March 2003 Ride Report Page    

Here you will find the reports of our exploits for the month March 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!

Tuesday 3/4: It is another really cold today and I scheduled a ride for the Montague Plains. I left the shop as it was just getting dark and drove over to the Book Mill parking lot. I was joined there by Wayne, Robert, PJW, Homer and Jack. After everyone got ready I led the group out of the lot and up the road toward Old Northfield Road. As I neared the gas station, Jack went flying by me and up the road. I just kept a mellow pace and I expected to meet up with Jack near Bernardo Drive. As I rode over the dry bridge I saw Jack take a right turn onto the Telephone Pole Trail. I knew what he was in for, having tried to use that trail last week. Sure enough, Jack got about 10 feet before he had to dismount and walk. I hollered to Jack that we would meet him at the top of the hill as I led the group rode past him. I kept the pace mellow and I rode to the top of the hill where I expected to see Mark C., but he wasn't there. Soon after I arrived Robert rode up the hill and across the ice. I was waiting to make sure that Wayne knew that there was ice, as he was the only one who hadn't been on this route. After Wayne and Jack rode past me I followed them out the Banked Trails. The trails were in perfect condition and we were flying along in the big ring enjoying the night. I stayed at the front to make sure that everyone stayed on the trail. After we got to the power lines I took the Banked Trail all the way out to the second set of power lines with Robert right on my heals. When we got to the power lines Robert and I waited for the rest of the group to catch up. After everyone caught their breath we all headed for Willis Hill. We had a couple of people fall on the icy section near the bottom of the hill, but nobody was hurt. We all arrived at the base of the climb I told everyone to take it easy going up as it might be icy near the top. I followed Jack on the lower section of the hill, but he stalled near the middle of the hill and I took the lead. I rode at a steady pace in the middle ring all the way up the hill to the Swamp Trail and I was really stoked! It was the first time in a while that I was able to make it all the way up to the top. When everyone got to the top of the hill we headed off to ride down the Middle Road to the Brook Trail. We then followed Red Rock Road over to the Plains Road. The group then turned to head back to the power lines and I followed Jack and Robert. Jack fell a couple of times on the way out and we all had a good time whooping it up as we made our way to the power lines. When we got to the end of the trail, Homer and PJW decided to take the road back, so they left and the four of us headed down the trail. We really were ripping it as we headed down the trail. I had my chain in the big ring and I was flying. I led the guys down to the Telephone Pole Trail and then took a side trail over to the road, since the lower section of the Telephone Pole Trail was not rideable. After we got to the road I took it easy going back as I was starting to get cold. When we got back to the parking lot everyone quickly got their cars started and as soon as the gear was loaded we headed for home. It was a great night for a ride, and I suspect that we won't get too many more of these.

Sunday 3/9: Spring is here! How do you know that? Well, you know that spring is here when Bob goes out for a road ride. Yep, the old cowboy saddled up his new Jorgecycle, and went out for a 25 miler today. I had gotten a call earlier from Brad about going out for a short ride with him and Joe, but I had some things to do and couldn't get out until later in the day. I also got a call from Mark about doing a trail ride in Montague, but after Mark went out to scout the trails, he called back to say that they were too mushy. In the meantime I got a call from Jack about riding, but I told him that the trails were in bad shape and that we will do a ride on Tuesday. So after all of that the only one left to ride at 3:00 was me. I left the shop when it was a balmy 30 degrees and I had a 20 mph wind blowing right at me. I managed to keep the bike upright when I hit a few patches under the Russell Street Bridge and soon I was out on RT. 5&10. I rode south to Old Deerfield and I was treated to a fierce headwind when I got to Mill Village Road. I kept my tempo steady even though I was nearly blown off the bike on a couple of occasions. At the end of Mill Village Road I went straight across and took North Main Street to the center of town. I took a left and got a nice tailwind all the way to RT. 116 where I took a right and headed back into the wind. I had to drop into the little ring as I neared the Rule Tool Co. and I was crawling along at 10 mph as I crested the hill. After the turn onto RT. 5&10 I began to notice that the temperatures were really dropping so I put the hammer down and headed north back to town. I made pretty good time getting back to Greenfield, but I was really spent when I started the climb up Bank Row. I rode easily back up Federal Street and over to the shop. I did the ride in a an hour and forty minutes, which given the conditions was good for me. I really was never that cold, but I was glad to be back at the shop when finally got into the warmth.

Tuesday 3/11: I was a little unsure about today's ride due to the forecast of warmer temperatures, but since it didn't seem all that warm today I decided to ride anyway. I met up with PJW, Jack, Robert, and Wayne at the Book Mill parking lot where we quickly got our gear together. After everyone was ready we headed out for Old Northfield Road. I rode at the front and we headed up the hill on Old Northfield Road about half way where we turned onto the connector trail that took us over to the Telephone Pole Trail. I led the group along the connector and it was in perfect shape. I rode at the front until I got out to the Telephone Pole Trail where I pulled over to wait up for PJW. After PJW passed me I followed her all the way out to the power lines where the rest of the group was waiting for us. I suggested that we take the Second First Left and head out to Willis Hill. The trail was also in great shape so we flew along all the way out to the Banked Trail which we followed out to Plains Road. We took the usual route over to the bottom of Willis Hill. The Trail had some ice in places and Wayne found one of those places. He hit the deck pretty quick but bounced up just as quick and was on his way before I could catch up. I wisely rode around the ice and joined the group out at Willis. After a brief pause, I noticed a new trail that had been broken in by the snowmobiles and being an adventurous sort, I set off to climb the hill. I was able to ride up the hill without any difficulty although there were several spots where I had to dig deep to keep from slipping on the steeper slopes. I got to the Swamp Trail with Jack right behind me. I was feeling pretty good so I decided to give the big hill a try. I managed to make it about half way up before getting winded. Jack was able to make it almost to the top before he had to stop. Wayne was right behind Jack but he did not make it a far up a Jack. The three of us rode down to the bottom and as soon as we got to the bottom of the hill, Robert came by and headed up the big hill. He made it about as far as I did and then came back down to where we were waiting. For most of the ride I had to keep quieting Robert down as he was all fired up about being out on a ride. When Robert got down to where we were he was whooping and hollering all about. We all had to subdue Robert's enthusiasm so that we could continue. After Robert quieted down we decided to take Middle Road over to Red Rock. We headed off down the Swamp Trail and I stayed near the back 'cause I wanted to see who was going to fall on the ice near the brook. It was Jack. PJW and I took the long way around and hopped over the brook with out any trouble. PJW was right behind me as I headed off to catch up with the other boys. I got to the bottom of Red Rock Trail where I passed the three boys and continued to ride all the way to the top. I waited at the top to warn everyone about the icy trail near the brook. All the riders made it across the water and soon we were at the sand pit. We all took a rest at the sand pit and when PJW arrived she told us that she took a dump on the way down Middle Road. To quote: "Miss Penny says: Do not ride in the snowmobile ski tracks when you are going fast down hill. You will soon meet the Goddess of the ground" PJW said that she was OK and we all were glad for that. After a few minutes we all headed off to begin the trek back to the cars. Jack led us down the Brook Trail and eventually we ended up on the Plains Road. I then took the lead at this point and took the group out on some new trails which led us to the power lines. When everyone had caught up with me I had Jack lead us over to the Banked Trail. When we got to the Banked trail PJW shot out ahead of us and I followed her as we raced down the trail towards Bernardo Drive. I warned all the riders about the large ice patch at the trailhead. Robert was unconcerned as he has studded tires, but I wanted the rest of the crew to be aware of the danger. PJW stayed in the lead and we were soon near the end of the trail and I shouted to Wabbit to be careful. She slowed as she got out onto the ice and then the bike went sideways and Wabbit was doing the horizontal braking with her body as brake shoes. PJW was not long for the sideways slide. She quickly got up and threw up both arms in a victory salute. Everyone was impressed! After Wabbit was back on her bike we all headed down the road and back to the cars. Tonight was not nearly as cold as it has been in the last few weeks, and all the riders seemed to enjoy the wonderful winter evening. This might be the last ride on the trails we do for a couple of weeks if the weather warms up as it is predicted to do in the next few days. We will have to see.

Thursday 3/13: I went out this afternoon for a 23 mile ride on the Jorgecycle. I left the shop and headed down to South Deerfield on a sunny, 40 degree day. The roads were wet and there was some potholes and sand, but nothing too dramatic. I managed to do a loop through Old Deerfield and up Mill Village Road to South Deerfield at a 18 mph average even though the wind picked up rather briskly on the return to Greenfield. I was glad to be able to get out onto the roads again after a very long winter.

Saturday 3/15: Today was a nice day if somewhat chilly and overcast. I had a ride scheduled for 1:00 and six riders showed up for it. Along for the ride was GB, Ranger Rick, Rob Mack, Baby Bell, Rick McCullough, Jack, Stu King, and me. We left the shop with me in the lead and we headed down to Deerfield Street. The roads were wet and sandy as we got to the Russell Street where the underpass was a little icy. We slowed the pace and everyone made it through fine. We crossed Deerfield Street and soon we were down to the Cheapside Bridge. After crossing the bridge we took a left onto River Road and headed up the hill. I dropped to the back to ride sweep. At this point Rob dropped off the pace and when I went back to check on him, he waved me on, saying that he would get back himself. After leaving Rob I rode back up to Rick and we headed on towards the hills. We could see the rest of the group off in the distance with GB hanging off the back. Soon GB dropped back and joined Rick. M. and me. We set a 14 mph pace on the hills, which was a good pace for Rick, and we kept it up for most of the rest of the way down River Road. When we got to RT. 116 we decided to take a right and head up to RT. 5&10 where we took a right. I was in the lead and I was going right along and when I turned around to check on guys behind me I noticed that Rick had fallen off the back. I told GB to take the next right and we would spin around and wait for Rick. After Rick caught up to us we continued on north. We rode together on 5&10 and just before we got to the north end of Main Street we saw the other guys coming onto the road just in front of us. We rode at a steady 18 mph but we were never able to close the gap. As we neared the town line in Greenfield we ran into a section of really bad pavement that forced us to weave off to the side of the road and then back almost into the travel lane for cars. Lucky for us that there was light traffic and we avoided the biggest potholes. We continued up Deerfield Street and eventually we caught the other group when the turned onto Washington Street. I rode along with Ranger Rick as we made our way up Hope Street and then over to High Street. Ranger Rick and I rode back to the shop together where we waited for the rest of the bunch to arrive. I ended the ride with 23 miles at a 14 mph pace. It was a little cooler today than I thought it would be, but all in all it was a very nice ride.

Sunday, March 16th Distance - 33.65 Average - 17.4
Average HR - I don't want to know! Temp - 50-55°
This was my first ride of the year. Bob sent out email about rides on Saturday and Sunday. I was planning on hitting both of them, but Saturday was looking bleak (complete with gray skies and snow flurries) so I bailed on the ride. Sunday was much nicer, with the temps hitting the low 50's the time it came to head South.

There was a good showing for the ride. About 20 riders were split between three different rides covering all ability levels. Bob's suggested route was a River Road-Sunderland-Hadley-Montague-Turners loop, but the group I was going to be riding with decided to drop the lowest 8 miles of the loop and cut across Plumtree road to make into one of our standard summer rides. A much smaller group of 3-4 riders did the entire thing, but ended up not finishing due to a mechanical issue. They got a ride back to the shop in the van after Bob was done with our ride.

The temperatures were right on the line between dressing for a Winter or Summer ride. I decided to err on the side of being too warm, so I put on booties, long finger gloves, tights, two shirts and a jacket. I think this ended up being the right choice, since once I got wet I was thankful for the extra layers to keep the wind away from my body.

We headed out and began to get wet and muddy almost right away. The roads were in rough shape, with lots of potholes, sand and even ice in some shaded areas. The River Road climb hurt in a way that it can only in this time of the year, but I made it up in the back of the group, the slowly started to make up time and move my way to the front on the flat section heading down to Rte 116. I got stuck out in the middle for a while, but finally pushed up to the wheel of a group of three riders in the front and was able to rest for a while before we all stopped to regroup at the 116 intersection.

Heading South from Sunderland was a nice roll. I ended up behind Tom Martyn, who bumped the group's pace up to 22 before pulling off and leaving me in front. It didn't take me long to bring it back to 18mph, but I slowly worked it back up to 20 before handing the group off to the next rider and fading to the back of the paceline.

Coming North on 116 was fun, as always, as we set up a double paceline and virtually coasted North at 22-24mph. Bob turned us onto some side streets to avoid the lights in Sunderland, and soon we were on Falls rd. heading back to Turners Falls. I got it in my mind somehow that I was going to take a town line sprint, so started inching towards Bob and keeping an eye out for the sign. Nobody had indicated any interest in sprints so far, so I figured I would just be able to breeze across the line without any challengers. 20 yards before the line, just as I was about to slowly accelerate past bob, John(?) came charging past me to take the line. I had seen him hanging out behind me, but didn't expect him to go for the sprint. I gave a halfhearted challenge for the line, but he had timed it well and I didn't have enough time to accelerate up to his speed.

This effort pretty much burnt up the last of my energy, so I let some riders pass me and slowly drifted back, trying to find a nice wheel to ride on. In minutes, we were on the short climb back up to 47 and I lost it. I just pushed the pedals over with no power at all. I finally made it to the top, but he group was really fragmented my now. I could see 2-4 riders far ahead and slowly tried to make up time on them. Bob had gone back to get Jamie, who had bonked on the hill, and John and Kate had left us to ride directly home.

I caught onto the riders ahead around hatchery road when they slowed to bring the group back together. We all rode into Turners, then split up one final time on the ridge between Turners and Greenfield.

This ride, if nothing else, was a good benchmark of just how much work I have to do to get back into shape after the long Winter!

Sunday 3/16: Today was the first really spring like day this season. The temperature was in the middle 60's and there was bright sunshine with no wind. I was ready to go out and do a longer trip on the Jorgecycle, but I was persuaded by Jamie, Curt and a few others to take a more reasonable trip. We decided to do the Plumtree Road 33 miler and promptly at 1:15 we left the shop and I led the group down High Street. (Joe and the Bell Bros had left to do a 45 mile trip to MT. Warner just before we left.) My group had 12 riders and we did an easy 15 mph pace on our way down to Deerfield Street. We encountered a little ice under the Russell Street bridge and I am beginning to rethink using this route until warmer weather arrives. After getting onto River Road we lost a couple of riders on the first hill when they decided to take it a little easier. After that, I got the group organized with Tom Terrific in the lead and myself riding sweep. I rode with Jamie and Curt as we made our way towards the bigger hills on River Road. We kept the group pretty tight as we neared the first climb. We were joined by Mike Davis at the bottom of the hill. He was out for his first ride on his new bike and decided to join our ride group. As we started to climb, I noticed that Tom was way ahead so I rode on up to him and we crested the hills a fair way in front of the main group. As we coasted down the hill to the flats, Tom agreed to wait for the riders to regroup while I went back to see if Jamie was OK. I only soft pedaled for a couple of minutes before Jamie caught up to me, and then we headed off to catch the rest of the group. As we got near the bunch Don Smith was coming off the back so I sent Jamie on ahead and I rode with Don for a little while. I suggested that he might be happier if he took a shorter loop so I give him directions to get to Falls Road where I figured that we would catch up with him. After talking with Don I darted off to catch up with the group waiting at the Sunderland Bridge. I slowed traffic and we all crossed the bridge into Sunderland. At the lights we turned onto RT. 47 south where we were joined by Jon and Kate. We made them do most of the pulling into the wind because they were late showing up for the start and had to join us 10 miles into the ride. We rode at a steady 19 mph down to Plumtree Road where I took the lead and headed off toward RT. 116. I heard some grumbling from the troops so I dropped back and let some of the others make the pace. After we crossed the highway we headed back toward Sunderland center. Before we got to town I took a right onto North Silver Lane and we rode over to RT. 47 at a moderate pace. We turned north on RT. 47 and from there we rode up to Falls Road. I was still in the lead and we pushed the pace up to 21 mph and we cruised on toward Montague. I kept picking up speed as we neared the town line, thinking that someone would try to take the sprint. I could see Parrott coming hard on my left so I moved to the left to block him, but he came around with Curt on his wheel and Jon took the sprint. After the sprint we settled down with me and Tommy taking turns at the front until we got to the Ferry Road hill. At this point I rode off up the hill with Jon and Tommy right behind me. They passed me as we got mid way up the hill and I crested just behind them. (They did not let me win and will pay for that later!) When I got to the top I swung around and waited for the rest of the riders to catch up. After the pack came over the top, I noticed that Jamie was not there, so I sent Curt on ahead and I went back to ride with Jamie. I rode down the hill and joined Jamie who was bonking a little (OK, a lot!) and we rode up to the top together. After we made the turn I went to the front to pull into the wind. When we got over the dry bridge we could see the group just ahead of us, but we were not able to close on them. As I rode along, my phone rang. It was ME calling to tell me that there had been a mechanical on Joe's ride and that I needed to go get them. After a few more calls, I had ME come over to Turners Falls and pick me up. Jamie and the rest of group finished the ride and I went out to pick up Baby Bell, who had broken his handlebars when he rode into a pothole the size of the Grand Canyon. Although I did not get to finish, I was really happy to have gotten out and ridden with some of my old pals on the warmest day we have had this winter. When I got back from picking up Baby Bell I heard that Roger Katz's group had a great 22 mile ride as well. I also got a note from PJW later in the day and I quote "Miss Penny Says: I LOVE MY BIKES!! She also says that her butt needs to get used to being back in the road saddle again."

Tuesday 3/18: Today I went out for a ride with Baby Bell and Jaybird. It was much warmer out than the weather people predicted, with temps in the 50's and sunny skies. We left the shop and rode over Poet's Seat to Montague. After struggling over Poet's Seat I flew over to Greenfield Road and slowed down near the poopy plant to wait for Bell and Jaybird. We rode over to Montague Center and then up Leverett Road to RT. 63. We crossed RT. 63 and rode easily up No. Leverett Road until Baby Bell decided to sprint to the town line. Jaybird and I shook our heads and we kept our steady pace up to Cave Hill. Jaybird and I rode at a brisk pace up the hill while Baby Bell took off to race to the top. Jaybird was soft pedaling most of the way while I was working at a pretty high rate. We joined Baby Bell, who was waiting at the top of the hill, and began the descent down the other side. I was again the fastest one down the hill and I coasted to the stop sign with Bell and Jaybird right behind me. I took the left and headed down the towards the center of Leverett. The roads were somewhat wet in that section due to the melting snow and I was soon covered with mud. I led the boys down the hill to RT. 63 and we then took Bull Hill over to RT. 116. When we got to Sunderland we got hit with a fairly brisk headwind which cut our speed to 15 mph. We all took turns at the front as we made our way through town and over the bridge into Deerfield. We took Sugarloaf Street over to North Main Street and eventually we ended up on Mill Village Road. The road was completely covered with water in places and in other spots the water flowed across like a river. We got soaked as we gingerly rode through the puddles and water flow. After getting back to the drier pavement of RT. 5&10 we picked up the speed all the way back to Greenfield. When we took the right onto Washington Street we shifted down and rode easily back to the shop. We did 35 miles at a 17 mph average, which was pretty good for me.

Wednesday 3/19: I went out for another ride with Jaybird today and it was quite a bit cooler today than yesterday with the temperature of 43 under sunny skies when we left town. I rode the Jorgecycle today so that I would not have to deal with dodging potholes and puddles. We rode over Poet's Seat and then over to Montague Center along the same route that we took yesterday. We chatted as we rode along and Jaybird was kind enough not to push the pace too much as I would have not been able to keep up. We headed over to RT. 63 where we headed south to Amherst. We rode to Cowles Ave and then took the cutoff out to RT. 116 where we took a right to head into Sunderland. We rode up to Sunderland at 19 mph as there was not much wind and we soon were spinning up to South Deerfield. After riding through So. Dee we took the route through Old Deerfield and then back to Greenfield. This was essentially the same ride as yesterday, same mileage a little faster pace of 18 mph, the only exception was that there were no big hills and it was not as warm.

Saturday 3/22: Today we went out for a long ride with a group of 11 riders. It was a nice sunny day with the temperatures in the 50's when we left the shop. Our plan was to do a 30 mile ride more or less at a 17 mph average. I led the group down to Deerfield Street at a 15 mph average. It was nice to get out and ride in shorts and shirtsleeves again. I kept the group tight as we rode out to 5&10, but things got stretched after we got to the golf course. Andy Rome was having trouble keeping the pace and he said that he would do a shorter loop by himself, and I then left him to go catch the group. (As it turns out, Andy's rear wheel was bound up so tight that it barely moved, and so he got quite a workout.) After I caught the group I stayed near the front as we made our way down Mill Village Road to Stillwater. I paced myself to the top of Stillwater Hill with the Bell Bro's, and then I sat up to wait for the rest of the crew to arrive. I went to the back and pulled a couple of riders back to the bunch. I rode near the back of the crowd until we made the turn onto So. Mill River Road, and I went to the front to see how the other half lives. I rode behind the Bells until they took off to sprint for the town line, which left me at the front to pull into the wind. I soft pedaled up the next hill with the Bell Bro's and when I got to the top of the hill I noticed that some folks were off the back so I waited for Chris Koh and Peter Truesdell. They said that they would ride with Rob Macks and that they would take Christian Lane over to River Road and back to the shop. After leaving them I rode up to the group which now was down to five riders. We headed over to Mountain Road in a group at a moderate speed. We crossed RT. 5&10 and when the group crossed the railroad tracks on Depot Street. We could hear the hissing from the tires of the Bell Bro's. Yep, you guessed it, both of them flatted on the rails. We pulled into a driveway nearby and began the repairs. As I was helping Baby Bell with his tire I heard a voice that I thought was a Viagra commercial on the radio. The voice said something like "What happened? It was hard as a rock a minute ago." That voice was Curt and he was referring to his tire, which was now hissing as well. The group got a good laugh out of that one and after the repair to Curt's tube, we then headed off to finish the ride. We got down to River Road without further mishap and soon we were heading north towards So. Deerfield I was at the front pulling the group along at a 20 mph pace. We were shortly overtaken by Walter Goodrich and his friend and as they passed I hopped onto Walter's wheel. Soon the speed was up to 24 mph and the line was strung out behind us. After Walter's friend pulled off, I stayed on Walter's wheel until he pulled off. I then took up the charge to the town line and kept the pace as high as I could so as to give the sprinters a launch to the line. It was Walter's friend and the Bells that contested the line and I gave some though of sneaking up on the fray, but I was too late getting started. After the sprint I sat up to wait for the rest of our group to catch up. Once we got everyone got back onto the group we headed across RT. 116 to River Road in Deerfield. I led the group for a short way but I noticed that Jamie had fallen off the pace, so I dropped back to bring him back on. Once we caught back on I went to the front and paced the group to the first climb. As we were climbing I noticed that Curt's rear tire was soft so we stopped to put more air in it, before continuing on. As we rode down River Road, Jamie mentioned that he noticed that the nice farmers in the area were putting out urinals on a lot of the trees that line the roadway. He did complain that some of them were a tad high up on the tree and he wondered if I could mention that to the farmers, so that they would be more sensitive to shorter users. The group did pretty well for the rest of the trip and we all finished up back at the shop with a 17 mph average for 35 miles. 

Saturday, March 22nd Distance - 35.54 Average - 17.2 Temp - 50-55°

A ride advertised by Bob's email as "a 25 mile ride" turned out to be 10 miles longer. We started out with a good sized group of 15 or so riders, but by the time we got into Old Deerfield, our numbers had shrunk to under 10. Things fell apart even more up Stillwater Hill, but we regrouped at the top to continue South on the rough Winter-abused roads into Whately. A few more riders peeled off to cut over Christian lane, leaving 6 of us (Bob, Michelle, Jamie, the Bells and myself) to finish the ride. I was feeling good on the flat sections, but every time I came to even a small rise could feel that I needed a LOT more miles on my legs. I made it up most of the rolling hills with the strategy of building speed on the downhill sections and doing everything I could to carry that energy up the next slope. On the hills where I lost my momentum, I was lost and had to resort to crawling to the top in my granny gear. As we were heading East to River Road, both of the Bell brothers flatted at a railroad crossing. I had checked my tires when we stopped, and everything was OK. But I gave a squeeze to my rear tire one more time before mounting up and found it flat! Bob took over the tire change and did it in about 1/2 the time it would have taken me. A few minutes later, we were back on the road, but all cooled down after the stop. I noticed right away that my rear tire was pretty soft, but decided to bull it out and not worry about it. After we turned North on River road, we were overtaken by a few other riders who joined our group and upped our pace by 2-3mph. This put me over the edge considering the extra energy my soft tire was soaking up, so I finally had to drop off the back of the group. Thankfully, I caught back up as we crossed 116 on the trip North (just after the two riders who had joined us pulled of to continue on a different route) and rode between the Bell brothers for a while. They don't give much shelter for a big guy like me to draft behind, but I got enough of a 'free ride' to allow me to rest a bit after my stint as a solo rider. For the next few miles, as the pace picked up, I was putting out 100% and all my reserve energy just trying to hang on. At the top of the biggest River Road climb, Bob finally suggested that we stop to top off the pressure in my tire. This was a good thing, as without the stop I would soon have had to drop of entirely and ride home alone. Bob, Jamie, Michelle and I stopped, while the Bell brothers, who had pulled far ahead on the climb, continued on. With the tire back up to over 100lbs, things felt much better as we continued North. I was out of reserves, but could at least keep up with the group now that the playing field was leveled. The final few climbs up the back streets into Greenfield sapped the last of my strength, and I basically limped into the shop following Michelle's wheel. At this point, if she had ridden off the road, I would have blindly followed after her. So... another early season ride that yet again reminds me that I should have spent more time keeping what I had over the Winter, instead of having to build it up all over again (painfully) in the Spring!

Sunday 3/23: It was another sunny day although it was quite a bit cooler than yesterday. The temperatures were in the 40's and there was a bit of a wind blowing from the north. I was joined by 18 riders and there was two rides planned. I led the group going out for 40 miles and ME led the group doing 18 miles. As the group was waiting to get started I gave the traditional blessing of the peloton before the beginning of another season. Yes, slackers, I passed out a Peep to the faithful (thoughtfully provided by Tom Terrific) so that they would have a great year. After the ceremonies, I took my bunch out of the parking lot and over to Bernardston Road at a 14 mph pace. We headed north and I kept the pace steady at 14 all the way to the top of the hill. I gave instructions to Brendan Creagh and some of the other riders to continue on if the group should split up and that I would stay behind and sweep the ride. I rode at the back of the group to Bernardston where I took a right onto RT. 10 with Harold Green, Ron Johnson, and Jack Rice. We started up RT. 10 where we picked up Homer who dropped off the lead group. I did a tempo pace at the front and in general tried to keep the group together as we rode over to RT. 63 and took a right. As we got to the farms I got the pace working at 19mph and thought that everyone was doing OK. But as it turns out, Harold was having trouble with his left shifter and Jack was having trouble with his rear wheel. The group stopped at the top of the hill near the Homestead site and I tried to fix Harold's shifter, but it was beyond help. I checked Jack's bike and he seemed to be OK so we headed off towards Millers Falls. As we got to the VFW hill it was apparent that Jack was having trouble again so he and I pulled over and I found that his rear wheel had been rubbing on the chainstay. After getting his wheel straightened out we headed off to catch up with the others. Jack did great at first but soon after we got back onto the group, he said that he was tired and that he was going to head back through Montague. After Jack left, the rest of the group headed south on RT. 47 towards Sunderland. As we neared the center of town Harold started to fade and fall off the back. I signaled to Ron and Homer to continue on and I dropped back and rode with Harold. Harold was tired but he managed to continue at a slower pace. I rode with Harold all the way back to Greenfield, and he did a great job, considering how tired he was. It was a good ride for me and I enjoyed the wonderful weather.

Wednesday 3/25: It was a sunny, cool and windy day when I met up with Jaybird at 1:00 for quick little 30 miler. We left the shop and headed south into a pretty brisk wind. Jaybird road in front as we made our way down to Old Deerfield, but the wind was everywhere and I did not get much of a draft off the 'bird. I was riding my Kestrel today and even with the faster bike I was having trouble keeping a 17 mph pace. When we got down to the open farm fields near DA we struggled to keep a 14 mph pace. The wind was really tough. I suggested that we take Lee Road down to RT. 116 and Jaybird agreed. After we made the turn and started up the hill we were briefly out of the wind, which was really refreshing. Jaybird was telling me all kinds of stuff about the races he has on tape and how his training is going. I was taking it all in and soon we were back down on the flatter road and back into the wind. The breeze was so strong in places that we had to struggle to keep the bikes upright. We continued on down to Christian Lane in Whately where we took a left and rode down past the Ballet and then to River Road. When we turned left and headed north we had a tailwind all the way to So. Deerfield. When we made the turn we had a 14 mph average but we were averaging over 25 as we headed back towards Greenfield. We took RT. 5&10 north after riding through So Dee and we kept the average over 25mph all the way back to the city limits. After getting back to Gotham we backed the pace down and we rolled back to the shop in the little ring. It was a good ride although we only got about 28 miles in at a 18 mph pace.

Saturday, March 29th "I am the Walrus" B.U. River road/Old Deerfield loop
Distance - 23.72 Average - 16.8
The weather was pretty 'iffy' in the morning. Early in the day, I thought it was just fog that would eventually burn off, but when 11:00 came around it was still just as grey. I called Bob, who was still planning on riding unless it actually started raining, so I threw the bike in the car and headed South. I hit rain (or very heavy drizzle) a few times on the way down, but nothing to stop me from riding. When I got there, the only other riders turned out to be Bob and Rob. We weren't sure how lucky we were going to be with the weather, so headed out for a short 24 mile ride. We took it at a nice easy pace. The weather cooperated by not getting any worse. As a matter of fact, things were pretty dried out by the time we got back to the shop. Everyone who skipped this one becuase they were afraid of getting wet missed a nice relaxing Spring ride.