October 2002 Ride Report Page

Here you will find the reports of our exploits for the month October 2002 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!

Saturday, Oct. 5
Distance - 39.36
Average - 18.2
Ending Mileage - 3192.9

Only four riders showed up for Bob's 1:00 Saturday ride. Michelle, John Bently, Tom Martyn were ready to head out with me shortly after 1:00. Bob had to skip the ride, since he was expecting some people at the shop.

The route was the Shutesbury loop, counterclockwise. We had a nice wind at our backs on the way to Montague Almost too nice, since without the breeze to cool us down I was getting surprisingly warm! Once we got to 63, Michelle said that she was going to break off and do a different loop by herself, since she wasn't feeling 100% and didn't want to slow up our pace. We ended up talking her into staying with us. Tom and John pulled off the front on the long climb up to Shutesbury, while Michelle and I took it at a more relaxed pace. Tom and John were awaiting us at the intersection at the top of the hill.

The drop back to 63 is one of the nicest descents around. You have to work just enough once in a while that you don't cool down, so when you get to the flatter sections you can really push to keep the speed up. Once we were back through Montague, we turned down the road by the hatchery, then over the Poets seat climb. John, Tom and I turned to go to the actual tower, while Michelle continued on to the shop. We hung out at the tower for a few minutes looking for early foliage displays before finishing the ride by dropping back into Greenfield.

I'm surprised how good I am still feeling on these rides, since I am only getting about 75 miles per week in at this point and would expect to be loosing some of my 'edge'.

10/5 and beyond: This month I did not do very many rides as I have been busy at the shop as well as coaching at the local Prep Schools. I did do a few rides that I did not publish, but they were on very short notice. I hope to do more rides next month.