Algiers – the village in Guilford, Vermont, not the city in Algeria. The ride started with a good omen of things to come: we actually left on time at noon. Our optimism, however, was short lived as a headwind made us all work harder than we wanted so early on the route.

Soon, a steady climb – the kind you can actually upshift on – followed Broad Brook for several miles. Once we crossed into Massachusetts, all were rewarded with a long downhill on which some broke 38 mph. Then it was into Bernardston, home of the big hard red cock of ill repute! Without shame, it let us climb all over it; one excitable rider even kissed it head-on!

Satisfied that we’d had our fun, we continued on, following rural backroads past family farms, tall cornfields, dairy cows, and horses. Our pace was challenging but not intimidating; group cohesion came easily on long stretches where all we could hear was the hum of rubber on tar. Our last few miles traced a woodland brook on a well-kept unpaved road, then we circled back to the Blueberry Haus in Guilford for a required ice cream stop. All in all, a great GO event with great company and enthusiasm!

All gathered afterward at Frog Meadow for a well-earned pot luck, drinks, a hot-tub soak, and great conversation and laughs.

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