road in So. Deerfield and then HMJ took a group on a 16 mile trip down through Deerfield. I led the larger group of about 21 people down to Deerfield and after we got onto River Road the group split in two with myself and 10 others flying off on the first few hills along the route. To be continued

Thursday, April 11
Distance - 23.85
Average - 19.6
Ending Mileage - 473.0

This was the first Bicycles Unlimited Thursday night ride of the season. There was a pretty good turnout for the ride (15+ riders), and the weather was good. We started of South through town, then down Rte. 5 to River Road. The first few climbs on River Road really started to separate the people who had been riding a lot from the ones who hadn't been getting out enough. Bob must be needing the work at the shop, since he led us over a section of road that pretty much guaranteed that everyone would need wheel work after the ride. Two riders lost water bottles on this section, including one that exploded as it hit the pavement right in front of me, soaking my legs. The group came together a little when the road flattened out, then strung out one final time as we got into the last few climbs on River road. This is when I had my 'Why am I doing this?' moment, but it passed soon as the top of the hill came into view. Mark was the first to drop back with a flat. Jamie dropped off next, obviously cursing the number of Dunkin Donuts he had downed as Winter training. As I came over the top with one other rider, we could still make out the faster riders ahead, and several people still struggling up the hill behind us. We headed down the hill which was our reward for the climb. Bob was at the bottom with a flat, but knew better than to stop for him! Just after passing Bob, we sped by Rick Manson, who had lost his momentum from the hill. Heading down towards 116, we slowly caught up to one other solo rider who was able to catch a wheel as we passed. For the rest of the way to 116, then back to Mill River Road the three of us took turns on the front. I could feel that my reserves wouldn't last much longer, but kept pushing, knowing that I only had to hang on for another 5 miles. Coming into Old Deerfield on the farmland flats to the South, we got a good boost from a nice little hill which let us keep a pace of 22-24mph all the way into town. On the last little rise into town the two riders I was with stood to sprint up the hill, but all I had it in me to do was try to spin faster. Fortunately, I was able to catch up again as the road flattened out. Back on Rte. 5 into Greenfield, I had just enough energy to climb some of the side streets back into town, then we were on the final stretch. North of the Hospital, I was feeling a little bit of a recovery after taking it easy for a little bit, so sprinted the final half mile or so back to the shop.

Sunday 4/14: A small group showed up for a quick trip out to the plains. MPM, Homer, Jack, Kip, Rich Flye and myself did the loop all the way out to the water tank and then back to Willis Hill. It was a nice sunny day, a little cooler than the last few days, but it was fun anyway.

Tuesday 4/16: A large group showed up for the ride tonight due in some part to the 80 degree temps. We spit into three groups and headed out to do the Bernardston loop.
 

Wednesday 4/17: It was a really hot day today, but due to the large amount of work I had to do I wasn't able to do the ride tonight. I will try to get out tomorrow.

Thursday 4/18: The heat wave continued today and I went out on the ride with 38 riders. We left the shop and headed over to Turners Falls Road at a pretty mellow pace. I had about 20 or so riders with me and I

Thursday, April 18
Distance - 26.28
Average - 19.7
Ending Mileage - 571.4

Once again, there was a great turnout for this ride. Once group left on a shorter loop, while the larger group headed towards Turners Falls. The group held together well for the first 15 miles of the ride. The one problem I had was that the pace was very uneven. After pedaling like hell to hang on to the group for a minute, the next thing I knew I would be braking hard so I wouldn't fly by the riders in front of me. The peleton was very disorganized, with people riding all over the road and passing up and down the line in no particular order. I stayed with the main group until the major climb in River Road, then rode with Nancy for a while down the hills on the other side and along some of the flay sections. After the last climb, she stayed back with a few other riders, and I went ahead with one more guy who had come up from the rear. We passed by a small group containing roger and John just as we came back into town. John jumped on with us as we went by, and we rode back to the shop together.

Sunday 4/21: Went over to Montague and rode with Jon Parrot, Mavic John, Kip, PJW, Homer and Jack. We left the center of town and did a long loop up to Willis Hill and then back down to the Telephone Pole Trail.

Tuesday 4/23: I led a small group that included George Frick, QN, Rich Doherty, Ron Rancourt, Rob LaPointe, Jim Talbert, Sam Westover and Sheryl Cabral. We left the shop and headed over to Turners Falls on a cool, cloudy evening. We all stayed together until we got onto the Third Street Hill, where George made the mistake of trying to attack me on the hill. I picked up the pace quite a bit and got nearly to the top when Sam came around me and flew to the top of the hill alone. After the hill we backed the pace down a bit and waited for everyone to catch back on and then we all headed out to Millers Falls together. We kept the pace pretty mellow for most of the way out to RT. 63, where George and Sam started to push the pace a bit. This tended to string the riders out and I doubled back to the last rider to make sure that everyone turned at RT. 47 instead of Bull Hill. I rode along with Rob and we soon were back on line with all the riders. We rode through Montague Center and there we were joined by Jim Smith who was riding his mountain bike. Jim kept right up with us and he took the lead with George as we headed down Greenfield Road. Sam was not feeling good at this point so I went back and rode with him all the way to the end of the road, where the rest of the riders were waiting for us. After we made the left turn we headed across the Gen. Pierce Bridge and then took a right onto Mountain Road. This is a long steep climb which most of the riders were aware of. George was not one of those riders, and he tried to keep pace with Jim and I as we hammered up the hill. About a quarter of the way up the hill, Jim and I pulled away and we soon left the group behind. I barely beat Jim over the top (remember, he was on a mountain bike) and we then rode back to the shop to await the rest of the crew's return. Most of the group was only a few seconds behind and Sam came back a few minutes later, still feeling a little under the weather. I enjoyed being out on the rode with the group and I hope that we get a few more rides in this week.

Wednesday 4/24: A small group showed up at the shop for our ride to the Coke Plant tonight. Along for the ride tonight was Homer, Jack, Rich Flye, Mark C., MPM, Liam and Joe. We rode over to the trails in one group  and when we got to the truck turnout we paused to pick a route. We decided to stay together and take the less muddy route up to the water tank. I led the riders over to Five Points and then up the hill to Luke. We re-grouped at the water tank before heading out to the power lines. As we were riding along we noticed that many of the trees we marked with blue paint, which usually means that there is going to be logging activities out here soon. I hope not, the last time the town had loggers in here they made a huge mess of the place that took us years to fix. After we got to Red Rock we decided to take the Chute down to the Messed-Up Trail. We then rode over to the Hill of Doom, which very few riders made it up on their bikes, and then we continued over to the Orchard Trails. It was a nice night to be out on the bikes and we all enjoyed the evening in the woods. We finished the ride by taking the Cellar Hole Trail out to Lillian Street. We then took the usual route across the highway and then we rode back to the shop. It was a nice night to be out on the bikes.

Thursday 4/25 and Sunday 4/28 we did not ride due to rain.