Ride Reports and News

Better late than never: Monday Morning ( May 18) C ride Report !

 7 of us ( Kent, Pamela, Sima, Tim, Rob, Sarah and me)rode the Meandering Monday Ride, 36 miles, 2,000 feet of climbing, averaging 13.6 mph.  We started at 9 am to beat the heat, and the weather was lovely. We were back by 12:30.  We rested and refueled at Outlook Farm.

There were more potholes than I remember having been there last season, ( the last time I rode that ride).  Sima's rearview mirror popped off after she hit a pothole, but no other mishaps!

The first week of our Monday Night Intro Ride season kicked off tonight with a group of four tackling the Hadley loop, on a gorgeous evening that felt more like July than May. Ari, Jerome, newcomer Anna and I cruised northbound on Route 47 with a big tailwind, feeling like superheroes. Then we made the turn into the crosswind on Comins Rd, and then into the headwind on Meadow St -- ouch! We climbed the short-but-steep on Breckenridge and then rolled back into Sheldon Field at around 7:00 with 17.3 miles at a brisk pace of 14.6 mph.

We'll take next week off due to the Memorial Day holiday, and then be back in action on June 1 on the Northampton loop. Come and join us!

This past Sunday, a group of NCC racers headed out to Charlemont for the Thunder Mountain Race Day XC event. Thunder Mountain is usually known for its downhill riding, but for one day it was full of racers in lycra grinding their way uphill instead.

Four of us arrived early for a pre-ride lap, and the course was running great. After some twisty singletrack through the woods at the base, the course climbed up a steep flow trail before dropping into a fast jump line and a rock garden that looked a lot more intimidating than it actually rode. From there, riders faced a long drag of a climb up the other side of the mountain before descending Wilderness Trail, which was easily the most technical section of the course.

We had four racers spread across four different categories in the 8:45 start wave, and everyone put together strong rides.

Charlie earned his best finish of the series so far with 7th place in the men’s novice division. Looking at the lap splits, his final lap was actually his fastest of the day. Nice ride Charlie!

Jeremy also had a strong race in the novice 40+ division, finishing just over a minute off 4th after battling with the same group for most of the race.

Blake put his climbing legs and technical skills on display and landed on the podium with 3rd place in the sport 40+ category.

I also had a solid race and was able to hold position for 3rd in the sport men’s category. I'd like to see some proof that the devo rider who left me in his dust is actually 19+...

Sam was the lone wolf representing NCC in the 12:30 heat and put together an impressively steady race in the midday heat, holding even splits across nearly two hours of racing. Strong work, Sam.

Overall, this group had a blast pre-riding and racing together at Thunder. If you’re interested in joining us don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re planning to have a group of racers heading down to Norbrook Farm XC on June 13th. Come join!

We had a dozen riders show up tonight on a lovely sunny spring evening for the Pelham hillclimb. The field split up quite quickly, led by Beau, who sprinted from the get-go and was never seen again. Patrick's ride summary said "I don’t think I’ve ever been dropped before the left turn on this one before", and you can be sure Patrick was moving pretty quickly.

After the rabbits got away, we had a solid group of four or five up the opening stretches of Buffam Rd, before Andy's pace-setting started to take its toll. I clung to his wheel with grim determination, and eventually looked around and noticed there was nobody else with us. I barely managed to get over the first big rise with Andy, and shamelessly sat behind him for most of the flatter middle section. We stayed together up and over the wall, and then I managed to pip him at the end, which made me feel just a tiny bit guilty.

Martin and Madeline came in right behind us in a pretty intense sprint, and Shawn and Melissa had a close finish also. Up in the front, Beau managed to stay ahead of Patrick and Ryan to secure the win, along with an overall #2 time on this climb (behind Owen's phenomenal 16:24 from a few years ago). Several others rode earlier, giving us a total of 15 for the day.

Next week we're back in Hatfield for the Long Time Trial -- come join us!

Full series results are available here.

7 riders started at Keyes street, ( Bill L, Kent, new rider, Rob, Sarah, Sima, Tim, and Myself.  Sarah had a pre-planned split off in Deerfield, so 6 finished the 38 mile 1900 ft climbing loop to Conway, and back. We averaged 13.4 mph. We originally  planned to go to South Deerfield, but Whately road ( a planned detour to avoid the closed bridge on North Main street in South Deerfield) , was completely closed so we pivoted again. and continued south from South Mill Valley road to Whately road/North street and Chestnut Plain road in Whately, crossing 91 and West street to Depot road, and then home through Hatfield.  Sima flatted while we were negotiating the washboard/torn up pavement on Whately road, and it was a group effort to get her back on the road--Thanks Rob! The joke is: 'how many cyclists does it take to change a tire?' --6!

The weather was lovely, and the ride was Lots of fun!

Another great C ride last Monday ( May 4th). 

We were 6 : Kent,  Sima, Rich( new), Tim, Sarah,  and Justine (me ) .

We rode a 40 mil, 2,000 ft loop to Southampton , stopping at Stop and Shop for our break ( functional, not sexy).  The wind was a factor, thus the choice to ride south ( against the wind), and then north ( with a tailwind). This worked quite well. Despite 3 'mechanicals',  the weather was good, the moral high, and the day was alot of fun.  We averaged 12.9 mph.  Pretty slow but it never felt easy!!

First: Kent had a grape vine wind up in his rear cassette so tightly, it took 15 minutes to get out, and then he had to reset his electronic shifting.    Next, Sima's bike fell over in a gust of wind while at S&S, and cracked her rear derailleur, leaving her without her lowest 3 gears.                                  Finally, my cleat got stuck to my pedal at S&S, so I  rode home essentially with one leg power!  Once back in NOHO, Lela at the shop 'MacGyvered'  my cleat so I could get home with 2 leg power!

Lots of fun!

Tonight we had some of the windiest conditions I've ever seen in one of our time trials. Andy and I practically coasted north to the start from Amherst on the strong southern wind, and crossed the river in Sunderland in huge clouds of dust blowing off the freshly-tilled Whately fields. Eight riders showed up to brave the headwinds, and Tim rode earlier, also in significant winds.

It was a straight headwind for the whole southbound portion of the route, the first seven miles or so, with occasional swirling and whipping crosswinds in the open areas. The blowing dust was also pretty irritating; I think I'm still coughing some of it up as I write this. Despite the rough conditions, Shawn managed to score a PR -- he is riding very strong this year. On his new TT bike, Andy managed to correctly follow the whole course and snatch a few seconds from Shawn to take the win.

Full series results are on the website here.

Next week we'll be over on the east side of the river, racing the Pelham Hillclimb from the center of Pelham up to Shutesbury.  Come and join us!

Name: Donna Wilson

Pronouns: she/her

Age: 57

Town: Easthampton

NCC Member Since: 2017

Donna: The History

Where are you from? How did you first get into cycling?

I’m from northern Virginia. My first cycling experience was, like a lot of folks, getting a bike when I was a kid and riding around for fun. I’ve had bikes off and on for many years, sometimes for commuting to work or for fun riding on bike paths. I didn’t get serious about cycling training and racing until 2020.

Why did you join NCC? 

It was a good way to find out about cycling activities and routes.

What type of riding do you do? What got you hooked on hill climbs?

With the harsh weather we have around here for a good part of the year, and my time constraints due to work, I do a majority of my riding in Zwift on my Wahoo cycling trainer haha. When I can ride outdoors I’m usually doing a solo workout on a course/hill that I know well or on a fun longer ride with my husband Chris Armen (who is also a member of NCC). 

Chris introduced me to hillclimb races when we were first dating during the early days of the pandemic and I was immediately hooked. One day he told me that he was going to go ride up Wachusett Mountain as part of a BUMPS virtual race (no in-person races at that time) and I said I wanted to do it too. I had no clue about riding steep (to me at the time) hills so I rode my not very light Giant Defy with totally inappropriate gearing. I had to stop and walk at least 6 times over the short 3 mile course, it took forever! Instead of hating it I was completely committed to being able to actually ride the whole thing someday. This failure-as-motivation scenario repeated itself when I first did Mt Greylock and a number of other hillclimbs. I eventually got physically stronger and was able to get better gearing and lighter bikes and conquer all of the hills without stopping.

Tell us about BUMPS! How did you get involved, and what is NCC’s role in the series?

BUMPS is short for Bike Up Mountains Points Series. It is a yearly series of 9 cycling hill climb events that runs from May-October in locations around the Northeast. Each race is pretty unique with different formats and levels of difficulty. You earn points for each race based on your time in relation to others of your sex and we rank folks within age groups. It is really great to be able to test yourself year over year. There have been years where I’ve gotten very few points for races but I can still enjoy the challenge, the beautiful locations and can measure personal improvement.

NCC puts on the Mt Greylock Hillclimb Time Trial race every year in September and this race is part of BUMPS. Chris and I along with fellow NCC members Chris Laplante and Andy MacDonald are co-directors.

What is your most meaningful cycling accomplishment?

I think helping to save BUMPS from going out of existence. The person who was managing the series until 2021 unfortunately fell very ill shortly after I started doing the races and I, along with another race organizer, stepped in to try and keep the series going. I loved the series and hoped people still wanted to take part. For several years I’ve spent many hours promoting events, answering questions, doing write-ups and wrangling data. I’m very pleased that last year we had another person step in to help organize and he has taken things to a whole new level and I’ve been able to take a step back.

Donna’s Favorites

What’s your favorite place to ride? 

All around Tucson, AZ in their beautiful winter! Chris and I stay there for 2-3 weeks every February and it is so awesome for riding: the Loop, Mt Lemmon, Saguaro East…

Around western MA: riding up the south side of Mt Greylock

Donna Off the Bike

What do you do when not on your bike?

I am a biostatistician and I work in the Office of Research at Baystate Health.

What do you do for fun (besides riding your bike)? 

Spend time with Chris and our dog Sunday, running, bowling, hiking, eating good food.

What cycling goals do you have for this year? 

Currently I have 4 BUMPS races scheduled: High Point, Crank the Kanc, Whiteface and Mt Washington.

What’s on your cycling bucket list? 

Riding some of the iconic mountainous areas outside of the US, mostly in France

How can people connect with you? 

Donna Wilson on Strava

BUMPS:

https://bumpshillclimb.com/

https://bumpshillclimb.substack.com/

Name: Lilah Engebretson

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 13

Town: Florence, Mass.

NCC Member Since: 2017 

Lilah: The History

Where are you from? 

I am from Florence, Mass.

What is your first memory of riding a bike? 

My first memory of riding a bike is probably bikepacking with my dad and another dad and his daughter on the Airline Trail in CT. 

How did you first get involved with NCC? 

I first got involved with NCC by doing the Look Park Junior Cyclocross summer and spring programs. During the late stages of COVID I started riding with the Trail Blasters rec rides and I liked it so much that I joined the Trail Blasters cyclocross team and then New England Youth Cycling’s River Valley Riot team.  

What type of riding do you do? 

I like to mountain bike year round as long as the trails are open, and then I mainly do cyclocross in the fall/winter. I road ride for most of my training and long endurance rides as I train for my cyclocross and mountain bike seasons. I also enjoy riding downhill as I did the Devo program at Thunder Mountain. 

What is your favorite part of training and racing with the Trail Blasters and River Valley Riot? 

My favorite part of training with the NCC Trail Blasters race team and River Valley Riot is probably all the friends and amazing memories that I've made with both these teams. I also love that even if I have a bad day at school, practice will almost always make my day better. By the time I get home from practice you usually can't tell if I had a good or bad day at school.   

What is something you have learned? 

The most important thing I have learned on a bike is how to connect with nature in ways a lot of people don't, for example finding places where no one is or just riding to be in the woods and not for training purposes. Something else I've learned from just biking is spatial awareness and bike/body control.  These two skills combined have given me confidence on my bike.   

Lilah’s Favorites

What’s your favorite place to ride?

My favorite place to ride is the Kingdom Trails in East Burke, VT because it has a mix of challenging, tech, flow and a lot of other variety. My favorite trail there is Black Bear because it is a flowy down hill trail that is fast with big berms, jumps and some tech.  

Favorite ride snack & mid-ride stop spot

My favorite ride snack is Haribo sour gummy bears and my favorite place to stop for a mid-ride snack is any place with a good view and no mosquitoes.

Favorite piece of cycling gear?

I have three favorite pieces of cycling gear, the first is my wahoo bike computer because I love looking at the numbers while I’m on my rides and after my ride because it helps me understand what I'm doing on the bike and how I can push myself to be better. My second thing is my 2025 Cycle-Smart Northampton Cyclocross winners/leaders jersey because it has always been a dream of mine to win that race since I’ve gone to that race for so many years. So for me winning that jersey this year showed how far I'd come from watching the races to winning the Cat ⅘ women's race.  My third favorite piece of cycling gear is my new Cannondale Scalpel 2  mountain bike because it is a bike that fits me well and I feel so confident and comfortable on this bike.      

What is your favorite NCC group ride or event?

My favorite NCC event is either the Trail Blasters rec mountain bike rides or the Look Park Junior Cyclocross program. These are two events that I have grown up riding and I have learned a lot of my skills in these two programs. 

What’s your favorite movie?

My favorite movie is Home Alone (the first one) because it is a tradition in my family to watch that movie at least once (we usually end up watching it more than once) during the Christmas season. 

Lilah Off the Bike

What do you do when not on your bike? 

When I'm not on the bike I'm usually at school or volunteering to help with junior programs through NCC.

What do you do for fun (besides ride your bike)?

Besides cycling I love downhill skiing and have grown up doing it my entire life and in the winter my family is always chasing the snow and skiing whenever and wherever we can.

What is your favorite spot in the River Valley? 

My favorite spot in the River Valley is probably on a dirt road somewhere where no one is or in the woods mountain biking. Off my bike is also probably in the woods on a hike.  

What’s next for Lilah? 

What are your goals for the mountain bike season? 

My goals for this MTB season are: 

1. Have better endurance on long rides and races, 

2. Find the balance between pushing myself hard and not blowing up in races, 

3. Have races that I'm happy with 

What’s on your cycling bucket list? 

My cycling bucket list includes long rides in beautiful places like the 40-mile Slate Valley Epic race, which I will do as a relay this year and hope to complete the whole thing in the future. I also would like to race collegiate MTB in college, to hopefully race pro MTB and to travel to really cool places with my bike, like Norway and British Columbia.

What are your hopes for NCC's youth programming? 

My hopes for the NCC youth programs are getting more girls involved in the sport because when I started MTB with the trail blasters I was one of the only girls on the rides (that number has changed since then). In the future I want to try and get more girls into the NCC youth programs. 

We've fallen into a bit of a pattern with the weather over the past few weeks -- chilly (or freezing) conditions for the time trials, and pretty decent nights for the hillclimbs. Tonight's Chesterfield climb definitely fell into the "pretty decent" category, with temps in the lower 60s and a little bit of sun here and there, along with maybe a bit of a tailwind out of the south and east.

The favorable conditions brought out a dozen or so riders to the start, including a couple of new recruits. Andy and I encountered Martin on our ride over to the start, and convinced him to give the race a try (despite the fact that he was heading home at the end of his own ride). Meanwhile, Charles brought along co-worker Brian, sporting an awesome-looking vintage street bike, with flat bars and flat pedals. Andy also had an equipment handicap -- with his road bike in the shop, he dusted off his gravel bike, rubbing brakes and all, and still turned in a pretty decent time.

Ryan rode away from the field at the start en-route to an easy win (and a PR). Sam and Shawn also turned in PRs, as did Patrick (who rode earlier in the day).

Full results for the season are available here. 

Next week we'll be racing the short time trial in Hatfield -- hopefully we will break the weather pattern and get a decent night. Hope to see you there!