Cycling to Roy's

I needed to have Roy of Grace Bicycles, who built my IF, look at my derailleurs and shifters. It was to be the last nice day before a week of rain so I took the day off and rode there in the most direct route possible. I completed the ride at 16.3 mph and had time for a shower and lunch before picking up the little guy and my wife.

I always thought that Route 16 west of Wellesly was pretty but a bit fast traffic and both were true. Despite the traffic, the ride was pleasant and I enjoyed the reasonably quick pace.

The route.

Bike: IF Club Racer 2007

Early morning ride to Concord and Carlisle

I left the house around 5:15AM and with some apprehension of forecasted fog and that the streets would be wet (as our street was) but the major roads were dry. I encountered a lot of fog crossing MA 128/I95 on MA 2A and thought of turning back. It eventually cleared and while I hit more patches of fog, none were as intimidating as the 128/95 crossing. On the return trip I passed most, or perhaps all, of the Harpoon B2B riders. They are in for a long haul (149 miles or so). I haven't been in the saddle enough this season (~610 miles) to even think about that distance. I saw three support vehicles, one looking like a Harpoon van with bike racks and a couple of Mavic cars with many spare wheels and a couple of bikes, in Mavic's colors. I finished the ride reasonably quickly, at 17.0mph.

Here is the route.

Bike: IF Club Racer 2007

Across the Conneticut Valley

I road from Ashfield to the Connecticut River Valley then to Leverett and Amherst before heading back to Northampton and Williamsburg before taking Ashfield-Williamsburg Road to South Ashfield. I did this after a morning of using the chopper saw, cutting lumber for Mike's sauna. I was rewarded with a great bbq, if I recall correctly. This was one of my first rides on my 1997 Lemond Alpe d'Huez. Despite what the maps says, I took the bike path into Northampton from Amherst.

Map

Bike: Lemond Alpe d'Huez

Summer 2008 Vermont Ride #2

I did this ride in 3.5 hours at a decent speed with a couple of stops along the way. It was a great ride, especially coming north over a small pass on VT 8.

Bike: IF Club Racer 2007

Summer 2008 Vermont Ride #1

This long ride took me south into Massachusetts on several roads I had been on in the past. Lovely ride with big hills coming back into Vermont. The ride down the Deerfield past the old nuke plant and the Hoosac Tunnel is both easy (all downhill) and dramatic in the deep gorge of the river.

Bike: IF Club Racer 2007

The very long way from Arlington to Andover

It's less than 25 miles from Arlington to Andover and I wanted to get a long ride in so this ride takes you on an intentionally convoluted route. I knew most of the roads and it is mostly pleasant once you get past I 93. I did this in the summer of 2008.

Bike: IF Club Racer 2007

Long ride of the weekend, north and west of Concord

I met Bobby, who was outside of Concord by the time I called him, in Bedford. We traveled through Great Brook Farm Park and then on to South Chelmsford. We traveled the newly created bike trail, which had several other users but appeared to be unfinished (signs and lines were missing). The stretch on 27 and 2A/119 could be missed but weren't too busy. Not the fastest ride but I was tired by the end.

The whole ride is a minor variation of a basic NW ride and was cut short due to time constraints. I will try to do the complete ride on Tuesday (when I will be taking a vacation day from work).

The ride.

Bike: IF Club Racer 2007