by Kevin Schott » Sat Apr 28, 2012 4:27 pm
I know we’re all thinking it, but I happened to be first back on the board so I’ll post it: Clayton gets some big props today for helping a young rider through a rough ride. Ultimately he gave up his ride to make sure the lad made it home safely. True, none of us would leave a bonked rider by the side of the road, especially a teen, but even though Clayton was on deadline to get home, without discussion he set that aside to help. Nice job.
Post by Jonathan O’Keeffe » Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:59 pm
Note: 9AM start next week — we are resuming our summer schedule of 9AM Saturday start times beginning next week (Saturday May 5).
We’ve been spoiled by the warm weather this “winter” and spring, so the chilly temperatures this morning (41° when I left home) were a bit of a surprise at the end of April. We still had a good turnout of a dozen-plus riders at the start, despite the absence of some regulars at the Quabbin Road Race. We had Roberto, Kevin, Rich, T, Clayton, Billy, David G x 2, Ivan, Zak, Mark (a 15-year-old racer new to group rides), and probably a couple others (sorry if I missed your names).
The route I suggested was centered on Hyde Hill Rd in Williamsburg, which I recently found on Strava from one of Cosmo’s rides. Clayton improvised a creative route into Williamsburg via Rt. 66 that took us through some terrific scenery (and some awful road surfaces :-). We arrived at the base of Hyde Hill Rd with Clayton and Zak well off the front, with the rest of us pushing to catch up, a task which quickly proved impossible once the road started slanting upward. The climb resembles Petticoat Hill Rd, also in Williamsburg, alternating super-steep stretches at 15%+ with short stretches which allow a bit of recovery, but overall it’s longer and steeper than Petticoat. At the top it turns to dirt for about a mile before the pavement resumes for a very scenic stretch around Hammond Pond, eventually emerging on Rt. 9 near the center of Goshen.
Some folks headed back to NoHo at this point, while the rest of us pushed westward on Rt. 9, enjoying the long descent but not the strong headwind. A left turn on Fairgrounds Rd toward Chesterfield brought another another fun series of high-speed descents, before emerging at the bridge over the Westfield River on Rt. 143 for the long slog up into Chesterfield center. Roberto dominated this climb, well off the front, while Zak gave chase and I struggled to hold his wheel.
Pit stop in Chesterfield, big descent down South St and NW Rd and Chesterfield Rd, and we ended up back in Northampton with 53 miles @ 16.3 mph, 4,900′ of climbing. Ivan had split off earlier to add some extra miles, and Kevin and T were still looking for more miles as well, so we crossed the bridge in Northampton and headed north on Rt. 47. Roberto and T and I split off at Comins Rd to head home, while Kevin continued heading north on what seemed likely to be a 100+ mile day for him.
Remember, the time for this ride switches to 9AM next week.
Post by Kevin Schott » Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:02 pm
Another great route Jonathan. Low traffic, nice scenery, and good ride camaraderie — all we needed was about another 22 degF or so (that’s 12degC for you Roberto) and it would have been perfect. If I follow your progression correctly, I think we’re in for about 6,000′ (1,830m) of climbing next week……
Post by Roberto Ludovico » Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:49 pm
Thanks, Kevin, for the metric translation. It does correspond to my Strava and Cateye setup, and makes it all more familiar. Jonathan put together another spectacular loop yesterday. Thank you all for the fun. The SMR is the highlight of my week, and this one was one of kind. I look forward to next week – 9 am, one hour shorter to wait, one hour more to keep climbing!
