September 1st: Cycling - Then and Now

Flashback June 2004: I have done the route around the Quabbin Reservoir a handful of times – it is a 62 mile ride. Despite having done very little riding this spring, I decide that I am ready for a ride twice that length. It’s the King’s Tour Around the Quabbin, put on by the Seven Hills Wheelmen. I figure, 120 miles – how far, or bad, could it possibly be?

For the record, it got pretty grim. By the time I got to the Leverett Co-op, I thought I would probably die. I considered calling my friend Anna for a rescue. Far too proud for that, though, I muddled the rest of the way to Rutland, arriving back at my car at 8 pm, 13 hours after I’d started. Perhaps the hybrid wasn’t the best bike for that ride...

Fast forward to today. I cannot count the number of times I've been around the Quabbin, now a short 62 mile ride (well, compared to a trip across the country). On my road bike, I headed toward Amherst, taking a few turns that I knew were not the most efficient routes, but were beautiful detours anyway. I met Peggy at her house in Amherst. We went up together as far as Orange, then she went home via 202, where I took 122 back home. By the end of the day, I’d ridden 104 miles, in only 7:30 hours of ride time, and I still had enough energy to attend a Labor day party back in Amherst.