Cycling through Massachusetts: not for the faint of heart... (gasp, pant) or lung by Robin

Ummm...

David and I rode today and let the kids drive on ahead to set up camp in Southwick, MA, a mere 54 miles away.  Before we even left the campground, David had a flat tire to repair, but we were soon on the road hopeful that this would be the only difficulty of the day.

If you've read Bill Bryson's book A Walk Through the Woods, you'll understand when I say we rode through that book cover today, at least if you read the same version I did with the ferns and trees and a freakish looking bear on it (we didn't see bears, though - just that other stuff).  If you haven't read the book, you really ought to, even if you're not a hiker.  It's about Bryson's hiking trip along the Appalachian Trail.  We rode along part of the AT today, a piece called Jacob's Ladder.  I loved the random pedestrian signs along the roadside throughout this part of the ride, as if at any moment, someone could pop out of the woods and wander into the road.  And maybe stray hikers do this at times.  The forest was dark and mossy with occasional gurgling streams running through it.  It was probably the most beautiful and death-defying ride I've ever been on.

Between the forests and the mountains, we always had gorgeous scenary.  The hills were out to get us, though.  Uphill climbs (taken very slowly in grany gear) could last for a good mile or more.  At times we stopped (me gasping for breath and hoping David didn't attempt to make conversation) and rested before completing the ascent.  Many times I was tempted to get off the bike and walk it, but I just couldn't let myself do it.  Non-athlete that I am, I still figured it was better to go 3-4 mph uphill than give up.  We kicked some serious hill ass today.  The rewards were pretty good, too.  For every mile or more we climbed, there might be a couple miles of curvy downhill thrill-ride.  David reached over 37 mph without pedaling once.  I used the brakes often.  Just a chicken, I guess.

Towns along the way were disappointingly barren.  It took over 40 miles to get to a gas station where I could finally satisfy my chocolate milk craving.  Before that, we had stopped at a small town library to eat our lunch at a picnic table.  For some reason I attracted a swarm of friendly gnats.  Pretty sure I smelled just fine. :) I was like Pig Pen, only worse.  We figured we'd find a gas station to refill water bottles soon after this stop, but as we took off again, there was nothing but an animal hospital.  The one store in town had closed in March, we found out.  A kind lady at the animal hospital filled our water bottles for us, and we continued on our way.

We've had better starts

 I have to say, this was probably the most difficult ride I've been on with the kind of hills we had to climb, but it was also the most beautiful.  We're off to Connecticut tomorrow, and RI the day after. All told, I've personally ridden about 309 miles on this trip now.  It's a bit less than what I should have completed, but I'll take it. 

Not the best picture of those mountains up ahead of David