Jim from Boston

So I’ve been looking forward to this Ride since it was proposed by BluesDawg (BD) back in January. It’s the sixth of these events have attended, and rewarding as usual. I have written this report before reading any others, except for BD’s preliminary report, with the GPSMyRide data.


I follow a training program every summer, mainly for mileage, but emphasized speed this summer. Even though my training slipped during September, including by a week of rain preceding the Ride, I was in good shape for this mountainous Ride.

As is often the case in these Rides, many express interest, but the number of participants is always far less. I made my preparations late, in case of problems, so my motel was about 50 miles from the venue. I thought it was the foliage season that crowded the motels, but no, it was “Penn State Weekend.” The trip from Boston was about 500 miles, plus the 100 miles I added by getting lost.


This was the first one presented by Bicycle Times and they did a great job. It was like a festive religious retreat for zealous cyclists. The Resort was a very convenient focus, set on a scenic lake with a MUP lined with knowledgeable vendors, who freely chatted and gave advice. I even bought myself a seat bag with features I have been seeking for months.

On Friday and Saturday nights free beer and entertainment was provided, and everyone was of good cheer.

Our contingent of Miss Kenton, Mr. Miss Kenton, Sister Miss Kenton, Felix, and of course BD, was a happy gathering. The Miss and Mister and I have been together on two previous Annual Rides, and they are a fun couple. They graciously allowed me to hang out in their cottage, since my base camp (motel) was fifty miles away. After the festivities down by the lake ended, we took the party up to their place. As usual at these gatherings, it’s fun to chat face-to-face with BF subscribers, about the other subscribers on BF, whom we only know by their posts (or PM’s, but no confidences were revealed).




Of course the Focus of the Weekend were the Rides, of various lengths and road surfaces. Friday afternoon was raining. BD had arrived much earlier and did a route beforehand, but the rest of us hung out. The rains stopped early enough for the Friday night party, and Saturday was perfect. BD and I decided to do the 61 mile ride.

Now there are plenty of nice rides around Boston, but what made this ride special were the mountains; see BD’s Ride with GPS.

I posted on another thread,

There were also some steep backroad hills, and I occasionally got stuck in too high a gear, saying to BD, “I gotta learn to respect these hills.”

The other terrains were pleasant wooded back roads, and a long stretch of unshaded farm lands looking very much like the rolloing Midwest, but with mountains far in the distance on either side.



BD was a great riding and weekend companion. I have read his posts over the years and knew he was certainly an enthusiast. Turns out he is a part time bike mechanic, and his custom made bike was photographed by one of the Bicycle Times representatives at a rest stop. Later that night he held forth on bike design at our après-cycle party at the Kenton’s.

I don’t use GPS, and I’m not familiar with grades, so he would indicate how steep (%) were various grades. This was the first time I had ever looked at an elevation profile of a ride I have done, and since elevations were a key feature of the ride, I could re-visit every segment of the 61 miles.

I also especially appreciated that he demonstrated taking pictures while riding, and I got confident to do likewise. We held together pretty well nearly the entire length of the Ride. At the top of the first mountain he said "I’ll see you at the bottom." Being heavier, I said, “No, because physics will determine arrival.” Well, actually fear determined arrival, because after about 30 mph, I started riding the brakes as they chattered. 34.5 mph is the highest maximum speed I have recorded.

I drove back to Boston on Sunday, feeling myself a much better rider than when I arrived, for conquering the mountains and learning from BD, with renewed enthusiasm to continue riding as much as possible to keep up my conditioning from this summer. After I post my description, I'll enter this Ride in the A Chronicle of the 50+ Annual Rides