bikebob@crocker.com

July 1: We have had a few days of rain and generally bad weather, so we did not ride tonight.

July 4: I met Bryan Phillips and CTD at the shop around 11:30 because the rain this morning delayed our start time. It was very hot and humid as we headed out towards South Deerfield, so we kept the pace pretty mellow and we made it to the turn onto North Main St. in about 20 minutes. I was concerned that CTD was not doing well in the heat and so I sent him up RT. 47 and then back to the shop. Bryan and I continued on RT. 116 towards Amherst, but just as we got to Bull Hill RD. I decided to push it a bit. Big mistake! I blew up as I neared the top of the hill and I was soon pedaling along at abut 10 mph. I recovered a bit as we made the turn onto RT. 63 and soon I was back up to 18mph. We rode over the railroad bridge and I got a flat. As soon as I got it fixed we got going again, but I soon found myself falling off the back of Bryan's wheel as I tried to follow him down the hill towards Montague. I have gone up that hill faster. I decided to ride back to the shop, but I found myself struggling to keep a 15 mph pace. Bryan pulled me down Millers Falls Rd. and then down the hill into Turners Falls. After we crossed the White Bridge, I sent Bryan up the hill on Greenfield Rd. by himself, and I crawled up at 8 mph. After I got back to the shop I recovered a bit and then headed home for some rest.

Wednesday 7/7: I did not ride the last few days due to the intense heat and humidity, but I decided to do a solo road ride today in spite of that. I left the shop for my ride after I found out that the slacker Jay cut out early from work. Since I only had an hour and a half to ride I decided not to go over to his house to shag hi out for this one. My plan for today was to head down to Deerfield and ride over to Sunderland and then see how much time I had left and decide which way to go. I made good time as I rode down RT. 5&10 but I ran into road construction on RT. 116 and I ended up riding on the scarfed pavement for about a mile. My speed dropped from 20 mph to 8 mph and by the time I got on smooth pavement I had lost quite a bit of time. When I got to Sunderland I turned up RT. 47 and headed back to the shop through Montague. I rode about 25 miles and I made it back in the time allotted.

Thursday 7/8: Tonight we had another large turnout for the road ride. About 37 people showed up for a run up to Conway. I let Joe and Matt lead the faster group and I rode with the middle pack. MaryEllen took her group on an 18 mile trip to So. Deerfield. We all left the shop in a big group and rode down RT. 5&10 and turned onto Old Main St in Deerfield. Bryan Phillips flatted just as we made the turn and soon my group was riding with Joe and the faster crowd, as Joe's bunch left Bryan to fix his own flat. We made our way down Mill Village Rd., but soon Joe was pulling away from us and the groups had split again. I made the turn onto Stillwater RD with my bunch but things split up as we made our way up the hill. At the top of the hill Jim Roman rode back to help Joe Poirer, whose chain kept falling off, while the rest of us headed up the hill to Conway. Along with me was Nancy, Todd, Tim, and the Shilling's and we made our way up the hill in one pack. At the top of the hill we were joined by Wayne Holden and we all rode together down past the lake and then onto Williamsburg Rd. We rode at a steady pace to the Whately Inn. We re-grouped at the Inn and we decided to take the direct route back to the shop. We rode at a steady 20 mph as we headed north on RT. 5&10 and we all stayed together until Timster started to fatigue near the firehouse. I sent the rest of the group ahead, and I dropped back and rode back to the shop with Tim. We were once again treated to refreshments provide by CTD and Maxine. It was another great ride.

Sunday 7/11: I was feeling pretty lucky tonight as I headed over to the Montague Plains for the "Family Ride". I found a large group waiting for me when I arrived and after a few minutes we were ready to go. We formed three groups as we left the center of town; I rode with Lynn and Donna the Hon, while Kris, Kurt, Billy C., Matt, Matt, Patrick, Alex, Vinnie, Mike W., Mick, and Scott rode in the fast group. We also had Cathy, CTD, Maxine, Andy, Elizabeth,Tommy and Chris H., who rode in the last group. I headed out with the "Girls of Bete" and we made our way up the Telephone Pole Trail and then out to the second first left. After riding out to the end of the trail, we decided to ride on the Hidden Trail because there wouldn't be anyone else out there to bother us. Well we got about a hundred feet into the woods, and I was commenting on how nice it was to ride without those other yahoo's hounding us, when we were overtaken by the above mentioned yahoo's. It seems that they had seen us going onto the trail and decided to follow. Foiled again! After that bunch passed us, we headed for Willis Hill on the Middle Trail. Both of the girls made the climb and just as we got to the top, we caught CTD's ride as they approached the bottom of Willis Hill. After we arrived at the base of the hill we could see the Yahoo's riders on the top. A few of the riders made attempts to ride up the hill before my trio did, but I was the only one to ride up to the top. Donna and Lynn both made it further up the hill than they had in the past and we look forward to the time when they succeed. After a few minutes rest at the top we said goodbye to the faster group as they left for another loop around the hill and we headed back down the other side and then out to the main power lines. It was a very hot evening, so we decided to take it easy as we headed back to the Telephone Pole Trail and then to the Cemetery Trail.  We rode down the hill and then out to the wildlife refuse where Lynn and I saw a large pink bunny crossing the trail. Since no one else saw it, we made little comment on it and headed back to the vans where the usual refreshments awaited us.
    On a sad note, I hear that Pepper has not yet recovered enough to allow Ken to join us on the rides. I hope that his plight will receive attention soon, so that Ken can get back on the trail.

Tuesday 7/13:Tonight was the first women's MTB ride and Lynn was the only one to show up so we decided top give the ridge a try. Lynn was a little apprehensive about riding on terrain that is difficult and challenging as the ridge, but she was game and off we went. We rode up to the first steep climb and it was there that Lynn told me of her fear of heights. I told her to look the other way and she made the climb without difficulty. We rode over to the White Dot Trail and Lynn did very well as we rode over some pretty tricky terrain. We got to the parking lot at Poet's Seat and we rested for a moment and soon we headed out for Temple Woods. Lynn did very well as we rode over some pretty rocky sections of trail and she really did well on the very tough climbs. After we got to the end of the Ridge Trail we headed back to the shop on the Red Dot Trail. The ride back was not as difficult as the trip out and we made great time on the rolling trail. There was also another ride tonight lead by Matt and Patrick, and I will get a report as soon as I beat it out of Pat.

Thursday 7/15: Tonight was a fairly warm evening for a what has been a hot summer, so we decide to do a slightly flatter route than we have in the past few weeks. I have been running my kids bike camp so I did not want to push it too much, myself. I led the troops out of the shop and over to Turners Falls and then up the hill to the Crestview Mini-Mart. I kept the group together to that point so that everyone would make the right turn and get out to Montague. As soon as we crested the hill, a large group of riders took off and I sort of rode in between them and Becky and Steve. After a few minutes I could see that the front group was motoring off, so I gave chase and caught up to them as the got to Hatchery Rd. At this point, as few of the riders were starting to fall off the pace, I got the riders who were drifting off the back to form a group and ride together.  I told them that if the pace was too high that they should slow down and that other riders would catch up with them. After that I rode up to the front group and hopped onto the back of that bunch. This group was led by George Katzar and Sean Kelley. I rode out to RT. 63 with them at a fairly brisk pace as we turned and headed towards Amherst. We kept the group together as we approached the Mt. Toby riding stables, but soon after that, we lost over half of the group as the pace kept getting faster and many people were tiring. I rode at the front as we neared the Quaker Meetinghouse and as I got near the bottom of the hill, George jumped me and made a charge up the hill. I quickly gave chase and soon I was going up the hill at 33 mph. I caught that sandbagger three quarters of the way up and soon passed him as we neared the top. The group was pretty much splintered as we rolled down the other side, and it took a couple of miles to get everyone back on. We pushed up the hill towards Amherst and as we neared the top Matt, Timmy, Bryan and the rest of their group sprinted past us. It was Matt who won the "town line" sprint. My group kept going as Matt made a wrong turn onto a dead end road, and we sailed down the hill and turned right onto Cowles Ave. We turned right onto Amherst Rd. and then onto RT. 116. We made great time as we rode through Sunderland Center and just as we were about to turn onto River Rd, in Deerfield, we were once again overtaken by Matt's bunch. Our two groups stayed together as we rode up River Rd. for about a mile, but I found that the 25 mph pace was too much, and I dropped off the back with several others of my group. I rode back to the shop with George and Sean at a 20 mph pace. Once we got back we treated ourselves to refreshments provided by CTD and Maxine. We had great fun regaling our trip with the rest of the folks who come back in groups of twos and three's.

Sunday 7/18: It was already a hot day at 9:00am and I decided to take a flatter route than we have in the past. Along for the ride was MPM, Lori, Steve, CTD, Larry Dean, Timster, Wayne, Joe P., Denise, and me. We left the shop and headed south on RT. 5&10. We turned left onto River Rd. and we rode as a group all the way down to RT. 116. Along the way we picked up Rob Lapointe, who was riding by himself, and he rode with us until we turned onto River Rd in Whately and he headed for home. Our group was starting to get fatigued as the heat took its toll on the riders who were now out of the shade of Deerfield and into the open farmland of the south county. We stayed together until we got to Hatfield when CTD wanted to rest and Steve stayed with him. I took the rest of the group up King St and across RT. 5&10 and onto Chestnut St. At some point after we crossed the road we somehow lost contact with Lori. I'm not sure what happened but, MPM volunteered to go back to look for her. I took the rest of my group and we headed back down to RT. 5&10 and then we turned north and rode back toward Greenfield. We caught CTD and Steve just as we got to Hope St and Larry and I rode with them back up High St. to the shop. We enjoyed the refreshments provided by CTD, as the rest of the crew rode back in.

Tuesday 7/20: I was joined for tonight's ride by Lynn, Kris, Alex and Mick and we left the shop for the trails behind Stop&Shop at 6:00. I rode with Lynn while the others sped off ahead. When Lynn and I got to the top of the hill near Lodge Tire, I decided to send her down to the parking lot to wait for me, while I went off to sweep the trails and get everyone together on the road. As I neared the end of the trail, I saw Alex coming down, and I thought everyone would be waiting for us on the road. Well, when we got to the road, it was just me and Alex.  I sent Alex off to get Lynn who was waiting for me at the parking lot and I headed off to try to catch the other two. I rode all the way over to the Coke Plant and it was there that I found Alex, all by himself. By now I was beginning to get nervous, since I couldn't find either Mick or Kris and Alex said he didn't see Lynn at the parking lot. At this point I sent Alex back down Adams Rd and I went over to the turn around to wait. As I rode around, Kris came out of the woods and said that he went looking for Lynn along the trails behind S&S and he did not see anyone. He and I waited for a couple of minutes and the we headed off to collect Alex and retrace our path back to the shop. We rode over to Canada Hill and I sent Kris up to Lodge Tire and I went the other way and we agreed to meet at the trailhead. As I got to the trails, I saw Kris coming down the road waving me on. I headed out to the road, where everyone was waiting. I found out that Lynn had been waiting there all the time and that Alex missed her when he rode by. After I got hammered by Lynn for not following my own directions, we headed for the Coke plant and a quick lap around. Lynn made it all the way up Luke Skywalker for the first time and after a brief rest at the water tank we all headed out to the power lines. We rode down to the Hill of Doom and Alex, Kris and I rode it to the top. By now it was getting late and we decided to start back to the shop. Alex, Mick and Kris went up to Double Death while Lynn and I headed over to Five Points to meet them. We got to Five Points to find Mick waiting. He said that Alex and Kris did a longer loop and would be right along. Lynn and I decided to head back and we left Mick to wait for the others. We all arrived at the shop safe and sound in a group after Kris and company caught up with us on the road. 

Thursday 7/22: Tonight I was leading the middle group as Steve and Becky are away. There were 46 people who came out for the ride on a warm somewhat muggy night. Matt and Joe took the front group of five and headed for Wendell, while MaryEllen took her ten person bunch and headed for Bernardston. That left me with thirty one people. Several of the riders offered to lead the different segments of the group, and I quickly accepted the offer. I rode out of the shop at a 14 mph pace and kept the group together as we made our way over to the traffic lights in Turners Falls. As we neared the lights, Sean and George took a group of ten people and headed off through the green light, while I waited with the remainder of the group for the light, which had turned red before we got there. After we got through the light, I let the group pull past me as we headed up the big hill. As I got near the back of the group I noticed that Lynn was in the small crossover gear, so I dropped in behind her to offer some coaching. I told her to shift to an easier gear and I saw her move the lever, but the gear didn't change, so I assumed that she did not know how, so I told he to move the entire lever to the left. She told me that she was and that nothing was happening, so I rode up and gave he a little push to help her to the top of the hill. When we got to the top, I had Lynn pull over and I tried to shift her bike, thinking that she must have not known how to. Wrong! As I shifted the bike I could see that nothing happened , so I looked at the cable and I saw that it was just hanging loosely on the cable stop. It seems that the fixing bolt had fallen out of the cable boss on the downtube and her wire was not being pulled when she shifted. By this time the main group was just passing us so I told Lynn to hop on her bike and that I would catch the group and have them wait for me to fix the problem. As I rode up the line MPM told me that Jo was having a problem with her saddle position. I made it to the front and asked everyone to hold up. I realized that I needed a screw to fix Lynn's bike so Gary offered one of his unused water bottle boss bolts, which I knew to be the ones for the shifter. I got Lynn going and then I raised Jo's saddle and soon we were underway again. We rode out to Millers Falls and then took RT. 63 and headed towards Northfield. The road surface is very rough and we had to dodge quite a few large potholes as we rode along. Everyone did very well and we got to the wider road near Northfield Farms and it was there that we formed a double pace line and got everyone a little "rest". I suggested that the group should eat their power food and get a drink of water as we had a long hill on RT. 10 to climb. Everyone complied, and we soon were at the top of the hill and rolling on towards Bernardston. When we got to the intersection of Rt. 5 and it was there that we found Charlie, Marty, and Larry waiting for us. We all joined up and headed for Greenfield. I took the front as we passed Indoor Action and I led the group up the hill and it was there that I found Steve along the side of the road fixing a flat. I waved the group along and I stopped to help Steve. After I got his tire inflated we headed back to the shop, to find CTD refreshing the crew with the usual beverages. Everyone made it back safely and I am grateful for that.

Sunday 7/25: I was met at the shop by CTD, Nancy, Jack, Marty, John Pretto, George and Larry for our road ride. We decided to do the Tyler Hill ride, and since it would be cooler to ride on RT. 142 earlier than later, we rode the loop counter clockwise. We left the shop and headed up Adams Rd. then we continued onto Lampblack Rd and finally we arrived at Streeter's Store. We turned right and headed east on RT. 10, and we turned onto RT. 142 in Gill.  At this point our group was down to four as the rest of the crew decided to ride at a little more mellow pace and they were following us. We headed north on RT. 142 and after giving directions to someone looking for the Freewheeler's ride, we made our way up to Vernon VT. As a special treat, I sang some of my favorite songs to the riders as we rolled along the scenic Vermont byway. I do this just to make the riders trip even more enjoyable. After a fashion we arrived at the turn for Tyler Hill, and after assuring Marty that this was indeed a long hill, we began our ascent. I set a mellow pace as it was a hot day and I did not want to kill the other riders. George was kind enough to take the lead, and after noting that I was following at a slower pace, he generously allowed me to hitch a ride on his seatpost. His generosity was not endless however.and after a brief tow he asked me kindly to disengage from this bike. I cordially complied and soon we were all back in a bunch at the top of the hill. Nancy won the hill sprint as George was way to pooped to contest the sprint with her. We all made it safely down the hill and onto RT. 5&10. We rode at a pretty good clip all the way back to Greenfield and we ended the ride with a 19 mph average. Not bad considering that Nancy had to do most of the work for George (who is, after all, getting on in years) and me. When we got back to the shop, we cracked open the cooler and imbibed the beverages provided by CTD, while waiting for him, Larry and Jack to arrive. Everyone, except George, had a good time. (George always complains about something)

Tuesday 7/28: There were two rides scheduled for tonight. The first was led by Cathy and CTD that left at 6:00.  Cathy, CTD, Tracy and several of the kids left for a trip to the Coke Plant. They did a ride that lasted about an hour and a half. Also going on a ride tonight was Matt P., who rode up to the ridge with "Team Polski" and Billy Cowan. They did a hard lap and almost lost Billy, when his front tire blew on a fast, rocky descent near the end of the ride.
    The other ride was our season's first night ride and was led by myself and CTD. (Yes, he did two rides.) Along for the trip was Patrick, Alex, Lynn, Kris, Ryan C., and Stephanie Swinerton. It was a beautiful summer evening with a full moon rising (Does this say anything to you?) as we left the shop. We made our way over to the Coke Plant by riding down Gill Rd. and crossing RT. 2. This was Stuffy's first ride on her new bike and she did exceptionally well on some pretty tough trails. We rode the trails up to the circle near the Coke Plant and we regrouped. I was riding with a low battery since I didn't check to see that it was plugged in yesterday, so I didn't have my usual blinding illumination. But with the full moon, it didn't matter, and we all had no trouble seeing the trails. After a moments rest we headed for the trails and soon we were at Five Points. From there we headed to Luke Skywalker. CTD led the way and I followed Stuffy and Lynn, helping them with shifting and getting used to riding with lights on some pretty technical sections. Lynn rode away from Stuffy and I, as she is now able to ride up most of the hills in the area, and she was waiting for us at the top of the climb with the rest of the bunch. We rested and drank some water before heading over to the power lines. We rode down the power line trail at a reasonable pace as everyone was still ajusting to the lights and I didn't want anyone getting hurt on the rough terrain. When we got to Red Rock, we were treated to a spectacular lightning show off to the east. Our sky was perfectly clear, but we could see the lightning in the sky to the east, it was amazing. After viewing the show for a while, we headed off for the bottom of the hill. we rode straight down the road and at the bottom I sent CTD around the usual way while Stuffy and I headed for Five Points. Stuffy was getting tired and when everyone got to Five Points everyone headed back for the shop the same way we came. All the riders got back safely and it was a great way to start the season.

Thursday 7/29: Tonight we had the pleasure of having Joe Specht and Dave Yetter stop by with their Shaklee performance products. It was a special pleasure to see Joe, as he was team member of the  famous Onion River/Stowe/Shimano bike club, back in the day. I have many fond memories of competing with that club. Ron Poplar, who was also a member of that team, came out for the ride tonight as well. That team was certainly the strongest team in New England, and everyone had their work cut out for themselves when that crew showed up at a race.
    We had forty three people show up for the ride tonight and I was glad to have Steve and Becky back to help me out. Matt Putnam took a group of ten and headed out for a 38 mile loop up to Conway, while MaryEllen took her group of ten and headed for the Deerfield route that she has done several times in the past. I took the lead of the remaining twenty three riders, with Steve and Becky following with the sweep. I rode at about 20mph as I headed down RT. 5&10 and I got to the turn at Old Deerfield with about twelve or so riders. Included in the Bunch was "Big Al" Ross who served as my personal punching bag in absence of George "I didn't hear you" Katsar. After the turn Sean Kelley and "Big Al" went to the front and powered the bunch as we headed for Stillwater Hill. I drifted to the back of the group and I chatted with CTD, Lynn, and several others and I told them to make sure that they stayed together, because the group would likely split up at the hill. The ride to Stillwater Rd. was at pretty good clip and everyone stayed in the group as we prepared to climb the hill. After we made the turn onto Stillwater Rd. I moved toward the front to keep an eye on things as we neared the hill. As we started up the hill I noticed that the usual gang was pushing the pace, but I also noticed that among those people was Christine Perhnam. Christine was hammering up the hill at an amazing pace and soon she was at the top and I was impressed. After we got to the top, however, she started to fall off the pace and I could see that she did a little more than she should have. I told her to take it easy and that CTD and Lynn were coming right behind her. I also spied Roy Ramsdell along the side of the road, but he said that he was OK and I continued on to catch up with the main group, which at this point almost out of sight. I caught the bunch as they were rolling down So. Mill River Rd. and soon we had a group of about 10 or so. I caught up with Bob Immler and we chatted as I closed on the back of the bunch with him. But Bob drifted off the back as we climbed the small hills toward Whately and I left him to get with rest of the riders. As I turned to go down Christian Lane I saw Gary Richardson go straight and I hollered to him and he turned back. He and I rode down the hill and across RT. 5&10 to catch up once again, but we were slowed down by a train. it seems that the main group split in two, and after just beating the gate we were caught in between. We hammered for quite a while but we couldn't catch them. At this point Gary had to turn around to head for home. I rode up river road and I finally caught up with "Big Al" and Ray Salle and I rode back to the shop with them. After we returned we were treated to the usual refreshments provided by CTD.