UP AND OVER, TWICE

Well, after recovering from Sunday's 60-mile Tour De Heifer Challenge, I was inspired to have more fun on my cyclocross bike.  I am really enjoying riding this bike on dirt roads and woods trails, since I equipped it with a compact 50/34 crankset, an 11/34 cassette and tubular cyclocross tires (32C wide with 40psi).  Headed out at 6PM with a loose plan to get up to the Putney Mountain rigdeline.  Gained the ridge via Burnett Road, the Crocker sugar bush, Windmill Hill Class-4 road, and then up the washed-out remains of Holden Road.  Once to 5-Corners, I seemed to have the time, so I dropped down the Dodd Trail into Brookline.  This descent was mostly about going as fast as possible to keep ahead of the mosquitoes, which given the washouts involved a lot of running with my bike.  At the bottom, Grassy Brook Road was a pleasant 4 miles of smooth pavement before ascending back up via Putney Mountain Road.  Over the top, I wound my way back home just past 8PM, for a total of 20 miles and 2600 feet of climbing.  Maybe more fun than mountain biking!