by David Goodwin » Tue Jan 01, 2013 5:59 pm
It was a blustery 35 degrees at noon and we were about 20 riders at the start and picked up a few more on the way. I mapped a course that took us north on Rt 47 in Hadley, over the river on Rt 116 in Sunderland, through Deerfield, up the first stretch of Rt 116 towards Conway and then back south past the Whately Inn and then criss-crossed I-91 a few times through Hatfield. One missed turn meant that we had a mile or so on Rts 5 and 10 (sorry fellers – I’m not used to riding that route backwards). We needed a few extra miles to bring the Academy to Academy total to 35 so went out to Look Park and dodged the dog walkers for a lap there. I had about 42 miles by time I got back to my car at the rail trail. We lost a few riders here and there (except for Jonathan O’K, everyone made it clear they were peeling off – what happened to you, JOK? We sent a search party in the guise of Peter – hope you are alright). We had some tough windblown stretches and it seemed like everyone navigated them successfully. I had fun – first time on a road bike since August so that felt nice to me! Hope to see you folks at more rides this winter.
by Jonathan O’Keeffe » Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:38 pm
Hey David, I’m OK. I dropped back to help a couple riders at the back of the pack just past the Whately Inn, and we never managed to catch back up to you as we approached Hatfield. I wasn’t sure what you were planning in Hatfield, so we went straight out to River Road instead of turning right onto Cronin Hill Road like you guys did. Sorry we got split up, but the rest of our ride turned out well (although quite cold by the end). Thanks for putting together this ride every year, and Happy New Year to all. Ride lots in 2013.
