Coffeeneuring, First Ride

Once again it is coffeeneuring season, the third week into it, actually. It's a short season, 7 weeks between October 4th and November 17th, during which time riders must complete seven rides to seven different coffee shops. Two rides permitted each weekend, but only one per day. Coffeeneuring is the brainchild of MG at chasing mailboxed, dc. Take a look there for more info and coffeeneuring stories.

Reservoir in the Pittsfield Water Supply

Unable to participate during the last two weeks, today was my first ride. It was a good one. I headed north to Sanger's General Store, hoping for samosas and coffee. They make extremely good samosas, but when I arrived, all were sold out. So I settled for a cup of adequate coffee and drank it at the picnic table outside before continuing north. The coffee did its job, and I headed north on Rt. 8A.

Pinarello at Sanger's General Store for a cup of coffee

Rt. 8A is fun on a bike, mostly downhill and through pretty, protected wildlife management areas. In Savoy, I jogged east on 116 a bit, then turned back south on River Road. The ride north was to investigate River Road. As I hoped, it is a good ride for bikes:, rural, with a decent surface. Fits right into the category of little roads ... that category I'm so fond of.

The Westfield River is officially designated a  Wild and Scenic River

At its end I turned back west on Rt. 9, aiming for Worthington Road, which I haven't ridden in this direction, then followed it south to Rt. 143. It is another fun little Berkshire road, this one passing next to protected parkland.

Color remains in the trees on Worthington Road

Then Rt. 143 west to another River Road, this one familiar and almost all downhill. The road stays close to the river, and until reaching Huntington the surface is good. From there it was frequently bone-jarringly bad. Cracked, full of holes, years and years of bad fixes, and now loose gravel added to the mix. Not fun. Too rough to watch the river, too rough to ride fast.

That horse at the top of River Road in Worthington was curious about my bike

This was followed by the only sustained climb, up to Chester ... 1.25 miles, 530 feet. I don't know how to do the arithmetic on that, but it was long and never too steep, though there was no respite along the way.

Skyline trail is always a pretty ride, and it didn't disappoint. The woods, by the way, are full of sparrows, along with a few warblers and thrushes. It must be just about the end of migration for most of them.

The view west from Skyline Trail

All in all, a great way to spend the day getting a cup of java. 58.91 miles, 4543 feet climbing.

The map:


View Savoy Loop in a larger map