Northeast - D2r2

Who is going?

I'll be there... bringing up the rear on the 100k route.

Never done it but I heard it's an awesome ride! Someone posted photos from the ride 2 years ago and it does look pretty spectactular.
Does anyone know if you can do this ride on a regular road bike, or is it a ride you'll need a cross bike or mtn bike for?

thanks, and enjoy the ride!!!

Never done it but I heard it's an awesome ride! Someone posted photos from the ride 2 years ago and it does look pretty spectactular.
Does anyone know if you can do this ride on a regular road bike, or is it a ride you'll need a cross bike or mtn bike for?

thanks, and enjoy the ride!!!

i'll be riding my rando bike, a clubracer, with 28s or 32s.

Does anyone know if you can do this ride on a regular road bike, or is it a ride you'll need a cross bike or mtn bike for? All of the above. If you do the ride on a regular road bike, do yourself a favor and at least get some decently wide tires.

I'm in for the 160k. It'll be good to see you again, bmike. Hope we cross paths.

Have fun, it is a great route, lovely riding territory.

All of the above. If you do the ride on a regular road bike, do yourself a favor and at least get some decently wide tires.

I'm in for the 160k. It'll be good to see you again, bmike. Hope we cross paths.

I'll be there later Friday night. We have a small contingent coming down from Burlington - we're not sure where we are camping yet. Look for the Ti alt universe version of your bike, along with a fellow on an A. Homer Hilson and another on a beaut of a Kogswell. We'll probably hang together for most of the ride.

I need to split after the ride on Saturday. I'll be around for a beer and quick bite. (off to Providence Sunday night for work... sigh... sigh...)

Good luck on the long version. I'm in for the short. Nursing what I hope is just a sore knee after a solo 300k 2 weeks ago. I'm going to spin all week and stretch...

My first time...

Going to give the long version a try...

I have a Ridley Crosswind built up with 32 Michelin Jet tires...

Any advice...

I'm hoping to attend. Struggling with a possible conflict on the date and hoping it can be resolved but I'm registered, along with my bro-in-law and nephew.

I'm going with my road bike with 32's, a triple and my fingers crossed about the weather.

(long version)

Trying the long version this would be my first century (I know I'm insane) but I've been training and working out quite a bit since November, we'll see how ready I am. I'll be riding a Rivendell Atlantis with Honjo hammered fenders if it's going to be wet and without if not. It would be nice to meet some BF members face to face. :)

^ Wow, that is a ballsy first century. I did the ride last year and would say that it was easily as tough as a road double. Harder than the VT 6 gaps ride.

Good luck and post a report

My first time...

Going to give the long version a try...

I have a Ridley Crosswind built up with 32 Michelin Jet tires...

Any advice...

Go with at least 1x1 gearing.

Take a wade and head dunk in the swimming hole at mile 70 (ish?)

bring the butt butt'r

Bomb the descents!

Go with at least 1x1 gearing.

Take a wade and head dunk in the swimming hole at mile 70 (ish?)

bring the butt butt'r

Bomb the descents!

pay attention to the directions. do not get lost.

This ride, more than any other that I've done, will actively penalize you for going off route. In several occasions, going off route doesn't just mean going two miles in an unknown direction; it means going two miles down a 10% grade to a dead end, where the only way to recover is to go back up that 10% grade.

When I did the ride two years ago, I arrived at the first control about an hour after closing time and was frankly surprised to see that they were still going. The volunteers said that at closing time, less than half of the registered riders actually made it in because we were all lost in various parts of the forest. It's a tough ride on its own, no need to make it more challenging by accumulating bonus mileage.

btw, for anyone doing the 170k route, the new cuesheet is up: (http://www.newhorizonsbikes.com/for/d2r2170k).

It reads sort of like a ghost story that one reads to baby cyclists to keep them up at night.

^ looking at that brings back some good and bad memories.

I remember wondering when the hell that hillman road climb would end. It just kept going and going......

My first time doing the ride, I was focusing on the archambo road climb and was really suprised by that long ass climb.

Have fun guys!!

Thanks so much to BF for letting me know about this ride! I did it today and LOVED IT!

I will post a full ride report later- in the Long Distance forum.

I drove back tonight to Cape Cod so now I'm totally wiped.

I think I met Ethan on the ride.

I did get lost a couple of times but not too bad a few extra miles.

Beautiful ride!

I finished! It wasn't exactly pretty but I finished! Gorgeous scenery lots of great people (I went alone but didn't feel like I was alone for most of the ride). It was a lot of fun. I definitely got a lot of "Your FIRST century?!" responses.

buzzman when did we meet? I had one of two Atlantis' that I saw on the ride the other belonging to Elton from Harris Cyclery.

From a friend I heard it was a great ride, and quite the challenge.
I had to bail out halfway down the state of VT. Wife was feeling sick all day Friday... we chanced me going but she got worse as evening set in - so I turned the rental around and made it back to take care of the little one.

Sigh. Missed the ride, but took care of the family.

I finished! It wasn't exactly pretty but I finished! Gorgeous scenery lots of great people (I went alone but didn't feel like I was alone for most of the ride). It was a lot of fun. I definitely got a lot of "Your FIRST century?!" responses.

buzzman when did we meet? I had one of two Atlantis' that I saw on the ride the other belonging to Elton from Harris Cyclery.


I did the ride with my brother in law and my nephew, who's a frame builder (NFG Bikes), and they were both on bikes he made- a green cross bike and a black 29'er MTB. I was camped just behind the check-in with a red Honda Fit. I'll post some pics in the long distance forum with a ride report. I'm pretty sure I saw you on the course and at the end and your bike was right near mine at the 64 mile checkpoint.

I finished...barely...

8:50 ride time...9:43 total time...

I was geared 52/42/30 with a 11/34 cassette and needed more...

I do not know if I will be doing that again...

I finished...barely...

8:50 ride time...9:43 total time...

I was geared 52/42/30 with a 11/34 cassette and needed more...

I do not know if I will be doing that again...

you did far better than I! My total time was 11:28! My ride time was 9:40. I rode a 52/42/30 with 12-26. I was desperate for a lower gear much of the time and finally just settled for nice slow amble with some stops along the way and got lost a few times to boot, which meant a few extra miles.

I did the ride with my brother in law and my nephew, who's a frame builder (NFG Bikes), and they were both on bikes he made- a green cross bike and a black 29'er MTB. I was camped just behind the check-in with a red Honda Fit. I'll post some pics in the long distance forum with a ride report. I'm pretty sure I saw you on the course and at the end and your bike was right near mine at the 64 mile checkpoint.

Yes! I remember you! I think I talked to you at the end of the ride as well. You were wondering where your nephew was as he was a strong rider but was taking a really long time (probably missed a turn or some such). Did he find his way to the farm festival?

you did far better than I! My total time was 11:28! My ride time was 9:40. I rode a 52/42/30 with 12-26. I was desperate for a lower gear much of the time and finally just settled for nice slow amble with some stops along the way and got lost a few times to boot, which meant a few extra miles.

I did... well even worse. 12:36 total, 10:24 ride time. I stopped to help a few people out with mechanicals and directions along the way, spent a bit too much time at the rest stops and helped myself with cramping legs by stopping at the top of most of the climbs during stage 2. If I'm less nice and in better shape next year I should be able to bring my total ride time under 12 hours!! ;)

Maybe I'll just get in better shape. :thumb:

ah hell, all you guys did far better than I. I finished my ride in an emergency room ;)

Overall, I'm doing fine now ... just got some major road rash and a banged up wrist after wiping out on Sandy Pond Road at mile 70 or so. Had a good time until that point, though; and hopefully in a week or so, I should be pedaling again.

full story on my LJ (http://cris.livejournal.com/184116.html)

Congrats to all the finishers. and bmike, sorry to hear that you had to DNS, but family does come first. Perhaps we'll see each other again next season.

ah hell, all you guys did far better than I. I finished my ride in an emergency room ;)

Overall, I'm doing fine now ... just got some major road rash and a banged up wrist after wiping out on Sandy Pond Road at mile 70 or so. Had a good time until that point, though; and hopefully in a week or so, I should be pedaling again.

full story on my LJ (http://cris.livejournal.com/184116.html)

Congrats to all the finishers. and bmike, sorry to hear that you had to DNS, but family does come first. Perhaps we'll see each other again next season.

Bummer. Glad it wasn't any worse... there were some pretty intense descents on that ride, and some really fast ones! Take care of yourself, and get well soon!

ah hell, all you guys did far better than I. I finished my ride in an emergency room ;)

Overall, I'm doing fine now ... just got some major road rash and a banged up wrist after wiping out on Sandy Pond Road at mile 70 or so. Had a good time until that point, though; and hopefully in a week or so, I should be pedaling again.

full story on my LJ (http://cris.livejournal.com/184116.html)

Congrats to all the finishers. and bmike, sorry to hear that you had to DNS, but family does come first. Perhaps we'll see each other again next season.

sorry to hear!!!!!!
i'll check out your LJ!!!
get well.

ah hell, all you guys did far better than I. I finished my ride in an emergency room ;)

Glad you are OK and things were not worse...

After reading your story, I started really thinking about my ride (I am finally recovering)...

I took some crazy risks...

I bombed that descent into Charlemont and was VERY lucky...

What kind of bike were you riding...

Heal fast, Kilimanjaro awaits...

ah hell, all you guys did far better than I. I finished my ride in an emergency room ;)

Overall, I'm doing fine now ... just got some major road rash and a banged up wrist after wiping out on Sandy Pond Road at mile 70 or so. Had a good time until that point, though; and hopefully in a week or so, I should be pedaling again.

full story on my LJ (http://cris.livejournal.com/184116.html)

Congrats to all the finishers. and bmike, sorry to hear that you had to DNS, but family does come first. Perhaps we'll see each other again next season.

Damn dude.

I hope you get better quick.

Here is my Motion Based file of the ride...

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6585256

And the only four pictures I took because I was too tired to take the camera out...

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e211/Hammertoe6566/IMG_3057-1.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e211/Hammertoe6566/IMG_3058-1.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e211/Hammertoe6566/IMG_3060-1.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e211/Hammertoe6566/IMG_3061-1.jpg

ah hell, all you guys did far better than I. I finished my ride in an emergency room ;)

Overall, I'm doing fine now ... just got some major road rash and a banged up wrist after wiping out on Sandy Pond Road at mile 70 or so. Had a good time until that point, though; and hopefully in a week or so, I should be pedaling again.

full story on my LJ (http://cris.livejournal.com/184116.html)

Congrats to all the finishers. and bmike, sorry to hear that you had to DNS, but family does come first. Perhaps we'll see each other again next season.

WTF! just read your LJ!
glad you made it out in 1 piece, and glad that for the most part strangers are often kind and helpful!

get well and heal up for your trip!
(now that we know you are OK - how did the ANT fare?)

I did... well even worse. 12:36 total, 10:24 ride time. I stopped to help a few people out with mechanicals and directions along the way, spent a bit too much time at the rest stops and helped myself with cramping legs by stopping at the top of most of the climbs during stage 2. If I'm less nice and in better shape next year I should be able to bring my total ride time under 12 hours!! ;)

Maybe I'll just get in better shape. :thumb:


In all honesty, I cannot accept your "even worse" pronouncement! To finish this ride- and as your first century, no less- is an amazing achievement. It takes a certain amount of intelligence and stamina to take this kind of ride at your own pace and just get through it. You did fantastic!:thumb:

I knew I hadn't had enough sleep the night before (about 1 1/2 hours) and was going to struggle with a 30/26 as my low gear pretty early on in the ride and adjusted my pace after the first checkpoint. I'm not in the kind of shape I'd like to have been in for a ride like this (were I to go for speed) so I shifted into survival mode after mile 65 got into the moment to moment mind set. In other words, don't think ahead, know that you've still got x number hours of daylight (more than enough), and take in the scenery as best you can, which was spectacular.

After spinning out in the gravel, I ended up walking about 150' of the 27% grade before I finally mustered the mental and physical energy to get back on the bike and ride up the damned thing. I was glad I did that because it gave me a small boost of confidence to know I could tackle the worst (best?) of it.

My nephew did, indeed, get lost and did an extra 13 miles, which on any other ride would not be so bad- but on this!, he finished the day with 127 miles. He, too, as tired as he was, loved the ride. As did my bro-in-law who bailed at the 64 mile check point but ended up with a hefty 80 miles for the day and looked none the worse for wear by the time I pulled in.

I'm sorry that I didn't get to meet BMike and Spokenword, and so sorry to hear of Spokenword's crash!! I was very cautious on the descents, I was on a road bike and tend to be a bit of a wuss on descents in general, even on my MTB, and I was imagining how easily a rider could lose control on some of those descents and I'm sure it wasn't pretty. I'm glad you're okay and sorry to hear you didn't get to finish.

Thanks so much to BMike for turning me onto this glorious ride. I really loved it.

ah hell, all you guys did far better than I. I finished my ride in an emergency room ;)

Overall, I'm doing fine now ... just got some major road rash and a banged up wrist after wiping out on Sandy Pond Road at mile 70 or so. Had a good time until that point, though; and hopefully in a week or so, I should be pedaling again.

full story on my LJ (http://cris.livejournal.com/184116.html)

Congrats to all the finishers. and bmike, sorry to hear that you had to DNS, but family does come first. Perhaps we'll see each other again next season.


whoa! I just read your account of your crash and that sounds serious. Those descents were tough for me to gauge. Too much caution and I felt like I'd tip over and too much "just let 'er rip" and I was sure I'd go flying off into a gully. Did you get your bike back okay?

Heal well and hope to see you out on the road sometime soon.:)

thanks guys. In general, I'm doing ok

(though I was doing better before I got to the dentist and found out how much it would cost to get my teeth capped ... holy crap, it's true what they say about how the difference between poverty and prosperity is just one expensive disease)

the bike itself looks fine. the fancy paint job has some scratches on it and the front wheel is somewhat out of true, but I still need to put her on a stand and double check for dents or cracks on the fork or frame.

Dentist bill aside, I'm frankly grateful that the consequences of this crash are as light as they were. It won't stop me from riding, but I'll probably be a little less cavalier and little more deliberate and honest about assessing risk in the future.

Like Hammertoe I didn't snap all that many pics of the ride, which had exquisite scenery. Here's a few.


http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s176/kencheeseman/DSCF0553.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s176/kencheeseman/DSCF0558.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s176/kencheeseman/DSCF0556.jpg

I posted my ride report in the Clydesdale forum. No pictures... occupational hazard of being a professional photographer.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=458339

spokenword, I'm glad you're OK. There were some very hairy descents on that ride, I definitely came close to losing it once or twice. On a more random note I helped a friend of your girlfriend's/mine move a little while ago, I was admiring the Schmidt dyno hub on her bike. :D Small world.

spokenword, I'm glad you're OK. There were some very hairy descents on that ride, I definitely came close to losing it once or twice. On a more random note I helped a friend of your girlfriend's/mine move a little while ago, I was admiring the Schmidt dyno hub on her bike. :D Small world. holy small crazy world, batman. or really, holy small crazy city. I swear that there's only three degrees of separation between cyclists in Boston.

holy small crazy world, batman. or really, holy small crazy city. I swear that there's only three degrees of separation between cyclists in Boston.

Heh, yeah maybe more like 2. Especially since there seems to be so much overlap in the social and work circles of cyclists.

some random pics i found on the web and through some friends who were there...

sunday morning ride partner on his kogswell (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22267176@N02/)

youtube from someone i do not know (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHR2azszq3Q)

a gallery from a rider i do not know (http://picasaweb.google.com/PyZahl/D2R22008) (but there are pics of peeps i know in there!)

another sunday morning ride partner's pics (http://www.flickr.com/photos/56666330@N00/)