Ride Page

Here you will find the reports of our exploits for the month July 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 figments of my imagination) If you can make up better stories than me, please do so  bikebob@crocker.com and you too can get yourself published on the web!
Glossary of Names used in these reports: ME (MaryEllen); Marcus P. Marcus, MPM (Marc Lombard); Black Beauty, BB (Marsha Martin);  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); Homer (Michelle Hurley);  Service (Rod Perez); Ranger Rick, RR (Rick Manson); P. J. Wabbit, PJW (Penny Abbott) Ice Princess IP; (Lynn Black)  Mooseboy MB; (Kris Black) Fitness Twins, FT (Steve and Becky Shattuck)

Tuesday 7/2: It was a hot one today and I found myself dragging a little bit by the end of the day. I missed out on breakfast and lunch, so I decided to skip out at 4:00 to get a Goodies pasta. I made it back to the shop at 4:45 and gave a hand back in the repair area, before heading out to the cash register for the final hour or so. I was thinking that there would not be very many people showing up for the ride due to the high humidity and 96 degree heat, but I was wrong. Twenty fools...I mean, riders showed up for the trip up to Tyler Hill in Beermont. We left the shop at 6:15 and headed over to Turners Falls. Baby Bell and Joe started racing down the hill towards the river and took a few riders with them as the headed to the center of town. I arrived at the light just in time to see the leaders take the turn and head onto the bridge. I stayed near the front of the following group when we got across the bridge. I climbed the hill and spotted Baby Bell on the side of the road. It seems that the dear boy had slipped his gears and destroyed his derailleur. As I crested the hill I saw Joe, Kent and Matt Hyde coming towards me and I told them of the misfortune of Baby Bell. I continued on and headed up West Gill Road and soon I was making my way through the group as I climbed the next hill. As I got near the top of the hill I started to cramp up and so I settled into a smaller gear (No, I did not use that silver ornament on the inside of my large chainring.) and headed up the hill. My symptoms seemed to abate somewhat so I headed to the front to do a pull up to the turn onto RT. 10. This was a mistake, because I started to cramp up as we headed across the highway. I managed to hang on for a little while but the next little hill put me into some difficulty and I had to turn around soon after the group passed the gravel pit on RT. 142. I rode back down the hill and then over to RT. 10 where I turned right and headed back for the shop. I waved to the groups of riders as they passed on their way up to Tyler Hill. After I got to RT. 5, I started to feel better and I then continued on back to the shop. I rode a total of twenty miles and managed a 16 mph average. Although it was hot out, it still was a nice evening for a ride.

Wednesday 7/3: It was too hot for me to ride tonight so Boy took some of the riders up to Catamount. I will put up a report if I get one.

Thursday 7/4: Yesterday I got a call from Jamie about maybe riding today, I thought about it and decided to do a ride. Joining us was Curt and Roger Katz. It was 98 degrees out and about the same for the humidity when we left the shop. Our plan was to do the ride up to Ashfield and return on RT. 2 to the shop. I led the boys down to Main Street and then we followed the usual route down to RT. 5&10. I stayed at the front as we crossed the river and headed for Old Deerfield. As we got near Old Deerfield we passed ME as she was heading back up to Greenfield on her bike. She managed to wave, but we could tell that she was pretty much cooked, so we waved back and headed onward. I stayed at the front of the group as we headed through the center of town and then out onto the Mill Village Road. The other guys took turns riding into the wind and soon we were out on Stillwater Road. I rode to the top of the hill and slowed up and when everyone was back on, I headed for RT. 116. As I rode along I had ripped off the GU pack that I had on my stem, but in my haste, I had pulled off two of them. No problem, I just ate one and put the other one carefully into my pocket. I figured that I would get to eat it on the hill to Conway. Well just as I was about to make the turn onto Lee Road, the phone rings and I reach into my pocket and get the phone. It was ME and she wanted to let me know that she made it back to the shop OK. After I hung up the phone, I shoved it back into my pocket. (I later discovered that the Gu had gotten into the microphone and after several attempts to wash it out with hot water, I eventually had to replace the phone.) I then headed out to RT. 116 at the front of the group and started the climb. As I got to the bottom of the hill I dropped to the back of the group. As we neared the Matthews Road, Curt pulled ahead and Roger told us to go on ahead and he would catch up later. I rode up to Curt and then continued on to the top of the hill, where Curt and Jamie made a pit stop. As I waited for the duo to finish (Jamie did not flush!) Roger came along. At this point we discussed the possibility of changing the route, since the return along RT. 2 would be a scorcher. Instead of the planned route, Roger suggested that we take the scenic route to the reservoir in Whatley. Everyone agreed that this made sense and we rode off towards the turn onto Whatley Road. We kept a sensible pace for most of the way up to the top of the hill and soon we were on the last climb of the day. I took the lead up the hill on Williamsburg Road and rode down to the Whatley Inn by myself. I was soon joined by Jamie and Curt and we did a few circles at the intersection while Roger caught up. We all then decided to take the flatter route back through South Deerfield. This enabled us to conserve what little we had left in our legs. We all rode through the town and headed out to Mill Village Road where Roger decided to pull over and take a rest. The three of us continued on after Roger said that he would be alright. We rode back to the shop where we all drank plenty of fluids and waiter for only a few minutes before Roger returned. Our average speed was 15 mph but I certainly felt like I worked pretty hard.
Below are two reports submitted by Curt Bousquet
Tuesday, July 2 Distance - 34.30 Average - 19.2

I just finished writing up a nice report of this ride, then my computer crashed when I tried to save it. So this one won't be as long. Tonight's ride was probably about the hottest of the year (in the low 90s and very humid). We headed out over the hill into Turners, then North through the lights and up the hill towards Gill. I was surprised to be in the front (other than the faster riders who had already pulled away) but kept going at the turn since we still had some hill ahead of us and I may need all the head start I could hang onto. Once over the top, we rolled past the golf course and set a nice pace up to Rte 10. Things started to pull apart, but we had a group of 7 (Myself, Jamie, George, Michelle, Nancy, plus a man (John?) and woman (Marilyn?) that I hadn't met before) as we hit 142 North. We could still see some of the faster riders ahead of us for most of the 142 ride, and almost caught them at times, but couldn't quite close the gap. About half way to Vernon, we lost Nancy and Michelle. Then, as we came up to the flats before the fire station lost John and Marilyn. Jamie, George and I set a slow pace to the top of Tyler hill then stopped to wait at the top for anyone who was close behind us. Once Marilyn and John came over the top, I was ready to continue on since being stopped felt like I was in an oven. John, Marilyn and I rolled over the top and headed South on Rte 5, but being in the front I didn't realize that Jamie and George weren't with us and had waited longer for Michelle and Nancy to top the hill. Once I realized, a few miles down the road, that we didn't have the entire group I decided to push on since I couldn't even see them behind us and was feeling really strong. I started pushing hard and Marilyn pulled in behind me. We dropped John pretty soon, but she stuck with me for the next 10 miles as we raced up the hills at 20-21mph and down the flats at 24-26. A few miles South of the Mass line, we caught Kent and added him to our group. I continued to pull all the way into Bernardston then was surprised to glance back and see not only Marilyn and Kent, but also Jamie and George riding easy behind me. After over 10 miles of 'front time', I Pulled out to let one of them come forward for a while. Jamie, George and Kent took pulls down into Greenfield and up the first hill past the Honda dealership. Kent pulled away on the next climb, but Jamie (in front) didn't have the legs to catch him. He slowed up over the top we caught him before the next climb. On the final climb, Kent once more came up the inside to sprint to the front. George, in front this time, let him go put I pulled out to give chase. Kent and I rolled over the top together, then he waved me in behind him for the drop into town. We kept pushing for the last mile into the shop and managed to keep away from George and Jamie to the finish. Back at the shop, I was soaking wet and dehydrated. I still felt like I had some strength left, especially after I got some water back in my body.

Thursday, July 4 Distance - 37.06 Average - 15.4
This ride was an intelligence test and Roger, Bob, Jamie and I failed the test by showing up on this 100+ degree day for a 1:00 ride in the hot sun. I knew that the most important thing was going to be to stay hydrated, so I drank 2 bottles of Gatorade on the drive down, and almost a whole bottle of water before getting on the bike. I had my Camelbak with 60oz of Gatorade in it for the ride. Jamie, Bob and I were on our bike just ready to roll out of the lot when Roger pulled in. We helped him get his bike together and minutes later were on the way. The plan, as we left the lot, was to head to Old Deerfield then Conway via 116, over to Shelburne, then back on Rte 2. The heat was sucking all the power out of me, and we never really got a good pace up all the way to the top of 116. At the top, we decided to change the route to avoid the direct sun and take a slightly shadier route home via Whately and Hatfield. The ride up the reservoir was certainly cooler than Rte. 2 would have been, but we were all feeling the effects of the hot temps and oppressive humidity. I owe any energy I had at all to a Gu I had as I came over the top of the climb. Back on flat terrain coming into Deerfield, we were making barely 17mph. Just south of Old Deerfield, Roger did the smart thing and decided to stop for a rest before pushing too hard in the sun, but the rest of us kept going (I think to get the ordeal over with as soon as possible). Back at the shop, I felt as worn out as I would be after a 20MPH ride, even though we had barely managed to hold onto a 15MPH average! As soon as we got off the bikes, we felt like we were in an oven as our bodies produced gallons of sweat that didn't evaporate. No matter how many times I wiped myself down, moments later I would be soaking wet again with streams of water running down my arms and legs. I tried to drink as much as I possibly could for the rest of the day, and think by the end of the day was finally managing to replace some of what I had lost.

Sunday 7/7: I left the shop today at 5:00 and headed over to Montague in the van. When I arrived I was greeted by a large group that included PJW, Homer, ED, Mitch, Brian Pierce, Jack, Tracy, Service, Laura, Rich Flye, Matthew, Jeffery, Harold and Allison Green. It was a beautiful evening a little on the warm and humid side but with light winds it was a perfect setting for our trip. We left the center of town and headed off towards the Telephone Pole Trail. The trail was quite dry and the motor vehicles had churned the dirt up a bit so the traction was not as good as it has been, but everyone managed to ride up without any trouble. I rode at the back of the group with Tracy and when we got to the fire pit, the group was ready to roll. PJW picked the route and we all headed off to do the Toilet Bowl Trail. Tracy and I fell behind and when we got to the road crossing I decided to take a shortcut to see if we could catch up with the rest of the group. When I got back onto the trail I could see a couple of jersey's in the distance, but the soon were out of sight. Tracy and I keep on going and we caught up to the group as they waited on the power lines. I had the main group take Red Rock over to the Brook Trail while Tracy and I took the flatter trails out to the Brook Trail. Tracy and I got to the bottom of Red Rock just as the first riders came down the hill. I told Rich Flye and Jack to head up the hill to the Kiabuckus Trail with the rest of the group and that I would do sweep. Tracy and I then followed the last riders up the hill on the Brook Trail. I rode at a good pace and soon I had caught and passed several riders on the hill. I ended up riding to the swamp with Mitch and when we got to the road I stopped to await the rest of the riders. After I sent ED and Mitch on ahead with Service, I waited for Tracy and PJW. The three of us rode out to the bottom of the hill of doom where we waited for the rest of the riders to arrive. We only waited for a few minutes before Service came down the hill, but he was alone and said that he did not see any of the other riders. Soon thereafter I heard the rest of the group coming down the trail to my left. It seems that they got turned around in the woods and found their way back, by chance. I did a head count and noticed that there were a couple of people missing and we determined that ED and Mitch were not in the group. We formed a posse and headed out to find the errant riders. We met up with the missing pair near the top of the hill and we all rode back down to the bottom of the hill where we rejoined the group. At this point it was time for PJW to make her run down the BPT Trail. We all followed PJW as she made her way down the trail at the head of the group and she was the first to tap the magic tree. After that we made the turn for home and the group took the banked trails back to the Telephone Pole Trail. I rode to the bottom of the hill and did traffic control for the riders as the came to the edge of the hardtop road. After the last rider had passed, I rode at the back and finished up in the center of town where the group was waiting. After a few minutes of chatting we all then headed for home.

Wednesday 7/10: Our ride to MT. Toby tonight is the first time in several years that we have had a group outing on this hill. Along for the trip was PJW, Homer, Chris Koh, Kip, Mark C., Laura, Service, Boy, and myself. Joining us out on the trail was Jimmy Smith, ED and Mitch. When I arrived at the parking spot on Reservation Road the group was waiting for me and when I got ready we all headed off for the trails. I rode at the back of the group as we headed up the long climb up to the fire tower. I have been riding every day at camp and so I am a little worn out as the hill gets steeper. I decided to keep an even pace as I headed to the crest of the first pitch and soon after that I recovered enough to catch up to Homer. I rode with her for a short way before Jim Smith caught up to me. I picked up my pace and although I could not keep up with him I soon caught up to Chris Koh. Homer was a little way behind, but I was only thinking of keeping up the pace so that I would be able to ride to the top. I held the pace and soon I was at the junction of the Summit Road and the Red Dot Trail, where I decided that enough was enough. All the riders except for Service, PJW and I continued on to the fire tower, but we were content to wait right where we were. As I waited for the group to get back ED and Mitch came up the hill. Ed waited with me and Laura while Mitch continued up the hill with the rest of the group. After a few minutes, some of the riders started to return and soon there was a group of 7 of us that headed down the Red Dot Trail. We rode down the hill a little way and made a left turn onto a very steep uphill section of trail. No one was able to ride up this one so we all did the hike-a-bike thing to the top of the steep part and then we headed down the other side of the hill. This is a really awesome section of tricky singletrack as well as some fine open forest trail. The trial leads past the old hermit cabin and then it empties onto the Summit Trail about half way up. I was the third rider to arrive at the road and we all waited for the rest of the group to arrive. When PJW arrived she had a flat tire which I changed in no time at all, and then we all headed down the hill. Our plan was to ride down to the pond and then take the trail back to the boat dock. ED had to leave at the trailhead and so the six of us headed down to the pond. I rode at the front of the group and when we got to the road we headed up the hill and back to the parking spot. It was a beautiful evening for a ride, not too hot and with a little breeze it was just about a perfect night.

Thursday 7/11: It was another beautiful night and I had planned on a 38 mile trip up to Shutesbury. This is a really nice ride up a 12 mile hill and then back down a really splendid roadway with a lot of turns and a steep hill to the flats. Below is the ride report submitted by Curt Bousquet.

Thursday, July 11 Distance - 38.4 Average - 20.4
Because of weather or scheduling conflicts, I had missed riding since last Saturday so tonight's ride was the first for me in 5 days. We had a pretty good group show up for the Shutesbury ride, a ride with a fairly long (12 mile), but not too steep, climb. Some of the slower riders got an early start on the ride, but the main group got a very late start (almost 6:20) as we waited for the last few riders to get ready. Right from the beginning, I knew that it was going to be a fast ride. Once we hit the top of the first short climb out of Turners Falls, the pace kept bumping up. We ended up being pulled into Montague by half a dozen 'A' riders in the front who kept the pace in the mid to high 20's for the entire run. One we crossed 63 and started the climb, I knew I was going to be in trouble soon unless the pace let up a bit. Things stayed fast for the first mile or so, then started to let off once the climb really started. I was pushing at about my limit, but managed to stay right up with the front of the group for a good long while. Finally, about 2/3 of the way to the turn to Shutesbury at the lake, I throttled back as the group really began to string out. I pedaled easy as Tom Martin, Tom Silko, Malcolm and others slowly pulled past and vanished up ahead. Bob dropped back to sweep up some slower riders. Jamie, Michelle and I ended up riding to the pond with a few riders just in sight ahead. We were really tempted to give chase, but knew that the hill was going to get steeper soon so decided to conserve our energy. At the turn, things got steeper for a bit and I dropped behind Jamie and Michelle. While I could see them for the rest of the ride into Shutesbury, I just couldn't push hard enough to close the gap. I neither lost nor gained any distance on them, just hung out in the middle by myself. I was just 50 yards behind them when we came to the stop sign in Shutesbury (the top of the climb). Malcolm was also waiting there for a group to come through that he could join up with. They slowed for the turn, but I pushed through it at a good clip after making sure the road was clear so managed to close the gap just a bit after the turn. I used my extra built up speed to roll by them. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw not only Jamie and Michelle, but also Bob, Malcolm and several other riders who were right behind me on the climb forming up into a group for the upcoming descent. The ride down to Leverett was beautiful. Fast, winding roads in the sunset with smooth clean pavement made for a fun ride as we kept an average speed of over 30MPH for a good 5 miles. After passing Leverett pond, we settled into a slightly slower paceline as the road flattened out. We pushed to keep a good pace all the way back to Montague and onto Hatchery road. I took some turns in the front, and was feeling really good pulling at 23-24MPH even though I couldn't last as long as I would have liked on my pulls. The final climb was up over the Poet's Seat hill. This split the group up one final time but we also swept up some riders who had started earlier. I really pushed up the climb, wanting to make sure I kept my 20+MPH average, and virtually sprinted the last 3 miles into the shop. No wind down time for me!

Sunday 7/14: Today was another nice summer day with temperatures in 80's and clear skies overhead. I left the shop and headed over to Montague Center where I was greeted by a group of eager riders. Along for the trip today was PJW, Jack, Kip, Mark, Service, Don McCool, and myself. The group split up at the start with PJW leading us up to the fire pit along the Telephone Pole Trail. We waited at the fire pit until Kip, Mark, Brian and that gang got to the top of the hill and then we headed off to do the Toilet Bowl Trail. We rode along at a good clip out to the power lines where Penny took the lead and headed us up to Red Rock. We rode over the hill and then up the Swamp Road to the Kiabuckus Trail. I led the way up the hill and I waited at the next trail intersection. I then led the riders over to the top of Willis Hill where we paused briefly before we headed down to the swamp. I took a rest at the bottom of the hill and then headed down to the BPT Trail. I waited for PJW to arrive and then we all followed her over to the tree, which we tapped before heading off to do the Banked Trails. We took the usual route back to the Telephone Pole Trail and then headed back to the center of town. I think that we have had about the best weather conditions and tonight was another beautiful warm summer day: It just don't get any better than this!!
The report below was submitted by Curt Bousquet.
Tuesday, July 16 Distance - 31.50 Average - 18.5
There were a lot of people I didn't know at tonight's ride. Bob was having an information meeting about the ALA ride this fall with a cookout after the ride, so quite a few people showed up that I've never met before. Just before the start time, It was still only Roger and I planning on going out together. I wasn't sure of the ability levels of the other riders, so was kind of curious to see how things would shake out. Bob had 3 different rides planned. Mary Ellen was going to take out a 10 mile ride, Bob was going to do a short loop up to Rte 10 then back via 5, and he was sending everyone else who wanted a longer ride on the Cave Hill ride. A few minutes before 6:00, John showed up so we added him to our group, then Marylyn(?) decided to see if she could keep up with our pace. I reassured her that we were not going to be going out at a race pace tonight. A good sized group of about 15 riders ended up starting out on the Cave Hill ride. I had already decided that I wasn't going to go out with the fastest group, but would enjoy an easier paced ride tonight. As always, things stretched out almost right away with the climb out of Turners to the market. The faster riders pulled away leaving a half dozen of us lagging behind. I let a few riders pass me at the top and dropped back to pace Roger up to speed. Roger, John and I headed down towards Turners with 3 other riders in view a few hundred yards ahead of us. We had to start off at an easy pace to give Roger a chance to recover after the climb, but within a few minutes I eased things up to 22-23MPH. I was feeling fairly strong, so stayed in front for the entire trip out to 63. We slowly made time on and eventually picked up one of the riders ahead and added him to our group. Finally, just as we reached 63, we swept up the final 2 riders to form the group of 6 that we would finish the ride with. I dropped to the back as soon as the climb East of 63 started. Roger and I dropped off a bit and I stayed back to pace him up. I was trying to set a pace that would slowly eat away the distance between us and the four other riders ahead, but didn't quite catch us back up before the Cave Hill turn. Just before the turn, I sprinted to the front to make arrangements to regroup after the descent on the other side of the climb. I felt good on this trip up Cave Hill. I started 5th out of 6 riders, but finished the climb on John's wheel, 2nd over the top. John and I raced down the backside, then had a drink at the intersection while we waited for the others to meet us. We started off slowly again down towards Leverett, but soon had a good paceline going. Roger must have started feeling good, since he raced off the front a few times leaving us all in his dust. Shortly, we were on 116 heading West. I was in the front again, enjoying pulling the group towards Sunderland at about 24MPH. I was starting to work out a strategy for the upcoming town line sprint when Tom came forward for a turn at the front. Perfect! Tom kept the pull all the way to the lights in Sunderland (which we caught red, so had to stop). Just before the lights, I yelled 'How you feeling' back to John. I KNEW he would be up for the sprint. John really caught me by surprise by starting his sprint as soon as we started up at the green light. He got a really good lead on me, and I yelled out 'Damn it!' in surprise as he pulled past me. I gave chase without too much hope of catching him. To my surprise, I started making up ground on him. I was trying to be quiet, hoping that he would get complacent and ease back (I found out later that he had a mirror and knew I was coming up on him). I was just about tapped out and ready to concede the sprint when I saw him ease back just a touch. This gave me the confidence to press on and I really stood on the pedals and gave it all I had. Just 20 feet from the line, I finally came up beside him. At the line I did all I could, pushing the bike forward as we crossed to take the sprint by inches. Later, I found that my heartrate had maxed out at 193. I coasted down as I rolled over the bridge. I was burnt and just hoped that I would have enough to get back to the shop! As we started up the next little rise, Roger went blasting past. Things went well up into Old Deerfield. As we pulled out onto Rte 5, I was starting to think about the Greenfield town line sprint, but somehow I ended up on the front of the group again! I jokingly asked Tom if he would pull us up to the sprint again, and he said 'sure'! He pulled past us and immediately took the pace up to 24-26MPH. I almost didn't catch onto his wheel as he pulled past, the speed difference was so high. After following him for a few miles, the town line sprint was the last thing on my mind as all I could think of was not falling off the back! Finally, about 1/2 a mile short of the line, he eased off the pace and I got rested enough to start thinking about sprinting again. Knowing that John has a tendency to go out early for the sprints, I was trying to strategically plan my move. John was behind me, which was a bad thing, so I had to try to go QUICKLY so he never had a chance to catch my wheel. But I knew that with a really quick sprint after this ride, I wouldn't last too long so had to put off the start as much as I could afford to. As we rolled up the little rise to the Cheapside bridge, I decide to go out just before the climb crested then push like hell down the other side. I looked once more to see if he had pulled out, then pulled to the left and pushed with everything I had to accelerate past Tom. A quick look back showed me that John was attacking but had not had any luck sticking to my wheel. I shifted twice as I pushed over the top of the bridge and over the other side. I wasn't quite sure exactly where the town line was, so kept the pressure on until I had passed the intersection. After this push, I was really toasted so John and I took it easy up the side roads. Tom caught up a few minutes later and we rolled back to the shop (John turned off a mile or so short of the shop to ride directly home).

Thursday 7/18: Our ride for tonight was the Millers Falls to Leyden route. This a 34 mile ride that really has only one hill, but it is a brute of a climb. The ride was delayed by a heavy shower at 6:00 and while we waited for the rain to stop a good sized group showed up for the trip. When the rain stopped I led the group out of the parking lot and up High Street. I was at the very back of the pack by the time everyone got across the street and I never saw Joe, Brad and the Bell Brothers take off and fly down the road. I worked my way up the line until I got near the front and I rode to the bottom of to make sure that nobody got hurt on the slippery corner. After everyone got around the corner and across the bridges we headed up the hill to the center of town. We regrouped at the red light and when it turned green we headed off to ride up the Third Street Hill. I rode in the front of the group with Curt, Jamie and Tommy Silko, and we set a good pace up the hill to the mini-market. After we got to the top we waited up for the rest of the group to arrive and then we all headed off towards Millers Falls. It was a fairly humid night and the roads were still quite wet. I tried to stay at the front to keep the pace steady as well as not be subjected to the spray off the tires of the riders ahead of me. I rode near the front most of the way out to RT. 63 and I took the occasional pull if my turn came up. We had 12 people in our group and we stayed together all the way out to Northfield. We found that the roads were dry all the way from the airport to Northfield where we got wet once again. I mentioned to QN that we would like to have the royal road dryers to accompany the entourage on the next occasion of rain. After that I rode along with Tommy to the turn onto RT. 10 and then I drifted to the back to ride down the hill. The group started to split up on the uphill and I dropped back and pulled Jeremy and a few others back onto the pack at the top of the hill. We then formed a double pace line and headed off towards Bernardston. My line mate was QN, and our turn came up just as we got near Gulf Road. We rode at a very respectable pace for about a mile or so before we pulled off. When we got to the back of the field we pulled in and we took a breather until we got to the center of town. At that point the line formed in single file and we took the left onto RT. 5&10 and I found myself at the front as we headed south. I dropped back a place or two before the turn onto West Mountain Road and the group groaned about who would take the lead. Tommy and I took the lead and I stayed at the front for about forty yards before the hill steepened and my legs died. Everyone went by me and I just settled in to work my way up the hill. I pushed on for a couple of miles and picked off several of the riders before the hill slackened a bit and I was able to gear up and close the gap on the leaders. I managed to catch up to the front and ended up riding with Tommy for a while. (Tom was really quite a bit ahead of us, but he kept circling back to us.) I rode near the middle of the group all the way to the last climb on Frizzle Hill, where I pushed hard and finished first to the top. I then led the troops down the hill and onto Greenfield Road. We all stayed together as we headed down the hill to the last steep descent at a pretty good clip (my computer was not working, so I did not have any data.). As the last downhill began I once again took the lead and headed down the descent to Greenfield where a group of five riders joined me for the run into town. I rode for the most part at the front with Tommy, and he and I rode up the last hill on Silver Street, where we slowed the pace a bit and soon we were joined by the bunch. I slid off the back of the group after we went through the traffic lights at Federal and I rode back to the shop at a slow pace. After a somewhat rainy start, the ride turned out to be a pretty good one.

Thursday, July 18 Distance - 34.5 Average - 19.2
Tonight's ride started out as an easy mostly flat ride over to Millers Falls, North to Northfield on 63, then east on 10 to Bernardston. We got a little bit of a late start because of rain, but waited it out in the garage of Bob's shop. As soon as the rain let up, we started out on wet roads but managed to avoid the rain for the rest of the trip. We set a nice pace up to Northfield. There wasn't much effort put out for the sprints, since everyone was saving up for the climb up Frizzle hill. I've managed to avoid this hill for the past few years, so didn't have a clue about what was coming up other than the talk I had heard about it in the past. I dropped just a bit at the start of the climb. I've found that it takes a mile or so for my body to switch from flat riding mode to 'hill climb' mode. After a mile or so, I was feeling pretty good so started to go forward in the group. The climb wasn't bad at all, kind of like the 'stairway to heaven' climb in Westminster, but twice as long at 5 miles. There were plenty of small flat sections and even a few short drops to give us a chance to catch our breath. After the last little sharp climb to the top, we dropped down the steeper backside. I wasn't familiar with the road, so made sure to stay behind a few other riders so I could track down their line and catch any cues about sharp turns or stops. Once back on Guilford Center Road, we set up a nice paceline heading South. One more big drop let us have some more fun, but the road was a little wet so we couldn't really let loose on this one. North of Greenfield, the group split as some of us (Bob, Jamie, Tom Silko, Jeremy?) pushed off the front and back to the shop as dusk began to fall.

Sunday 7/21: A small group of riders joined me for the ride to the Plains tonight. Along for the ride was Laura, Homer, Jon Parrott, Jack, Boy, and Rich Flye.

Wednesday 7/24: We had a big group show up for tonight's ride to the ridge. Along for the trip was Matthew and Harold Green, Boy, IP, MB, PJW, Homer, Rich Flye, Kip, Liam, Brad, Mark Newton and me.

Thursday, July 25 Distance - 36.96 Average - 19.8
This Thursday night Bicycles Unlimited ride was the Whately loop (clockwise). We'd done this route earlier in the year in the other direction, but this was the first time I've done the entire thing this way (I dropped off last year and got lost). We had a large group (about 25 riders) and set a fast pace to the bottom of Stillwater hill, where things split up and the 'A' riders went off ahead. I made it over the top of the hill with Michelle, who then charged off to try to catch Bob's wheel. She pulled all along the flats all the way to 116 but didn't quite catch him before the intersection. I was doing all I could do to hang on to her wheel! Finally, after crossing 116, we managed to bring the group back together. Things got strung out again after the turn by the Whately Inn. We dropped a few riders off the rear of the group, but could still see a few faster riders ahead that we couldn't quite catch. Bob went to the front a few times by the resivour to bring the pace up. This, along with Jamie, Michelle, myself and Tom Silko taking turns got us back to 116 at a pretty quick pace. As soon as we turned onto 116, I had a shifting problem so dropped back. I came over the top 100 yards behind the group and spent the downhill pushing full out to catch back on to them. I finally caught back on just as we turned off of 116. We took Stillwater at a pretty good clip (40+ for me), then slowed it down just a bit rolling back through Deerfield. As always, I lost a few 10ths from my 20mph average on the last 2 miles back to the shop. I still need to recalibrate my odometer, as everyone else showed a 20.2mph average or greater at the end compared to my 19.8.

Tuesday, July 30 Distance - 32.98 Average - 19.7

Tonight's ride turned into a circus by the end. Over the first mile, we went through a dozen patches of glass (all finely ground, evenly spread on the road, and the same color, as if someone had put it out on purpose). This caused a total of 7 flats for the group on the ride. Add to this an accident (Lynn) and several mishaps like broken water bottle cages and dropped glasses and the ride started to fall apart pretty quickly. The first split took place when those of us ahead of the accident (about 2 miles into the ride) never knew what happened behind us. We soft-pedaled over the top of River Road before hearing about it from a few riders who caught us when we stopped at the top. By that time, we were miles ahead of the group so decided to keep going. As the group split due to the accident and flats, people had different ideas of where they thought the route was supposed to be. As a result, I think we had riders all over the roads South of Deerfield in groups of 3 or 4. The group I was in turned left on 116 at the end of River Road then right on 47 South. Roger and another rider dropped off of our group of 7 on this stretch, but then on 116 heading back towards Sunderland, we picked up three more riders who had started riding this part of the loop backwards. We kept this group until 2 more riders flatted in Sunderland, so ended up finishing with 4 (none of whom I had started with)!

It was a good group, and we kept a good pace throughout the entire ride.