MY D2R2 experence 2018

Last weekend was the D2R2 Gravel Grinder event up in Deerfield Ma. I have been wanting to return to do this event for years but it is almost 3 hours drive...several years ago, I drove up and back in the same day, was exhausted and missed all the parties etc. So this year I made plans to camp at the event, I thought it would also be a good opportunity to do a first time in 35 years since I have camped. In preparation, I bought a 2 man back pack tent, a summer weight sleeping bag and a folding pad. Everything I got was on close out and the whole kit was under $100.00. I packed a small blue tarp to use as a ground cover, my coffee making kit, some food, a “brick” to recharge my phone, some cord, flashlights, borrowed a 3 gallon water jug from work and a medium size cooler to keep beverages cold. The camping was in a hay field and you were right along side your car....easy enough as I did not have to pack anything on the bike. It has been raining for days here and I was worried about that a little so I also brought a 12’ square “pop-up” canopy, a couple camp chairs, a big rubber backed rug. Thinking how smug I would be to have such a grand setup and also to have a spot to get out of the tent without everything covered in morning dew. So I arrived in Deerfield around 1:30pm on Friday, checked in and was given my camping tag, I was happy to see that only a few campers were in the field ahead of me as the sky began to build thunderheads. I scanned the freshly cut field and picked out a high spot near the edge and started to setup. I got the pop-up frame unfolded and as I got the cover on the wind started and the rain/hail came in sideways, there I was hanging on the pop-up, getting pelted by the storm but, I knew if I let go, the canopy would be on its way to Vermont. The storm passed in about 15 minutes and I continued to set up, staked down the pop-up, laid out the tarp, setup the “2-man” tent under the pop up, laid out my carpet, setup my chairs and camp table, popped the top on an La Cruiz and thought how cool I was! I laid out the mat and sleeping bag in the tent, the only way it fit was diagonal as the tent is not even 6 feet! I spent the evening visiting and looking at cool bikes etc. about 8:30 the storms returned with a vengeance! The rain came in buckets, thunder lightning, you name it, also the mosquitoes were viscous. I decided to turn in and thought the storm would pass. It stormed and stormed, I tried to ignore it, safe under my double roof and watched a movie in the tent on my iPad. About that time I noticed that the sleeping pad is horrible, the tent is sweaty hot and humid and the storm will not subside. I tossed and turned, could not get comfortable. I started to just doze off around 12:45 am with the thought of an early start on one of the hardest rides I have ever done starting the morning. Just about then I heard a crash and the sound on a tub of water splashing on the ground...the pop-up had been collecting water and collapsed, twisted , broken metal trying to rip my tend and the rain coming in buckets! So 1am, I am barefoot in my boxers, in the pouring rain, trying to untangle and fold the entire mess without waking my neighbors or ripping the tent. I was able to get the frame free of the cover, get it crunched up and into the back of the pickup, took the cover and laid it over the bikes with the water jug and cooler to hold it down. I stripped off the soaked boxers and dove into the tent, put on dry ones and back into the sleeping bag. Tossed and turned till I heard the caterers generator start around 4:30 am....just about when the storms started to slow down. I made coffee, put on riding gear and set off for the event tent on the troll, facing 68 miles and 7000’ of gravel with less than 2 hours sleep.

The ride was wonderful. Even though I had no sleep, all was forgot within 5 minutes of rolling out on the road. The gravel roads were wet and many were washed out from the week of rain and the deluge of the night, after leaving the first 5 miles in the river valley, the route crossed the Deerfield river and we hit the first old lane, “Old Albany Road”. I did not find the grade to be overwhelming, maybe 12% but the road was more of a riverbed, running storm water, washing across and large stones and very soft. I was very glad to have the Troll with the huge tires, I made it to the top cleanly passing a few riders on cyclocross bikes that were done in by the conditions. After Old Albany road, the conditions improved and we were following more maintained gravel roads, rolling up and down, then climbing to the sky at around mile 26 where we arrived at the Little Big House Gallery. The first 26 miles took nearly 2.5 hours, I could see that many club racers were breaking down from the realization that this was no 16mph average ride. If you want, google the Little big House Gallery... built by a couple of hippies in the 70’s it is quite a place, the couple is still there, still working, both very nice. I refilled my water, did some pickle juice shots and continued on. I had started the ride with several instagram friends but as is the case on these rides, everyone climbs at a different rate and at this point it was just me and John, “Sir Alford”. John rides a Rivendell quickbeam, I do not know what ratio he had but it was amazing to see him climb, single speed, like me he had a wald basket full of crap :). I had to really pull to keep up with him and later that morning I watched as he pulled ahead and disappeared into the foggy mist of the Vermont hills. Still going north I rode along, sometimes alone, sometimes in the company of others. About every 12 miles or so you would find water and snacks left for the riders and I did a good job of keeping up with drinking and putting calories in. I felt good, the Troll is a wonderfully stable and comfortable bike, maybe a bit slow but I did not let any of that get into my head, I just went along at my own pace. At mile 42, around 1:20 in the afternoon I arrived at lunch, along a covered bridge, at the end of a very long climb and a fast decent to the river, I think it was the Jacksonville Stage road, not sure. I should mention that most of the roads have no road signs and the route is not marked. I kept an eye on my odo and the cue sheet with assurance from the navigation software on the iPhone from Ride with GPS. The other thing that helped is with the soft roads, you could see the bicycle tracks, navigation was not so hard. At lunch, I had already climbed more than I ever had on one ride in my life and still 30 miles to go with several more thousand feet of climbing. Lunch was great and knowing that the next 10 miles was a gentility down grade, I had a whole sandwich, another banana, a big handful of M&M’s stuffed a bag full in my top shirt pocket, downed a whole coke and climbed back on the Troll in a soft rain. The Green river road was a welcome break, it runs along the river and trends down grade, it was magical running along at 14 mph, dogging potholes and looking ahead through the mist. Now the strangest thing was happening...the first time I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks but every so often, I thought I saw a rubber ducky floating in one of the pot holes...what the heck? So I stopped and looked and sure enough...someone was populating the road with rubber ducky’s! That is the kind of ride and the kind of people I met... Then the route left the river and climbed and climbed and climbed some more, I started to pass others, the road and conditions starting to cause some riders to crack, the mud binding the drive trains on those that did not or could not run fenders. I notice this on several gravel rides I have been on, the dirt clogs the chain and the cassette, its ok till you start to climb, then the chain is skipping, the bike won’t shift...etc. The fenders do help stave this off. About 14 miles from the end, I met up with a fellow from CT who was trying to make his way back after dropping out of one of the longer routes, we kept each other company and encouraged each other to keep moving, it was a cheerful way to overlook the suffering, the knots starting in calf muscles. We met 3 others at the beginning of the long stair step climb up Peckville Road to Apex Orchards, it is famous in D2R2 stories...at the top of the mountain is the Apex peach stand. When we arrived , the sky was clearing, we got a brief glimpse of the view and then made the final push to the finish. I rolled across the timer, 71 miles 7000 ‘ climbing total, over 8 hours since I left and about 7hours 15 minutes moving time. THe D2R2 is everything that I had ever read about...Tough, wonderful, magical.

__________________ Spencer Instagram - http://Instagram.com/lifeinthedrops