I magic'd up a 25 mile route on Strava and uploaded it to my Garmin. There were some squirrely parts through Nottingham that I would definitely need the map for, but I think I fit in all the roads that I've been meaning to explore. High Rd., S. Summer & Poor Farm Rd all make the cut (thanks Arlon!)
Almost immediately after setting out, I decided 'eff that, I'm going to ride this route BACKWARDS! So, instead ducking down Kennard, I turned left on Mitchell and headed down into Lee. My Garmin almost immediately flipped out and froze, wouldn't respond to even shutting off w/ a long press, so I left it be for a while and it eventually rebooted. That was the end of following directions. It was going to be one of those days, I could feel it already. All I had for breakfast was a small bowl of cocoa pebbles, and I set out to do intervals in the heat, off-road, on the heavy bike, with squishy tires? Psh. Yeah. Ok.
This quickly turned into an exploration ride, and accepting this fact only two miles into the ride was the greatest thing that could have happened all day, as it lead to many fun finds, surprises and sheer joy along the way. The first thing on the list of fun was to pop down a class IV road in Lee off of George Bennett Rd. Unfortunately that just lead a few hundred feet to the police station. Oh well, now I know. Continuing on, I got to enjoy the gorgeous stretch of Cartland & Demerit Roads, which are always a favorite.
Crossing onto 152, I began exploring in earnest, as I took High Rd. I was rewarded greatly when I came to the end, as it turned to dirt as promised! The rain last night at the very least settled the dust in the open sunny spots, and left peanut-buttery stuff in the shady spots. My tires licked up the fine tacky sand, forming racing stripes down the middle. The ride felt so much better taken off the pavement, and into this bike's native environment.
A few turns later, I really started to question where I was. Oak Hill Lane and Red Oak Hill Rd are very similarly named, and after just a cursory glance on the computer this morning, I guessed and went with the former. I followed Oak Hill Lane past farms lined with shady trees, tractors and stone walls. I realized that the road was about to end at someone's house. As I approached, a woman was exiting said house, yelling "Hey Ma! I'm headed to the store, I'll be back". She looked at me awkwardly and I countered with an equally awkward, "hey, how's it going? yeah, don't mind me, I'm just a bit lost" as I turned and headed back up the hill.
At the top of Oak Hill, I turned right and continued my quest down the road. Up at the top of the hill, I saw two cyclists on road bikes. One had a blinky light, and being kind of far down the hill, I thought nothing of it. Then, another cyclist turned onto the road. They seemed to be meandering, waiting to regroup as others turned onto the road, and my curiosity made me chug up the hill. I knew I had no chance of keeping up with road bikes here, but that chase instinct took over for a minute, and I gassed it up the hill. As I got closer, I thought I recognized the new Gus' shop jersey. I chugged some more - and lo & behold - it was the century training ride folks!! I caught up to Leslie & then the rest of the group, recognizing Scott in the shop jersey as I got closer. OOOH BOY! Some motivation to keep going. We stopped for DONUTS!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately, there were no donuts.
But there was a purple cow, a cat, and a bike lean opportunity:
I joined Scott & the gang for a couple miles, grabbed some cold brewed iced coffee, A/C and good company in Eppin' for a few.
Five bike lean @ Starbucks:
Century training ride crew:
Luckily, Scott pointed me back in the right direction, since I was a bit lost. Continuing along the way, Nottingham Square Rd was GORGEOUS. Horses, farms, stone walls lined with mature sugar maples, old New England farmhouses, expansive rolling green fields awash in sunlight, huge cornstalks, a slight breeze - the essence of summer. I'll be back to ride that again.
Shortly thereafter, I came across a welcome sight:
Plus, water features!
Turning off onto Poor Farm Road was fun. It was like a gravel roller coaster.
Lo and behold, I found Walter White's Aztec for sale down Poor Farm Road!! For only $2500, that's a steal!
Continuing onto S. Summer St, I came across this pond and a big ole heron was flying across. Alas, I was not quick enough on the trigger to snap a photo of him. I did, however, get this sweet bike lean in:
Somewhere along Poor Farm & S. Summer, I started to play "road or driveway". I took a few photos to see if anyone could guess them correctly. Let me know what you think:
(A)
(B)
(C)
Got your answers? Post your guesses in the comments section.
From South Summer, I kicked over to McCrillis, then up 152 for a bit. The plan was to take Priest to Kennard, then Smoke St, then home. Of course, I had already accepted that this was not the day to go by plans. As I was riding by the PD, I noticed a guy & a girl on 29'ers in a dirt lot adjacent to Flutter St. I started to wonder what they were doing there - were there trails? I didn't see a trail head. Did they know something I didn't?! Time to go back...
I chatted with the mountain bike folks and found out they were from Barrington too, around the Swain's lake area. I mentioned I was in an exploring mood, and we talked about the trails they had found. They had just come from Pawtuckaway, down Flutter St. They mentioned there was a trail behind the playground by the PD across the street, that it would be totally traversable on my bike, and that it came out on McCrillis right before the bridge over the river. I thanked them and wished them a good ride - then headed off to explore this trail. No pics there, as I needed two hands on the wheel, so to speak. It was a little wet & slippery, some logs to jump over, and some low hanging branches to duck under. As promised, it spit me out here, on McCrillis Rd. The signs say "32 McCrillis" and "Not a Public Way" if you're lookin' for it.
The road looks like this leading up to it, with the bridge on the left:
At this point, the heat was starting to get intense, and I was down to 1/2 of a water bottle. I start thinking I should really head back. I continued down McCrillis, until I came to this surprise. It was the equivalent of finding an oasis!
PEACHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These things were as advertised. VERY juicy. I had juice mixing with the crystallized salt on my face, running down my chin. My gloves & hands were sticky. I was wiping them on my kit...it didn't even matter. It was totally worth it.
I stuffed the remaining peaches in the back of my jersey, 2-3 peaches per pocket. As soon as I started riding, I took another out to eat as I pedaled along, juice streaming down my face & getting tacky on the hoods.
A quick turn up Smoke St. brought me back up to Rt. 4 and into my driveway. The last few tenths of a mile on the open sunny street was brutal, and I was happy to be home with my pocket peaches in tow:
A few made it home, even less made it to the end of the day. All in all, a brilliant ride - reminding me that I don't always need to find someone to ride with. Don't get me wrong, I love riding with people, but it's nice to take a ride like this, where you're free to change your mind and the route whenever you please - without worrying about anyone's agenda but your own.
