20.5 Mile Ride on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
Monday, September 11, 2017
The weather forecast indicated that this might be the last sunny afternoon/evening this week, so I sucked it up and took the bike over to Pittsfield to ride the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. Unfortunately I left the house later than I'd hoped (I really should have taken everything to work and left straight from there), didn't realize how much rush hour traffic would slow me down both in Albany and driving through Pittsfield to the trailhead, and forgot that now that it's essentially fall, sunset is happening earlier and earlier - by the time I got there and geared up, I had about 100 minutes of riding time before sunset. No problem, since I'd remembered to pack a light - except I'd forgotten that I took the handlebar mount off the bike for the summer, when I almost never need a light...
So instead of a relaxed ride through the woods and wetlands and along the shore of the Cheshire Reservoir, I found myself pushing as hard as I could to try to cover as much of the trail as I could before sunset. As I headed north, I pretty much figured I would turn around before the steeper hill down into Adams... but once I got there, the thought of driving all that way to ride a little over 8 miles was too much, and I ended up going all the way to Harmony Street, about a mile before the end of the trail at the Adams Visitor Center. And then I cursed myself out for doing so as I crawled back up the hill I had just ridden down at a snail's pace... my legs were definitely feeling the effects of Saturday's runs and yesterday's running, walking, and riding.
In the end I made it back to the car a little after sunset, with plenty of light to see... I briefly thought that maybe I should have pushed a bit further and gone all the way to the northern end of the trail, but that would have added another 10-15 minutes to the ride, and that might have been all I needed to end up riding the last mile or so in the dark... so I made the right choice to turn around when I did.
The next time I ride this trail, I hope I can do so when I have more time to relax and enjoy the surroundings. Though I did spot a couple of beaver swimming in the reservoir, which was pretty neat.
