by Jeff Dieffenbach (dieffenbach @ alum.mit.edu) | back to portfolio I'm not sure what edition this was, but for at least a few years, the Charles River Wheelmen have put together an excellent ride in which participants "Climb to the Clouds" (CTTC). Not literally, of course--the actual ride goes much higher (note in particular the "category" designations below the profile).   The ride offered lengths of between 47 and 100 miles depending on starting location and which route the riders take. In for a penny ...  I arrived at Concord-Carlisle High School a bit after 6:30am in order to get set up in advance of the 7:00am registration. Shortly thereafter, green wristband securely next to my LiveStrong band just above my left hand, I was underway, trying to figure out the best way to find someone to ride with. That problem sorted itself out quickly, a rider started just after me and moved slightly ahead as we exited the school. At the traffic light at Route 117, I introduced myself to Sam and two other riders who got there a bit earlier in the red. We continued south on Concord Road (Route 126) to Sherman's Bridge Road, where the other riders split off to the west. The cue sheet said to keep going down to Glezen Lane, so we did. Good choice, as it turns out, although our route connected back up with the Sherman's Bridge option fairly quickly. The ride proceeded relatively uneventfully, although as the profile shows, at mile 20, it also took on a fairly different characteristic. We skipped the first rest stop at 31.1 miles and started up Meeting House Hill Road. As an aside, I can't remember another ride that I've done with more roads including the word "hill" in their name than the 8 in this one. We did make a quick stop at the convenience store at the 37.4 mile mark to reload water bottles. Tactical error, as it turns out, since Mile Hill Road (of steady 9% grade fame) was just a short pedal away, and for which less weight would have been better. At the top, we stopped in to the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation welcome center for a "natural break," as Phil Liggett would say. 
For the second time in roughly a year, my intent to reach the top of Mount Wachusett by bicycle was thwarted--the road was closed to cars and bikes. Nature having been tended to, we started the (mostly) descent. With a max speed of 40.8 already under my belt this ride, more or less equaling my all time high (at least on rides with access to a bike computer), I hit a new personal best of 45.3 on the stretch of Route 62 heading east out of Princeton center. We stopped for a quick bite of food at the Muddy Pond Road stop (56.7 miles), and then again for some water at the Berlin Orchard stop (77.1 miles). It was shortly after this point that we came across perhaps the best cue sheet entry ever: "Porta-John in field on right" (80.6 miles, but we never did spot it). My legs were pretty much spent at this point--serviceable enough on the flats, but unable to provide much power at all on the small climbs that remained. Sam did a great job of pacing me in, and we pulled into the parking lot shortly after 2pm. I'd be remiss if I didn't give a mega-nod to the CRW volunteers. The route was well marked, much of the ride was in shade (a good thing, with temperatures pushing into the 90s), the stops were well supported, and lots of behind-the-scenes work undoubtedly was put in. That said, the CRW MVP was without a doubt the woman greeting us at the parking lot and informing us of the cold lemonade at the CTTC final refreshment table that we otherwise would most likely have missed. Final thoughts:
by Jeff Dieffenbach (dieffenbach @ alum.mit.edu) | back to portfolio |
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