| This is the story of a two week loaded "credit-card" tour from Worcester MA to
Ottawa Ontario, GEAR 92 (North Country) and back to Worcester. For each day
there are two milages listed, the first is the estimated via a map-walker (mw)
and the second is the actual recorded by the cycle-computer. It was a lot of
fun, but many days we did so many miles that we didn't get to do much sight
seeing.
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Rutland, MA to Harmonyville, VT Fri 7/31 70 (mw) 76.65 (cc) miles
We got together at the designated meeting point at 7 in the morning, I drove to
it as I figured that I'd have to get up too early to bike to it, though some
others did bike to the start. We took some group pictures with everyone in
their tour shirts, and after Don's daughter returned with his forgotten water
bottles we head off towards our first planned stop for breakfast in Barre.
When we got to the restaurant that we had planned to eat at, it had not opened
yet for the day (breakfast begins at 9:00 and it was barely 8:30), so we back
tracked a quarter mile to another restaurant that was open. Back on the road
we were enjoying the comfortable temperatures and hoping that the grey skies
would not bring any rain until the day's ride was over. We stopped at the bike
store in Barre to say hello to the owner and to see if he had the spoke wrench
that a couple of people needed (green), but no luck, then continued out on Rt
32. Saw a couple of pheasant in Petersham, and felt a couple of sprinkles. I
almost put my raincoat on, and that kept them away for a while. When we got to
Athol we had a little bit of problem finding the street on the cue sheet, but
after asking around got on a beautiful backroad that took us up in to Warwick.
While we were on this road the rain started for good. We took a break in
Warwick, then headed down Rt 78 and into Winchester NH, where we had lunch. We
took a break in Brattleboro, then continued to push on to our stop in
Harmonyville. I was the first to arrive at the hotel, and Don arrived shortly
afterwards on the back of truck with a flat rear tire. Sometime before this I
developed a noise in my bottom bracket. It was irritating, but there was no
play, so I just squirted some lube in there and some more the following day and
it eventually went away. I put it on my list of things to be serviced when I
got home. When Don was repairing his flat he found a good sized cut in the
tire and therefore opted to use the (only) spare that he and two other had
amongst them. (And we had stated beforehand that everyone should carry their
own spare!) So, one thing on tomorrow's agenda was to stop in the bike store
in Manchester and get a new tire for Don.
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Harmonyville, VT to Bomaseen, VT Sat 8/1 60 (mw) 71.49 (cc) miles
Shortly after we leave Don has problems with the bead on his tire because it
wasn't properly seated and we spend some time fixing it and learning how to use
CO2 cartridge inflaters. We climb past Stratton and Bromley, and though we had
a detour planned that would have taken us around Manchester we decide to go
DOWN into it as we need to stop at the bike store and it is approaching lunch
time. At least the weather is good today. At the bike store I found a
Cannondale Tour Lock kit (for their panniers) in the discount bin and buy it as
I have a pair of small Cannondale panniers at home that it will work with. In
Pawlet we stop at a general store that has a hole in the floor through which
you can see the river and Harry meets up with someone from Bike Vermont that he
knows (he lead tours for them last year). Don has two more flats between now
and our destination. We ride on rolling hills in the lakes area of VT and
someone gives us a headcount (all seven are here) and takes videos of us.
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Bomaseen, VT to Keene, NY Sun 8/2 80 (mw) 69.19 (cc) Miles
We start off with tailwinds and rolling hills as we head North for the ferry
across Lake Champlain at Larabees Point. We pass through the town of Orwell -
the home of Mt Independence, which has a interesting looking bank in on the
main street. I'm first to arrive at the ferry, though we had agreed to wait
and cross as a group. From Ticonderoga we head a little bit North to take the
scenic road UP in to the Adirondacks. I don't know if this route is easier or
harder than the main road, but there is little traffic. We get some screaming
downhills as we go from Moriah to Elizabethtown, but have a LONG uphill finish
towards Keene with a screamer at the end. Since we've picked up the habit of
doing a "12-ounce curl" at the end of the day one Dick decides to make them
less expensive by going to the package store for them, instead of buying them
at the restaurant.
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Keene, NY to Moira, NY Mon 8/3 70 (mw) 77.00 (cc)
After a climb to Lake Placid we have a good breakfast (though it's almost lunch
time). The remainder of the day is primarily rolling hills, though there are
also some flat spots and we have a downhill finish which everyone enjoys. The
first motel that we notice is this old boarded up one which we take pictures of
to show everyone "where we stayed" - the actual motel was just across the
street, but you don't notice it until you turn the corner.
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Moira, NY to Kempville, Canada Tue 8/4 80 (mw) 84.00 (cc)
After we cross into Canada Don decides that his rack is broken and needs
replacing, so we get that done at a bike store while we are eating lunch. It
also starts raining so everyone's spirits are a bit damp. I have trouble
getting my hands comfortable on the bars and eventually adjust them so that
they aren't rotated forward quite so much. After lunch we find out that the
route that we had planned to take has a lot of auto traffic on it, so we ride a
bike path for a while, then proceed with a newly made route, which changes a
couple of times during the afternoon. The day is running long and I start
wondering if I'll end up using my headlight which I had just brought along for
"insurance" - luckily we pull into the motel around 7:30.
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Kempville, Can to Ottawa, Canada Wed 8/5 35 (mw) 36.04 (cc)
Harry and I have been suffering from some abrasion in the seat area and decide
to lower our seat posts. Harry hadn't riden this particular bike much this
year and had forgotten that he had changed his others, and I had recently
changed my saddle. Headwinds on rolling hills as we ride towards Ottawa, and
we get on the bike paths and ride along the Rideau Canal when we get to it.
The bike path is slow because of all of the joggers and such on it, but scenic.
After lunch we get led to the street where we are staying by a bike messenger
who also informs us that the bicycle mounted police are strict about enforcing
the laws. Don had a pannier come off his bike just as we passed by Parliment!
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Layover day - Ottawa, Canada Thu 8/6
Most of us give the bikes a rest, and we go see the changing of the gaurd and
tour Parliment. After lunch we visit the Civilisation Museum in Hull. At
night we see a light show on Government hill. I also visit a bike rally in
Hull, but catch it after it's over for the day as the activities are only
during lunch time during the week. I do get to see the velo-bus though.
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Ottawa, Canada to Canton, NY Fri 8/7 65 (mw) 80.35 (cc)
Good weather, flat to rolling hills, some road construction in Canada, but not
too bad. We cross the St. Lawrence on a steel grate bridge that we later hear
was two miles long. There was some construction on it, and it was a touch
slippery at the top. No problem going through customs, the officer seems to be
familiar with the bike rally going on. Once we get off the main road I start
riding hard to get in, we pass a number of other riders heading towards GEAR
(some loaded), one sucks my wheel for a while, and I lose the rest of my group.
When they arrive at GEAR I found that they followed one of the ride routes in,
so they went 5 miles more than I did. Later in the evening another rider from
our club arrives. His route to GEAR was basically our return route, and he did
it in two days! We wear the t-shirts that night at dinner and the ice cream
social and with seven of us we are distinctive enough so that many people ask
us about them. The front says "Worcester Ottawa Worcester" (one word per line)
and the back says GEAR 92, the estimated distance in kilometers and "7 H.W.",
which is an abreviation for "Seven Hills Wheelmen".
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Totals 460 (mw) 494.72 (cc)
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GEAR
"Plumbrook Metric Loop, Ride 24" 61.3
I got a flat tire at mile 23.45 and discovered I had a bad patch on the only
spare tube that I was carrying that day. (Pamela gets her "I told you so" card
punched.) As I'm sitting down in front of a cemetary to patch one of the two
tubes another cyclists comes by and gives me a tube so that I can get on my
way. After starting off again I find out that I must have yanked on the wire
for my computer pickup as it is no longer registering distance/speed/etc.
After the ride I stopped at the general store in town to pick up some things
that I needed and talked to a woman on a black IBIS tandem. She's been towing
her 4 year old daughter in the trailer since she was 8 months old and when they
put her on the kiddie converter earlier this year she surprised everyone by
giving out all the common oral signals without having to be "taught" them.
After a second day of pushing too hard my knees are starting to hurt. I take a
couple of doses of ibuprofen and promise myself to take it easy tomorrow.
In the evening I go to the seminars on tandems, as I think that I might like to
have one some day. You can get a test ride on Sunday night, but I decide to
pass. I skip the entertainment, but I hear afterwards that Harry was the star
of the hypnotist show.
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flat half metric 32.07
After spending the morning doing laundry and reading the Sunday paper I go out
for an easy ride, after all, tomorrow we put the packs back on and head back to
the mountains. Since I really like to know how far I've gone I bought a new
computer at one of the exhibits for $25.
Most of us attend a seminar on loaded touring - how to do it light and right.
We aren't very far off from what the instructor says, our major difference is
that we didn't coordinate tools, though we also disagree on water-proofing
methods.
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Canton, NY to Tupper Lake, NY Mon 8/10 50 (mw) 55.77 (cc)
I had a flat (rear wheel again) 15 miles out, just after turning on to rte 56.
Gentle climbing and a few downhills made it pleasant riding, and much of the
auto traffic passing us is other heading home from the rally. We also meet two
other groups doing some touring. The skys were overcast most of the day, but
came out late. This was one of the few days that we got in with time to spare,
so we spent some time lounging around the pool before going to dinner. Terry
has noticed "Frogs Legs" on the menu at numerous restaurants and finally
decides to order them. She breathes a sigh of relief when she finds out that
they aren't available. Funny thing is that she ends up with an upset stomach
the next morning.
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Tupper Lake, NY to Speculator, NY Tue 8/11 60 (mw) 70.40 (cc)
Headwinds to start and tougher hills than yesterday. I have a close encounter
with a car in my lane passing traffic from the other direction. He had a
passing lane, but it took me a bit of time to register that he was coming
towards me as it's not what I expect. We spend almost 3 hours touring the
Adirondack museum which is 1/4 mile down a 1 mile hill. Don missed the sign as
he sped down the hill, so he climbed back up to the entrance. Go past a sign
proclaiming the St Lawrence/Hudson Divide. Lots of ups and downs towards the
end, with a screamer just before town. Found out later that Harry got a front
flat, then later got his chain shifted into big-big and he doesn't have enough
chain to allow that.
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Speculator, NY to Cambridge, NY Wed 8/12 65 (mw) 101.58 (cc)
The unplanned century day. A cool start and about 25 miles of gentle downhill
with a few flat spots and very gentle rises brings us to the Great Sacandaga
Lake. Harry says that he is going directly to Saratoga if the bridge is steel,
even though our route has been planned to keep us away from the traffic of the
races. At this point the cue sheet gets complicated and the roads are sometimes
hard to find, so we stop to ask for directions often. We even asked a used car
salesman once! (the directions were good). We have a tough climb before lunch
and another after lunch. As we roll into town we are getting some strange
looks from the horses in the fields.
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Cambridge, NY to Bellows Falls, VT Thu 8/13 70 (mw) 80 (cc)
Now my new computer is not working - it isn't making contact between the mount
and the computer. From here on the milages come from other people's computers.
Don decides that his cold is just too much to ride with and he takes a bus
home. We make a few wrong turns in Manchester and end up taking some of the
planned route from day 2 to climb Bromley. From there it's mostly rolling
downhill to the nights lodging.
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Bellows Falls, VT to Rutland, MA Fri 8/14 65 (mw) 82 (cc)
We had some rain overnight and a shower before breakfast, but after breakfast
the skys just look threatening for the rest of the day. A couple of good
climbs around the MA/NH border, then it's riding on familiar roads towards the
end. Most of the later half of today's route is on the same roads as the first
day's.
Some people are already thinking about next year when GEAR is in Geneseo, and
whether or not it might be possible to ride out to it. It's a greater
distance, so more days would be needed, but we might be able to avoid some of
the mountains.
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Totals 325 (mw) 409.75 (cc)
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Grand Total 785 (mw) 997.84 (cc)
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