Weekend in the Berkshires

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey, my DH and I rode from our home in Chatham NY to Great Barrington MA for lunch and back on Saturday! (a 50 mile ride) It was pretty hilly but doesn't sound near as bad as what you did! Did you see us in GB on Saturday on our Rivendells by any chance?

[Crankin]

Shoot, Lisa, I wish I had known you were riding to GB. The ride we did Saturday started out of Otis, about 10-12 miles away and did not go through GB. We had our lunch stop there on Friday and also rode there Sunday, since we stayed in the next town (S. Egremont). Where did you eat?
Our friends always plan routes with big climbs. They have one called the Taconic Challenge that is a 4 mile climb with a 7% grade. So far, we have avoided it, but Brant said he wants to do it next year.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Robyn,
Well i feel better knowing we were not in GB on the same day!
We never seem to be very hungry when we get there, so we go to a little cafe right in the middle of main street. It seems to have young hip tattoo types hanging out front at any given time, one or two people on laptops inside, and a park bench out front in the street. They have good pastries and good coffee.

Dinner would be a whole 'nother story however- we'd go to Bizen for sashimi, and the fancy place on Railroad street next to the theatre for romantic choc mousse cake afterwards.... Also, we'd be in a car.

I don't think I could handle the kind of climbs your friends are planning to do for a while yet- just the 50 mile fairly hilly ride from Chatham to GB and back is enough for me, especially in the heat.

[Crankin]

Hi Lisa,
I have been to all of the restaurants you mentioned (did I already say that the other half of our trip is eating???). Is Chatham 50 miles round trip or 50 miles one way from GB? Maybe next year we can ride to your house for a day, but probably not if it's a century. I wouldn't mind taking a trip out there in the fall, either.

Well, I wouldn't think that I could do those climbs either, but I do. I always complain, but everyone just knows that I do, and then I quiet down. There's an alternate route for the "Taconic Challenge" ride, but I think the one we did in Otis was almost as long. My friend rides at a slower pace than me and she gets up everything! She's been riding for years, but I think it proves that you don't have to be a speed demon to attack the big hills. In fact, what helped me on this trip was conserving energy and slowing down.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Robyn,
I would have said that I could have made the big climbs SLOWLY and steadily too if I paced myself....
but last week when we went to GB (50 miles round trip) we took a different route back that had a really long fairly steep incline. I know it's steep (for me) because I am going about 3mph for over a mile. This one really had no level offs to rest at, and the shoulders just drop off to woods. Anyway, this was on the way home after a big day and I actually had to stop and recover for a while and sit on the ground right in the woods because 2/3 of the way up my legs began to shake and I started feeling a bit strange. I got off the bike right away (I always pay attention to my body!) and just sat on the ground for 20 minutes drinking and eating- though I had been drinking and eating all along anyway.

After that I was able to complete our ride without incident, but it reminds me that after only one year of biking I actually "do" have limits, and those limits are probably lower than for others who have been biking for years.
It's good to know one's limits- and to be able to readjust them as time goes on too!

[Crankin]

Lisa, after one year of cycling I was still riding my yellow Voodoo mtb on the road, with an average of 12... I climbed some big hills in Harvard, MA on that bike, but NOTHING like the Berkshires. So after one year of cycling, you are doing great. I didn't ride anything longer than probably 20 miles at the most until I got my first road bike, after two years.
I didn't stop on that long climb, because frankly, I never would have got started again! So, if GB is a 50 mile round trip to Chatham, we should definitely plan to meet up. I will let you know the next time we are out there.

Robyn