2020 was going to be a tough year. Corona canceled the planned trip to the pacific northwest, and everyone was feeling skittish about being away from home/large groups/hotels/restaurants/etc...but we have to get on the bike! So we planned a 2 day mini-tour along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail (
https://fchtrail.org/) from Northampton to New Haven. This trail provided 2 key historical transportation links - a tow-path/canal from 1828 to 1848 and then a railroad for the next hundred or so years. But now, it's a perfect bike path - about 85 miles of paved, dedicated trail! So we had to go! To maximize social distancing, we split into two groups - northbound and southbound, and met in the middle at Avon, CT to swap car keys and connect.
The pre-ride was a century to Northampton by the intrepid J's - Jason, Jon, John. As Tropical Storm Fay veered west, leaving us a dry (HOT!) day, we set out using Jason's Google-approved cue sheet from Waltham along the mass central rail trail. We had 1 short portage, and some nice diversions (Assabet river rail trail in hudson) and made it to northborough where we hit out trio of trouble - Jon's earlier flat turned out to be a gash in the tire (fixed with a dollar), John's soft tire turned into a flat, and John's headache turned into mild dehydration (?). We plugged on to a Dunkin in Worcester and called Paula for a rescue. After a tearful farewell, we cruised through Worcester, tracking climbs into the "bank of altitude". Every time another hill revealed, the clouds parted and the sun blazed. Leicester and Ware in particular! Got a quick dip in weir river, then onto some roads familiar to Jason around Quabbin reservoir. A gallon of water and Dunkin iced cappuccino gave us a boost as we finished along the Manhan rail trail from Amherst into Northampton. Met up with Jen for outdoor beers before crashing at hotel Northampton. Good day. 99 miles.
The pre-ride was a century to Northampton by the intrepid J's - Jason, Jon, John. As Tropical Storm Fay veered west, leaving us a dry (HOT!) day, we set out using Jason's Google-approved cue sheet from Waltham along the mass central rail trail. We had 1 short portage, and some nice diversions (Assabet river rail trail in hudson) and made it to northborough where we hit out trio of trouble - Jon's earlier flat turned out to be a gash in the tire (fixed with a dollar), John's soft tire turned into a flat, and John's headache turned into mild dehydration (?). We plugged on to a Dunkin in Worcester and called Paula for a rescue. After a tearful farewell, we cruised through Worcester, tracking climbs into the "bank of altitude". Every time another hill revealed, the clouds parted and the sun blazed. Leicester and Ware in particular! Got a quick dip in weir river, then onto some roads familiar to Jason around Quabbin reservoir. A gallon of water and Dunkin iced cappuccino gave us a boost as we finished along the Manhan rail trail from Amherst into Northampton. Met up with Jen for outdoor beers before crashing at hotel Northampton. Good day. 99 miles.
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