Originally Posted by
indyfabz
I have done that event twice. I can understand why. Despite being in MA and VT, it uses some pretty remote roads. Some are old carriage roads still paved with cobbles. Might not be accurately captured on GPS or even maps.
Great event, BTW. I went to high school at Deerfield Academy. Four-year man. Class of '83. I have stopped by the campus a few times during tours from VT home to Philly. The juxtaposition of the luxury (e.g., relatively new, $82 million athletic complex with indoor hockey rink) and nearby Greenfield, which supposedly has the highest rate of opioid addiction in MA, is striking.
Oh, wow, small world! I'm in Central CT - about an hour from Deerfield. I haven't done the formal D2R2 ride but, speaking of cue sheets, I have gone to their site, printed down some cue sheets and have driven up several times to piece together different sections of the course. Couple times I made my way over to the Jacksonville Country Store - one of those classic VT general stores - for a break, refreshment and, if lucky, homemade cookies!
But, yeah, a beautiful area albeit relentlessly hilly. I can survive fairly long climbs if the grade is moderate but I don't have many of those steep gravel climbs left in these 70 year old legs!
(Didn't realize that about Greenfield - really sad. CT has also had very high drug/opiod overdose deaths).