Hills and Hollows of Massachusetts and Connecticut
I looked out in front of me to see all these levers I wasn't
used to having to deal with, and tried to bring up memories of
riding a single bike again. After logging many thousands of miles
on the back of a tandem it seemed unusual to find myself on a
single bike again. But there I was with my trusty (and lonely)
vitus pointed towards the first of many hills waiting to start.
The first time I stood the bike lept sideways underneath me, but
soon enough the old familiarity was back and I was riding along
gracefully through the hills and hollows of Massachusetts and
Connecticut.
Hills and Hollows covers 291 miles (and about 13000 feet of climbing
according to my new Avocet 50) of beautiful, although sometimes
bumpy, New England countryside over the Labor Day weekend. The
Charles River Wheelman, a LAW affiliated club in the Boston area
has many 2 and 3 day rides in New England throughout the spring,
summer and fall. These rides are run by volunteers and are usually
quite reasonably priced. Most rides will have overnight accommodations
at an inexpensive motel with meals extra. This particular three
day trip was $65 per person, and included maps and cues with some
tricky sections arrowed.
Steve and I both found our ankles a little worse for wear after
Boston-Montreal-Boston and had each been taking it easy for the
past two weeks. Steve (the smarter one) decided he needed a little
more time off the bike, but I was stubborn and wanted to ride.
Of course this meant taking the vitus down from its place of honor
under all the cobwebs and such, and preparing it for the ride,
since I've been either riding my mountain bike or the tandem for
the past year with the vitus making it out only once for a double
century in July.
The first order of business was to put it back together, since
I had borrowed the rear derailleur for the tandem. I also had
this small pile of parts that had been accumulating as replacements
for worn parts and new gadgets to try, like the Avocet 50. By
the time I was finished, it appeared the frame and brakes were
the same, but everything else was different since I put on new
rear derailleur, chainrings, chain, freewheel, wheels, handlebars,
aerobars, seatbag, and computer. (Remember boys and girls, never
change anything major before a big ride!)
There is no way to get a rack on the vitus and I can't use a
handlebar bag on the front with the aero-bars. For a 3-day tour,
I need to carry more stuff than I could in a wedge bag, so I have
a large handlebar bag mounted on a handlebar stub in a stoker
stem off my seatpost. Since the vitus has a 25.0 mm seatpost and
I have yet to find a stoker stem smaller than 26.0 mm I have to
shim it a little to get it to work. I also have to rig up something
to keep the handlebar mount from rotating on the handlebar stub,
so I tie a leather shoe lace around the seatpost and through the
loops on the bag. This was supposed to be a temporary solution
on the road a few years ago, but I have yet to come up with something
better. Some company used to make a plastic gadget for this application,
but they are long gone. One negative of this setup is that the
weight is higher than ideal, but as long as I don't carry too
much, it works great.
Anyway back to Saturday morning. Steve had decided not to ride,
but would be meeting us the second night. Tom Lynch, the ride
organizer had come down with bronchitis and would also be foregoing
the ride as well. He had offered to carry bags to the first and
second days destination, but we'd have to carry them home on day
three. Riders were elated to hear that Steve would bring bags
home on the third day.
The group was fairly small with only eight riders, plus one who
was just joining us for the first 20-30 miles. I looked around
and realized that I'd probably be riding alone the first part
of the ride, since the group was composed of all fast riders.
My ankle was still flaring up occasionally and I didn't want to
push it, so when Dave and Ken picked up the pace I quietly slipped
off the back and settled into my own comfortable riding rhythm.
Unfortunately, the ankle started acting up right away, so I found
myself stopping at the first open drug store for mineral ice and
ibuprofen and admonishing myself for not taking more care to warm
up. I would have to remind myself several times throughout the
weekend that I'd have to avoid pushing things for a while, or
really take more time off the bike.
Just after I stopped I was joined by Osman who had taken a long
breakfast break in Townsend. I first looked to see if he had a
freewheel, since he has a reputation for doing long rides on a
fixed gear. I was relieved to see a geared bike, which meant that
we could ride together and talk for a while. I would also be able
to finally enjoy a draft. Osman has tried to take pulls with Steve
and me on the tandem, but he's so blasted skinny, that Steve tells
me it does no good. It was great to have company on the climb
through the state park on 119; so great that I hardly even noticed
the climb. I think I may be getting stronger too.
Unfortunately I hadn't quite gotten my stoker stem and shim perfect
and it slipped just after turning onto the second part of the
climb. While fixing it on the side of the road, we were caught
by Jamie and Lindy, who had started late. After a quick repair
the four of us were rolling along again. The route then turns
left onto Rt 101 for a few miles before the first killer climb
on Rt 12. We rolled along enjoying the scenery and talking for
a while about new vans, new schools and new jobs, until we met
up with Wayne at the halfway point.
The cue sheet indicated that the last food stores for 20 miles
were coming up, and since I was now in tour mode, I decided
to stop at the McDonald's Cafe for a grilled chicken sandwich
- no more Ultra Energy until next year - Yea! Wayne decided to
join me as he filled up on cheeseburgers and pizza. A few miles
later, Wayne said he was going to slow down a lot and suggested
I continue on. I knew there were some significant climbs coming
up soon, and since I don't consider myself a strong climber, I
decided to forge ahead.
I had heard tales of a tricky descent by Tulley Lake and found
that these roads could now replace the roads around Barre, Massachusetts
as the roughest in the state. It appeared that someone just poured
tar over some small boulders to make the road. In places, giant
rocks poked out of the pavement. The sun had finally started to
seep through the overcast skies to the great relief of the picnic-bound
people on Lake Tulley. Although the level of water on the lower
side of the dam indicated the recent lack of rain, but it's making
up for it today, while I type.
The climb over Grace on Rt 63 was long and gradual and the last
major climb for the day. I began to feel a little twitch of pain
from the ankle here and there, but tried to back off each time
I did. A long curvy descent dropped out into town, where I found
a small group of riders, including Gerry, Doug, Osman, Dave, Lindy
and Jamie. I took a short break with them and joined them for
the final twenty miles to Greenfield.
We arrived to find Kenny and Dave who had raced all the way out.
After a quick shower, we all met by the pool, where Jamie was
the only one brave enough to swim in the icy cold waters. We have
had a very cool summer and water temps have stayed a little to
chilly for me. I used the cool water to ice down my ankle.
Before dinner we decided to play a round of mini-golf. We found
a great restaurant across the street where we refueled for the
next day. We all decided to meet at Friendly's at 7:30 AM for
breakfast.
After a great night's sleep, I headed over to Friendly's right
at 7:30 only to find that most of the group had arrived much earlier
and had almost finished breakfast. I inhaled some pancakes and
juice and hopped on the bike to join the group heading out early.
As we reached the first hills, Lindy, Dave, Osman and Kenny started
to push the pace, and I decided that there were too many hills
ahead to kill myself that early on. Jamie and Gerry and I rode
along for a few more miles enjoying the historic town of Deerfield
MA and then began the 30 mile climb to Goshen. I started out in
tights and a light jacket, but a few miles in the climb, I decided
the jacket was getting warm. When I stopped to take off the jacket,
I watched as Jamie rounded the next turn ahead of me for my last
view of a cyclist all day until I reached the motel 30 seconds
after he and Gerry did.
I continued my long solitary climb to Goshen watching the numbers
on the altimeter rising with every few pedal strokes. Once all
other riders were out of sight, I settled into a comfortable rhythm
that would hopefully keep the ankle from hurting and would allow
me to ride again the next day and the next week. I finally reached
Goshen and prepared for my reward of a fast smooth descent down
Route 9. Just before 112 turns south off 9 at the bottom of this
hill, there is a great deli/bakery/gourmet grocery store. It has
a plastic cow on the roof, but is quite nice inside, with a few
tables and chairs in a glassed in porch section and a wood stove
stoked up to keep customers warm while they enjoy breakfast or
lunch or just a snack.
When I first entered, I felt a blast of heat, but cooled down
quickly. I decided to get a couple of bagels and some Orangina
to prepare me for the short steep climbs that waited for me in
the 10 miles ahead. I took a fairly long break, but never saw
any of the 4 riders that I knew were behind me, so I decided to
forge ahead. I started out with my jacket back on, but the 15%
grade on the other side of the store quickly eliminated it's usefulness.
I did keep the tights on for a few more hours.
The next few miles were sort of familiar, since Steve and I had
ridden them over Easter weekend, although they looked completely
different without the snow-cover. A few nasty hollows would make
quick shifting a necessity as the rear wheel was still going down
while the front wheel was headed up. Lindy had told a story of
falling over last year in one of these particularly steep ones,
when she could not shift fast enough. The pavement was rough enough
on many of the downhills that I could not fully enjoy the rewards
they should have offered for all the climbing. As I climbed one
fairly long hill, I saw the wall off to the right ahead and remembered
the road from the spring. I had seen it rising above Steve's helmet
and was so relieved to see the sign pointing around to the left.
So you can imagine my surprise to find a detour sign sending us
directly up this monster climb.
Shortly after the detour, we finally received the reward for
the 30 mile climb that began the day, with about 20 miles of downhill
and flat by a river. Early in the afternoon, I reached Westfield
and finally removed my tights and enjoyed a few brief minutes
of sunshine, but really missed the fat tires and Softride beam
on the tandem immensely as the route headed down a road made of
gravel and cement, where the gravel jutted out of the cement in
a very attractive, but very rough pattern. I stood throughout
this section. The remaining part of the the ride into Connecticut
was pleasant and went by quickly. I thought of stopping again
for food, but decided to wait, and hoped that maybe Steve was
already at the hotel. I reached the hotel just a minute or so
behind Jamie and Gerry. The four speed demons had been in for
a while and were waiting by the pool. We joined them for a while,
but the lack of sun, the cool temperature, and the rumblings in
our bellies convinced us to find other activities.
Steve had not arrived yet, so I showered and munched on Cheetos,
and then went off in search of a Laundromat to wash my cycling
clothes. (One disadvantage to a cheap motel is no guest laundry
facilities.) As I was walking toward the shopping center, I saw
Steve driving down the road and flagged him down. I had left a
note in the room, and figured he was coming to find me, but in
reality, he was lost and was looking for the hotel. I pointed
toward the hotel, but then told him of my destination and pointed
to an ice cream place where we could have banana splits while
the wash was going. My metabolism is still running pretty high
from BMB, so I've been eating a lot of ice cream lately. I have
to be careful though - the Softride is weight-rated!
After the ice cream appetizer, we grabbed the clean dry clothes
and met the rest of the group for a Chinese food dinner. The other
4 riders had not started until 9:30 but had arrived hungry. At
dinner a few riders discussed leaving at 6AM, since they wanted
to be back early in the afternoon. I thought 8 was a little early
myself, but planned to leave then. One of my post BMB goals was
to sleep in on weekends, and compared to starting at 4AM, 6 may
be sleeping in for some, but not enough for me.
Steve had talked about riding some, but his tendons were still
quite tender and decided it would be best to give them a little
more rest. As we were headed over to breakfast, Dave, one of the
riders, came out of his room and asked about the possibility of
a ride back. He wasn't feeling well and didn't think he was up
to riding that day. I had joked the night before that if it rained
that my ankle would immediately start hurting and would take a
lift home, but now Dave had the only other seat in the van. Fortunately,
it stayed dry and I stayed pain-free.
I rode across the street and discovered when I tried to unclip
that I had lost a couple of cleat bolts. I did manage to stop
without falling. That can be so embarrassing :) I normally carry
a few spares, but since this was the first trip on the vitus in
ages, I didn't have my full set of tools. Fortunately Steve let
me borrow some from his shoes. After the quick repair,
a bagel and a cup of coffee, I headed out into the cool Connecticut
air to climb back up to Massachusetts. Steve used this opportunity
to get some shots of me on a single bike. He claims at times that
he doesn't know what I look like, since he never sees me on the
tandem, so I joked that he could put one of these photos on the
front of the bike to remind him! He took a couple of shots and
then headed back to Boston to drop off his passenger and sag bags
and then enjoyed some TV while I was out working hard!
The third day was the hardest with over 5000 feet of climbing
in 103 miles. (The first two days had about 4000 each). But it
was deceptive, since it was lots and lots of ups and downs instead
of long climbs. The trip through Bigelow Hollow State Park was
pleasant with a few white-knuckle hair-raising descents, and several
of those grind-it-out-in-my-lowest-gear climbs, but I loved it.
I did start to really become familiar with both the brake levers
and the shift levers once again. I also was in familiar territory
again, until the turn toward Nichols College, which is located
on top of a long hill in Webster, Ma. But it was then that I saw
a rider. I was very surprised to catch Wayne, since I thought
everyone had left early. He said 4 riders left at 7:30. He figured
Gerry was 1/2 hour ahead, and Doug and Kenny were maybe as much
as an hour. We stayed together for a while, although our hill
climbing didn't mesh, so we jockeyed back and forth, and I flew
by on the downhills and he passed me as I was spinning up. I had
plenty of powerbars in my pockets and had not planned on taking
any breaks, since I really wanted to spend a little more time
with Steve that afternoon. So I'm sure it was the lack of stopping
that allowed me to catch the other three riders eventually, before
I reached the start/finish in Lexington. Of course, if I had taken
more time, I could have ridden in sunshine, since the skies went
from threatening to beautiful and clear as soon as I loaded the
bike back into the van. Well that's New England weather for you,
especially if you are on a bike.
The weekend proved to me that I do remember how to ride a single,
and that riding the tandem has made me stronger on my single,
but that I really miss the camaraderie of riding with Steve and
the attention that the big bike draws. So hopefully, we will both
be fully recovered again and back either on our singles or our
tandem together soon!
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