By Aaron Walker
Published 09/20/2011; Updated 12/20/2021

by Aaron Walker » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:45 am
We had a group of six for this ride – Dena, Elisa, Emily, Kevin, Rob and I – which more or less followed the map Rob posted. Up N. Farms in Florence, which quickly took the chill off the morning, up Mountain Rd. in Haydenville and then Conway Rd. to Conway, where we stopped for coffee at Page’s. Both North Farms and Conway Rd (near the reservoir) offered some climbs where the group separated, but we quickly regrouped both times.

West on 116 to Ashfield, with Rob wisely keeping us at a reasonable pace, then south on Williamsburg Rd for our steepest climb, which strung us apart pretty well, as we didn’t regroup until Williamsburg center, although I had a group of 3 in front and 2 behind in most of the way down, so it didn’t seem like there was much separation. Those of us who don’t live in Florence got back to the Academy around noon.

A great ride, in my opinion. Not as conversational as Wednesday rides, perhaps, but in fairness it was a tad more strenuous…