Ride
Page
Here You will find the reports of our
exploits for the month March 2001 more or less as they happened. If you
have a ride you want listed or want to submit a report of a ride you
went on, please leave me a note. bikebob@crocker.com
Glossary of Names used in these reports: ME (MaryEllen) Ice
Princess, IP (Lynn Black); Moose Boy, MB (Kris Black); Marcus P. Marcus,
MPM (Marc Lombard); Black Beauty, BB (Marsha Martin); Timster, (Tim
Fowler); Little Puke, LP (Matt Putnam); Jorge, (George Katzar); His
Majesty Jack, HMJ (Jack Spanbauer); Queen Nancy, QN (Nancy Spanbauer);
Donna the Hon, DTH (Donna Golec); Star, (Dave Walker); Crash Test Dummy,
CTD (Ed Sokoloski); Georgie Boy. GB (George Bernegger); Little Bugger,
LB (Casey Golec);
JiT, Just-in-Time (Justin Golec); Homer (Michelle Hurley); Tywor (Tyler
Golec); Service (Rod Perez); Rick2
(Rick McCulloch and Manson)
Thursday 3/1: Tonight I had 8 people show up at the shop for the ride to the Coke Plant. Joining me was Mark C., MPM, Vinnie, Matt, Wayne, Ron, Kurt and Penny who didn't arrive until after the boys left. What I did tonight was send the men out at 6:10, while I waited for Penny. After Penny arrived, I rode with her over to the trails. I had told the boys that I would meet them at Red Rock and so Penny and I took a short loop to the rendezvous point. Penny and I had no trouble riding on the snowmobile trails, since the rain left a thick crust on the snow. The net effect was to make the trails into virtual sidewalks, which Penny and I rode along at a fairly brisk pace. We took the Mud Road to the Streambed Trail and rode that to the Red Rock Trail, where we met up with the boys. We all headed down the hill to Jack's Pond where we had to dismount and walk because there had been no snowmobile traffic to pack the snow under the crust. We walked to the fire pit and then Penny and I walked down a nearby trail to the road, while the boys took a ride out on the fire road to the power lines. After we regrouped at the logs, the boys took a ride up the Water Tower Road, while Penny and I did a hike-a-bike up Ankle Breaker to the Ridge Trail. Penny and I waited for just a few minutes before the rest of the group arrived and we all headed back down the hill to Five Points. As we rode down the hill, Penny and I were joined by Mark and Wayne and the four of us rode to the trails behind Lillian Street. We followed the trails to the power lines and then we crossed the highway where we met up with everyone else. The group then headed back to the shop. It was a really nice ride for the middle of winter and I was surprised at how good the trail conditions are, given the amount of rain and slush we have had recently. I am glad we got out tonight, because I think that when the snow starts to melt we are going to not be able to use the trails for quite a while.
Well bob,
You will be happy to know that your last night ride, actually turned
Sunday 3/4: The calm before the storm! I went over to Montague for the ride and I was met there by Jonathan Hicks (Meredith's friend) as well as Penny, Ron, Wayne, Kyle and Rob Lapointe. We left the Book Mill and headed for Old Northfield Road at a fairly slow pace, with me at the front. The temperatures were in the high 30's so we did not have any trouble with wind chill, like the last trip. I rode up to the power lines and waited for the rest of the group to arrive, and when they did, we headed out for the Couch Trail. The trails were in great condition, the recent snows had covered the ice and we were soon flying down the hard packed surface at great speed. I stayed back to make sure that everyone made the correct turns and then I basically followed the group out to the banked trails. We rested at the next trail before heading out for Willis Hill Road. I rode in the middle of the group and offered some tips to the newer riders as we made our way down to the turn onto Willis Hill Road. We stopped for a couple of minutes to discuss the route and for me to "rag" on Kyle for a bit. After everyone was sure of the route that they were taking, I told Kyle that he was going to lead and I would be following him up the hill, and off we went. Kyle did well until the first steep hill and then he bogged down in the deeper snow. I tried to pass the little bum, but he fell right into me. I got up and restarted again but I only made it part way before I got bogged down myself. You need to keep a good amount of speed up if you are going to make it up these trails in the winter. The snow will not hold your wheel like dirt and if you slow down too much, your rear wheel will break free when you apply more pressure. Anyway, I did manage to ride most of the hill and I waited at the next turn for everyone else to arrive. Penny and Ron had decided to take the cross trail over to the big pine tree, and I was to take Three Ravines Trail to Craggy Hill to meet up with them. While Kyle and I were waiting for the crew to join us, Kyle took it upon himself to do a wardrobe change. So when his father showed up, there is Kyle standing with no shirt on, and I can see Rob thinking that he will again be ministering cold medicine to the little lad. Well, after Kyle got dressed, we headed off for Craggy Hill. I was following Kyle and Rob was right behind me, when suddenly my wheel got caught in a snowmobile ski track and I was flipped off the bike. Rob had no chance to get out of the way and he landed right on top of me. We quickly got up and were back on the bikes before the rest of the riders arrived, and then we caught up to Kyle before he headed off on the wrong trail. The three of us waited for Jonathan and Wayne to get up to us before we headed down the hill. I told everyone to be careful of the ice at the bottom of the hill, as well as the snow on the way down, since we haven't ridden here in awhile. I followed Kyle down the hill and only had to dab a couple of times. Rob on the other hand bailed pretty hard on the corner near the bottom. He was fine, but he made quite a thud when he hit. We rode out to the power lines where we met up with Penny and Ron and we all headed off for Red Rock. I challenged Kyle to beat me up the hill and I told him not to fall in front of me because this time I was going to ride right over him. He was thoroughly impressed with this and promptly fell right in front of me on the first incline. Undeterred, I passed him and rode all the way to the top, where I waited for the rest of the people to join me. As I was waiting I could see Ron and Penny arriving at the bottom of the hill (They rode around the climb.) and I took off behind Kyle to join them. As I neared the bottom of the hill I hit a soft spot on the trail and broke through to the axle of my front wheel. This pitched me over the bars and into the snow, but I did a "walkover" and I never hit the powder. I waited for the other riders to come down the hill and I warned them of the danger. After we rejoined Ron and Penny, we headed back into the woods. I made a brief error in directions and we had to double back on one trail to get out to the trial that leads us out of the woods. The group made great time on the trails and soon we were back out on the power lines. We discussed taking the road back to the cars, but we decided to take the Telephone Pole Trail instead. I followed the group to the fire pit, and when everyone was ready I told the riders that they had a choice. Either they could ride the Telephone Pole Trail all the way out or they could take a side trail to Old Northfield Road. Well, everyone but me took the "easy" way out! I rode down the bumpy, rutted trail and although I had to dab several times, I made it. After I got to the road I headed back to the van, and said good-bye to the other riders. It was a great ride and I was glad to have the opportunity to get out in light of the storm that is predicted for tomorrow.
News Flash: I received a call from QN yesterday to report that the royal entourage has returned from a recent trip to Florida. HMJ and QN took their bikes and spent their time cruising the beaches in Fort Lauderdale, in appropriate royal attire, of course! I have not had the courage to ask to see the photo's of HMJ riding his bike in his royal bathing suit, but should I get a copy, I will post it here.
Friday 3/16: After not being able to ride for the last week or so due to the snow I just had to get out for a ride. So when Salem Mazzawy stopped by the shop this morning and said that he was going out I decided to join him. It was 55 degrees when I left the shop at 1:30 and rode down to River Road in Deerfield where Salem met me. We rode together the rest of the way down River Road to RT. 116 where we turned right and headed up to RT. 5&10. The roads were wet and there is a lot of sand and mud on the road side but in general the pavement was in good condition. I rode at a 17 mph pace which was probably a little slow for Salem, but he humored me and we had a very nice trip back up to the shop. I felt a little rusty after such a long layoff, but I was glad that I went.
Sunday 3/18: I scheduled a ride for today since the weather was so nice the last few days, I just gambled that the sunshine would hold out for another day. I was met at the shop by Salem Mazzawy, Shawn Manchester, IP, ME, Dan LaRoche, Rick Manson, Rich McCulloch, and Richard Rogers. (Uncle Mic met us out on River Road.) After my usual spiel on safety, I let the riders out of the driveway and we headed south for Main Street. The road was wet, due to the melting snow and there seemed to be even more sand on the streets that on Friday. (Maybe due to the snow we got last night.) We made our way down to Main Street where we turned left onto Hope Street. At this point IP and ME had dropped a little behind us but they were still in sight. We rode all the way down Hope Street and then turned right onto Cheapside Street. The hill at the end of Hope Street was a little dicey due to the sand but we all made it OK. After we crossed the bridge onto RT 5&10 we made a left turn onto River Road where we met up with Uncle Mic. I had kept the pace at 16 mph most of the way and after we got to the top of the first hill, I dropped back to check on the riders. Everyone was doing OK with the pace and I cautioned everyone about the rough road surface ahead, when Dan dropped his water bottle. He stopped to pick it up and I rode to the front of the group to slow the pace until he could catch back on. At this point the two Rick's decided to take a slower pace and said that they would catch up with us back at the shop. After saying goodbye to the Rick's I took off to catch up with the front group which at this point was out of sight. I raced down the hill to the flat section and hammered at 28 mph until I caught the other riders at the bottom of the first climb. I was lucky that GB wasn't here because the he would have attacked me and dropped me instantly. But I had my friends with me and they kept the pace pretty mellow so that I could catch my breath. We rode together up the next hill and after we got to the bottom, I turned around and noticed that Shawn had dropped quite a bit behind. I dropped back and helped him catch back on. I then went up to the front and we picked the pace back up again. We got down to Sadowski's farm and I noticed that Shawn had dropped off again, so I dropped back to check on him. When he got up to me he told me he was spent and he was going to head home. I then took off to catch up with the group again. I got back on just as we neared RT. 116 and the four of us headed across the highway to River Road in Whately. We rode down to Christian Lane and then back up to RT. 5&10. Up to this point we had a tail wind, but when we turned north onto 5&10 we rode into the teeth of a fierce headwind. I took the first pull and I got nearly slowed to a stop. After that we all took turns at the front as we made our way north. When we got to the intersection of RT. 116 Richard decided to ride back home and so we said good-bye to him and continued on our way. We rode past the Stanky Candle Shop where Dan dropped his chain as I passed him, so Salem and I waited as he got going again and we all rode together into the wind. As we got to the turn at Mill Village Road we saw the two Rick's coming across the highway and we joined them and headed for Old Deerfield. As we neared the downhill we saw ME and IP ahead and I sneaked up on them as they rode along. After checking with them my group of five headed down the hill. We stayed together until the farm road where Dan, Salem and I pulled away. The three of us stayed together as we entered RT. 5&10 for the final leg back to the shop. It was great to get back out on the road and I hope to be able to get these rides going every Sunday.
Even though the weather has been less than co-operative the last few weeks, I have managed to squeeze in a few rides in between the rain and snow that we have gotten. If anyone has a week day time to ride, and wants company, then let me know and I will put your ride in the e-mail.
Sunday 3/25: It was cool and windy day and I wasn't sure if anyone would show up for the 2:00 ride, but when I arrived at the shop Rick2 was there as well as Chris Dejoy. I opened the shop and started to get ready, and as I did more people arrived and I knew that we would have a good showing. We had a bunch of riders from the frozen northlands show up, which means that they still haven't got the roads plowed up there yet, so they come down here to use ours. Along for the trip was Rick2, GB, Wayne, Michael Doubleday, Pat Bell, Ron Johnson, LP, Chris DeJoy, Carla, ME, Sheryl Cabral, Uncle Mic and myself. Since Pat Bell had to ride to Amherst to return to school at UMass, we decided to head over and do the Sunderland Sweep course. We left the shop and headed for Turners Falls at a moderate pace. I led the group down Greenfield Road to the center of Turners and when we got to the lights I slowed down to let everyone get on before the hill on Third Street. (At this point ME, Cheryl, and Carla dropped behind us.) We rode easily up the hill, (even though I could hear GB gasping as he crested the top. Too much hockey for that boy!) and I kept the group going fairly slowly to give the riders who got dropped a chance to catch back on. After I got everyone back into the bunch I then rode to the front to make sure that Patrick (who was doing my job as leader) made the turn onto Ferry Road. I made the turn and we all rode down the hill together. It was such a nice day that the cold and wind didn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the riders. We rode along the back roads of Montague and I gave some of my most useful "life lessons" as we pedaled along towards Sunderland. Everyone enjoyed the songs I sang as we wended our way on Falls Road towards RT. 47. As we neared the intersection of RT. 47, I went to the front and told all the riders to stay in single file as the traffic would likely be heavy. I rode at the front of the group all the way to the lights at RT. 116, and it was here that Pat turned left to go to Amherst and we turned right to head back to Greenfield. As we crossed the Sunderland Bridge I asked if anyone wanted to do an additional 25 miles, and I got hooted and howled at, so I took that to be a no, and I then took the lead and we headed for RT. 5&10. I picked up the pace somewhat as we turned onto RT. 5&10 and soon I was hammering into a fairly stiff headwind. I put my head down and pushed the pace and although I could see the shadow of a rider behind me, I had no idea who it was. As I got to the Butterfly Museum I turned around and I saw that I only had LP with me and he was starting to fade. LP pulled through a few times and we kept a steady 23 mph pace all the way back to Greenfield. We rode the usual route back to High Street, and then we slowed the pace down until we got back to the shop. It was a great ride and I think all the riders had a good time, even though it was tough, they all seemed to enjoy just being out on the road. I hung around the shop and tried to pry some money out of the Veermont boys, and we spent a good amount of time regaling in our good fortunes and good friends.