This was my very first 600k event.
Up at 1am.
Coffee!
Shredded Wheat w/banana, nectarine for breakfast
Everything ok and packed.
Items out in truck at 2am
Leave house 3am
Arrived at Hanscom Air Field 3:30am
Met Laura and Greg M at lot
Prompt departure at 4am
As we climbed that first hill, leaving the air field behind, I reminded myself not to try and keep up with the rocket riders, for that’s a sure-fire way of ensuring a quick burn-out, and knowing that we will need to save precious energy for the Green Mountains in VT, hanging back and just enjoying the nice, quiet streets is all that I aimed to do.
So we made swift work of getting out of Concord, Acton, Boxboro, Harvard, Shirley, Leominster, Westminster, Templeton, Royalston, and arrived in Gardner for Check Point 1 at 6:45 am. Filled up on water and food, stretched, and was on my way come 7am.
Lynda and Brevet organizer Tracey Ingle
With the legs still fresh, keeping up a fair pace was still pretty effortless. The terrain had mostly rolling hills, and the larger hills were mostly going downward – so easy now, I’ll learn that they are not so easy on the way back! We passed through the towns of Templeton, Baldwinville and Royalston on our way up into New Hampshire, where, in Richmond, rode onto Route 119, which was like a roller-coaster ride! The 12+% grades were all going in our favor – down! It was an exhilarating ride, for sure! For about 5 miles, we were treated to the sights and sounds of the Roaring Brook and the Ashuelot River. My first close-up look at a covered bridge was at mile 78.6 – the Ashuelot Covered Bridge – and I was mighty impressed! Part of what I like about randonneuring is that it becomes a sight-seeing trip! So much natural beauty to see. We were now treated to the Connecticut River all the way into Brattleboro, VT! We descended the last screaming hill that led to the Green Bridge, crossing over into the great state of VT around 9:50am.
Crossing the CT River into Brattleboro
Checkpoint 2 : Brattleboro, was located at the Motel 6 on Route 5. A tent structure was set up in parking lot right in front of hotel room that was used for bag storage and bathroom facilities. I methodically gathered items from my drop bag that I’d need to get me to Sandgate, a good 67 miles away. Filled bottles of water and Perpetuem, a quick stretch and we’re off.
The next 67.9 mile stretch was the most difficult part of the brevet, not only because of the heat that was starting to build from mid-morning into the afternoon hours, but because of the length and steepness of the hills of the Green Mountains. For about 22 miles, we mostly climbed. Some hills were rather benign, others very taxing at 8% grade for 2 miles. It was on this leg of the ride that I spent much time alone. Greg M, who I had rode with up to this point, started having problems due to lack of rest and the steepness of the terrain was just sapping his energy. He decided that he’d had enough and decided not to go on, posting a DNF (did not finish). I pushed on by myself. It wasn’t until the 30th mile into the leg that I saw other riders. Stopped at a convenience store in Bondville for more water, and there I saw a few riders. We pretty much stayed together for the rest of the leg, ebbing and flowing the pace.
Riding through the town of West Arlington was a treat: 5 miles of dirt road that followed the Battenkill River. There were tubers and boaters out in full-force on the water, just relaxing in the Summer sun. The dirt roads of Vermont are surprisingly well-maintained; they are smooth and graded. They provided a nice rustic flair to an already country landscape. River Road was my favorite part of this trip.
A few blinks after we left River Rd and onto Route 313, we took a right onto another dirt road, this one was about 1 mile, and it was mostly uphill. This road led to the ½ mile driveway for the summer home and check point of John McClellan, a New England Randonneur member. More dirt, more uphill, and loose gravel from the rains that Vermont has been getting hit with often this summer provided quite the challenge in getting to the house. I tried riding the length of the driveway, but only made it up perhaps a third of the way before having to stop due to rutting and the rear wheel not gaining any traction, grinding the bike to a halt. I walked the bike up the rest of the way, getting back on within 100 feet of John’s yard.
Once at John’s house at Sandgate, I went about filling my bottles and brevet card signed. Gathered items needed for the 30mi out/30mi back trek to the check point in Bennington. More food, more endurolytes. We’re off!
Getting ready to leave the Sandgate checkpoint for Bennington.
I left for Bennington with Jake Kassen, a well- seasoned randonneur who, with girlfriend Emily O’Brien, have biked just about everywhere! They have such a wealth of knowledge when it comes to these brevets, so as we were riding through New York State, I asked questions regarding sleep and just how much would be enough/ what to expect pace-wise on the return trip and other questions pertaining to finishing on-time. Through Eagleville, Anaquassacook, Cambridge (yes, there’s a Cambridge, NY), White Creek and Hoosick Falls we rolled, the wind really helping us along! With my head up and looking around, I took in the vast farm land that route 313 and 22 slice through. Lush, green land, lots of corn fields and livestock lined the roadsides. It was a quick ride out to Bennington, the road graded on a slight decline in most parts, with little bits of climbing here and there. At this point, my feet were starting to fatigue, so once we arrived at the check point, I took my shoes off and let my feet breathe a little. I called MJ to let her know where we were, and that everything was okay. There’s no cell phone service back at Sandgate, so this was my last chance to talk to her before hitting the road back there for some sleep. While I made my call, most of the others headed out for the ride back to John’s house.
New York State scenery
The return route getting us back into NY State had us climbing yet again – this time, it was up to the Bennington Monument – a huge structure atop of one steep hill. I managed to catch up with a tandem from my group of folks that left while I was making the call back home. We rode up to the monument, and then they missed a turn. I tried yelling for them to turn around, but they didn’t hear me. They must have figured it out, because it wasn’t long before they caught up with me. The ride back through New York was tedious: we had a cross-wind the whole way, a slight up grade that kept us from coasting to conserve a little energy, and night had fallen not too long after leaving Bennington. Lights and reflector vests/bands went on, and I just got lost in thought in the darkness. Some parts of the road were busy, others were not, and it was the barer roads north of Cambridge that proved to be very peaceful. Very shortly after getting onto the quiet roads, I arrived back at the turn to get to John’s house. Relying on gps technology, I located in the black night the dirt hill turnoff and prepared to climb once again. It is way different in the darkness being that close to wooded areas. I started wondering what was in those woods, and remembered in just what jersey pocket the animal mace was located in. Eventually, I needed to dismount and walk the bike, and I wanted to be prepared for anything. Got to the driveway, and I didn’t even want to chance riding the knarly ruts that lie ahead, so I walked up to the house. I saw my first fireflies of the trip here; there weren’t many, but just enough where I felt the magic of randonneuring that I was told about. Nature’s version of entertainment is spectacular! Arrived at Hotel McClellan at 11pm. Had a great pasta meal with garlic toast, a Coke, and got the gear staged for tomorrow’s early start back to Hanscom.
John woke me, just as I had asked him to, promptly at 2am. 2.25 hours of sleep. I felt pretty good! He asked me if I’d like some breakfast and what would I like. French toast it was! And it was so good! He used 7-grain bread from the check point grub, farm-freshly-laid eggs a little vanilla, top it off with local maple syrup, and voila! The grains popped in my mouth, what a great texture! That and a cup of coffee were all that I needed to jump-start my day.
It started to lightly rain around 2am. By the time that I left, at 3:15am, it had reduced to a light refreshing mist. I decided that a rain jacket was a good idea to start off with, and I could stop to take it off later on.
It was a dark, dark descent down John’s driveway and the dirt road leading to Route 313. No longer was I admiring being surrounded by nature; I was now holding on for dear life, just trying to survive without falling and get back on some asphalt! I headed out on 313 alone, knowing that someone from the camp would eventually catch up with me in the mountains.
The ride out from Sandgate back to Brattleboro was mostly downhill after the climb out of Sandgate. First I had to climb up Spruce Peak, for around 5miles. After that, all of the other hills that we slogged up on Saturday were now thrilling downhills! Hooray for downhills! East-West Rd and Middle Rd in Dummerston was the last of the slogging for this leg, and the twists and turns all at a nice, steep incline caused me to cuss a little bit. I started riding with another rider at this point – Paul from New Jersey. He wanted a challenging brevet, so he travelled up here for this ride. He most certainly found his challenge! We rolled strongly into Brattleboro and I visited my drop bag to load up food and to drop off unnecessary items. We set off, preparing for the steep mostly uphill, relentless kickers that would handily kick our butts for the next 12 miles.
We crossed the Green Bridge, crossing over into Hinsdale, NH. Route 119 going back east proved to be as challenging as crossing the Green Mountains, considering that the grades were way more steep than any road on Routes 100, 30, 11 and 7, just not nearly as long. For about 10 miles, Route 119 climbs, drops just a little, then climbs again, and every climb is on order of 15% grade, maybe ¼ mile up at a time. We slogged it out over grade after grade. After around 5 miles of up and up some more, I was getting demoralized; my mind had just about had enough for that moment in time. I told Paul that I was stopping at the next “shelf,” to take a 15 minute nap and to decide if I was to continue with this ride or call it a day. I kind of knew that I wasn’t going to give up on finishing, as the word quit is not in my vocabulary. I’m stubborn as hell. So I lay the bike in the grassy shoulder of Rt 119 in Richmond, NH, and took THE best power-nap of 15 minutes, just lying there with my eyes closed, listening to the cars whirr by. When my alarm sounded, I stretched a little, got back on and made it over the last series of asphalt walls.
I caught up with Paul again on Rt 12, close to the NH/MA border. The Winchendon check point was not too far away. My butt was toast at this point - my saddle sores were finally putting the hurt on me! I gingerly pedaled into the MacDonald’s parking lot where our check point was set up.
Chuck Howes, the check point volunteer back in Bennington, was also the volunteer at the Winchendon check point as well. He was super! He made me a turkey and swiss sandwich, and told us about certain landmarks to keep us on the proper route. We were to expect rough roads through Fitchburg, and some residential streets that either had barricaded bridges that we could still ride over or bearing direction on a road with no street sign. He really didn’t want us losing any time due to straying off-route. Jake caught up with us, had a bite and rode off with Paul and me.
Within 2 miles of leaving the Winchendon check point, I flatted on Route 12. Dang! So we stopped, and I started zipping the tire off and fumbling with fitting the new tube in. I can hold my own changing flats, but, at mile 315, with 2.25 hours of sleep in over a 30-hour span, I was not the most dexterous of individuals! Jake offered to finish the job for me, and I was more than happy to let him do it! Off we went.
By this time, I was singing, trying to keep my mind off of my nether regions and just trying to keep the enjoyment level up – the surroundings weren’t too pretty in this area – very industrial section of the state, just highway and businesses.
After getting off of Rt 12 in Ashburnham, the scenery got better again, going into residential areas. BUT, the road surface eventually got really bad in Fitchburg, for about 5 miles. The hills were returning, as we climbed up Maplewood Golf Course in Lunenburg.
Once we got onto Rt 2A in Goodrichville, time just flew by getting through Shirley and into familiar territory in Ayer. The clouds were getting pretty dark at this point, and once in Ayer, the skies opened up and we even had some thunder claps. When I say the skies opened up, I mean they really dumped some good rain onto us! There was serious ponding of the roads, making for a tricky time of deciding where is best to ride without hitting any underlying potholes. So we slowed it way down, and rode so as to avoid most of the puddles, which, I’m sure motorists weren’t too pleased with us, but we have every right to avoid road hazards, water-covered potholes being one of them. We rode in the rain for around 15 minutes, and we were out of the rain clouds. Paul stopped to get some supplies at a local Cumberland Farms, Jake had rode up the hills more efficiently than us, so he was up ahead, and I continued on, hoping to catch up with him (but never did).
Riding on Rt 2A/110 through Ayer was the most nerve-wracking part of the whole trip. The traffic whizzes by at high-speeds, and there’s not much of a breakdown lane. The good news is that we’re only on 119 for a 1.6 mile stretch, then it is back to more quiet areas. My pace at this point had dropped significantly. I was not really concerned with the time limit any more; it was around 5:30pm, and I had about 15 miles to go. Time expires at 8pm. I’d have to drop my average to 6mph to fill up the 3 remaining hours, and my avg was more like14mph.
I rode confidently and leisurely on very familiar roads all the way back to Hanscom Field. By the time I rolled into Concord Center, I was once again riding like a champ, forgetting about those darn saddle sores. Up and down Bedford Rd and the last hill on Virginia Rd I went, descending Hanscom Rd in victory mode! There were riders and volunteers there, cheering on the incoming riders, a nice sound to hear after 377 miles.
Conclusion: this was an epic ride that made every ride after look like a piece of cake. It was beautiful, grueling, breathtaking and breath–taking. It was a dance of energy and fatigue, and I give it 5 stars. Kudos to New England Randonneurs for organizing such a great brevet!
