06 Aug 2009.
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| Bruce Lederer (Tour Director) addressing the riders |
In the Tour meeting (pictured above), the Tour director highlighted some of the changes from previous years: Harder climbs, out-and-back (i.e. Amherst to Amherst instead of Concord to Northampton), indoor camping options each night, and ride leaders on every ride.
In the 65 mile rider meeting, the ride leader (David, pictured above, to the left of Bruce, and in the Purple MassBike jersey) reiterated the safety items ("car back," "be curtious," etc.) and expressed his desire to keep the pace low (around 16 mph) and the group somewhat together. All in all, pretty standard first day anouncements.
As we set off, I was somewhat relieved by the pace. Last year I tore off with the fast riders and burned out. This year, we headed out at a leisurely 14-15 mph; a pace slow enough that it was obvious someone was either going to start pushing the pace or was going to go off the front.
That move came on the first "real" hill. One of the riders, Ellen (a volunteer who would be SAGing the next day) tore off up the hill, quickly gaping us.
When no one covered her move, I relaxed. Perhaps this was going to be an easy ride after all, no one seems to want to play those rider games. That thought lasted but a few seconds; it lasted until I surprisingly found myself passing the ride leader on the same hill.
To this year's tour, I brought my lightest bike, a Cervelo R3. The downside with this choice was the bike's gearing (53/39 by 12-25), very similar to the gearing Pros use on the Tour de France (I'm told 39-25 is the generally granniest gear you'll find in the TDF). Although I am fit, I am no where near a Pro's level of fitness, so I expected this choice to cause me some difficulty in certain climbs.
Practically speaking, these gears committed me to riding up hills at my own pace. I had to make sure my effort was carefully measured on each climb, spinning on the smaller grades and grinding the climb out on the steeper sections.
This was the problem I faced on the first hill. I could stay behind the leader by grinding and digging into my reserves, or I could spin pass him and stay in my comfort zone. I opted for the later, so less than 2 miles into the ride, I became part of a two person breakaway off the front.
To call our ride a breakaway is do severely overestimate our effort. Generally, we cruised at a snappy, but conversational, pace. I did the majority of the pace setting on the flats and in the wind, whereas Ellen took over primarily after the climbs.
After one particularly nasty climb, we came upon two slow vehicles descending the winding road. Not wanting to pass I pulled behind, until one of the drivers motioned for me to pass. Slowly I eased by, to hear the driver say, "No Brakes." Not sure we wanted to be in front of a vehicle without brakes, we sped away as fast as we could.
Besides that, all in all the ride was mostly uneventful - just a nice ride through Western Mass. A good easy start to the tour.
Distance: 66 miles
Climbing: 4922 ft
Ave Speed: 15.1 mph
Max Speed: 33.7 mph
Time: 4 hours 21 minutes 37 seconds