June 2003 Ride Report Page    

Here you will find the reports of our exploits for the month June 2003 more or less as they happened. I will publish any ride reports that I receive. Please send them to  bikebob@crocker.com and you too can get yourself published on the web!

Sunday 6/1: My race went great! It was a ton of fun even though it was wicked muddy. I'm glad I wasn't racing in the expert category cause the trail would be completely and totally ripped up. Although it wasn't raining at the time of my race it had been raining the day before. It was a pretty technical track, but it was so muddy that you'd just spin your tires going up some of the hills. I did find a new way of increasing my speed, which is to concentrate on passing the man in front of you, if you can see him. It worked quite well. I'll give you more details on the ride tomorrow if there is one. This is a report that I received from Beau Brennan

Tuesday, June 3rd B.U. Conway/River Road Distance - 38.96 Average - 20.2 7d - 73.87
It finally looks like we are into 'summer' weather for some of these rides. The temps were in the low 70s for tonight's start. We had a group of 15+ as we started into town and down to Deerfield. I've been off the bike since last Thursday, so tried to hang around in the back of the group until I knew how I was going to be feeling. The group sucked me along through Deerfield and to the bottom of Stillwater. I don't know if the people up front were working hard, but I felt like I could stop pedaling and just let the draft pull me along. Stillwater took an effort, but I never had to drop into my 30 in the front and made it to the top somewhere in the middle of the group. Michelle was 20' ahead, with the front riders another 75' ahead of her, so I started closing the gap on her. A minute later, Todd pulled past me and I stuck myself to his wheel and let him pull me and Michelle the rest of the way onto the front group. Once on 116, the pace staid fairly high. We maintained between 18-22MPH on the lower part of the climb. This pace only started to slack as the slope gradually steepened near the top. I cracked a mile or so before the top of the climb and let myself fall off the back. I could probably have stayed on, but I knew that there were more hills coming and a fast run up River Road so I really wanted to hold something in reserve. I dropped down the other side of the ridge and made the left towards Whately I noticed that the group of 5-6 riders ahead had sat up and were letting the group come back together. I rejoined them, but as soon as the next climb started I let myself fall back off again, planning to wait for the next group to come by at an easier pace. Fortunately for me, Michelle and Dan and had missed the turn off of 116 and, after a short detour, were now coming up from behind me trying to catch the front riders. When they came by me, I managed to catch Michelle's wheel and stuck to it while Dan gifted us with an awesome pull all the way back on to the main group. Things got easy for a while on the last stretch to the reservoir, then a few miles of rollers until we hit (and almost missed turning at) Strippe road. Just a bit before the Inn, we spotted Jamie coming in the other direction. He had decided to run the route backwards and hook up with us for the trip back. He turned to join us, and soon we were on River Road heading North. I took the first pull on River Road after the stop at the intersection and brought things up to about 24MPH before dropping to the rear of the group and having a quick Gu. We kept a paceline all the way across 116, when I got another pull right up the bottom of the first climb. This didn't work for me at all. I hit the bottom of the climb tired from my turn in front and could do nothing but watch as the group slowly crept away from me. Jamie was nice enough to slow up for me at the top of the climb, and we set out to catch the one other lone rider we could see ahead. It turned out to be Michelle, who we caught on the flats just before the last River Road climb. The three of us set a nice easy pace back into town. I challenged Michelle for the Greenfield line mostly to see if she was going to respond to my sprint, but as I sprinted past her I saw her take a few hard strokes then decide to let me have it, so I got that one by default. We sat up as we turned off of Rte 5 onto the back roads, and took the last few miles at a slow pace to help us cool down. I know that if Michelle and Dan hadn't missed a turn, I would never have seen the group again after getting dropped in Conway. I probably would have limped home alone and had a much slower average. So I've got their ill fortune to thank for the good ride I had tonight. This is a report that I received from Curt Bousquet

Tuesday 6/3: After a very long day at the shop I wasn't sure that I was going to be up for the ride to Whatley tonight, but as the riders rolled in, I decided to get ready to head out. Tonight I had planned on a ride up to Conway and then over to Whatley. This is a tough ride even when I am feeling great, but I have been pretty tired and I have a cold, so this one could get ugly. We had 20 riders show up for the 38 mile ride, with 16 of them doing the longer trip. MaryEllen and several riders did a 28 mile loop. I led the group out of the parking lot and down to Old Deerfield at a pretty good clip. After the turn onto Old Main Street, I wisely decided to pull aside and let others lead the way. I drifted to the back of the group and sat in while the faster riders set the pace. I had no trouble sitting in as we wheeled over to Stillwater Road, but as soon as we got to the hill, I went right out the back door. I climbed the hill and tried to catch up with the group, but I was only able to push about 21 mph and that was clearly not going to get the job done. I rode along at a steady pace, hoping that I would catch a break and the group would slow down for the two stop signs (Not that I ever slowed for them!). After making the turn onto RT. 116 I was able to catch the group as they slowed down a bit. I stayed with the bunch all the way to the school hill, but at that point I came off the back again. I passed Rob Macks, who had started about 30 minutes ahead of me, and headed up the climb at a 12 mph pace. Usually the bunch goes up this hill at 15 mph so I knew that I was getting dropped pretty badly. I crested the hill and I could see a few other riders way ahead of me and I again hoped that maybe the group would have to slow down to make the turn onto Whatley Road. I did see some of the riders on the next climb and I came pretty close to catching Lana and Mooseboy, but I was never able to make the last push to connect to the back. After getting to the top of the hill near the swimming hole, there was no one in front of me, so I settled in to ride at my own pace. I kept a pretty steady tempo all the way to Whatley where I decided to take the back way home. I rode over to So. Mill River Road and after crossing RT. 116 I then took Lee Road back to Mill Village Road. I turned left and headed back to Greenfield by myself. I was really whipped when I got back to the shop, but I was glad that I was able to keep even the 18 mph average, given how I felt. I hoping to get some rest over the next few days, so things could be looking better for Thursday.

Wednesday 6/4: Tonight I had scheduled a MTB ride, but due to the potential for thunderstorms, we did not ride. As it turns out, we could have ridden, because the storms didn't arrive until after dark.

Thursday 6/5: I really was feeling pretty punk tonight so I decided not to do the ride. It was a 40 mile ride down the valley, but I just was not up to it.

Sunday 6/8: I went over to the center of Montague for the MTB ride at 5:20 tonight. I was a really nice evening with temps in the 70's and plenty of sunshine. Joining me today was Wayne Holden, Laura Evans, Mike S., and Jack. We left the center of town and headed over to the Telephone Pole Trail with Jack in the lead. We rode at a steady pace up the hill and then we followed Jack over to the Toilet Bowl Trail. We rode out to the power lines and paused for a minute before Laura took over the lead. She took us along some seldom used trails that eventually connected to the sandy road which we took out to the sand pit. Mike was having some difficulty riding in the sand so I stayed with him and gave a few pointers on sand riding. After we crossed the sand pit we headed for Willis Hill. We rode up the west side of the hill and the trail was pretty muddy and wet which made the going pretty tough for Mike. I waited near the top of the first climb for Mike to catch up and then we rode over to the pine forest to begin the climb to the top of Willis Hill. After Mike got onto the trail, I rode on ahead and caught up with the rest of the group as they waited at the top of the hill. We waited for Mike to arrive before heading down the right side of the hill. This is the only rideable route left, as the rain has washed out the left trail completely and we will have to do some work to be able to ride that one again. At the bottom of the hill we headed through the swamp and then over to Red Rock. Wayne and Jack decided to try the left side route down the Red Rock Trail while Laura, Mike and I headed down the right side. Soon after we started Jack and Wayne came back to join us because the pond along the left trail had completely flooded the path and they did not want to swim across. When we got to the bottom of the hill we crossed the brook and headed on toward the BPT Trail. My intentions were to ride the BPT, but Jack missed the turn and so we all headed back to Plains Road and then took a right. I caught up with Jack and we turned onto another less traveled trail which we took all the way to Parrott's Trail. I rode with Wayne to the turn on the trail and then I stopped to make sure that everyone went the right way. After Mike passed me, I hopped back on my bike and caught up with the group. We sped along the flat trails out to the power lines where we took a left. Jack, Wayne and I raced along the power lines and onto the Telephone Pole Trail, We really ripped the last section of the trail and soon we were waiting out on the hardtop for Mike and Laura. When Mike and Laura arrived I rode back to the center of town with them. I felt much better today than I have in the recent few weeks and all in all, I had a great ride. The other riders seemed to have had a good time and I look forward to a good week of riding.

Tuesday 6/10: I have not done a new route in quite some time so tonight I planned a brand new 43 mile loop over to Wendell. I was feeling a little better tonight so I suited up for the ride. It was a nice sunny day with temperatures in the 70's and low humidity and we had 23 rides show up for the trip. I was late getting started, so we did not get on the road until 6:20 or so. (This would prove to be important a little later.) I rode near the front with Parrott and Brad after we left the shop and I wanted to keep the group together for as long as possible, so that no one would get lost on the way. The group went through the center of Turners Falls and we all made the left onto Ave A. which took us to the Gill-Montague Bridge. At the traffic light on RT. 2 the group got split up when the light turned red. I waited at the bottom of the hill for everyone to get across the highway and then I rode up the hill at the back of the bunch. After we got to the top of the hill we could see the rest of the riders just ahead. I rode up to the group with my bunch in tow and soon we were all back together again. As we started the climb, Jamie had a asthma attack and he had to turn back, but he said that he would be fine so I continued on. The group continued on Main Road and I rode near the front of the group for a little way but eventually I fell back some. After we made the turn onto RT. 10, Dan Laroche got a flat and we had to leave him behind to fend for himself. After leaving Dan I pushed on ahead to catch up with Parrott and Brad, just to make sure that they turned left at the next intersection. After catching them I slowed the group down so the everyone could rejoin the group before the climb. We all made the turn onto Warwick Road and began the climb together, but it wasn't long before the the pace picked up and I started to fade to the back. I kept a pretty even pace for a while but as we neared the town line the hill steepened and I was forced to slow even more. At this point I was in a group that included MB, IP, and Jaap. We rode a pretty good tempo up the hill and still had Homer and Mike in sight before the swamp. As we continued up the hill we were able to catch up with Mike  and he joined us for the rip down the hill towards RT. 2A. We rode downhill at a pretty good clip with Jaap and Mike leading the way. As we got to a bumpy section of the road I heard a loud pop coming from Jaap's wheel and I saw him wobble to the side of the road. It seems that he had broken a couple of spokes and was unable to continue. I told Jaap to wait on the roadside and that I would come and get him in the van (I was hoping that the mosquito's wouldn't eat him alive in the meantime). I then continued on with Mike, IP and MB. MB and I did the lion's share of the pulling ( OK, MB did the work!) and soon we were on the climb into Wendell. This climb is pretty steep and has several switchbacks along the 4 mile pitch, which makes judging the length of the hill much harder. If you are not careful ( or Lance), you could run out of energy before you run out of hill! Our little group used good judgment on the climb and IP had enough energy at the top to sprint to the crest of the hill. At this point the sun was setting and so we made the turn towards Millers Falls and pedaled hard down the hill. As I was heading to the last steep descent, I thought I saw Jaap's wife driving the truck up the hill, and I hoped that she was going to be able to find him out in Warwick. After we got to the state park I wound it up and hit 50 mph for most of the last 2 miles to the bottom of the hill. I waited at the bridge for the rest of the riders to come along and then we all headed back through Turners Falls to Greenfield. We arrived at the shop just as it was getting dark and I had to quickly get my bike put away and head out to pick up Jaap. I drove back over to Warwick and just as I headed up the road to the lake, Jaap drove down the hill in his truck. His wife found him and so I followed him back to the shop where he picked up his car. All in all it was a great ride on a really beautiful route, and I we will do this one again, soon.

Thursday, June 12th B.U. Whately/River Road Distance - 42.54 Average - 21.4
Tonight's ride was one of the flattest you can have in this area. About 20 riders started out South through Old Deerfield then up Stillwater hill. I was feeling rested at the bottom of the hill and ready to attack it at a good pace, but the group was spread out 5 abreast on the road and I couldn't squeeze myself through any gaps so ended up riding with the group on the bottom part of the hill. Once the group thinned out a bit, I made my way forward and managed to come over the top just 50 feet or so behind the front group. We made our way down to the 4-way stop, at which point the entire group had pretty much come back together. The short section of 116 we had to ride on was being prepared for resurfacing, so was scarified and full of potholes. I think this is where I lost a spoke, as my computer started misbehaving shortly after this section (the spoke that came out was the one with the computer's magnet on it). One rider flatted on this section, so we all got a break while did a quick tube change. The pace remained high down past the Inn, then all the way out until the road we were on came back onto Rte 5. We continued South to Interstate 91's exit 21, where we finally crossed over onto River Road (?) and started making our way North once again. Instead of letting off at this point, everyone took a drink and downed a 'Gu' and the pace picked up! We ended up setting up a rotating paceline as we made our way back to 116. This finally fell apart when people began setting themselves up for the town line sprint just short of 116. The final climbs on River Road North of 116 pulled the group into three smaller groups. I rode in the middle one with Tom Martyn, Todd, and Michelle. We kept the pace high back into town. This was the fastest pace ride I think I have ever been able to hand on to. I'm very glad there were no major climbs... This is a report that I received from Curt Bousquet

Sunday 6/15: It was a gorgeous day today and I was glad to be able to get out for a nice MTB ride. I rode over to Montague with Gary Bordeaux with Bill Sauer following us in his car. We arrived at the common and were greeted there by Rob Armstrong, Parrott (on his 'cross bike) , Jack, Harold Green, Peter Truesdell, Mike Willard, and Beau Brennan. We left the center of town and headed over to the Telephone Pole Trail which we took to the fire pit. We paused for a moment at the fire pit to decide which route we would take over to Willis Hill, and the consensus was that we would ride the power lines over to Parrott's Trail. As we rode along I followed Beau and Parrott as they led the group over the moguls to the Second First Left. As we made the turn Parrott picked up the pace and Beau down shifted to try to keep up, but he was in a crossover gear and as soon as he stood up, his chain broke. It was pretty impressive to watch Beau running with his bike while still straddling the top tube. He managed to hop back onto the saddle and then he was able to stop safely. Peter and Gary were with me at that time so I sent them along to catch up with rest of the riders while I stayed to make the repair. It only took a couple of minutes to install a new link and then Beau and I headed off to catch up with the group. We rode a little way and we encountered Parrott who was waiting for us at the turn that the group took (Not the one we agreed on, mind you!) and we took a left and headed out to the Banked Trail. The group was waiting for us at the Banked Trail and we paused for a minute to discuss the route from here. We decided to take some of the less sandy trails over to the hill and we were shortly on our way. We kept a pretty even pace over to the bottom of the hill and began the climb. I was near the back of the group and had to pass several riders on the way up, but except for a couple of dabs, I rode all the way to the top. I rode over to the swamp and waited at the turn so that everyone would make it over to the last climb without swimming. Well as I watched the last rider pass (Bill Sauer) I noticed that he took a particular route through the water that I knew has a lot of logs under the surface, but before I could say anything I saw Bill slip and fall right into the soup. Yep, he fell right into the muck. He was alright but he sure did stink when he got out. I then took the lead with Bill and Gary behind and they followed me out to the trail where the rest of the group was waiting for us to arrive. We decided to take the trail over to Willis Hill and try to ride up to the top. I was feeling pretty good and decided to take the left side up since the right side is really rutted and would be tough for anyone to do. I rode up about half way but had to dismount in the soft sand. It was really too soft to ride on and I had a hard time even getting back on solid footing to walk up the hill. No one made it up the hill today and after a brief pause we headed out to ride over to the pine forest. (You really have to keep going on your bike this year as the mosquito's are large enough to carry off a cat. In fact I believe that some of them have storage capacity that would rival a C-130 air tanker. ) We decided to drop a rider at the turns so that no one would get lost. I rode past Beau who was at the first turn and then I headed to the next turn to wait for the last rider to pass. As it turns out, Bill was the last rider and I followed him up the hill for a short way. I passed him when he dismounted on some slippery rocks and I headed up the hill to the swamp. When I got there, Peter was just going through and Gary was just behind him. They did OK riding through the muck so I decided to wait for Bill to come along. I watched Bill as he approached the swamp and I directed him to take a certain line. At first he hesitated, but then he started to ride across, but he stopped a little way into the water and then turned around to try again. Before I could say a word, Bill was rushing headlong into the mire and he instantly went down into the goop. He was covered from head to toe with a stinking, slimy mud that stank to high heaven! Bill was pretty good natured about it and soon we were up with the rest of the group, telling his story of woe. At this point it was getting late so we decided to take the Kiabuckus Trail down to the Swamp Road. From there the group rode over to Red Rock and then down the hill to the Brook Trail. We followed Parrott out to the sand pit and then over to the Power lines. We rode down the power lines and took the Toilet Bowl Trail back to the Telephone Pole Trail. I kept the pace pretty high as we headed down the hill and soon I was out on the hardtop road. I waited until all the riders were safely across before heading back to the van. It was a nice night and everyone seemed to enjoy the ride.

Tuesday 6/17: The weather today couldn't have been any nicer for our trip up to Shutesbury. The temperatures were in the 70's and although there was a stiff breeze at times, it was altogether a perfect night to ride. We had 27 riders show up for the trip tonight. The route to Shutesbury and back is 43 miles and about 9 people headed out for that while the Leisure Group headed off to do 25 miles, and my group of 12 riders went out to do the 38 mile Cave Hill Ride. We left the shop at 6:10 and headed over to Turners Falls where Baby Bell and I demonstrated the fine art of balance at the stop light in the center of town. After our track stand effort, we headed off for the hill and as soon as we got there, IP sprinted to the front. I led the remainder of the group behind her and when we got to the top of the hill I gathered up the last few riders and we headed over to Montague Center. I took the lead and kept the pace at a steady 19 mph, but when Mark Newton got to the lead the pace went up to 23 mph. 

Wednesday 6/18: Tonight was our trip to Northfield. It was a cloudy, muggy day and I was not sure that we were even going to get the ride off, but at 6:00 the roads were dry and the sun came out so Gary and I packed up the van and we headed off to Northfield. Joining us up in Northfield was Beau, Liam, Jack, Bart, Robin Armstrong and Josh Tower. When I got to the parking spot, Josh had already left to get started on the trails. His plan was to meet up with us and ride for a while before he had to leave for an appointment. We all got our gear ready and soon we were heading for Louisiana Road. After we made the turn onto Louisiana I could hear some nasty sounds coming from Bart's drivetrain. He was having a terrible time keeping the chain on the cogs and he dropped to the back near the gate. I looked over the situation and I could see that he had several broken teeth on the middle ring and the chain had a hell of a bend in it. I told Bart not to stand up on the climbs as the matter was when and not if his chain would break. After getting back on the bike I came upon Rob who was also having difficulities. His problem was also in the drive train but involved the cassette and freehub. I got him going and soon we were all at the reservoir. It wasn't raining out, but it sure was wet in the woods. The trails were damp from all the recient rains and I decided to take a less aggressive trail tonight. We left from the reservouir and headed up the snowmobile trail. I stayed at the back out of necessity. One, I didn't have the energy to ride at the front and two, I wanted to make sure that Bart was not stranded with a broken chain. Bart was just behind me and his machine made enough noise that I did not have to look to see how far back he was. In front of me was Rob who struggled, but managed to stay with the group. After we got to Four Corners, I had to rest for a moment, although I used the pretext that I was figuring out which way we were heading. (Hmmm, the sun is over there, and we are over here....) After a reasonable time I got the group headed down the Blue Trail. I followed Gary and Bart for most of the way down the hill, but they took a wrong turn and I hollered for them to follow me. Gary caught up with me just before the last climb and I let him pass so that I could wait for Bart. I could hear him coming for quite a distance and then silence. Next I heard some naughty words from Bart and I caught sight of him walking up the trail. Well, the inevitable happened, and Bart was now chain in hand heading for Cinder Road. I rode out to the spot where the rest of the group was waiting and told them of Bart's woe. As luck would have it we were near the highest point of the ride so when Bart arrived, he headed off to coast down Cinder while the rest of us headed back to the top of the hill. I thought it would be fun to try to ride up the Yellow Trail, so we humped up to the trailhead and began the steep climb. Liam tried to go up first, but his tires slipped out on some rocks. We all soon followed with varying degrees of success, but no one made it up the hill. After reaching the Green Trail we decided to head back to the Snowmobile Trail. The Green Trail was pretty slippery and the going was slow, so that when we got to the end of the trail it was getting dark in the woods. At this point it started to rain a bit and so we decided not to try another loop, but instead we headed back down Louisiana Road to the hardtop. I followed Gary and Rob back to the van and not long after we got the bikes loaded, it started to rain again. Another solid decision.

Thursday 6/19: Tonight we had 17 riders show up for the ride. It was another of those questionable weather forecasts that called for rain, but it actually turned out quite nice. The route tonight was a trip down to Hatfield and back. I had the Bell's take the lead while I rode in the middle of the bunch as we left the shop. The group stayed together until we hit River Road. At that point it was the Bell's at the front and the rest of us following. After the train yards