2006 Petersham Double Century

Two Starts- I had calculated that the 5:30 riders would catch the slowest riders in the 5:00 AM group in about two hours. I wasn’t even close. They caught the entire first group by the Uxbridge Water Stop. Still, separate starts had made for smaller groups on the road, and less time that volunteers had to be at their stations. The main pack of riders numbered about 20 most of the way to Uxbridge.

The volunteers- At various times of the day we would have 8 vehicles on the road, and a total of 13 volunteers. These are a very experienced bunch. Barry and Linda at the start, Anthony in the Cycle Loft truck, Dave and Barbara in Uxbridge, Fred at Clam Shak Hill, Coleman and Campbell in Paxton, Kayo and Althea in Petersham, Lynn directing traffic, Central Mass Public Safety roving, Bill taking photos, and me. These people have crewed RAAM, supported PAC Tours, worked BMB, and organized most New England Brevets for the past decade. The riders were in good hands.

My job, as usual, would be to stay ahead of the riders to lay down more arrows as needed. I also needed to make sure that the arrows put down a few weeks before had not been newly paved over. This turned out to be the case with two sections of road. This would be a “four-cans-of-paint day” that included a frantic search for more paint in Barre when I ran out. When the ride was over I had driven 335 miles over 14.5 hours. My biggest problem was staying ahead of the leaders through the many turns in Rhode Island and Connecticut. A couple times they got ahead of me, particularly when I ran out of paint on Route 62.

The Route- I was pleased when I pre-rode most of the course this year to see how many roads had new pavement. Several problem roads had been fixed. Only a couple miles on route 62 were a bit of an obstacle course. . The route changes had been long in coming and solved several problems while adding the challenge of more climbing. The three new sections of road are sure to become permanent fixtures. I feel that they improve the overall safety of the ride.

Rolling Along- As the ride progressed several things became evident. The leaders were likely to beat their finish time from the previous year despite starting 30 minutes later! And, the slowest group was on target to break the all time record for latest arrival. All day long there were phone calls to volunteers as we adjusted the times the water stops needed to be staffed.

At Clam Shak Hill all the riders appeared to be in good shape and in a good mood. The cloud cover was holding and the temperatures were still in the 70’s. I stopped to talk with the local police in the town of Spencer. They were nice enough to close off a couple intersections to cars as some groups rolled through their town. Nice guys indeed. The road from Spencer to Paxton seems long….and the farther north you go the bigger the hills get. At this point the lead group was down to four guys including Amnon who had started at 5:00 but was picked up by the 5:30 riders as they passed. As they rolled into Paxton, Campbell and Coleman had the tunes and food ready.

Almost There - The miles from Paxton to Barre are difficult but the route is beautiful and the car traffic is scarce. Petersham seems so close but is so far away. The final hill into Barre is steep and really works your legs and tests your resolve. Along the quiet stretch of road from Barre to Petersham I always wish I was riding my bike instead of driving a vehicle. (Maybe next year). This is where riders often abandon their groups to finish this leg at their own pace.

In Petersham Althea and Kayo were ready for the arrival of Amnon, John, and Eric. Unlike last year when they were handing out plastic bags to use as makeshift rain jackets, the sun was shining and it was 78 degrees. The sandwiches seemed better this year at the Country Store. Could it be because we were all in a better mood?

COD Chase- On the return leg I came upon 3 COD riders who had just turned onto Route 68. They informed me that they saw three of their COD buddies including Tony Zelle missed the turn. A couple guys made attempts to call them by phone…..but there was no service. So, I turned around and took up what became a ten mile chase and 20 mile detour!

When I found Tony and his crew they had just received instructions on how to get to Paxton from a gas station owner. They would have to ride hilly Rt. 31 South to get there. So, why didn’t the second group of COD guys give chase? Could it be that they were a bit tired of chasing these guys anyway? Were they secretly happy that their buddies had missed a turn? (I have experience this joy myself). We will never know!

Faster than Jimmy Johnson- When I got to Paxton I was disappointed to see Amnon sitting with Coleman. He explained that he had been dropped. He was riding stronger than any COD rider that day. He explained that he had been waiting 20 minutes for some company to ride with.

I bolted out of there knowing that John and Eric were now riding 15 miles of roads with minimal arrows. I drove as fast as I could, frequently jumping out to lay down more arrows. I was hoping to catch them by Oxford but no such luck. Just how fast were these guys going? I was positive that I would catch them on the new section of road from Oxford to Douglas. That didn’t happen either. At least that section of road had been arrowed the prior week on my ride. As I turned onto Route 16, I expected to see them again….but still no sign of them.

It seemed impossible that they could be 45 minutes ahead of the next rider. Then a thought hit me……perhaps they were off course! As I drove to Uxbridge I became convinced this was the case until 3 miles from the Donut Shop where I found them. They were flying!! I quickly called Dave Jordan and told him we were waaaay ahead of schedule!

Barbara Dallis- As I approached Uxbridge I passed Barbara Dallis who was riding her new bike…standing up. I shook my head in amazement. In March she had been airlifted to a Tucson hospital after being nearly killed by a pickup truck. She had a smashed pelvis, broken ribs, etc and had undergone many hours of emergency surgery. When we visited her in the hospital a few days later she was already zipping around in her wheelchair and was cheerful as could be. We figured it was shock. She had been told she could not put any weight on her leg for 12 weeks. That brings us to June when she started riding her bike. Her rides have now progressed to 150 miles in length! She actually got in 100 miles between the morning and afternoon riders at the Uxbridge water stop. There are no words to adequately describe this miracle.

Two dozen donuts - After helping Dave Jordan get a sun tentt up I headed into Williams Donuts to buy donuts for the riders. I can remember all the years I have eaten jelly donuts here on the return trip. Nothing tastes better at that point in the ride. Again I chased down the leaders. This time it was easier, and after North St. no additional arrows were needed. It is hard to imagine now that the first two years we did this ride we had no arrows, waters stops, mechanical support, medical crew, or support staff.

John and Eric pulled into Nahanton Park at 4:13 PM looking fresh as a daisy. I had clocked them as fast as 30 mph on Greendale! After some congratulations and a few photos I hit the road again to escort in one group after another.

The Desert Ratpack- “Breakaway Jane” said “Yes, we probably dawdled a bit more than most groups but we sure had fun!” My friends from Desert Camp had a long day. Fourteen hours and 31 minutes. They certainly got their money’s worth. But the amazing thing is that while on the bikes they maintained over a 17 mph average! They spent over 3 hours off the bikes. When you are riding in a group of ten, the bathroom lines are longer, the wait for sandwiches is longer, and so forth. They claim they had lost an hour while waiting for Andrew to finish reading the New York Times in a Dunkin Donuts bathroom! Unfortunately for my pal Bruce Cohen, an acceleration on Pine Street in Medfield left him behind. Michael Aarons, who had volunteered to ride and sag the last rider, rode in with Bruce. Still, they were within a few minutes of the group. This is quite impressive for a guy over 60 with two artificial hips!

The Numbers

While this is not a race many people try to set personal best times. John and Eric set a goal of breaking John’s 2003 time of 10:41. They knocked four minutes off that time even though the course was nearly 2 miles longer and had more climbing! 2005 was relatively slow in comparison at 11:30 but there were a couple hours of pouring rain. The fastest trip ever remains 2002 with Chris, Dale, Dan, Bruce, and myself. The time was 10:33 with 10:11 on the bike. The maximum speed was 47 mph. Three of the legs averaged over 20 mph. With this year’s increased climbing, John’s and Eric’s ride is all the more impressive.

The Best Part- There was no crashes or injuries. A couple people abandoned because they did not feel well, but that common for this type of ride. With nearly 8,000 miles safely ridden I am proud of everyone who participated. We had 32 finishers this year with only 6 DNF’s. About half of the finishers were Crack O’ Dawn riders. Over 60 people registered but that is a story for another time.

Congratulations! Thanks for riding. Thanks for volunteering.

-=Dave

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