Trip report
"Ride with Pride" 45-Mile Bike Ride
Road Cycling DATE: 05/30/2015 - 05/30/2015
Trip/Event Location: Brattleboro, VT
US
Trip Leader(s): Frogmeadow , Klondike
Max # People: 99
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Celebrate upcoming Gay Pride Month and join Scott and Dave from Frog Meadow for a 45-mile ride through the beautiful farmland & hills of Southern Vermont and Western Massachusetts and the
...The Guilford Country Store is located at 638 Calvin Coolidge Hwy (also known as Route 5). From Interstate 91 Take Exit 1 in Vermont and proceed south on Route 5/Canal Street approximately 1.6 miles. The Guilford Country Store will be on the left as you enter the Village of Algiers which is within the town of Guilford. Please plan to arrive by 11.30AM so that we may leave PROMPTLY at noon.
Trip Report/Photos
Our 45-mile "Ride With Pride" started in the village of Guilford at the aptly named “Blueberry Haus” ice cream stand and HOT, HOT, HOT weather well into the 80's!
Fortunately, our group of seven road cyclists from Vermont, New Hampshire Connecticut and Massachusetts had ridden together several times previously, so we all got our pace calibrated quickly and spun through a beautiful Vermont landscape of open valleys, fields, brooks and sprawling farms with early-season signs of greenery poking up through sprawling fields as we careened through Weatherhead Hollow towards the Massachusetts line.
Soon, a steady and long climb followed Broad Brook for several miles. Once we crossed into Massachusetts, all of us were rewarded with a long downhill on which some broke 48 (!) mph. This was typical of the route: with ample downhills and long level stretches, it gave much more than it took. Refer to the attached elevation profile to see what we mean by this.
Then the ride took us into Bernardston, Mass, home of the big hard red cock! Without shame, it let us climb all over it as reflected in the trip pictures.
We continued on into picturesque Gill, Mass, following rural backroads past family farms, early 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 whispering hum of rubber on tar. Our last few miles found us spinning on Route 5 parallel to Interstate 91, then we headed back to the aforementioned Blueberry Haus in Guilford for a required ice cream stop.
All in all, a great and challenging GO event to kick-off Gay Pride Month with great fellowship, camaraderie and enthusiasm!
All gathered afterward at Scott and Dave’s at Frog Meadow Farm for a well-earned (yummy and and quite yummy-looking) potluck social mixer, drinks, a hot-tub soak, and great conversation and laughs...a splendid time was had by all!
Many thanks to Marc, Daniel, Lucas, Kurt, Lew, Dave & Scott for making the day such a fun time and such a affirming way to start Gay Pride Month 2015!
There are 13 photos in Album (Note: Move mouse pointer over larger pic and click on NEXT for better viewing)
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