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A Shutesbury Blowout 7-15 |
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Written by Bob Perry
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Sunday, 18 July 2010 |
After a rather hectic day I was thinking about bailing on
the ride. I have been pretty tired and with my fitness level of late I was not
looking to hammer up the hill to Shutesbury. At 5:30 Roger took a group of 6
riders to do the Wendell Ride and at 6:00 I was ready to roll with 22 riders. I
rode out of the parking lot and over to Turners Falls where I took the group
over to Seventh Street and headed for the back of the group. I followed the
bunch up the hill at 8 mph and although I was going slower than usual I was
still feeling a little challenged. At the top of the hill I just got behind
Curt and let a group ride on ahead.r you
I knew there were several people behind me
and I was planning on just sitting in to see how hard this group was
willing to
go. Our group included Billy Boy, Ceil, Curt, Jamie, Silko, Malcumulus,
Jocelyn, Wendy, and me. We headed down Turners Falls Road towards
Montague
Center at 23 mph and I was sitting very comfortably in the middle of the
bunch.
When I got to the town common Ceil was on the front and I was on her
wheel and
when she pulled off I continued out of town and past the pond at 23mph.
Knowing
that the climb was just ahead I decided to pull off just before Taylor
Hill and
get some rest. After turning onto RT. 47 we paused for the stop sign at
RT 63 before
heading up the hill on North Leverett Road. My plan for this ride was to
hang
in the back and bail if the pace was too high for me. I told Jamie of my
plan
as we headed up the first little incline and he said “You never let me
do that”
to which I replied “You are not Bob” and that was end of that
discussion. As we
climbed the hill the pace slackened a bit and I was still in the group
after we
passed Cave Hill road so I pressed on. I stayed in the back of the pack
and
after Wendy passed me I figured that the game was over. But no… the
group
slowed up a bit and I got back onto the paceline and headed up the hill.
We set
a pretty reasonable pace and pretty soon we were at the turn at Lake
Wyola.
Roger and his crew were stopped at the corner and they waved as we
headed up
the hill to Shutesbury. I rode at the end of the line and kept up with
the
group as we rode the steeper pitch up to the cemetery. Just as we got
onto the
last climb, Curt got a flat and the “Bob is Fat” call went out to the
riders
ahead. Curt continued up the hill to the top where I along with Billy
Boy, and
Jamie stopped to make the repair. Before the repair was done we sent
Billy up
the hill to see if he could corral any of the other riders. It only took
a
couple of minutes for me to change the tire and we were on our way. We
headed
up the hill and ended up with a group of 10 as we cruised into
Shutesbury
common. I was slightly ahead of Curt as we began the long descent into
Leverett. I only went a short way before I again heard the “Bob is Fat”
call. It
was Curt and he had a pinch flat. I again assisted with the repair and
then I
headed down the hill. After getting through the S curves I came upon
Wendy and
Billy Boy on the side of the road. Yet another flat!! Billy Boy was
almost done
with the repair so the group only waited a minute or so for him and then
we all
continued on down the hill. We cruised through the town and down Depot
Road to
RT. 63. After crossing the highway we rode over to Bull Hill Road and
headed
down the hill to RT. 116. All the riders then shared the work of pacing
the
group as we rode through Sunderland and crossed the Blue Bridge. The
group
headed back to the shop via So Dee and Mill Village Road. It wasn’t the
best
ride of the year but everyone seemed patient with waiting for slower
riders and
the repairs. This is because they all knew that one day it may be them
that
needs the help and it is nice to know that someone is there fo
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 18 July 2010 )
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