X-Mass in July: Greylock to Boston

After yesterday’s ride we ended at Bascom Lodge. I devoured the food put in front of me and took a second serving of the mashed potatoes. Was it enough to recover for another big day of biking?

We learned that the War Memorial Tower glows at night. The dome at the top of the tower lit up while we were eating desert.

The solution to the problem of getting back from Greylock was to bike back. We tucked into bed to rest up for the morning’s ride back home. The nine of us stacked in a bunk room. I had a fitful night of sleep. Muscle spasms and flashes of lighting woke me up periodically.

The morning alarm revealed gray out the window. At the top of the mountain we were looking out into a rain cloud. I got my bike and equipment ready. I realized that I had forgotten to plug in my phone and bike computer. I’d have no navigation for the bike ride home. Even after giving my computer some charge I realized I had done something to it to make it not function. Mental and physical exhaustion kept me from figuring out the problem.

We mounted the bikes for a photo at the summit sign. Riccardo, Ryan, Guillermo, Bryan, Alex, me, Eric, Martin and Ramon. Everyone was layered up to fight off the cold and rain. We started off with the long descent down the south side of the mountain. Wet roads meant lots of braking to control the speed. The cold wind was biting, with no pedaling effort to warm me up.

At the bottom we agreed to forgo the extra eight mile ride to the New York border. No need to add on those sixteen miles, roundtrip, in this weather. The forecast had been for scattered showers during the day. Scattered had become steady rain for the first quarter of the ride.

The first rest stop was Cumberland Farms. I sucked down a nasty egg sandwich and an iced coffee. I needed to shake off the bad vibes from lack of sleep, technical malfunctions and the bad weather. I needed to start embracing the suck.

The rain seemed to be tapering off and maybe the day would clear up. I took of the rain jacket and just kept on the PMC vest. Up and down through the Berkshires.

I was promised the next rest stop would be great. The Chesterfield General Store had a great selection of coffee, pastries and treats that would re-charge a cyclist’s body and soul. It was closed. We plunged downhill into Williamsburg to find something open. Anything. The Williamsburg General Store was a good find. Nice tables, delicious baked goods.

That stop recharged me. It improved the weather. Vest off. The sun starting breaking through the clouds as we cruised through Northampton and on to the Norwottuck Rail Trail bridge that would take us to Amherst.

Onward to the Quabbin Reservoir. We split into two groups. I was back with Martin, Eric and Alex. Four others were riding faster and were up the road a bit. Ramon was behind us somewhere. We took a rest stop at Dunkin’. Donuts make you stronger on a bike ride. On to the Winsor Dam for a scenic photo with all that water for Metro Boston. We decided to head back to the road instead of climbing up to the observation tower.

In Ware we caught up to Ramon. We saw him go past the Dunkin stop. He must not have gone into Quabbin.

The next stop was the Rose 32 Bread in Gilbertsville for lunch. It was a great choice. A ham sandwich and an Arnold Palmer made me feel almost perky. Exhausted, but perky.

Four us had finished the Le Col Everest Challenge with the jerseys delivered in time for the ride. We decided it was an appropriate jersey for the day.

Now the sun was out and all that rain had turned into humidity. It had turned into a hot, summer day. With all the rain we decided to forgo the dirt paths of the Mass Central Rail Trail and stay on pavement.

The next stop was Mount Wachusett. Martin and I arrived at the ranger station side-by-side.

None of us had interest in climbing up to the summit. The heat was on. The mountain was crowded. Daylight was going to be in short supply later in the day.

Bryan and Alex decided to end their rides. They planned to cut down the mountain to the Wachusett train station to end the trip just like they started it. We tried to cajole them into coming all the way into Boston. It didn’t work.

After topping off our water bottles, we went flying down the mountain towards Sterling. I had only biked up these roads, never down. They were a lot more enjoyable going down.

The next stop was Sterling Ice Cream. Sweet treats to keep us going. The sunshine of the ice cream was marred by dark clouds looming overhead. A check of the weather app showed thunderstorms closing in on us.

The chase was on. Could we outrun the thunderstorm and make it to Boston before the rain? No. No, we could not. We were riding right on the edge of the storm. Dark clouds and lightning on our right in the south. Light skies on our left to the north. Plenty of rain. After the heat of the day, it didn’t feel so bad.

The rain also meant that the Boston river paths would be free of crowds so we could take that safe route into downtown. I showed the others my commuting route into work. We got a glimpse of the Hatch Shell being set up for the July 4 celebration. We turned up the Appleton Bridge and I knew we would make it.

I made the call to end at the ICA. I knew it would have a great view for the finishing photos. It’s big cantilevered top floors would give us protection from the rain. We got a beautiful sunset for pictures of the final six and the three round-trippers.