Ordinary 9am Saturday C Ride (9/24) "Where's Wendell?"
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Chris Stratton
Sep 23, 2022, 11:43:45 AM9/23/22
to NCC Discussion Group
This Saturday will feature an ordinary 9am C ride from Pulaski Park
through Leverett and Wendell, with earlier Vermont ideas shelved for a
different time.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41005450 which offers both 56 and 42 mile options
One of the major challenges with planning Saturday C rides is trying
to get into new and interesting territory, without ending up with an
excessive overall distance. I'd really hoped to offer a ride on the
shorter end this weekend, but there just aren't that many interesting
destinations nearby that we've not already been to many times this
summer, while the club's library of B rides contains so many
tantalizing possibilities just a little bit further out.
Ultimately, I've gone with the compromise of a route that is on the
longer side at 56 miles from Pulaski Park, but with two exceptions
fairly flat at just 2500 feet, such that it will be easy to keep the
pace up for much of it More importantly, those looking for something
shorter have the option to park at the boat launch parking on the
grassy triangle at the intersection of Mount Warner Road and Route 47.
That cuts almost seven boring miles off each end, making the overall
ride just 42 miles. If taking that option, please be ready to roll
out by 9:22 - and an email heads up of your intention to jump in there
would be greatly appreciated, as if we're not expecting anyone we'll
probably cruise on by without pause. You can also of course park at
the trail lot on Damon Road by the bridge and so avoid dealing with
parking downtown.
As for the route itself, after crossing the river and heading north
we'll leave route 47 and head east through Amherst, past Puffer's
Pond, and turn north onto Leverett Road. The formerly decrepit paving
there was found nicely re-done a month ago, with exception of huge
pits around each of the drains - I dearly hope a month has been enough
time for them to complete those, or we'll have to check for sparse but
occasional traffic before diverting nearly to the yellow line to go
around each. After passing the pond in Leverett and the outlet of
infamous Rattlesnake Gutter, we'll tackle our one real climbing
challenge of Cave Hill Road - briefly steep, then just about strategic
pacing to get up the rest. The New England Peace Pagoda is atop the
hill there, and worth a return to visit, but the detour up its gravel
driveways and then walking path sadly won't fit into this Saturday's
plan. The Leverett Coop follows shortly after Cave Hill but likely
too soon to be useful on a cool fall weekend. From there we'll begin
a sustained and gentle climb past Lake Wyola - take a minute to note
how dramatically the stream in the woods below the road to the right
has carved into and undermined the rocks. My recollection is that
there are porta potties at Lake Wyola though that probably means the
indoor facilities are locked.
From Lake Wyola our route turns north, and continues a gentle climb to
its overall summit at the Wendell Store at around mile 25, which
offers a much more strategic refill opportunity - last week on a
gravel ride we picked up a gallon of water there to refill everyone's
bottles. The subsequent paved routing through Wendell on Farley and
Mormon Hollow roads will be new to me, but comes from an established
club B route, and I hope will nicely complement last Sunday's informal
exploration of the gravel options through that area. After cutting
through a small corner of Miller's Falls we'll reach the Lake Pleasant
Bridge of Names, perhaps worth a quick photo stop for anyone who
hasn't been there before. Old Northfield road is then a mile of very
well packed unpaved road that is unlikely to be an issue for anyone,
but if need be we can bypass by staying on Lake Pleasant Road and take
a bit of 47 to Swamp Road ala the COVAC routing. From there we'll
just miss the Bookmill, and coose the gentler option of Old Sunderland
Road - take a minute to note what's hiding in the trees at the CSA
farm on the right just before the final descent. Recent rain means
the falls of Falls Road might actually be a falls again, after which
we'll pass our last contingency refill option in Sunderland, the Mount
Warner boat launch, and classic Cemetery Road to Cross Path and the
bridge - much like a Wednesday Night Ride finish, only let's try to
keep the final paceline cooperatively efficient and intact ;-)
Weather for this first Saturday of fall should be clear but cool even
into early afternoon - I'm probably opting for some knee warmth via
running tights over my summer stuff at least to start, and would
recommend having a second upper body layer available, too.
Hope to see you Saturday at Pulaski Park, the trail bridge, or the boat launch !
Chris
through Leverett and Wendell, with earlier Vermont ideas shelved for a
different time.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41005450 which offers both 56 and 42 mile options
One of the major challenges with planning Saturday C rides is trying
to get into new and interesting territory, without ending up with an
excessive overall distance. I'd really hoped to offer a ride on the
shorter end this weekend, but there just aren't that many interesting
destinations nearby that we've not already been to many times this
summer, while the club's library of B rides contains so many
tantalizing possibilities just a little bit further out.
Ultimately, I've gone with the compromise of a route that is on the
longer side at 56 miles from Pulaski Park, but with two exceptions
fairly flat at just 2500 feet, such that it will be easy to keep the
pace up for much of it More importantly, those looking for something
shorter have the option to park at the boat launch parking on the
grassy triangle at the intersection of Mount Warner Road and Route 47.
That cuts almost seven boring miles off each end, making the overall
ride just 42 miles. If taking that option, please be ready to roll
out by 9:22 - and an email heads up of your intention to jump in there
would be greatly appreciated, as if we're not expecting anyone we'll
probably cruise on by without pause. You can also of course park at
the trail lot on Damon Road by the bridge and so avoid dealing with
parking downtown.
As for the route itself, after crossing the river and heading north
we'll leave route 47 and head east through Amherst, past Puffer's
Pond, and turn north onto Leverett Road. The formerly decrepit paving
there was found nicely re-done a month ago, with exception of huge
pits around each of the drains - I dearly hope a month has been enough
time for them to complete those, or we'll have to check for sparse but
occasional traffic before diverting nearly to the yellow line to go
around each. After passing the pond in Leverett and the outlet of
infamous Rattlesnake Gutter, we'll tackle our one real climbing
challenge of Cave Hill Road - briefly steep, then just about strategic
pacing to get up the rest. The New England Peace Pagoda is atop the
hill there, and worth a return to visit, but the detour up its gravel
driveways and then walking path sadly won't fit into this Saturday's
plan. The Leverett Coop follows shortly after Cave Hill but likely
too soon to be useful on a cool fall weekend. From there we'll begin
a sustained and gentle climb past Lake Wyola - take a minute to note
how dramatically the stream in the woods below the road to the right
has carved into and undermined the rocks. My recollection is that
there are porta potties at Lake Wyola though that probably means the
indoor facilities are locked.
From Lake Wyola our route turns north, and continues a gentle climb to
its overall summit at the Wendell Store at around mile 25, which
offers a much more strategic refill opportunity - last week on a
gravel ride we picked up a gallon of water there to refill everyone's
bottles. The subsequent paved routing through Wendell on Farley and
Mormon Hollow roads will be new to me, but comes from an established
club B route, and I hope will nicely complement last Sunday's informal
exploration of the gravel options through that area. After cutting
through a small corner of Miller's Falls we'll reach the Lake Pleasant
Bridge of Names, perhaps worth a quick photo stop for anyone who
hasn't been there before. Old Northfield road is then a mile of very
well packed unpaved road that is unlikely to be an issue for anyone,
but if need be we can bypass by staying on Lake Pleasant Road and take
a bit of 47 to Swamp Road ala the COVAC routing. From there we'll
just miss the Bookmill, and coose the gentler option of Old Sunderland
Road - take a minute to note what's hiding in the trees at the CSA
farm on the right just before the final descent. Recent rain means
the falls of Falls Road might actually be a falls again, after which
we'll pass our last contingency refill option in Sunderland, the Mount
Warner boat launch, and classic Cemetery Road to Cross Path and the
bridge - much like a Wednesday Night Ride finish, only let's try to
keep the final paceline cooperatively efficient and intact ;-)
Weather for this first Saturday of fall should be clear but cool even
into early afternoon - I'm probably opting for some knee warmth via
running tights over my summer stuff at least to start, and would
recommend having a second upper body layer available, too.
Hope to see you Saturday at Pulaski Park, the trail bridge, or the boat launch !
Chris
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