in mass...and vermont too! friday after work i loaded my road bike and headed south to sawyer and hannah's place in sunderland mass. dinner was sautéed summer squash with noodles and pesto--yum! i had a second go at it, thinking about carbo-loading for the next day. sitting with them at the kitchen table made me think of summer garden meals back in day, when pam and i first started growing food. i remember coming home from school one evening only to see a backhoe digging about the yard and drive, some of the garden plants tilting into the hole--a rhubarb already fallen in.
the 'kids' had invited me south to ride on saturday, in the d2r2--the deerfield dirt road randonnee. they have been doing this ride for the last few years and had a small group built up. two couples from boston were slated to come, one of them matt munsey and his partner kailyn, the other cory and josh. unfortunately, kailyn had been in a bike-car accident with her on the bike. she was unable to ride so i volunteered to cover her entrance fee.
josh and cory pulled in shortly after it got dark. we chatted some, decided on an early start, prepped the teeth, and crawled off to bed--cory, josh, and i in tents out by the garden. i woke the usual dark o'clock and went inside for first breakfast--deckard the cat had his early too. by 6:30 we were packing bikes and gearing up. we took off for deerfield to the gathering and second breakfast, at least for me. matty was probably just leaving boston. he would catch us somewhere--the beast on a bike he is.
we pulled in behind hundreds of cars parked in a huge field with stakes and string marking off multiple 4x football field sized lots. things seemed to be filling up at a good clip. bikers of all shapes, sizes, and sexes were pedaling about, some already heading out on the route. we registered, fastened on our numbers, and went at the food tent. i don't know exactly what time it was but it struck me as very motivating to see so many folks into biking their saturday away. soy and i were taking in all the lovely rides around us, from vintage "japanese steel" to the ultramodern carbon fiber--and everything in between. likewise, bodies sported a rainbow of jerseys and shorts. kits--as a rider's clothing is called--advertised just about everything and everywhere. it was a feast for the eyes!
despite the urge to gawk, we--our 'gruppo' pictured above--did finally get out of the gate. it felt good to ride in a little pack, chatting with each other. for a couple of miles we kept a steady pace and i smiled each time a group of riders flew by us on their hot bikes and in their 'fit' kits. i like to climb strong and i particularly remember see sawing one particular couple, passing them on the longer uphill, and them passing us back on the downhill or flat. soon enough we got off the pavement and went into the woods on a dirt back road. if things stayed this 'rural' and rough, i would be pumped.
after the first big hill--josh skipped his chain off to the spokeside of his freewheel twenty meters from the top--we got back on pavement for a fast descent. on the next big hill, the beast caught us--snuck up fast while we were even talking about him, "matty, you're here!" let's get the party started.
there were enough riders doing the 100K like we were that it was easy to follow the flow, everybody heading to the first water-snack stop. a fairly big crowd made it hard to miss. we didn't spend too much time, but i made sure and down a mini cup of 'pickle juice' to ward off the dreaded cramping. it was another quick decent going away, with a couple of hairpins thrown in just when you wanted to be looking at the wide valley views. as we climbed back out of the low spot we just rolled into, i was chugging ahead a bit when i heard my name, several times. "koby, come back, you missed the turn. this way has more rocks and is steeper...!" so much for following the flow.
as we were headed off onto another woods road, we got stopped by a fire vehicle. a police car and an ambulance crept by and parked at the bottom of a steep section where a rider had crashed and was sitting off to the side with paramedics attending him. we were single file and slow getting past that point. it occurred to me that i was wearing a helmet. though i get a big raft of grief, i don't usually use one unless i am with students--and going fast through the woods or down mountains. it is a choice that seems to garner a lot of criticism but americans tend to make safety decisions based on fear rather than solid research. then again, maybe it's my dutch heratige--that and the damn things are hot.
hot helmet and all, after another really long climb up a dirt road, we launched into a couple of miles of steep downhill. i remember at one point letting it go and passing matty, unusual in and of itself, but as i went by i gave a little hop out of a dip in the road and got airborne. the challenge was on, and he zoomed back by when i got conservative and stuck behind a threesome of gents going much slower, two sometimes three abreast. before the down let up completely we came to the river, the covered bridge under renovation, and lunch. i could hear matty's brakes in tandem with mine. another unusual occurrence, matty braking--or even having working brakes!
lunch was a good break but i should have taken a couple of pickle juices there. the only time i felt a twinge of cramp was following the river for 5-6 miles leaving lunch. it sort of worried me as it was basically flat and right before the big turn up 'apex' hill--
the hill was so called because the apex orchard water and snack stop is perched at the tippy top of the longest and steepest hill we would ride over. the word on the road was that the 'peach lady', normally there and handing out the tasty fruit, was not going to be there this year. i want to say, thank the fruit godesses and gods, that was not true. i got a juicey ripe delicious peach and three mini-cups of pickle juice--both hit the spot! hannah and cory seem to be happy with their peaches too.
we had a couple more ups and downs after that, the craziest being down hawk's hill, one of the steeper and without question the roughest and sandiest. sawyer's comment was "this is why some people suffer riding a mtn. bike the whole way, just for this." we made it down safely, but two police cars and an ambulance went screaming by us and up hawk's for someone who didn't.
at the bottom of hawk's we reversed the roads we had started on and came back to the parking, food tent, and for some, the all important beer stand. sixty two miles, a few stops, and some great riding brought smiles to our faces as we crossed the finish line and got into the refreshment ones. soy made a gif out of the racewire pictures taken--it takes some work but sometimes it does 'scroll'.
it was a grand day out, as 'wallace' would say...and i do believe i would do it again if the 'gruppo' invites me back!
