New Roads in Princeton and Paxton

Good rides this passed week, some longer ones over the Memorial Day weekend, a 41 miler and a 33 miler exploring up toward Princeton and Paxton having examined the maps closely in advance. Some really beautiful stretches of country road - Prescott St. into Hillside Rd in Paxton fantastic, Hillside Rd in particular a narrow, shaded, byway that at times seemed like it would peter out altogether into dirt and forest, but didn't; and also Ball Hill, Princeton, and Jefferson roads coming down from the northern reaches of Princeton, long sloping farm roads descending to Holden.

I've noticed that something felt a little different these last few rides and it finally occurred to me what it was - because all the trees and shrubs have their foliage now, the landscape is no longer visible, the long vistas into the rocky & stone-walled countryside have been replaced with thicket. The narrow country roads are now dense and overhung with greenery, so much so that I began to have vague feelings of claustrophobia. Nothing alarming, just a sense of being encroached upon, a sort of green enveloping.

I realize that I miss the bare landscape, I miss being able to see far into the forest from the road, miss seeing the contours of the countryside, the hills and slopes, the big rocks left behind by glaciers. Now, with the full emergence of leaf cover, the landscape pulses with a trembling green, a fluttery tangle of photosynthesizing leaf cover.

The encroaching green

Of course, the farmland now hums and radiates, the fields verdant and the blue sky yawning vast above. Farm roads, like short duration oasis, like coming up for air before plunging back into the tangle and shadow.

Mason Rd

Visuals from the week of May 18-24.

May 23, 2015

Holden Reservoir monster
(Look carefully)

Princeton St

And a couple of shots of Bancroft Tower.

May 19, 2015

May 23, 2015

The days haven't all been warm and nice, however. In the midst of this run there were two days where long sleeves were involved. One day the temps were barely in the 50s and it was breezy, I had to done under armor and full-fingered gloves.

Chilly style

Four Days in a Week: May 11- May 16

It's been quite a week. Perfect weather, four rides, the reverence of motion and the meditation of spin.

Steal Your Dubstoevsky

Today, for example. A slightly humid but overcast Saturday, dull sun glare filtering through the grayish blanket. Almost 70 degrees, but still cool, the perfect temperature. All afternoon available. Opt for a dash to Princeton, a revisit to Mason Rd, to River Rd. in Holden, and an exploration of Ball Hill Rd, Jefferson Rd, & Princeton Rd. (never ridden upon before today), beautiful pastorals, the rural Idyll.

Jefferson Rd and the beginning of
a run of hoary maples lining the way

I almost didn't ride today, was up late last night, questioned my motivation when the time came, then saddled up and rode BIG.

I am concentrating on my pedaling these days, trying to be more uniform, more aware of the muscle groups being put to the test, trying to sync the Whole Stroke into a continuous 360 rotation of power. I can't maintain it for an entire ride but I can turn it on as need be.

Take Monday night. I rode with the Barney's crew again. This time I acquitted myself much better than two weeks prior. This time I hung with the fast group. In fact, I engaged in great duels along the way, heart-pumping, spirited racing, the rush to stay attached, then to climb ahead, to force the pace, to FLY. The usual route, but I averaged 16+ mph, a reputable speed given the terrain.

On Tuesday I rode again, and Thursday yet again. Honest 20+ mile rambles, solo afternoons. Beautiful stretches of empty roads, forest on both sides, sun-dappled tarmac, cars few and far between. There's been no rain for weeks but the foliage persists in its lime green emergence and the landscape is abloom and awash in the Freshness. New growth. New England landscape glory, the rolling terrain, the stone walls, the hardwoods.

Lemony burst of South Rd

Spring Shad, South Rd
May 12, 2015

South Rd, and the New England moment

Today, I discovered new roads. Went back to Mason Rd then up the long climb to Princeton center but instead of dropping back south on rt. 31 I headed west on rt. 62 until I came to Ball Hill Rd, which I turned left onto, and then enjoyed a glorious stretch of empty rural wonder. In fact, for many miles at a time this afternoon, no cars passed. Just me and the landscape and the birds - red-wing blackbirds, robins, cardinals, catbirds, doves, a cowbird, finches & sparrows unidentified.

And I saved a snake! So far this year, road kill has included a plump ground hog, a turtle, several chipmunks, and a gangley heron. Today, I almost ran over a tiny milk snake, I'm surprised I even saw it but I did as I flashed passed, so I turned around to see if it really was alive. It was, and I herded it off the warm tarmac and into the dull leaf mass shoulder, to safety.

Herding the milk snake

The snake lives!

To safety

The beauty of today's ride was its meander, its newness, its length. 43 miles. Put me over 100 miles on the week, certainly the most prolific six day run I've had since last autumn, 2014. And I feel pretty good, like I'm just coming into form. In fact, by the end of the week, I'd dropped more than five lbs, I dipped below 154 lbs for the first time this year. That's still four lbs above optimum riding weight but it's not yet June. I am on pace for being in peak condition for the D2R2.

Tarmac shadow splash

Of course, of four rides, two climbed up to Bancroft Tower, the long, grinding slog to its base a rite of getting-out-of-town passage now.

May 12, 2015

May 16, 2015

Summary: A week of perfect weather, four rides: 16.4 (Barney's group ride, Monday), 20.5 (Tuesday), 23.6 (Thursday), 43.1 today (Saturday, May 16th). With the super niceness.

Parting Shots

Northern end of Holden Reservoir
May 14, 2015

Spring! May 16, 2015

Way the fuck out there

And if anyone has the inclination, listen to The Eleven from July 7, 1969.

Perfect Days

We are enjoying a run of perfect weather days, lots of sun and warmth and no wind worth mentioning. The glory of spring! Everyday in the 70s, moderate to low humidity, a cyclist's joy. And how quickly riding in shorts and a short-sleeve jersey has come to feel normal again. As if the whole wrath of winter had never occurred. Incredible.

And along with the sun and warmth have come flowering bushes and trees, the emergence of foliage, all the trees aura'd in pale lime, a color that couldn't be fresher nor suggest ALIVE any more aptly. And yet the trees are not yet fully leafed so while spinning along the hardwood forest roads in Holden and Princeton, you can still see clearly into the woods, still see the graying stone walls running nobly into the hilly and tree-trunked distance.

Almost two weeks ago now (April 27), I road with the crew from Barney's Bikes on their Monday night ride. Among the riders (14 in all) was a scrum of fast guys that I did my best to keep pace with. I did for a while but once we reached the reservoir, try as I did to hang onto the wheel of the last guy, the eight or so guys ahead kept the pace at around 19 mph and I dropped off the back.

Monday night speedsters

Whirring by the reservoir, in vain pursuit

That chilly, darkening Monday night was the last ride with tights and long sleeves. Since then the earth has apparently shifted, the juncos have flown north, and the happy days of spring riding have arrived.

I followed up this past Sunday's spirited and lengthy sojourn to the Mountaintop with a reasonably fast-paced 20 mile Reservoir Loop on Tuesday (May 5) (a ride not captured by Strava as I had technical difficulties with my tracking device). Managed 15 mph solo, but that's easier to do when there's no wind and when you're clad in minimal attire. Still, given the hilly nature of that loop, I was pleased.

Today's ride was logged on Strava, and a fine ride it was. More irie weather, hot even. Unlike the previous two full-sun rides, today I lathered on the sun screen before setting out. Smart. Yet riding directly into the sun for much of the day was challenging at times and before long my exposed pink forearms gleamed with greasy sweat. Still, like Harry Crosby in his sun-worshipping mania, I welcomed the solar intensity. It's far too early in the spring/summer season to complain about the heat.

One thing that doesn't change is getting out of town. Though there are various ways of exiting the Woo, almost all of them entail some semblance of this:

Intersection of Pleasant and Park

Then there are the west side neighborhoods to traverse. They're reasonably traffic-free, generally quiet and, these days, just beginning to leaf over. They all look something like this:

In the Thickly Settled

One can never be too careful and must keep a wary eye on everything, 360 degrees, the full circle of awareness.

Dubstoevsky; ever wary, ever alert to danger

Finally, after generous energy expenditures, you get out of the city limits, into Holden or Princeton or Paxton, and you're in the hills and the forests, and some roads are better and safer than others, some are narrow and cracked and dangerous, and many are sweet and mostly empty of cars and it is on these streets, whether hilly or flat, curvy or straight, that you can let you mind roam and contemplate the Immensity of Everything, and your own minuscule place in it all.

Mason Rd. and the onset of spring

Today: 35 miles, 15.3 mph, 2000 ft of climbing, allez!

First Ride to Mt. Wachusett from Woo City

Great day on the bike. Perfect spring weather, 70 degrees, sunny, a porcelain blue sky, little wind. Sunday! I got out early, in shorts and a "Steal Your Face" short sleeve jersey, no tights or gloves or wind tops, just the minimum costume. Fueled on pink ladies (an apple varietal), maple yogurt, granola, red raspberries, and Italian roast coffee, I set out full of energy with the vague notion I'd ride to Mt. Wachusett, not really knowing how far it was from HQ. I'd see how I felt when the time came to make the decision.

Of course, that time came and I pulled over to check the map and I found, to my chagrin, that I'd forgotten the map. Hmm, what to do? I'd studied it fairly closely, there was only a 10 mile or so stretch of road with which I was unfamiliar until I connected with rt. 62 and the very route I used to take to The Vontusett back when I rode out of Lemonstar. I shrugged it off and figured that I'd find my way. And I did.

The discovery of the day was Mason Rd in Princeton. Amazingly, I had never been on this road before even though for years I rode past it en route to Mt. Wachusett. Because for me at the time it lead away from where I was heading, I never ventured down it nor ever thought to incorporate it in a route. You never know when new beauty will enter your life.

Mason Rd, Princeton, MA

On Mason Rd, for some four miles, only two cars passed me in either direction, and I encountered no other cyclists. Feeling great when I got to rt. 62 and the base of the big climb up toward Princeton and the turn off to Merriam Rd, I decided to have a go at the mountain. So up up up I climbed, on familiar roads.

Mt. Wachusett on the horizon

Mirick Rd.

Gregory (Corso) Rd, Princeton

I reached the park entrance and base of the mountain at the same time another rider did, though he had come up the opposite, steeper side than I. I noticed he was spent so I went ahead of him, offering myself as the rabbit. I rode away from him. I rode up to and passed a young woman cyclist, a personal trainer, working with her client, an older man who was a bit bigger than you'd like as a cyclist. And powered to the top feeling not that bad at roughly the half way point of the ride, 25 miles.

Wachusett Summit, May 3, 2015

DubSky

Summary: 48.4 miles, 14.9 mph solo, 3 hours and 11 minutes. 3,560 ft of climbing. Lots of sun, but never too hot. 3 rides this week, 86 miles.

Parting Shots

The childhood home of Richard Johnson
family friend, author, sports historian and curator
Beechmont St
May 3, 2015

Gale Free Library, Holden

Mason Rd.

Eastward from the Summit

In Solidarity with the Riders of Frankfurt

Sad news from Frankfurt where a terrorist plot to bomb the venerable Eschborn-Frankfurt City loop bike race has resulted in the cancellation of the event. 

"German police overnight thwarted a terrorist plot by a radicalized couple, a plan they suspect involved bombing a bicycle race near Frankfurt, a German terrorism researcher briefed by investigators told CNN on Thursday.

German prosecutors and police said that a man and a woman had been arrested in the Frankfurt-area town of Oberursel on suspicion of planning a Boston-style attack, but the authorities did not explicitly reveal the target.

The suspected target, according to Florian Flade, the terrorism researcher, was a race planned for Friday. The race loops around Eshborn and Frankfurt on May Day each year, attracting large crowds of spectators along the cycle route."

Report from VentouxCalls in Franfurt.

Team Shad sends the Mighty Scrod and his fellow continental riders condolences and bellows of support and solidarity. We are cyclists. We honor the beauty of the circle, the all-encompassing form of Oneness. We are brothers and sisters in peaceful co-existence. We embrace the Wholeness of our planetary being. Ride on!

Bancroft Tower and the Fire of Cycling Passion