What a Difference a Day Makes

Wednesday was like riding 60 miles down Central Ave, or Route 9 north of Albany. It's a blur to me now, partially because I tried to tune it out, and partially because I didn't blog about it right away. Suffice it to say that I managed to finish the day in one piece despite some tricky city riding through Lawrence. I know now how to better read a map to avoid urban areas. I got a nice room at a Holiday Inn Express and ate a good meal next door, but I was feeling pretty discouraged, wondering why I'm bothering to do this.


And then came Thursday. Warm, sunny, and out into the sticks within 5 miles of riding from Lawrence. The hills began to roll more like I'm used to back home, and I found a good pace. I changed from listening to audiobooks and podcasts to all music for the day. Again it made me feel more at home.










I knew I was going to hit some big hills, but I must have gotten just far away from the coast that I wouldn't have to conquer them in combination with fighting the wind. The hills topped out a little over 1200 feet, the highest of the trip so far. Altogether about 2200 feet in ascent for the day. (Just a procedural note here: when I mention "ascent", I'm talking about the actual amount of feet I've gone uphill. For example, if I climb three 200-foot hills, my ascent is six hundred feet, even if I've dove down in between. This is something new I can measure with my Cyclometer app.) I found a cool little restaurant in Spencer late in the day and ordered lobster mac and cheese. The girls that worked there were helpful suggesting a place to stay in West Brookfield, about ten miles away. Found the place, super-nice lady running the desk, and had a good rest after a good day.

I was nervous about climbing out of Mass the next day. But I had no idea it would be as hard as it was...

Location:Highland Trail,West Brookfield,United States