I had an interesting ride in the the "quiet corner" of Connecticut. We got there around 11:30 and parked in a state park and headed out. I had found this ride in a book I bought about New England bike routes. It was beautiful and mostly rural, although some of the ride was on more main roads. As we were riding, we noticed a lot of motorcycles. Like lots of motorcycles, which were very loud, with riders who were not so polite. It seemed a little weird, since this is a very typical rural New England area, with farms and upscale housing, and prep schools. So, we got near the half way point and remembered we had driven by a nice coffee place, so we decided to go there, buy some drinks, and eat our packed lunches outside. As we pulled into the parking lot, about 50-80 motorcyclists started pulling in, too. It was so loud and overwhelming, we decided to eat on the lawn of a church, across the street.
The motorcyclists just kept coming. Then there were gnats, buzzing around our heads as we ate. We didn't linger too long. So, about 5 miles from the end of the ride, there was one (as the book described) killer hill. Overall, the ride was rolling, a lot like the Berkshires, with a couple of good climbs, too. But, this one was really a killer hill. You know the kind where you can't see the horizon. Now, I have climbed plenty of of hills with grades above 15%, but this one was longer than the ones I usually climb, and it was about a half mile of 15-21% grades. I am disappointed to say, I climbed about 3/4 of it and walked the last bit. Only the second time I've ever had to walk, but very much the same type of hill. My quads were already burning when I started the climb, but this is very much a mental thing. If my DH had been with me, I would have made it, with some encouragement, but my mind told me that I wouldn't make it. Basically, I always spin up hills and it is very hard for me to even stand on easier hills. But this one required standing.
Time to work on the quads!
We ended up with 31 miles. Most of it was nice, but it was a very strange ride. We want to find out if the motorcyclists are out there all of the time, or if this was one day event type thing. DH and my friends want to do this ride again, but I am not so sure.