Fathers Day weekend was full of fun on bikes: my family rode with the Rippers on the 2nd annual Frank's Ride; I drove sweep for the B2VT ride and earned a case of Harpoon IPA; I saw a bear and had another serendipitous dirt road adventure.
Saturday morning many of the Rippers rode in the grueling B2VT--132 miles through Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont with 8,475 feet of climbing. I wasn't riding but got up at 5 AM and rode to Rich Battens house for a pre-ride breakfast. Rich, Bruce Romano, Jay Olmsted, and Olivier Delaporte rode to the B2VT start point in Bedford and I tagged along to wish everyone good luck and snap a few photos. It was misting and I had to clean my bike when I got back home.
Just before the 3rd and final rest stop, we started catching up with riders who were way off the pace and needed to get sagged to the finish. We had the unhappy task of telling these slow riders that their ride was over; they would not be able to finish. Most protested that they had to finish or they would lose face with their buddies. If we thought they would not get to Okemo before the last bus left, we ferried them to the rest stop where they got on the sag bus. A few riders we allowed to continue because they looked capable (though slow) and were spending the night in Ludlow, had repair kits, and knew the way to the finish. We collected their microchip anklets, told them they were no longer a part of the official B2VT ride, and allowed them to proceed on their own.
We got to the last half mile to the finish, just as a man in a hand cycle was starting up the ridiculously steep Okemo Mountain Rd. We waited at the bottom so that he finished ahead of the sweep vehicle. Then we picked up the last few signs and headed to the BBQ. Walking up the stairs, I met many of the Rippers walking down to get on the bus back to Bedford. At the BBQ, I looked around and sat at a table with several empty chairs. The man across from me looked at me, then exclaimed to his sister, "This is the guy that wasn't going to let me finish the ride!" I explained I was just following protocol, and we had a good laugh looking at the photos of him triumphantly crossing the finish line, and then moments later collapsing on his handlebars in total exhaustion. After I drank my 2 complimentary Harpoons, I changed into my Ripper kit for a ride around Okemo Mountain.
I brought my bike on the back of the Official Road Crew sweep vehicle, a.k.a. Julie's Honda CR-V. As long as I was in VT, I might as well get a ride in. I had mapped out a clockwise circuit of the mountain, including a shortcut that saved me 7 miles. I brought lights in case it took longer than expected. As it turned out, the ride contained many surprises. The first was that these mountain roads entail a lot of climbing. My ride started with 5 miles of up on Rte 100, much of it at more than 12% gradient. The payoff was a screaming 2 mile descent which scored me a top 10 place out of the 100+ people who rode that Strava segment.
The second climb, on Rte 155, was only 3 miles and not as steep, but near the top I stopped in amazement as a black bear crossed the road about 10 yards in front of me. By the time I fumbled my camera out of my pocket, he had disappeared back into the woods.
The third surprise was my shortcut on Yale Rd. I expected a cushy Ivy League experience, but instead encountered a gnarly dirt "road". It started out as reasonably packed crushed gravel, but quickly turned into an impassable jeep road, with a stream flowing down between the many baby's head rocks. I had to walk about half the uphills in my no-longer-new road cleats, and made a white-knuckle descent going over drops that would be semi-challenging even on a mountain bike.
After nearly 5 miles of dirt, I hit paved roads again just as the sun was setting. Fortunately, the last 7 miles back to the resort was all down hill, so I put my lights on bright and flew down, down, down in the dark. At the resort, I put it in my 34x36 wall climbing granny gear, and pedaled the steep final half mile to my car. I stopped at Outback Pizza for a post-ride Dogfish Head 75 Minute IPA, then started the 2-and-a-half hour drive back to Bedford to drop off the signs and other road crew supplies at the race headquarters. I had been awake for 21 hours at that point and had to pull into a rest area off Rte 2 for a nap, so I didn't get home until 3 AM. Then I unpacked the car and uploaded my ride to Strava before going to bed for 3-and-a-half hours. I had to get up at 6 AM for Sunday's Rippers ride.
On Fathers Day, the Rippers have a casual ride in memory of our great friend Frank who loved to ride with the Rippers and even more loved to stop for coffee and a muffin and chat for awhile. Many of us had family join Frank's Ride to Ride Studio Cafe for cappuccinos and croissants, then back to the Battens for a delicious brunch and a couple hours of hanging out with friends and family. I was so happy that Julie, Alexa, and Nick were able to join me. I am so proud of my kids and relish any opportunity to show them off to my friends. I also love the Rippers and want my family to meet the people I spend so many hours with and talk about so much after our fun and challenging rides.
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