Quabbin Century & Double Metric

Quabbin Ride Report - 6/13/2010

Quabbin Observation Tower and View from the Top of Windsor Dam

(route passes along road at base)

The Major Taylor Ride (AKA The Quabbin Century) has been a staple in the central Massachusetts cycling calendar since the inaugural version of the event 22 years ago. The ride is put on by the Seven Hills Wheelman, and features three distances - 100K (62 miles), 100 Miles, and 200K (125 miles).

The 2010 edition of the event was held on June 13 and a total of twelve Thread City Cyclists met the challenge. Beth Hankins, Alan Pelletier, and Ray Torres rode the 100-miler as a group and we had three groups riding the 200K: 1) Fran Storch and Dave Waldburger, 2) Judy & Steve Borrman, and 3) Agatha Pohorylo, Eric Anderson, Chris Stoltze, Joe Drivere, and Yours Truly. The following report is for the latter group, but others will likely chime in with their experiences also.

Of the five in our group that did the double metric, only Eric and Joe had originally intended to. Agatha and I were cajoled into it during the Saturday TCC ride, and Chris was ordered to comply. As Chris informed me by e-mail the night before, I'll be there for the 200K at 7:00, but not if it's raining.

At 7:00 on Sunday morning in Rutland, Mass., it was in fact raining; however, it apparently was not raining when Chris left Tolland, and now he was at the start, so he was pretty well committed. We rolled out of the parking lot at the start as the rain let up. Roads were still wet, and we cruised through the first five downhill miles imbibing worm-laden tire spray. At about the 30 mile mark the route turned into the Quabbin Reservoir Reservation and we turned onto a short loop that first descended down a long hill to the base of the Windsor Dam and then snaked several hundred feet back up to the top of the dam. Chris elected to skip the descent and climb and headed across the flat top of the dam to meet us as we climbed the hill. He was universally derided for his cowardly conduct and officially disqualified from the team. To our dismay, he ignored this edict and rode the rest of the ride with us, a dishonored man.

From the dam, the route climbed up a formidable hill to the 50-foot high Quabbin Lookout tower. While Eric climbed up the observation tower, the rest of us relaxed at the base making light banter and eating the beef jerky that Agatha has become famous for providing. Eric was disappointed to find that the windows at the top of the tower were sealed, which scuttled his plans to spit, pee, or hurl objects at his comrades below.

After the 50 mile point at the intersections of Routes 9 and 202 in Belchertown, the double metric course split off from the Century. The Century route heads up the big rollers along the western side of the Quabbin on Route 202, while the Double Metric heads further west on flatter terrain toward Amherst before hooking north and re-joining the Century at the north end of the reservoir. We picked up a couple of extra riders along the way and headed north on mostly back roads to a nice rest stop at a country store. Chris noticed that his rear tire had 30 pounds of air in it and was sporting a big bulge (the tire, not Chris). He was able to convince one of the event organizers to lend him a replacement tire for the balance of the ride.

At about the 90 mile mark we were coming down a steep hill and around a blind corner which was followed in quick succession by a stop sign. Our two guest hangers-on managed to ride into each other at this point, resulting in a high-speed trip to the pavement for one of them. We helped to scrape him off the road - he was generally OK but had taken a bit of a whack to the head (cracked helmet) and was too shaken up to continue. Fortunately, the owner of the property that served as a landing zone for our hapless friend was willing to give him a lift to a spot where his wife could retrieve him.

Shortly before we hit the 100-mile mark in Petersham, Joe said in a quiet and somewhat pathetic voice, "Hey guys, do you think maybe we could dial it back a little for the next section?" For those of you that know Joe, he is not normally one to file the request to "dial it back". After much guffawing and derision, we agreed to dial it back for a little while with the understanding that Joe's request would be publically outed in this venerable forum.

The last 30 miles of the Quabbin Century and Double Metric feature three serious climbs - the first one climbing out of the Quabbin valley on Route 122, the second with about 15 miles to go on an endless wooded road, and the third - a climb of about 3 miles back up to the start/finish in Rutland. These serve as the final test and give you something to remember the ride by.

The 125-mile distance was the furthest that Joe and Chris had ever ridden and tied Agatha's long career ride. Most of the day turned out to be relatively dry, and we were happy campers at the end. We will definitely return.

The Seven Hills Wheelman put this event on with a club that has only about one-third of the members of the Thread City Cyclers. There's no reason we couldn't do a similar event in our neck of the woods. Stay tuned - the Board is starting to look into this possibility for 2011.