It was another fantastic SMR, in this author's humble opinion.  The turnout for the 10AM start was a little thinner than I had hoped, but Shawn Lakota and Madelyn, the Cyborg, Nage were excellent company.  It was all business, however, as we headed out past NHS to Nonotuck and Spring Streets to Leeds.  There, we were treated to a large, majestic bald eagle soaring over the post office.  This sight seemingly gave us all inspiration to spread our own wings and soar over the hilly terrain to come.  

We went up River Rd. to Haydenville, then crossed Rte 9 and took Mountain St. up to Webber.  Madelyn dropped Shawn and I on the small hill by the Upper Northampton Reservoir,  but she waited patiently for us at the top.  That scenario was played on frequent repeat throughout the day.  The pace was solid all day, and we made it to Conway in no time flat.  We then went up Shelbourne Falls Rd and turned left on Wilder Hill Rd.  That entire road, including Baptist Corner Rd (which Wilder Hill Rd becomes) was beautiful, but a bit of an uphill grind.  I had planned to stop in Ashfield, but the village was mobbed with people attending the Ashfield Fall Festival- they certainly had perfect autumnal weather for it!  

We made use of a porta-potty there, and then continued, crossing Rte 112 onto Hawley Rd.  Then, up Bear Swamp Rd, which is lovely, and eventually to Spruce Corner Rd.  That road is a beautiful descent in this direction, but a lot of it had been recently chip-sealed and rolled, so not too bad.  

We then went a short way up Rte 9 in Goshen toward home, and turned onto Sears Rd., to try to minimize Rte 9 exposure.  That one might be new to me, and has 8/10ths of a mile of decent gravel.  Then, East St. in Goshen to Old Goshen Rd (also gravel), and Village Hill Rd to South St.  

So, it was essentially a metric century with 4,000 feet of elevation in just under four hours.  Could be one of the last good road rides for the season!