Shad Rides: Weekend at the End of the Year

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Weekend at the End of the Year

Whoa, unexpected. The weekend separating Christmas (this past Thursday) and New Years (this coming Thursday) turned out to be exceptional for riding. Saturday - bright, sunny, a blue sky with puffy white clouds, almost 50 degrees, a light breeze. Sunday - rain at dawn then clearing, the streets dry out, the sun emerges and then slips behind high gauzy cottony sky wash.

And I have time to ride both days! Om Shanti! So do.

Saturday, clear, sharp light, I head out to the Holden Reservoir and up the great climb of South Rd, then onward toward Paxton, the climb up Asnebumskit Rd, eventually the rushing descent on rt. 56 and Kettle Brook Reservoir # 2 and the back of the Woo City Airport.

Kettle Brook # 2

Sunday, dramatic skies tumbled with grey, trees silhouetted in black, great vistas from Green Hill, neighborhoods on deeply sloped hills and congested intersections trying to get under interstate 290.

Looking out from the Sprinkler Factory on Harlow St

It's a shame that Woo City has been cleaved by the interstate; its presence causes necessary intersections that end up like clogged drains at peak traffic times or just dangerous cross streets at normal times. On Sunday the passage onto Lincoln St isn't that harrowing and I ascend the hill without competition, locate out the Sprinkler Factory Gallery, of which I've heard good things, and then make my way to Green Hill Park, a giant expanse of open space atop one of Worcester's seven hills.

Green Hill Park Golf Course

Meandering the neighborhoods is always a different kind of riding than that outside the city limits. In a neighborhood ramble, you have to encourage yourself to explore, to ride up a street just because it's hilly and can pose a challenge, whatever.

Beech tree on the campus of WPI

Coming home, cruising around the WPI campus (which I hadn't seen before), I had the option of going straight home, or extending the ride by climbing up to Bancroft Tower. I opted for the tower and the added climbing.

When all was said and done, I notched over 1000 feet of climbing on the day. Woo City can do that for you. You just have to be ready to climb and explore.