When you do your civic duty -- like attending a town Conservation Committee meeting -- you might find out about some secret access points to the Connecticut River (the center line through the Pioneer Valley).
Using all your skills to maneuver your dirt-road bike along old tractor roads, you might see some beautiful scenery between the access point and the river.
You might find a beach you never knew existed, which you'll plan on returning to in the hot months.
On your way home, you might even see a convoy of local tractors hurrying to take their places in the town Memorial Day parade.
Help your town save the local greenery, and then go out and ride your bike to see it all.
It might be worth it.
Last night we did a group ride over to Whately and then headed uphill on Haydenville Rd. (in the direction of Haydenville from the Whately Inn). Instead of staying on Haydenville Rd., a bunch of us turned right onto Conway Rd., a dirt road, to take a circuitous detour. I'm not very good at painting a picture with words. The best I can say is that going onto the dirt became the highlight of the evening. The roads and scenery of this region are well documented. There's certainly nothing wrong with staying on the pavement. The unpaved roads, however, often lead to the essence of the region - the rushing streams, the deep green hemlock canopies, the uninterrupted sounds of nature, to name just a few things. This reminds me of your post because some road bike riders are nervous about taking their road machines on dirt roads (even though they're "roads" all the same, as one of the riders pointed out). The moral of the story is that sometimes you need to take your road bike on roads other than paved ones to know your region better.
ReplyDeleteBoy, Anonymous, I wish you weren't so Anonymous, so's I could thank you by name. You say you aren't good at painting with words, and then go on to do a bang-up job.
ReplyDeleteAmen and amen!!! You've captured much of what Velophoria is all about.
If your group rides aren't too fast or far, I'd be delighted to meet up with you folks sometime.
For those who feel their road bikes are too dainty for the dirt, I say, buy a Vaya -- or a 'cross or touring rig -- and put some cyclocross tires on it. There are endless variations to your same-old routes to be found when you can turn off onto inviting dirt rambles at will!