by Last year, I had the crazy idea of bicycling up Mt. Wachusett and then continuing across the state and going up Mt. Greylock. Then the next day I joined a group that cycled down Greylock and back across the state for X-Mass in July. This year I convinced a dozen knuckleheads to join me in this ridiculous adventure.
The worst part of last year’s edition of this ride was that I was a riding an untested route published by GCN with no support. (Please don’t ride that route without some edits.) I fixed the problems for this year, except…. I forgot to fix the beginning. So I had the first turn wrong. Fortunately, Mt. Wachusett is not easy to miss, so we found a good route to the ski area base and then up the mountain.
For me, it’s a big climb with fresh legs. Typically, I’m climbing up Wachusett after riding 40 miles to get there. On the other hand, today I was loaded down with the extra weight of overnight gear strapped to my bike.
Of course, with a big climb comes a big descent. We got lots of coasting downhill, then rolling roads into Petersham. We learned from our prior mistake of taking the unmaintained portion of Old Petersham Road last year. (It looks like its been unmaintained for a century.) It was smooth rolling into one of my favorite stops, Country Store in Petersham. Delicious food that hits the spot for a breakfast stop.
From there we headed over the northern side of Quabbin Reservoir, one of the two big obstacles in crossing Massachusetts. The next stop was Moore’s Corner and the Leverett Village Co-op, “the little gem in the woods that keeps on shining. ” Sadly, we got there before they were scooping ice cream. It also marked the start of the dirt road filled section of the ride.
Next up was the Buttonball Tree. This is an exceptionally large sycamore tree. Note the use of cyclists for scale.
It is believed to be the largest tree of its kind on the East Coast. It’s also really old, at least according to the plaque stating that the buttonball tree was here when the US Constitution was signed.
The sun was out as we crossed the second big obstacle: the Connecticut River. The other river crossings were 20 miles north or south of the Sunderland-Deerfield bridge.
Our next problem was that the general store I had tagged for our rest stop for lunch was closed. Elmer’s Store in Ashfield has closed. Fortunately, we found Countrypie Pizza just down the road. Their pizza tasted great. Especially after hours on a bike. Right next door, Ashfield Hardware and Supply served up some ice cream. Yes, the hardware store served ice cream. And it was only $1.
There was a chance of rain in the forecast. That chance became 100% right after lunch. We set off with our bellies full of pizza and ice cream into a torrential downpour. Our bikes were leaving wakes in the thick layer of water on the road as we headed to the dirt of Bug Hill Road. Thunder roared around us as we climbed and crossed the ridge. Farmland spread across the landscape.
Heading into Savoy, we had a big gap for rest stops. Not a general store for a few dozen miles. We pulled into Pub 116 to see if we all had enough water to get to North Adams. “It’s all downhill to North Adams.” I lied. It wasn’t all downhill. But we made our way across some great roads.
Once again, our planned rest stop was closed. The Cumberland Farms we planned for was very, very closed. Fortunately there were lots of options in North Adams.
Over our left shoulder loomed North Adams. It towered above town, taunting us.
The route was to climb the north side of the mountain. It’s steepest at the bottom so it’s important to not burn all your matches at the beginning of the climb with six more miles to go. That was my mistake last year. I ended up having to walk the remaining steep ramps. This year would be different. I would not put a foot down this year.
At least that was the plan. We turned up Reservoir Road and faced those steeps, before we were officially on the segment. It hurt. I dug in. Guillermo was on the side of road with a great overlook asking me to stop for a photo op. NO. not putting my foot down. The plan worked I hit the summit without stopping.
We rested with a great meal at the Bascom Lodge, squeezed ourselves into a bunk room for the night.
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise. Waking on top of a mountain, we were above the clouds.
Of course that meant that we went flying down the mountain into the clouds and out of the sunlight.
We fought the clouds and tired legs through the Berkshires. This leg of the ride was titled: X-Mass in July. The goal was to ride from Greylock all the way to Boston. There was already some grumbling early in the day about stopping at Wachusett and not all the way to Boston.
Unlike last year, where only a few us had ridden out to Greylock, everyone had ridden out to Greylock and everyone was tired. (Except Keith. Keith is unstoppable.)
We had a great stop at the Williamsburg Market. It marked the end to most of the climbing until we got back closer to Wachusett.
As we got closer to Wachusett, the grumbling turned to full discussion. We were quickly agreeing we were unlikely to make it all the way back to Boston. Some people started looking at the train schedule and calling for rides.
I cracked and made a call to The Son. He drove us here yesterday, would he come back and get us? Yes. Yes he would. Boston was now out off the table for me.
But how to finish the ride?
We started with a climb up Wachusett. It would seem a fitting end to conclude with a climb up Wachusett. Only three people agreed with me.
Maybe next year we will make it all the way back to Boston. (Keith did.)
