by Jonathan O’Keeffe » Sat Sep 25, 2010 7:14 pm
It was a warm, humid morning, more like the middle of July than the end of September, when we set off from the Academy. We had about a dozen folks, including myself, Jonathan B, Paul, Roberto, Eric, Morgan, Dave, Don, Amy, Bruce, Ivan, Kevin, Chris, and probably one or two others. Jonathan was sporting a fresh batch of road rash from yet another crash this week, so we made sure to position him well back in the pack. I suggested we start off with Petticoat Hill, and the others gamely agreed, so we headed out toward Williamsburg on Spring St/Audubon Rd.
We were plagued with mechanical difficulties all day, including Paul’s flat at the start in Pulaski Park, which he immediately followed with another one just a couple miles into the ride on Spring Street. Paul apparently rides with some kind of mobile support caravan, as he was able to duck into a driveway just down the street and emerge on a whole new bike, which was fine for the rest of the day. Other problems continued, though, as just a couple miles later, Bruce threw his chain off his cassette and got it wedged against his hub, stuck behind a rivet – a problem that none of us had seen before, and which the collective brain-trust of a half-dozen onlookers was unable to solve. Fortunately, this was right down the street from Joe’s Garage, so we left him in their able hands, and continued on our way.
Petticoat is a nasty little hill, gaining over 600′ in just over a mile, with three distinct stretches with grades approaching 20% separated by a series of false flats. Amy led the field up the hill, followed closely by Kevin. Here’s a few folks cresting the final steep stretch.
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Dave and Ivan
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Roberto
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Don, on the wrong side of the road for some reason (may have been weaving back and forth in an effort to make headway up the hill)
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Eric and Jonathan looking cool and relaxed
A long slog up Rt. 143 brought us to Chesterfield, where Eric racked up our third flat of the day by blowing his rear tire while standing still on flat, smooth pavement. Odd. After the fix, we crossed over to Rt. 9 in Goshen. We were all very pleased to see that the hair-raising stretch of broken pavement on the V-shaped valley on West Street has been freshly paved and is now a joy to ride. We stopped to refuel in Goshen, and then headed up Rt. 112 to the D.A.R. State Forest. Rather than going straight at the end of the D.A.R. access road, Paul suggested bearing left on West Road for a final climb and nice views from the summit. The views were limited by the hazy skies, but the scenery along here was great, with lots of foliage just starting to turn.
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Base of the hill
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Eric and Chris, grinding away
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Roberto, Don, Paul, and Dave
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Dave and Paul lead the way up the final climb
West Road hooks up to Creamery Road, which we took to Williamsburg Road for one final climb, before the long descent down into Williamsburg. People had been peeling off all day for various reasons, and we were down to the “select six” of Paul, Don, Eric, Morgan, Dave, and myself, and we formed a fast paceline down the hill. We took the scenic route back from Williamsburg, via Nash Hill Road and Adams Road, before returning to NoHo on North Farms Road.
We ended up with 44.2 miles @ 15.9 mph, with the 3,900′ of climbing accounting for the slow average (that’s my story, anyway, and I’m sticking to it).
