August 2005 Ride Report Page            
Here you will find the reports of our exploits for the month August 2005 more or less as they happened. Please note that the ride reports are the results experienced by the writer and not necessarily a reflection of all the rides. We have rides for all abilities but I only publish the reports that I receive. This means that if no one from the beginner rides send me a report, then you will not see that ride listed here. I will publish any ride reports or digital photos that I receive. Please send them to  bikebob@crocker.com and you too can get yourself published on the web! Go to the Ride Schedule link; You will find information about ride schedules and how the rides are run.

Monday 8/1: It was a hot, humid and somewhat stormy afternoon when the riders started to arrive at the shop for the BBQ trip to Dr. Nate's house. Tonight's ride also included a race between Grasshopper and Nathan. This was to be a throw down between the two titian's of the shop, and we all eagerly awaited this celebrity event. Shortly after 5:00 we got a brief rain storm that moistened the streets but did not last too long. As we neared the start time, I decided to do the ride along with any riders that wanted to join me. As we neared the start time the decision was made to scrub the BBQ in case there was a storm, so that Dr. Nate would not have to deal with 20 soaking wet riders in his house. (Many thanks to Bad Bob, who provided the tater salad as well as several other dishes, maybe next time!) With somewhat threatening skies overhead we headed out at 6:00 for the ride. We rode down Silver Street in a long single file line and I help some of the newer riders get a feel for riding in a line. The group got a little strung out on the downhill to Leyden Road but I managed to get everyone together after the turn. I went to the front to help Steve Aras with some hill climbing tips as we rode up the first of the rises on Leyden Road. After the first hill the group got pretty strung out, with Jorge Katzar, Jamie, Colin, Jen, Nathan, Steve and several others pulling out of sight. I stayed back to ride with Linda Chandler who was out on her new bike after a few rides on her own. Deb Kolpa, Paul and Bad Bob were also with us at as we headed down the hill past Leyden Woods, but Linda soon pulled away from them on the next hill. I assumed that we would re-group at Country Club Road so I headed on with Linda to meet up with the rest of the crew. Well, we rode along and spotted a few riders off in the distance, but we never saw the front group again. As we past Country Club Road I decided to continue on and try to catch up with the rest of the group. We caught up with Steve Aras and Grasshopper on the next climb and we rode together to the end of Barton Road. We stopped and waited for a couple of minutes to see if the trio behind us were coming, but when they did not show up right away, we headed on. (I thought that maybe Bad Bob might have hooked up with MaryEllen and gone on a different loop) The four of us rode together up RT. 5&10 to Bernardston and took the right onto RT. 10 to head for Gill. We rode along at a 16 mph pace and I gave some tips to the riders as we did. We made the turn onto Turners Falls Road and headed down the bumpy road to the Gill town line. After getting onto the smoother pavement we made good time going up the hill past the golf course and over to Main Road. We stopped briefly at Main Road to get a rest, but everyone was sweating buckets when we stopped, so we headed on down the hill. We rode across the Gill-Montague Bridge and then across the White Bridge back into Greenfield. After riding up the hill we arrived back at the shop where the rest of the riders were waiting for us. Although it never rained we got a little wet from the roadway, but everyone seemed to have had a good ride. After the ride was over it was determined that Nathan was DQ'ed for drafting and Grasshopper was penalized for riding too slowly. It was determined by the race officials that the event will be re-done at a later time.

Tuesday 8/2: It was 95 degrees outside this afternoon and with the wicked humidity it was pretty unbearable. By the time 6:00 rolled around the temperature had dropped into the high eighties but we still had the humidity. I picked a short but hilly route tonight so that it would not be to hard for the riders to do the ride. We left the shop at 6:10 with 19 riders and headed over to Turners Falls. The group stayed intact for the ride up the Seventh Street Hill and although some people dropped off near the end we were all able to get back on before Millers Falls Road. The pace was pretty mellow as we motored off to Millers Falls and the pack went on to Northfield in a long single file line. I was not feeling too chipper but I was comfortable staying near the front of the group. I wanted to keep with the larger group until the hill and then I was planning on pacing myself up the hill. All went well as we passed over the last of the hills on RT. 63 and we were speeding down the large breakdown lane when a rider ahead hit something in the road and I ran over it. My rear tire instantly went flat and I pulled off to the side of the road. As I was making the repair, Mini Bell, David Krolick, as well as Socks stopped. Many of the other riders who had dropped off earlier went by before I was able to make the repair. After getting the tire fixed I got back on and began a chase. I rode at 24 mph for a couple of miles before I realized that we were never going to catch up with the group again. When we got to Northfield Farms, I let Socks take over and he pulled down the hill to the left turn onto RT. 10. I then took over again and we rode across the river and up the hill towards Bernardston. As we neared the Gill town line we came upon Dave Minor and he joined our group. I towed the riders down RT. 10, with occasional help from Socks and the boys, all the way to Bernardston where Dave Minor took a right to head home. After turning left onto RT. 5, I led all the way to the turn onto Mountain Road. As we began the climb I fell behind Mini Bell and David Krolick, with Socks falling behind me. I rode up the hill at my own pace and when we got to the top of the first climb, the two boys were waiting for me and Socks. The four of us rode up the gradual climb to the Leyden town line where the hill get steeper. At that point, Socks dropped his chain, and the three of us continued on. We met up with Nice Kate as she was climbing the last section of the hill and I rode with her to the top of Frizzle Hill. We soft pedaled over the top and Socks hooked back on behind Kate for the descent. At the bottom of the hill I made the left turn and re-joined with Mini Bell and David. We rode easy until Nice Kate and Socks re-joined us and then we all headed down the hill to Greenfield. We kept the pace pretty high down Leyden Road and Nice Kate came off on the hill near Wright Farm. We slowed slightly and she was right back with us. We all rode together down to Silver Street and then back to the shop.  It was a hard ride for me but I was glad that I did it. (I do have to admit that there were a couple of moments that I considered not riding up the hill.)

Wednesday 8/3: I planned a MTB ride for the ridge tonight, due in part to the fact that Liam was not in town and I was not feeling up to leading a fast ride. At 6:00 I left the shop with Hammerhead Harold and Mark Newton to head up the hill to the ridge. I was at the back of the group and just hanging on as we turned off the pavement and onto the trails. It was a hot and humid night and I was thinking that I was going to get dropped right away. I got onto the steep part of the first climb and was able to ride up to the chimney without too much trouble. Mark was behind me and I slowed to let him pass so that he could make a run up the next climb. When I got to the climb I was feeling pretty good and I was able to ride up most of the hill (pretty slowly, but I rode it) until I picked a bad line and slipped on a root. We were all sweating buckets as we continued on towards Poet's Seat. We stopped at the top of the hill near the tower, to remove a fallen tree from the trail before heading for the Yellow Dot Trail. When we got down on the other side of the hill, we found many more fallen trees and branches, which we removed. I followed Mark and Harold for a little way, but they quickly dropped me on the descent. I caught up with them as they were circling in the parking lot. We crossed the road and headed into Temple Woods. I was able to follow Mark and Harold for most of the way (Harold crashed on the rocks before the last climb, so he ended up behind me) up to the turn at Sachem's Head, but after that it was all down hill, literally! I was suffering for the ride down to Bears Den Road and when the boys made the turn to head for the power lines, I took the short-cut through the woods and waited for them at the top of the hill. When the joined me again we headed down the hill to MPM's house where I began another suffer-fest ride back up the hill. I did notice that the new NEMBA bridges were really nice. They were well made and the route was much smoother than the original path that we took. After we got back onto Bears Den Road, I followed Mark and Harold back up the hill to Poet's Seat. From there we took the White Dot Trail back to the beginning of the trail. At this point, Harold suggested that we take a loop out to Mackin's and back. I declined and headed back to the shop, while the two of them continued on. I must say that it was a good ride, although I was pretty spent by the time I got back to the shop.

Thursday 8/4: It was another hot and humid day today (the third day of the heat wave) and I was looking forward to an easy ride in the middle of the peleton. I planned a 38 mile trip down to Amherst for tonight's ride. We had 45 riders show up for the trip. We left the shop at 6:00 and headed over to Turners Falls via the usual route. The group got a little strung out on the hill up to Montague Street, but it all came together at the fire house. I stayed in the middle of the pack for the ride over to Montague Center, which is exactly what I needed to do. We cruised along with Baby Bell pulling the pack along at 27 mph. Just after we passed Hatchery Road, I saw Parrott swerve off into the grass and stop. He had a flat. I was not feeling good enough to be able to stop and help him get back into the group, so I stayed in the pack. Michelle offered to stop with him and she then turned around to help him. The rest of us continued on towards Montague Center. As we neared Mark Courtermanche's house, a large white SUV approached in the other lane. Suddenly we heard; YOU ARE ALL UNDER ARREST!! It was Chris Williams in his police cruiser and he waved as he passed us. We rode on for a short ways, when the white SUV pulled up next to me. It was Chris again. He rolled down the window and said that Parrott had two flat tires but only one tube. Chris asked if I had another tube and I told him I did. He then said that he would pull over up the road and pick up the tube. But before he was able to finish the sentence, I whipped out a tube from my back pocket and threw it through the window onto his lap. Chris smiled and headed off to deliver the supply to the un-prepared Parrott. The group continued on after that and we ripped through town and out onto RT. 63. Baby Bell did a good job of keeping the pace reasonable at the front, which allowed everyone to stay in the peleton. We blasted down RT. 63 at a 24 mph pace and I was able to stay in the middle of the pack and ride comfortably all the way to Amherst. When we got to North Amherst, I went to the front of the group to guide them thorough the traffic. I led the pack over to the traffic lights on 116 and then after crossing the highway, I retreated into the pack. As we neared Knightly Road, Socks came roaring out of the pack and went for the imaginary town line. There is no marker and no one else went for it, but Socks won by default once again. After that distraction was over, we headed for Stockbridge Road. I stayed near the front to make sure that the group took the correct turn. As we made the turn, I ran over something in the road and it made a loud thwacking sound as it hit the chainstays. I went to the back of the pack to see if I could dislodge it, but I wasn't able to get it off, so I hollered up to Baby Bell to wait for me while I stopped to fix the problem. At the RT. 47 stop sign I was able to make the repair in seconds and soon I was back in the group again. After re-joining the pack, the pace went back up to 26 mph and we hammered down the road to Sunderland Center. I was able to stay in the pack, but I was not able to help with the pace making. I was pretty thankful that there were enough of the Beermonter's as well as our homegrown bunch to tow me along. After getting onto RT. 116 we headed to Deerfield and then we took the Mill Village route back to RT. 5&10. After getting back onto the highway we pushed the pace back up to 28 mph and that set up the town line sprint which was won by Baby Bell. We rode the usual route back up to High Street and did a cool-down spin back to the shop. I was pretty tired when I got back, but I was thankful that we were all able to get back safely and it did not rain.

Monday 8/8: Hot and humid!! What a surprise, this has been a pretty tough summer and today was no exception. I had a group of 7 riders join me for a beginner ride to Deerfield. We left the shop and took the Hope Street route down to RT. 5&10 where we turned left to head south. I stayed near the front of the group to help the newer riders get comfortable with riding in a paceline. Nice Kate and Bob Rigby did most of the work pacing us along at 18 mph, which was a good pace for this group. Parrott stayed at the back with Jen because he couldn't do the pulls on the front, due to his advancing age. Paul Billings dropped off the pace near Old Deerfield and Deb Kolpa, who was having a hard time with the speed we were going at, dropped off a little further on. Deb decided to head back through Old Deerfield while Paul continued to follow the group. We rode down 5&10 to the butterfly museum where we stopped to wait for Tom and Paul. After they arrived, Paul decided to head back while the rest of us rode over to Hillside Road. I pedaled along with Tom and Kate and gave them some tips on climbing as we made our way over the hill to River Road. As usual, Parrott came flying down the hill ahead of us all, proving my axiom: The mass of the a-- is equal to the speed of the steed! When we got out onto River Road we formed a paceline for the trip down to 116 where we made a right turn and then headed to Sugarloaf Street. The speed went up a bit on Sugarloaf Street but everyone was able to stay in the pack and we soon were out onto Mill Village Road. I rode in the middle of the pack over to the hill where Nice Kate and Bob took the lead down the hill. We kept a pretty brisk pace all the way to Main Street where we took it at a little easier pace over to the highway. After getting out onto 5&10 we took the usual route back to the shop where we finished the ride with a 17mph average.

Below is an email that I received  from Ellen Martyn
Hi Bob,
    I just got back from a week of riding in Prince Edward Island with 8 women - 6 from Oregon (that I met on some hikes out there) and 2 of us from VT. 4 of us drove up and one, from Oregon, left her wallet in New Brunswick at the last gas station there. We discovered it missing in PEI and we had to return over the 13 mile bridge, pay the $39.50 toll and drive an extra hour to get it back. When we got back to the station, the people there said they had our license plate number and a picture of our car! It wasn't from a surveillance camera but from someone who loved the Bob is Fat bumper sticker and taken a picture with his digital camera!
    Once we got on our rental bikes, we started riding about 40 miles a day. Our tempo was slowed somewhat by the 7 flats in 5 days - 5 of which (one per day) was on Berta's bike. The group had all seen our bumper sticker back in Charlottetown and we started calling out "Berta is fat!" each time it happened. Fortunately, Berta is a 70 year old former Californian with an incredible sense of humor and a non- stop mouth (but we still love her). On our way to the airport today, the other 2 Oregon women were in my car. They are going to drive the 25 miles to Berta's house and sneak the bumper sticker onto her car. You can be sure that within a week or two, anyone who sees Berta and her car will hear the whole story, detail by detail. None of us are talking about how it got there but her laugh will probably be heard all the way back here.

Thanks for your part in making our trip a laughter-filled one. (By the way, never rent bikes like the ones we got.)

Ellen

Tuesday 8/9: It was still pretty hot today, but not as humid as it has been for the last few days, so I planned on a ride to Conway because it is usually cooler up there. There was 17 of us as we headed out of the parking lot at 6:00 to ride down to Deerfield. We took the Russell Street route down to 5&10 where we all crossed together and headed south. I somehow ended up at the front of the group for the run into Deerfield, but as soon as we got across the bridge, I pulled off and headed for the middle of the pack. We rode through Old Deerfield at a 22 mph pace with Jim H., Ron, Baby Bell and a few others doing the work on the front. After making the turn onto Stillwater Road the pace continued at 23 mph for the run up to the bottom of the climb. I stayed near the front of the pace for the first half of the hill and then faded to about seventh place over the top. I must admit that I was pretty cooked when I crested the hill, and I drifted back into the group that followed me. I wasn't able to help with the work in this group, so I sat in while Bruce Rogers, Curt and Harold did the pulling. We gathered the remainder of the riders into our group before we made the turn onto Rt. 116 and we all headed up the hill to Conway. I was still suffering as we rode up the bottom part of the climb, but I was able to hang onto Chris Williams's wheel on the steeper sections, and I crested the hill with five riders. I found out that Walter, Gary and Lauren had dropped off the pace and were going to continue at their own rate. When Curt and I got to the turn onto Whatley Road, Jamie, Socks and David Krolick were still behind us. I had the group go at a modest pace to see if they would make contact, but by the time we got to the swimming pool they were still out of sight. At this point I decided to go back and see if I could pace them onto the group. I asked Curt to wait up at the top of the hill and then I turned around to head back down the hill. I only went a short way before I saw Jamie coming up towards me. I turned around and got in front to begin the pull to the top of the hill. I worked hard to the top of the hill and then I had to pull off to get some rest. Jamie took over and soon we were all working short pulls on the front to catch the group ahead of us. As we went past Cricket Hill Road, we spotted the pack ahead of us, soft pedaling. We quickened our pace and soon  we caught up with them. The group started to work together, which gave me a chance to rest, because I was really riding on the rivets at this point. As we headed down the final descent,  Harold was pulling and I was right behind him. When Harold pulled off the front, I picked up the pace to about 28 mph so that we could carry some speed into the last hill up to the reservoir. As we neared the bottom of the hill I was really surprised to see Socks come flying by me, heading for the town line. He had gotten dropped on the climbs, gotten pulled back into the group, and yet he had enough energy to sprint, surprising to say the least. Anyway, it was to no avail as my faithful lieutenant, Curt, jumped on his wheel (he shushed me as he passed me) and took the sprint. Go Curt!! After that excitement we started the last hill to the reservoir and we caught a glimpse of the lead pack. I pushed hard over the top of the hill and ripped down the other side behind Curt and Bruce. We got back onto the front pack (they slowed up on the rolling hills after the reservoir) just before the turn onto Haydenville Road. After we got onto Haydenville Road, Curt and I took the lead for the rip down the steep little hill. Curt was flying and I glued onto his wheel as we neared 45 mph. The group stayed together on the next climb and we all got down to the Whatley Inn together. It was decided that we would take River Road back home, so we rode down the hill on Christian Lane, across the highway and then made the left turn at the grammar school. We rode north to the Deerfield town line sprint, which was won by Parrott, and then we crossed 116 to begin the journey to Greenfield. I rode near the back of the group and really was just hanging on as we climbed over the three hills. I was able to keep up with the group, but I did not have anything to contribute to the work of pace making. After we got to the end of River Road we made the right turn onto the Cheapside Bridge, where there was a sprint for the town line. I was too far back to see what happened, but I heard that Baby Bell took the sprint. We rode back the usual route up Hope Street and I spun easily back to the shop. It was a pretty hard ride for me as I have been working too much lately, but all in all, I had a really good time and I was glad to have made the effort.

Wednesday 8/10: It was a MTB ride scheduled for tonight and Liam had a requested that we do a Wendell ride so that's what we did. I left the shop at 6:00 and headed for Wendell with Dakota riding with me in the van. I had thought that there would be some beginners to ride with when we got to Wendell, but we were instead greeted with Liam & Co. The riders that we there were quite a bit faster than Dakota and I was not up for a hammer session so Dakota and I went out on the beginner loop while Liam took the five other riders out for a longer/faster ride. Dakota and I did the NEMBA ride down past the pavilion and then out to Wickett Pond. We rode at a pretty steady pace for the most part but when we got out on Dirth Road, Dakota got dropped on the hills. We stopped at the entrance to the Wickett Pond Trail and I asked him if he was ready for some more single track. Although he was tiring, Dakota said that he wanted to do the trail, so off we went. We rode down to the pond and then followed the trail along the edge of the water before exiting at the boat launch. Dakota did very well on the trail but when we got out to Wickett Pond Road, he was done. We took the road back to the gate and then we took the Pine Tree Trail back to the swimming area. We stopped along the way to eat some of the blueberries near the path before we headed back to the start. It was a nice ride and we did a 75 minute loop which was just enough for me as well.

Thursday 8/11: It was still pretty hot and humid today, so I was surprised that so many riders showed up for the trip tonight. It was pretty busy at the shop with all of the usual work and then the people started to arrive for the ride. When all was said and done we had 55 riders for the two rides. My group had 39 riders while MaryEllen had the remaining 16 for her trip. We left the shop in a huge caravan of cyclists and headed for Turners Falls. I tried to keep a fairly low profile in the pack, which meant that I hid in the middle of the bunch for the ride up the hill to Montague Street. After riding near the back of the group I realized that we needed to split the pack so that we would not hinder traffic too much. At the end of Montague Street, I went straight across to the abandoned road and took that to Turners Falls Road, which sent me from the back to the front of the peleton. I waited for the front group to arrive and then told Baby Bell to turn up the heat and take some of the faster riders with him. I then dropped back and let Baby Bell do his thing. A group of about 12 or so riders went shooting off the front and soon they had a 500 meter gap. I rode along at the front of the second pack and we were cruising along at 25 mph. Even at that pace, the group ahead of us was pulling steadily away. By the time we got to the turn onto Ferry Road, Baby Bell and company were long gone. I was riding near the front of the group to make sure that everyone made the turn. After the turn we picked up a couple of riders who dropped off the pace of Bell's group. (We actually picked up several riders from the lead pack, but we lost the same number from our pack, so the number of riders stayed pretty constant at 25.) We got down the hill and out onto Meadow Road and then the pace went back up to the mid twenties. We kept the pace high all the way to the town line when a bunch of riders took off to contest the sprint. I was too far back and way too tired to even consider such a thing as a sprint. After the sprint, the group came back together and we all headed for the turn onto RT. 47. There was a police cruiser right at the intersection, which caused us to slow down more than usual, because we couldn't see the cars coming from the north. We made the corner in good shape and then rode to Sunderland Center. After we crossed the bridge into Deerfield we had a little argy-bargy with traffic on the crossing to River Road, but except for some blood pressure issues, everyone got across without difficulty. The ride down to Hatfield was a lot of fun. There were two town line sprints and generally no traffic to contend with and we were able to keep a steady 27mph pace for most of the way. After making the turn onto Chestnut Street we headed up the hill at a modest pace. The road is really rough near the end of the street and we all ended up spread out across the entire roadway trying to avoid the creators. After the group got out onto 5&10 we picked the pace up and the pack was strung out in a long single file line. There was a couple of anxious moments near the Ballet when cars coming from behind were trying to pass us while other cars were turning into that lane from side streets, but everyone behaved themselves and we made it through in fine order. As we neared the Deerfield town line I found myself at the front. I wanted to make sure that everyone saw the upcoming pot holes so I kept the pace at 23 mph. This did not suit Silko, Four Sticks and a couple of other riders and they went flying by me. I jumped in behind them and we all cruised through the traffic lights near Yankee Candle. Once we got near Channing Bete the pace went back up and the rest of the ride was a race to the Greenfield town line. I did not see who took the sprint, but there was a couple of near heart attacks when a dog ran out in front of the charging peleton. I slowed down and just barely missed hitting the dog. After getting back into town, I spun easily back to the shop with the group. We were led into the parking lot by our hero Roger, who was once again coaxed into doing the honors of sprinting the pack home. Way to go Roger!! After everyone got back to the shop there was much hanging about and the evening ended with many of the riders heading for Mesa Verde.

Sunday 8/14: No ride due to thunderstorms

Monday 8/15: We got rained out for yesterday's MTB ride and I thought that we would also get rained out today, but after a brief shower at 2:00 the sun came out and we headed off to do the ride. At 6:00 we had 10 riders for the beginner group. MaryEllen took Josie and Deb Kolpa on the Streeter's Store loop while I took the rest of the riders for a loop out to Gill and back. I had Tom Graney, Bob Rigby, Rodney Perez, Karen Hebert, Kim Ruddock and Linda Chandler. I led the group from the shop to Greenfield Road and I coached Karen and Kim on how best to descend a hill. Both Karen and Kim are new riders and this is their first time on a group ride. After getting over to Turners Falls we took a left at the traffic lights and then rode across the Gill-Montague Bridge. When we crossed the highway we encountered the first hill. I gave some pointers to the riders as we climbed the steep hill to West Gill Road. We re-grouped at the top of the hill before heading onto the next climb. When we got onto the hill, the group split in half with Bob, Linda, and Karen in front while the rest of us followed. I helped the riders get a comfortable climbing position and my bunch did well on that hill. We rode over the top and down the other side past the golf course where we got into a pace line. Linda and Kim were a little reluctant at first but they managed to stay with Rod and Tom on the next hill. As we crested the top of the hill, Tom went for the town line and he had just enough of a jump and I was in too big of a gear to be able to come around him, so he beat me in the sprint. (Come to think of it, I haven't won too many of these lately!) Anyway, after the town line we rode out to RT. 10 where the leaders were waiting for us. We stopped for a moment and I explained that we would try to ride in a double pace line down to Bernardston. I paired the riders up and then we headed off. This worked very well and by the time we got to Bernardston, the riders were getting pretty comfortable with the pace line. We made the turn onto RT. 5 and headed south in a single file line which the newer riders were now able to do very well. When we got to Barton Road we formed a double line and headed off to Country Club Road. After getting to Country Club Road we backed the pace off a bit and rode at a mellow pace down to Silver Street. As we were making the turn onto High Street we met up with MaryEllen and her group as they were returning to the shop. Everyone arrived back at the shop behind MaryEllen who sprinted ahead of me and the rest of the group to be the first into the driveway. It was a very nice ride and I think everyone had a good time.

Tuesday 8/16: It was a beautiful day with sunny skies, warm temperatures and low humidity. In other words as perfect a day for a ride as you can get in these parts. We had a group of 23 riders show up for the Leyden-Guilford ride. Roger had a group of 5 riders that left at 5:30 while the remaining 17 of us left at 6:00. I rode with Baby Bell for the first few miles, which kept the group pretty much intact until we got out to the hill on Leyden Road. As we got onto the early part of the hill the gaps started to open in the line and riders were jumping to catch onto Baby Bell and company. I rode at the back of that group until some more gaps opened ahead of me and I then decided to try to form a second pack. As I rode up the hill at an even tempo, I kept the Baby Bell group in sight until the last turn on the hill (about half way up). At that point there were two riders just ahead of me (Bruce Rogers and David Krolick) who were dropped off the lead group and no one behind me that I could see. I rode to the top of the hill and soft pedaled for a little way to see if there would be anyone joining me. After a little while, Bob Sagor came along and passed me. I jumped in behind him and rode along hoping that the group behind us would catch up while Bob and I  caught up with the two riders ahead. Bob Sagor stayed in the front while I kept looking over my shoulder for any sign of Curt, Jamie and company. After a mile or so, I realized that the Jamie and Curt were not going to catch us. As we neared the turn onto Brattleboro Road I decided that Bob and I would just go on to catch whoever was ahead of us. As we neared the intersection there was a tractor trailer stopped in one lane of the road and a large pickup truck in the other lane, with the two drivers standing between the vehicles, talking to each other. As we neared the intersection Bob started to slow down, so I told him to keep going and that there was enough room to ride past the truck. Well, Bob ended up riding off the road and into the grass while I stayed on the road. I was nearly past the truck when Bob started to come back onto the roadway. I slowed to let him by and he popped back onto the hardtop. He was right in front of me when suddenly his left foot came off the bike and he started to skid. I had no where to go as the pickup truck was to my left and there was a culvert to my right. I yelled to Bob to stay seated and then I grabbed his jersey to steady him. I gave him a little push which got both of us away from the truck and the culvert. Bob miraculously was able to stay upright and he skidded to a stop at the side of the road. At that point I was able to see that his crankset had come apart, with the left crankarm separating from the spindle and the right arm just about to pop out of the bottom bracket. I stopped just ahead of Bob and got off my bike to see what could be done to get him back on the road. As I was beginning to make the repair, Michael Beh and the West Hill riders came by on the other side of the road and hooted and cat-called to us as they continued on towards Greenfield. I was nearly done with the repairs to Bob's bike when Jamie, Curt, Socks, Walter and a couple other riders came along. They stopped and waited for me to finish the repair before we all headed off to finish the ride. I rode at the front of the group as we made our way to the Vermont line and we had not gotten too far when Curt came along side of me to say that Bob had dropped off. I went back to see if he was OK and he said that he was fine, just a little shaken by the experience, and that he would continue on. At that point I went back to the front of the group and we headed off for Vermont. At some point Curt and Sock went off to sprint for the state line and I ended up at the front of the remaining riders. I rode tempo down the hill and we caught the sprinters at the ice pond. We traveled a little ways further and we met up with Bruce Rogers (Nervous Doctor), who was riding towards us. Bruce turned and joined us and then we all then headed for Guilford. After turning onto RT. 5 we headed south back to Massachusetts. I did some of the work on the way down to Bernardston while the riders behind me got a rest. As we neared the state line I called off the sprint, but Socks went anyway, for a solo ride back into Massachusetts. When we got into Bernardston the group got organized and we all took turns at the front. We cruised back into Greenfield on Barton Road and finished the ride via Country Club Road. It was getting dark as we turned the corner from Silver Street onto High Street and headed for the shop. After getting back to the shop I hopped off my bike and jumped into the van to go back and get Bob who was still out on the road. I found Bob on Silver Street, only a couple of minutes behind us. He was OK and he thanked us for helping him, before heading for home. I have yet to be able to do this ride from start to finish with out stopping for a mishap. I am determined to get one more crack at this ride before it becomes the "Ride of Doom"!!

Wednesday 8/17: I was so busy at the shop that I did not get to go on the Eaglebrook ride.   

Thursday 8/18: It was another beautiful day here in the valley with bright sunny skies and warm temperatures. At 6:00 we had 65 riders in the parking lot getting ready for the ride to Cave Hill. MaryEllen had a group of 18 riders and Roger had 5 riders with him. That left 40 riders in my pack when we left the parking lot. The group headed over to Turners Falls and we took the L Street hill to Montague Road where we had a long line of riders stretching out for a quarter of a mile along the roadway. It was an impressive sight! After we got to the fire house and turned right, the pace went up and the pack split into several smaller groups. Baby Bell and 10 riders jetted off the front while I held court with a group of 15 or so riders about 500 yards behind them. I stayed near the middle of the pack to conserve some energy for the hill ahead, but the riders on the front of the group kept the pace pretty high, as if they were going to catch the group ahead. Driving the pack was Tom Martyn, Favreau, Bob Croake, Steve Power and a few others. We made the turn onto RT. 47 just as Baby Bell's group was crossing RT. 63. We sped down to the intersection and since there were no cars coming, we crossed the highway at speed. We had the back of the lead group in sight as we began the climb and several riders bridged the gap to them. I stayed in the pack with Dougie, Tom, Hammerhead, Curt, Jamie, Socks and several others as we made our way to Cave Hill Road. After making the turn onto the hill, the group got pretty strung out with three or four riders going off the front and me stuck in the middle between them and the larger group following me. I rode at an even tempo up the hill and when I got to the top I decided to continue on to see if I could catch some of the riders ahead. I caught up with Hammerhead and a couple of other riders at the bottom and I had them wait until the pack came back together before we all headed down Montague Road for Leverett Center. As we cruised down to Leverett Pond we came upon Roger, Jan, Peter and one other rider. We passed them with a hello and continued on to Depot Street. We blasted down the hill to RT. 63 where I took a poll of the riders. The group voted to do a longer loop down to Amherst. Everyone except for Jeremy Coleman heard this. We made the left turn onto RT. 63 and headed for Amherst, but Jeremy took the right turn onto Bull Hill while the rest of us went straight. I took a long pull at the front as we rode down to North Amherst. I wanted to be near the front to make sure that everyone made the right turn onto Cowles Ave. safely. This is a very dangerous corner and I have witnessed several crashes here. It is also particularly dangerous because of the red neck bar at the end of the road that caters to the drunk driver crowd. We rode past the bar and made the right turn onto Neptune Street and then headed for RT. 116. Once out on the newly paved highway we blasted to the town line where a lively sprint took place. Dougie and several others went for the line. I did not see who won the sprint as I was staying in the pack. We formed a nice double pace line for the ride into Sunderland Center and the speed stayed constant at 25 mph for most of the way. I did a pull with a couple of different riders and we rolled up to the traffic lights in town just as the light turned green. This gave Dougie a launch for the town line, which he took uncontested. After crossing the bridge we headed for South Deerfield. We took the usual route out to Mill Village Road where we raced down the hill to the farmlands. We overtook Roger and several of his riders in Old Deerfield (they did the Bull Hill loop) as we made our way out to RT. 5&10. Once we all crossed the road and headed north, I took over at the front of the pack. I kept the pace at 26 mph all the way to the Cheapside Bridge when the sprinters took over. I got passed by 5 or 6 riders who sprinted to the town line. I followed that bunch onto Deerfield Street. After we got to Washington Street, the group got into the "cool down" mode and all the riders who got dropped on the run-up to the sprint, came back onto the pack. We pretty much stayed together for the trip back to the shop and we all arrived just as it started to get dark. It was a great ride and the declining daylight is a somewhat sad reminder that the summer season is coming to a close. The group enjoyed some refreshments after the ride and soon I was closing the shop for the night and heading home.

Saturday 8/20: Petersham Annual John Jenkins Memorial Ride. Why do we ride?
What do we love about it? What is the heart and soul of Mountain biking? Well, I'm pretty sure of a few of these answers. First of all, it's an adventure-yeah, that's cliché, but it's true. Best of all, it's a backyard adventure--every rock, every root, every sudden steep climb or descent whether in Massachusetts or Moab constitutes a mini adventure-hit a whole lot of them in a single ride and you get a big adventure-mountain biking, the quick, ready-made adventure within arms reach. Mountain biking is about good folks, too--the sort who also love an adventure, like when others meet the challenges and share the fun of a rigorous ride. It's about hard work-fitness and physical perseverance in order to go out and do the tough rides, obviously, but other things as well. Creating a place to ride, a place for adventures is damn hard, and long work. Something I learned this year first hand.
When you're riding a 4-5 mile stretch of wonderful singletrack, replete with rock work, bridges, bends and zig zags take comfort in the knowledge that as hard as you're working to ride it, some good hearted folks worked even harder to build it---and they did it so it could be enjoyed by others.

I can't really narrow mountain biking down into a singular maxim that encapsulates all it is to all people. But the best I can offer is a single name: John Jenkins-the heart and soul of mountain biking. Truth to tell, I never met John-though the stories of his ebullience on and off the race course pervade the New England biking scene years after his death. I've had the chance to ride with his hometown crew and his son-they're great folks, and great riders who build great trails and who still espouse the biking ethos he forged-quite a legacy, really.
This Saturday, we we're fortunate to get invited to a memorial epic ride in his honor on the expansive and great Petersham singletrack trails. Next year, I hope more of us make the trip over to Petersham--honestly, it was the best ride I've had since moving to Massachusetts. This is in no way an intermediate ride and fitness is a big plus-but, if you want to see what it's all about, come on out next year and find out.

Around 9:15 am on Saturday, about 35 riders set out from John Jenkins old farmstead in Petersham onto a trail right off of his property. Riders from all over the state were in attendance including some top-flight pro/semi-pro racers. From our local crew Only Myself, Harold Green and Matthew "the Kidd" Green (who, I must say-had a real strong seven-hour ride) made the trip. Also there was Mark Schneider (aka Telemark-of Wendell trail building fame) and the ever enthusiastic, plucky George Willard-PVNEMBA President. The entrance to the trail set the tone of what was to follow--in order to access the first trail you had to ride up a narrow plank and over a rock wall onto the singletrack in front of a lot of onlookers and a steady stream of riders right behind you-fortunately I was one of the first over the wall, but I understand there were a few mishaps behind me. We found ourselves on what must be a 5 mile long stretch of very fun, but challenging singletrack called 'Ball Buster." At first I was on the wheel of the fastest riders ( a group that included several very high level racers and John Jenkins's son Chris Jenkins-a very talented rider in his own right!). The first section of trail required the fast, uphill negotiation of a number of rock walls-one of which I smacked my derailleur against, bent the hanger and tangled my chain (DANG!). I pulled over, assessed the problem while every single rider passed me except the last two (who rode sweep-and one was a talented mechanic) with some assistance I removed the chain, hand bent the hanger, may some on trail adjustments and got going--shifting was shady-but live-able! All of us had at least some technical during the day, but with good cheer and external help they were all only minor inconveniences. As I whipped along, somewhat eager to regain a lead position in the group I hit a string of very spooky looking rock obstacles, nice thing was the first four were all bridged nicely on the backside, making for an easy roll-over. I assumed they all would be similarly built-up---oops! As I sped up and over yet another rock obstacle I was unpleasantly shocked to find it was a 3 foot drop off!
I crashed hard, rolled head over heels and felt water gushing down my leg-my camelback bite valve had fallen off-as I bent over to find it--stupidly, I admit-right in front of the stunt I had crashed on, another rider leapt over the rock and bowled me over again--After I apologized for my mistake he found my bite valve and soon I was whizzing along again on this glorious trail. But now, I was gun shy and it would take a few hours to revive my nerves. Needless to say I made my way to the front of the pack, except for the 5-6 rippers whom I just couldn't match. Just before our lunch break we hauled butt down a long, super-smooth, rolling gem of a trail-a perfect follow up to what had been a killer technical trail. Lunch was great-the wives and moms drove food, drinks, baked good to Alf Berry's house and we all fueled up, swapped war stories and set off again. The next two hours following lunch had us riding some of the most technical terrain I've attempted in a long time--needless to say, it was fatiguing and the group got pretty stretched out. Thankfully at the end of one trail, they had dropped a big cooler full of water melon and water for us-so we all hung out and waited for the gang to reconstitute itself. After this brief respite we were off again, on challenging (but not as much as the previous trails) trails-by this time I had finally gotten my groove together, and we hit the big climbing sections--which is usually my strongest suit. After a great switchback climb we HAULED ASS down a straight shot singletrack fire break and on to another great trail built by Chris Jenkins (who loves rock work!!!). We got to Alf's house again for another food and drink fuel up. This time, however, people we're a little less eager to hit the trails, the day taking a toll on quite a few riders. We somewhat sluggishly put our soaking helmets and gloves back on and prepared to ride again. But, with some cajoling the riders once again hit the trails, up some steep climbs and then onto the very illegal Quabbin trails--which, are some of the most fun trails in the Petersham area. The final trail of the day involved a Huge, challenging, long switch back climb and an equally challenging, but very fun descent back to John Jenkins's old house. The last thing was the re-crossing of the first wall and down the plank we had climbed to begin the ride. We all clapped and cheered as each rider finished their 7 HOUR: 35 MILE very challenging epic ride. You know, this was a hard ride with only very good riders--even the slowest of which in any other circumstances would be considered strong riders--from a purely mountain biking point of view it was a real pleasure to ride on such great trails with so many really good riders. After that we feasted at the barbecue Chris's Mom, wife and others put together for the crew.
It was great-everyone was just beaming with a sense of accomplishment, and joy of a great adventure seen to the end. Special thanks to all the Moms/Wives of Petersham who cooked, shuttled and helped make this a great ride. And to Alf Berry and Mrs. Jenkins for opening up their homes to host hungry sweaty riders. And to Chris Jenkins for running the event. Great show guys. Best ride of the year.
Liam