I’ve made it to the first stop. It’s just over 16 miles into the ride. To= ok about 1.5 hours to get here. That included a couple of quick stops to t= ake pictures. I didn’t have time to post more at the start, as I arrived i= n Pittsfield a little late, and only … Read more

In less than 12 hours I will be in the Berkshires, accomplishing several firsts. I’ll be visiting the Massachusetts towns of Pittsfield, West Stockbridge, and Great Barrington for the first time each. I’ll be doing a fundraising ride for the first time. and I’ll be riding 50 miles in one day for the first time. … Read more

On Saturday I went for one last long training ride. This time I rode from Northampton up to Greenfield, and then came back by way of Montague. The total distance is about 46 miles. The big advantage of this route over previous ones I rode is that it has virtually no hills, so I was … Read more

Last Sunday I went for another training ride, in preparation for my MS fundraising ride. This time, I decided to ride a route that I’d never been on before, not even by car. I figured it would be fun to explore the countryside, and see at least one particular site I’d heard about. So I … Read more

I went for another training ride today. This one was shorter, but with more significant (i.e. steeper) hill climbing. It was also raining for part of the time I was riding. The rain almost deterred me from riding, but I eventually decided it might be useful to try riding in the rain, because it may … Read more

So I initially set my fundraising goal for the MS bike ride to be $250, which is the minimum that riders must raise. That got blown away within 24 hours, so I doubled it to $500. You folks are great! I think I’m well on the way to making that goal (a couple of folks … Read more

I’m going to be doing my first ever charity bike ride in about 5 weeks.  Saturday, September 29 I’ll be riding in the Bike and Hike the Berkshires event put on by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I’m looking for sponsors for my ride, so that by doing the ride I’ll raise money for MS … Read more

On a recent bike ride along the Norwattuck Rail Trail, I rode all the way to the swampy portion in the East part of Amherst. And what did I see there? Frogs! Further on, toward the eastern end of the rail, I stopped at a bird blind. I didn’t really see any birds near it, … Read more

Now that the weather has warmed up, I’ve had the opportunity to ride my bike to work a few times. It’s about a 9-mile trek, but most of the way I’m on the lovely Norwattuck Rail Trail, and so don’t have to worry about cars and such. The trail goes past a number of farms … Read more