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on Friday I escaped (or so I thought) the wall of rain that swept over much of New England. I drove up to Bellows Falls Vermont to pick up the alumax frames from Frank, and then back down to Deerfield, to a field, right as dusk set in to cook dinner and get some shut eye. the rain didn’t let up, and the ricochet of the drops off the metal roof of the van was an ambient reminder that tomorrows ride was going to be a wet one. alarm set for 5 am

the rainy roof made sure I didn’t need an alarm to wake up, and before you could say “time to make the doughnuts” my Encore bur grinder was whirling away on some blueberry forward Ethiopian natural. I sat and sipped, thankful my cousin and Alex were late — several hours late — driving up from CT. the second photo was taken just as the rain let up. I would wager 4″ fell that night. great, lets ride!

My cousin Sean and Alex are both 15 years younger than me and have both just competed in the Leadville 100 a few weeks ago — Sean on the bike, and Alex on the foot. he got the 24hr belt buckle by 55 seconds. would that fitness translate to a 120 mile 14k ft climbing bike ride? I was nervous.

I opted for my crust malocchio with the proto UD 700×38 tires since I pedaled a few yards on my Aluminus Maximus and the sheer power of the bike made the rear tire go flat. good thing I travel with a back up — I will say the 700×38 ended up being the perfect tire for the mix of smooth dirt and chunky pavement that we encountered.

was excited to see some early color up there in the Berkshires. what an amazing zone — there are pockets of these places in New England that just overflow with good roads that connect — this is one of those places. and the climbs are big!

a little ways in it was clear that I was not the slowest in the group and I was even keeping up with Sean well enough on the smaller rises — on the larger ones he would disappear if I looked away for a moment.

despite the dreariness, it was delightful out — and the scenery was classic New England Yankee Doodle

we weren’t going at the pace we needed to, and Alex was fading — we would cut the route short, and upon being granted this second lease on life, Alex began riding with increased vigor the second half of the shortened ride.

Sean scoring some chaga that I am drinking right now as I type this. not bad!

it being the last day of September and all … and it being New England …. there were a few malnourished pilgrims on bikes doing stunts.

we took a quick detour to some ledges that overlooked the valley — it was kinda clearing up, and we were hoping to see Mt Greylock, but we only saw grey for the most part. we were nearing the end of our ride and had cut off the top of the route that went into Vermont. The day was winding down nicely, and I was excited to not have to push into the dark and perhaps even make it home for dinner!

the sun did indeed come out for our last 10 miles, and we drank it on up. been a rainy summer here, and every moment the sun is out is an opportunity IMO. but a day spent on the bike is as good as any day, rain or shine when its said and done.

I fried up some sweet potatoes, beans, and nettles in the van to eat on the road, and I was home to Namz in an hour 40 with all these Alumax frames. New England living.

woke up the next day to some fam pumpkin carving! love this time of year.

hope everyone is having a nice week!

Ronnie