The 23’rd Annual Tour of the Hilltowns took place this past Saturday, June 25. This road race solely put on by NCC volunteers has been a New England staple for the last 23 years, well known for the challenging E. Hawley Rd climb and beautiful scenery. The huge difference this year was the nearly perfect road conditions, notably, the Rte 8A long, steep, twisty descent into Hawley was all fresh pavement- no more wheel eating lateral cracks!
The race started at the Notchview Reservation in Windsor, MA and circles through the scenic and challenging roads of Windsor, Savoy, Plainfield, Ashfield, Charlemont, and Hawley. The finish is an uphill battle on nearby Rte 8A. It’s a classic New England road race covering between 53 and 85 miles, depending on rider ability. Cash prizes, and medals were awarded to the top riders in each race. NCC has a webpage with more details about the race.
Over 180 racers traveled to Windsor from as far away as Washington DC. The weather was clear, sunny and hot, with temperatures rising above 85 degrees F during the races. Thirteen NCC members clipped in at the start line to take on the hills all to familiar to them. Alex Laifer placed in the top ten in the novice race, Wendy King placed in the top ten of the women’s open, Cameron Scott placed in the top ten of the men cat 4 race, Owen Wright and Nick Hight-huf both placed in the top ten of the men 1/2/3 race. A top ten at Hilltowns is pretty big deal! Congratulations! Full results can be found on road-results.
This race can’t happen without volunteers. We are grateful to the over forty volunteers who took time out of a very busy weekend to make this a safe and smooth event. Thank you!
Additional photos are on the race Facebook page.
