We had four riders turn up tonight, with Beth & James, another Beth, and Stephanie joining Ari and me for our Easthampton loop on a lovely evening. We rolled through the bike path to Easthampton, appreciating the brush-clearing effort that has beaten back most of the vegetation that has been threatening to engulf the path for the last few weeks.

After a quick climb on Glendale Rd, we also enjoyed the nice fresh pavement and gradual descent on Pomeroy Meadow Rd, before turning onto Park Hill Rd for the climb up to the orchard. Beth was struggling with the heat by that point, and we had to take a bit of a break. The folks at Park Hill were super-friendly, with water and offers to assist. Mike, one of the artists from Art in the Orchard, was also on hand with a pickup truck, offering a ride. Eventually we decided to take him up on his offer, so we loaded up Beth's and my bikes into the truck for the ride back down to NoHo, while Ari continued with the rest of the group.

We all arrived back at Sheldon Field at around the same time, with Beth feeling better by that point. We didn't manage to take a group photo, so I'll leave you with a lovely shot of Mike Perusse's installation at the 2023 Art in the Orchard, called "Bird Show". He has an installation at this year's show as well, so be sure to check it out -- the 2025 Art in the Orchard opens this weekend, and runs through Thanksgiving (more info here). Thanks for your help, Mike!