by Tim_Cary » Sat Oct 27, 2012 11:31 pm
Just three of us today- Chris, Don, and myself. Temperatures in the 50’s and overcast, damp conditions that never improved throughout the ride.
I did not have much time to come up with a route, but had either a climb up into Shelburne Falls or a climb up to Chesterfield and Goshen in mind. However, we decided to head to the other side of the river with Lake Wyola as our destination.
We headed east over the river and out Bay Road and through some nice farm lands of Hadley, toward the Cushman area of Amherst via S. East, N. East and Henery St- all roads I have never been on, but were very nice and flat. Chris knew the area well and beat us at the town line sprints.
Unfortunately, despite all three of us having a GPS, we took a right turn too soon at January Hill Rd, and even had to stop and ask a kind runner for directions. Gosh, I need to ride this area more! Instead of backtracking a few miles, we decided to trek on about five miles of pretty good dirt road (no washboards!). Pratt Corner Rd turned out to be a nice scenic route around Atkins Reseveor and put us back onto pavement at Leverett Rd. (Are we sure Jonathan O. did not design this route?) Chris had the advantage with his cross bike on the dirt and sped way past us. I did not even realize this was half the climbing on the whole ride, being more focused on the road conditions.
We chugged up Leverett Rd to the Wendell Rd turn and enjoyed a great race down the descent to the lake.
After a stop at the Leverett Co-Op for fuel, we continued on down into Montague. Don suggested we take the Wednesday Night route back via the BookMill, and I interpreted that as literally going by the BookMill, so I missed one last opportunity to get some climbs in via the Taylor Hill route.
After a nice pace on Meadow/Falls Rd, Chris headed home via 116. Don and I took turns holding a great pace on River Rd up into Hatfield.
Probably one of the smaller climbs for a SMR, but a great ride that showcased some new territory for us at a great time of year, and it fit all of our goals for the day.
For the core of the ride from the Academy back to downtown Northampton where Don and I split, I had 55 miles with an average pace of 16.6 MPH. My total for the day was 70.6 miles and 2261 ft of climbing.
by Chris deHahn » Sun Oct 28, 2012 7:23 am
I ended up with 81.5mi. Great ride, great conversation.
http://app.strava.com/rides/26266170
