The morning was crisp (50 degrees) and sunny. We were both looking forward to the relatively short drive between Hyde Park and Amherst (126 miles or so), and hoping to accomplish our daily cycling mileage goals (20-30 for me and 40-50 for Philip), which we have managed only 1 day so far.
But we let the day slip by. We spent far too much time at breakfast at the B&B chatting with a young couple from NJ, Rena and Gus, both of whom work in NYC. We were enjoying the conversation, and time just slipped away. We finally hit the road around 10:30, after saying goodbye to Valerie and thanking her for her generous hospitality.
I took the first ride today, beginning just across the state line in CT on US HWY 41, which was a relatively quiet country road. It WAS a good day on the bike. It was 70-74 degrees and sunny but lots of shade on the road. There was an ample shoulder, which was quite wide at some sections of the road, and the road surface was very good. Traffic was light and the speed limit was only as high as 45 mph and lower in some sections. There were rolling hills, but really it was mostly down hill. There was a cross wind but it wasn't too bad. I graded my ride an A- ("minus" because of the rolling HILLS), until I crossed the state line into MA. Immediately the shoulder disappeared and the road surface badly needed resurfacing. But the traffic was still light, the maximum speed limit was 45, the drivers (except for one empty-headed jerk) were considerate, and the hills weren't too bad. All-in-all, it was a great ride. I got off the bike with 21.4 miles, and Philip got on his. He had far more climbing in his section of the ride. He rode through three ski areas, where the hills were quite steep, but he rode most of the way with a tail wind. One hill was so long and steep that he rode it in stages, stopping three times before reaching the top. The tail wind did not help. But, still, he had a great, strong ride. He finished with 40.22 miles at Westfield, MA. Then we drove the remaining 55 miles or so to our night's accommodation at the home of John Sprague on "Baker Rd." in Shutesbury, MA, which is a small rural community about 7 miles north of Amherst, MA. Philip located John's accommodation on airbnb.com.
I was tired and hungry, and not interested in having to navigate dark country lanes to drive to a restaurant in Amherst and then find our way back afterwards. I wondered why Philip selected yet another place so far off the beaten path (the first being Dianne's place in Crosby, TN on Monday night, although I thoroughly enjoyed that stay), and I let him know that I was not happy about it.
Our host, John, is a charming guy, I guess in his late 40s/early 50s who admits to being an ex-hippy. He is a musician who plays string, wind and percussion instruments, and earns his living with his instruments. His place is comfortable and peaceful. After John greeted us and showed us to our room, I reminded myself that it's Philip birthday, and I should drop the attitude, which I did. The rest of the evening was quite pleasant. We had a very good meal in Amherst at Miss Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant, after a stop for a beer at Amherst Brewing Company. Philip did all the driving to Amherst for dinner and back to John's, for which I was very thankful.
We drove 144 miles today, and cycled 61.6 miles. We were on the road about 8 1/2 hours today.
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