Sick roads heads-up

[benVFR]

Hmm... I know we are not posting routes but this isn't for a ride anyway so what the hell...

The bicycle race I did yesterday was on some amazingly nice roads... most of it was not on numbered routes and this area would tend to get ignored I think.

Basically you ride out Rt. 2... right after you pop up to the top of the Mohawk trail in Florida, there is a road on the right hand side called Monroe St. I think. Go down that and then take a quick right onto Whitcomb hill Rd. The race started at the bottom of that hill. (2 miles down, 9.5% grade, twisty) I had motorcycled out there many times and always ignored that road cause I wanted to go see the overlook that looks down at North Adams.

Topo map of the area:
http://cycling.williams.edu/whitcomb...20sponsors.pdf

Directions to the start of the race:

http://cycling.williams.edu/whitcomb...ons%20Page.pdf

You won't be able to figure out the route of the race very easily from those maps, but I drove around a bunch in the car saturday, there are awesome roads all over the place there, and we hooked back onto Rt. 100 after driving around in there. It would be a better way to connect from Rt. 2 to Rt. 100 than to go all the way into North Adams and then take 8 to 100. As it is very sparesly populated and I didn't see any lights.

There was more high speed cornering, etc.. in this race than any other one I've done.. it was a ton of fun although climbing the hills was brutal.

Ben

[ChR1s]

Watch out for the NY/CT plated SUVs bombing around there in the summer -- they do that rafting shit in the river there (there's also a lot of buses going back and forth). Also, there's a nice MSP hangout just over a rise, just past a 35MPH sign. One particular downhill sweeper usually has some sand in it, which is hidden by the grass once it gets taller. The decomissioned nuke plant by there is getting pulled apart and trucks are shipping the crap to a train depot -- they take up ALL of the road, and have already lost a 20-ton load off the side of one road near there already. Besides that, and the wild turkeys and deer, it's a great place to ride -- many a spode has begun making their "thrill videos" there of late.

[Tarmac]

Been there last Summer, coming up from NY after 5 hrs in the saddle...came upon these roads and had a blast. Didn't know them all that well so we took it easy. Then a group of three Road Kings led by a sportbike came upon us and just smoked on by, one of the 'kings had a passenger in tow; they were screamin' through those roads!

My buddy and I were just laughing about it this weekend.

But I hear they closed 'em all down and put in a new straight-line interstate this Winter.

[Paul_E_D]

Doh! Any good roads out your way we can "share"?

[RevHappy]

Have no fear, there will be more..untill all the good roads are gone....

Originally posted by ChR1s
a great place to ride -- many a spode has begun making their "thrill videos" there of late.