By Tim Cary
Published 10/09/2011; Updated 12/20/2021

by jonathanbrody » Sun Oct 09, 2011 7:31 am
What a ride! We met at the Academy, and following me getting razzed for changing/ complicating the morning’s plans, we all (Aaron, Takashi, Kevin, Kevin M., Peter, Clayton, Chris DeH. and myself) headed out to 66 for a 112, Ireland Rd. route. We stayed together until Outlook where the group split by way of Clayton riding off the front, and everyone else but Chris and me cutting the ride shorter. So Chris and I decided on a quintessential B-pace (not t fast, not too slow) and made our way out to 112, where we stopped a chatted with a couple on a tandem tour form Maine on their way to Lenox. We pushed a nice pace up 112 surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of fall. We stopped for water and a BR-break at High Hopes Sugar Shack in Worthington (open this month for foliage season with a dreamy all-you-can-eat buffet). Still craving the buffet, we pushed forward onto the freshly paved Ireland Rd., which I can only describe as buttery:) We made our way to 143 and began the very long climb up to Chesterfield. Chris’s GPS has it at about 10-11% grade but we kept a quasi-conversational pace that dulled the pain. In Chesterfield we decided we wanted a little more and headed to what we though was the direction of Ashfield. Instead, we ended up riding a sweet dirt road by the Goshen quarry and ended up at Rt. 9 in Goshen after one of the most deranged – potential wheel eating – descents I have been on. We road Rt. 9 back to Williamsburg with a short stop for potato chips and sour patch kids – yum!. There we took the TNR back to town feeling very good about the ride. Average speed is unclear. The day was all about climbing as we did about 3800 feet in 48 miles. It was great day of riding – thanks, Chris.