Here you will find the accounts of our rides held during the month of Jan

Here you will find the accounts of our rides held during the month of Jan. 2000. Leave me a note if you want a ride you went on included.
bikebob@crocker.com

Saturday 1/1/2000: It was a beautiful day for the first day of January, so I decided to take advantage of the snow less winter that we have had and go out for a road ride. The temperatures were in the thirties, but there was no wind to speak of, so I headed out for a short loop by myself. I rode down Greenfield Road and across the bridge into Turners Falls, and then up the Third St. hill. I was feeling pretty good so I decided to take a right at Scotty's and head for Sunderland. I cruised down RT. 47 and through Sunderland Center where I took a right onto RT. 116. I rode through South Deerfield center and after turning right onto RT.5&10 I headed back to Greenfield. It was good to be able to get out on such an unusual January day.

Sunday 1/2: Today we ran our millennium event; The First Century of the Century. I am not one who gets hyped up about these things, but I have to admit that the concept was too good to pass up. Basically we had two rides to choose from. The first was that you simply got on your bike and rode 100 miles, and the second was that you got some friends together and rode the distance as a team, with your total group mileage to equal the 100 miles.
The day began with a heavy fog and I was pretty sure that I would be doing this solo. The weather channel was predicting rain and cloud's for today with the temperatures not getting out of the Forties. At 9:00 I left my house and headed for our starting point at Mt. Sugarloaf; fully expecting no one to be there. When I pulled into the parking lot I was surprised to find 5 riders waiting for me. After a few minutes another three people arrived and the ride was on. Leaving in the first wave was Paul Cyr-Mutty, Ted Lapinski, Wayne Holden, Roy Ramsdell, Rick McCulloch, Rob Lapointe, Matt Chickering, Alex, and Jessie. Just as everyone had gotten ready to roll, it started to rain. I mean a cold steady rain, the kind you get in late March. At this point I decide to drive the follow van as a precaution. Riding shotgun with me was Suzanne, and she helped me hand out bananas, tangerines and water to the riders as we passed them on the road. Most of the riders did very well on the first lap, although Alex and Roy had to abandon due to cold. Wayne got a flat tire on the first lap, but otherwise everyone made it around without mishap. After the first lap, the second wave arrived and soon CTD, Mick, Mike Willard and Jack got ready to go. By this time the rain had stopped and it was just cloudy, so Paul stopped to get a change of clothes, while the rest of the crew kept on going. Soon after the second group left, MaryEllen arrived to take over the Sag Wagon duties, so I got ready to go out and join the fun. I waited for Paul, and after he got back on his bike, I offered to pull him for a lap so that he could catch up with Ted. I took off and put my head down and set a 21 mph pace as I headed into Hatfield. I was certain that he was right behind me so I never looked back, but when I got to the center of Hatfield, I turned and discovered that I was alone. (After the ride was over Paul told me that he had started out behind me, but he had a hard time warming up, so he just let me ride off.) I knew that there would be help if Paul had a mechanical problem, so I rode out to RT. 5&10 and headed up towards South Deerfield. As I neared Chestnut St. in Hatfield, I saw Rick on the side of the road fixing a flat. I yelled over and Rick said he as OK. Soon after that MaryEllen drove by me and I tried to tell her where he was, so she could help him if necessary. I continued on up RT 5&10 at a pretty good clip and soon I passed the starting point, where I saw a Jack and some other riders getting ready to head home. I started my second lap, hoping to catch some other riders, but when I got down to Bradstreet and I couldn't see any other riders, I decided to go back and see how everyone was doing. I turned back onto RT. 5&10 and rode up to Whatley, where I turned onto RT. 116. Just after making the turn, MaryEllen flagged me down, because she was worried that she could not find Rick out on the road and that Mike Willard had broken down near Northampton. I reluctantly got in the van and drove with her to look for Rick. We drove about five miles down the road when we saw Rick riding towards us. He signaled that all was OK and he continued on to finish the loop. We waved as we passed Wayne, Ted and the other riders still on the road, and then we continued on to pick up Mike. After getting Mike and his bike on board, I drove back to the start and dropped off Mike and MaryEllen. Mary Ellen left for home and I headed back out on the course to drive the support van. I had thoughts of getting back on the bike, but by the time I had gotten back I was pretty cooled off and I would have had difficulty re-starting. So, I trooped off on my mission of following Ted and Paul as they did their final laps. From time to time I drove ahead of the duo and then I stopped beside the road to hand up water and bananas to them as they passed me. Ted was the first to finish and I was quite impressed with his effort, as he rode almost constantly for 6 1/2 hours. Paul finished up about 45 minutes later and he pulled into the parking lot just as it was getting dark. I want to commend the riders who did the ride under difficult conditions. And a special kudos to Paul and Ted who gave us an example of what "tough" is, and how to succeed when the easy route would be to quit.

Tuesday 1/4: Tonight I went for a short ride up on the ridge by myself. It was a wet, raw evening and I just went out for 45 minutes and came back.

Saturday 1/8: We still haven't had a flake of snow yet this winter and a small group riders and I took advantage of the forty degree temperatures and went out for a road ride. Along for the trip was Rob Lapointe, Kris and Lynn, "The Banana Peel", and myself. We rode from the shop and headed down High St. for Main Street. I set the pace at 14 mph so that everyone would warm up slowly. We got out onto RT 5&10 and we picked up the pace a bit until we made the turn onto River Road. After we got to the first hill Rob and Banana Peel rode off the front and I stayed with Lynn and Kris. We rode along River Road at 14 mph, which is comparable to a 17 mph pace in the warmer weather. Kris said that he had to slow down on some of the hills as he was starting to get a little cold, but Lynn said she was doing great. At this pace everyone was pretty comfortable, and we rode all the way down the road to RT. 116, where we turned right. We rode up to Sugarloaf St. where we turned right and headed into So Deerfield center. As we rode into town we met a gentleman from New Hampshire who was out for a scenic winter ride. He rode behind us as we headed up No. Main St. and after we crossed the highway, I rode with him on Mill Village for a short distance. After saying good bye to our new friend, I rode up to re-join Kris and Lynn and we soon were flying down the hill heading for Old Deerfield. Lynn picked up the pace as we passed the Melnick Far, and we clipping along at a 18 mph by the time we arrived on Old Main Street. We rode through town and then turned left onto RT 5&10, where we continued our journey back to Greenfield at a 16 mph pace. After we crossed the Cheapside Bridge, we slowed down and cruised back to the shop at a leisurely pace. It was a great ride on what would normally be a snow covered winter wonderland.

Sunday 1/9: Today we returned to our usual schedule of Sunday rides. I arrived at Montague Center with Joe Sulda in the van with me and we were met there by Ms Lynn, Matt, Jack, Fred Bezio and Mark Courtermarche. Our group left the center of town and headed out to the Telephone Pole Trail. As we climbed the hill Fred and Lynn dropped back and soon we lost sight of the rest of the riders. We rode at our own pace with Fred sometimes going out to the front, or I might go ahead to hop over a log. we rode out to the power lines and after we got to Hatchery Road East, we met up with the other riders. I gave directions to Matt and soon we were off to ride up to Willis Hill. Lynn, Fred and I headed up the Middle Road and when we got to the brook, Fred suggested that we head up the hill towards Red Rock. Lynn was a little reluctant at first, but she turned and headed up the rocky climb. I was just ahead of her and I kept encouraging her as she rode up over the roughest part of the hill. After she made the first rock I kept telling her to go on and soon we were at the top, and Lynn let out a yell as she realized her achievement. From the top of the hill we headed over to the Kiabuckus Trail, where we made a left and headed for the I-H wreck. We rode down the other side of Willis Hill and then across the field. It was a truly beautiful day and the views from the field made the effort worthwhile. After we entered the woods we rode to the end of the trail and took a left and headed back up towards the swamp. Lynn and Fred were ahead of me as we approached the swamp, and I told them to wait up and that I would show them the way through the area. I rode past them and as I was telling them how easy a route I had picked, I promptly fell into a calf deep brook. Well, so much for show and tell, as soon as I extricated myself from the sinking muck we were back on the trail, heading for Red Rock. I led the way as we rode up to the top of the rock to wait the arrival of the others. we stopped and chatted briefly before we headed back down the hill for the power lines. Fred rode ahead of Lynn and I as we made our way down the hill. After we got to the bottom we came across quite a few large ice covered puddles. I rode across the first few and then I showed Lynn how to ride across them. Although she was a little skeptical at first, she soon rode across a small one. Well that did it! Pretty soon Ms. Lynn was gliding across every patch of ice she could find. I mean she was a veritable Nancy Kerrigan on a mountain bike. As we caught up to Fred, Lynn dazzled him with her ice prowess, and soon she had Fast Freddy doing triple Lutz's. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but we all had fun riding back to the Telephone Pole Trail anyway. The best part of the ride was seeing the sun setting as we made our way back to the center of town. Twilight is always my favorite time to be out on a ride.

Tuesday 1/11: Today was another very mild day and I was very tempted to go out for a road ride, but I had a lot of work to get done, so I waited for the night ride. Joining me for the ride was Mick, Zeb Jacub, and Matt Putnam. We left from the shop and headed for the trails behind Stop&Shop. I rode behind and provide some extra light for the crew. We headed over to Canada Hill, I did make it up the new trail tonight, and we turned at the yellow house and rode down Gill Road. We crossed the highway and rode over the ice on the stinkhole on our way up to the turnout. When we got to the road, Matt said he had to turn around because his light wasn't working. The three of us continued on and we did a nice ride up to the water tank. We found there to be quite a bit of mud and deep sand along the way and Mick really was tired when he got to the top. We rode across the top of the hill to the power lines and we headed down to Red Rock. As we started down I warned both riders about the possibility of the rocks being slippery, but just before we got to Red Rock I saw Mick fall. He was OK and he said that he now knew what I meant. After we got to the rock we decided to not risk a trip down the Chute, but rather we went down the road to Jack's Pond. The knuckleheads had been through with their trucks, so the ice was broken up, preventing us from riding on it. we headed around the lower loop that led us over Double Dip and then up to the Streambed Trail. We rode up the stream and turned left at the mud hole and continued on towards Double Death. We rode past Double Death and continued on back to the Ridge Trail. We rode back down to Five Points and then rode out through the swamp. We followed the trails near Lillian Street back to the RT. 2 crossover and then we rode down Gill Road back to the shop. We had a great ride on another spring like evening.

Thursday 1/13: It is kind of ironic that the first snow of the year occurred on the thirteenth day, but I made the most of it anyway. I closed the shop at 2:00 due to the weather (no customers was also a consideration) and went over to my house to clear the sidewalks and take Madison for a run. I returned to the shop at 5:00 to get ready to go out for the ride. When MPM, and Mark Courtermarche showed up at the shop it only took a couple of minutes to make final equipment adjustments and then we were off. The snow was perfect! The quality of the snow was better than we have had in years, traction was no problem (for me) and since there was only eight or so inches of snow the depth was not an issue either. It was pretty cold, 18 degrees and the wind chill was 30 below but we all dressed properly and the cold didn't bother us. We rode over to Gill Road and then we crossed RT 2 and started up the trails. I found the riding to be pretty easy, but both Marc and Mark found the traction to be somewhat difficult at times. I led the way as we headed to Five Points, but I had to wait until the pair of Mark's arrived. I let MPM go out ahead as we took off for Luke Skywalker, but half way up the Ridge Trail he slid off the trail and I ended up passing him. I continued on up the trail and then up Luke Skywalker. I had to dab in a couple of spots and there were a couple of stretches that were several yards long that I could not ride, but all in all, I rode most of the way up the hill. After MPM and Mark got up to me, we headed over to the power lines. I rode ahead as we made our way down the hill and I made it way half way up Red Rock before I lost traction on the rock. At this point we decided to head down the road to Jacks Pond. I rode across the pond and then up the hill where I waited for the boys to get up to me. MPM did pretty well on the hills, but even he could not ride up most of them. We headed over Double Dip which none of us made it up and then we rode up the Streambed Trail. I again took the lead as we began the climb, but when I got to the stream my brakes completely froze, and a huge clump of ice became attached to my rear wheel. I had to stop about half way up to break the clump off the wheel so it could turn. After I made the left turn onto the trail that leads to Double Death, I found that the water on the trail made for excellent traction, but poor braking performance. After waiting at the crossroads for the other riders, I headed towards Double Death, using my feet as brakes; Flintstone style. After we passed Double Death we turned left and headed down to Five Points. MPM and I paused briefly to wait for Mark before we headed for the swamp. All went well until I crossed the brook, where the running water that I rode through caused my front wheel to freeze solid in a matter of seconds. At first I did not realize what had happened. I thought that I picked up a stick or something like that, but after I got off the bike I saw that the front wheel was completely immobilized by the ice on the rim. after a couple of tugs and rolling the bike backwards, I managed to free the wheel enough to get going again. From the Coke Plant we headed back to the shop the same way we came. As we rode down Gill road we could feel the sting of the wind on our faces, but none of us were cold or uncomfortable. It is always unpredictable when you head out in the snow, but today's ride was one of the best winter rides that I can remember.

Friday 1/14: Sorry to miss the ride last night, but wanted you to know the Men of Bete went out for a ride today at lunch. The Ice Princess and the rest of the Bete girls were conspicuously absent, but we managed to make the ride around Clapp Pond on the ridge without their help anyway. See you on the trail sometime soon. - Ken C.
Just to elaborate on Kens accounting of our ride today. Bob "Frosty" Underhill sent out the word this morning looking for riders for our noon time ride. To put things into perspective I let everyone know that on Mt. Washington it had a wind-chill of -97 degrees with wind gusts of 112 MPH so wind chills of -25 to -35 seemed relatively balmy. Things were pretty low key most of the morning but as ride time approached it was time to separate the men from the boys ( and girls it turned out). After an initial check of the weather we decided to give it a go. Conspicuously absent was the Ice Princess, Queen V and Donna the Hun. Queen V even had the nerve to call us wusses earlier when we were debating whether to go out and then never showed herself. Frosty, Steve, Ken, Mark and I headed out around the Hardigg building and made our way up Hillside. The wind was a little nippy but not too bad. The traction along the road (or the lack of it) made for some interesting maneuvers as we approached the hill. We made our way up Hillside and over to Stage road and down the other side without any problems. We ducked under the cable and rode out the lower road into the land preserve. We made out way out to the brook from Clapp pond without too much trouble. Seems only Frosty felt the need to check the depth of the snow up to this point. Steve and I were debating how to cross the brook when we saw Ken crossing on the ice of Clapp pond. We all soon followed and were quickly back on our way. We stopped to regroup just before the power lines and then took the trail to the left and worked our way up the trail up the ridge to what we call the Middle trail. Along the way there were a few acrobatics performed by most people in the party as they found several different ways to dismount from the bikes. After the climb we again regrouped and made our way out the Middle trail back out to Stage road and back to Bete's. The ride down Stage and Hillside was interesting due to brakes being iced up but we all made it in one piece. By the time we got back there were a few cold toes and fingers but nothing too bad. The wind in the woods was next to nothing but was rather brisk on the road. All in all it ended up being a great day for a ride. Conditions like this don't come all that often and it's a special treat to be able to get out and experience them when you can. Too bad the Girls of Bete couldn't "make" it. Talk to you later.
Kevin

Well folks the above is proof of how tough it is down in Beteville. These people not only work hard, but are merciless at play!
Tuesday 1/18: Here are the inter office memo's that went around today. If it is a game of hard ball you want, Channing Bete is the place that it is played.
Okay, so I just get back into the office and I receive this e-mail. I open up your report and what do I find..... Well aren't the "Bete" boys the witty ones! In my defense, I was out sick on Friday probably from all of the "outside riding" I have been doing lately not to mention the Spinning Classes TWICE a week. Oh yeah one other thing. It's hard to say you would ride when you never received the invitation!!! Now as far as Allisa and Donna go, there on their own! Sorry girls. (From Lynn Black. Go Lynn!!)
Anyone got any cheese to go with that whine? (From Kevin Gilbert)
I think Lynn is saying that if we include her in the EMail, she's going out with us. (From Bad Bob Underhill)

Sunday 1/16:I rode over to Montague Center at 1:45 and was greeted by Hughes, Rob Lapointe, Jack, Mark C., and Paul. The roads were wet and sloppy when we left the center of town, but we managed to get to the Telephone Pole Trail without any difficulty. Soon we were heading up the hill on the newly fallen snow which gave us great traction. Everyone did well on the climb and when we crested the hill, we turned left onto the woods road. We rode down past the Toilet Bowl Trail and then out to the power lines and turned left, heading for the Hatchery Road. The power lines were snow covered and this hid the ice that formed on the puddles from last week's rain. Hughes was kind enough, however, to use his body to sweep the snow off the ice so that we could see it clearly (an act of gravity, not will). After Hughes got back on his bike we were on our way out to Jake's junkyard to enter the trails that lead up to Willis Hill. I rode at the front of the group because my simple directions (like turn left) somehow do not register when people start riding their bicycles. I rode up the hill and on the way I did my first snow angel and, as I found out later, lost my cell phone. As I was getting up and brushing the snow off, Jack and Mark passed me and I told them to wait for me and the rest of the group at the field. When we all arrived at the field I told everyone that we were going to head up the hill to the I-H wreck. I told the riders to cross the brook and then take a right and head up the hill and take another right at the fork near the top. As the riders left I waited while Hughes was fixing his water carrier. After he was all set, we headed out and crossed the brook. Now to my amazement, when Hughes and I crossed the brook we found four sets of tracks heading, yup, left down the hill. We waited for a couple of seconds and then we headed to the right; up the hill and when we got to the top we waited for the others to join us. After our errant compatriots re-joined Hughes and I, Mark said that Paul had to leave, so our numbers were now down to five. We continued on with our original plan and we soon were heading down the Kiabuckus Trail. When we got to the bottom we continued on out to Willis Hill, where we turned right and headed across the ice and then down to the power lines. I led the group as we rode the flat trails back across the plains and then into the pine forest. We rode at a pretty good clip because the snow gave us excellent traction and the flat terrain was made for great speed. We ended up riding back to the Telephone Pole Trail and then back to the center of town just as it started to snow. What a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Thursday 1/20: Tonight was a cc of last Thursday; first it snowed a little bit then Marc, Mark and I went out for a ride. Tonight was also the first lunar eclipse of the century, but with the clouds we were unable to even see the moon let alone the eclipse. We followed the same route as last week and we found that the snow gave us even better traction than last weeks snow. We made our way down Gill Rd and then over the RT. 2 crossover to the trails. I felt great as we started into the woods, but I began to struggle as we were heading into the truck turnout. After recovering for a moment, I sent MPM ahead to lead us onto the trails, but he missed the turn onto the trail and it took us a couple of minutes to get going again. We rode over to Five Points on the trails behind the guard rails and once there, we paused briefly before we headed for Luke Skywalker. I led the group as we headed up the hill and although the traction was great, my legs turned to rubber about half way up and I had to dismount. I waited and soon MPM and Mark joined me and then the three of us finished the climb together. We skipped the power lines, and rode the Crossover Trail to the Mud Road. We descended the road to Jacks Pond and although MPM rode around it, I attempted to ride across, but I crashed through the ice. At that point I decided to ride around the perimeter. Just as I started around I saw Mark come down the hill and he began his attempt. His time on the bike was short because his front wheel dove through the ice, and he was soon face first on the pond. I checked to make sure that he was Ok and then I rode to the top of the hill. MPM and I waited for Mark to join us and after a rest, we were on our way to the Double Dip. None of us made it up the hill, but we all gave it a good try. We left the hill and headed for the Streambed Trail. We did not have any trouble with water today, as it was frozen solid, but my legs were unfortunately also frozen and I struggled up the hill. We rode straight across the hill and past Double Death and then down the hill to Five Points again. We rode out through the swamp and then we followed the trails behind Lillian Street to the RT. 2 crossover. We rode slowly back to the shop and although it was cold out, we found that we were all dressed comfortably, which made for a great ride.

We did not have any organized outdoor rides for the rest of this month, although I did my Spinning classes at the Body Shoppe. I was preparing for my trip to Oregon and I did not have the time to get a ride together. I will report on my trip in next month's page.