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Sunday
September 13 - Saturday, September 19, 2009
This September,
Bike
Friday teams up with Ciclismo
Classico to offer a week of splendid cycling in the Berkshires,
a tour designed and led by Gordon Harris of Bike New England .
Our tour begins in Williamstown
"The Village Beautiful", home of the Williamstown
Theatre Festival and Clark
Art Institute,
continuing for two nights in charming South Egremont, MA in the
southern Berkshires, and for our last two nights Lenox, MA , famous
for the Tanglewood
Music Festival . Our seven days of cycling
includes varying mileage and difficulty options throughout Berkshire
County as well as forays into neighboring Vermont,
New York
State
and Connecticut, with two cycling guides and full
van support.
An
invitation from Lauren Hefferon, owner of Ciclismo Classico, and Bike
Friday enthusiast:
One
gorgeous day while cycling near the tiny Southern Italian village
of
Morano Calabro, my friend Juliann Julie offered to
switch bikes with me so I could test ride her Bike Friday. I was
quickly impressed by its 'regular bike' feel and great handling. At
the end of the tour, she demonstrated how easy it was to pack it up
in a suitcase and get ready for her train ride to
Rome
the next day. A
year later I managed to prise it away from her and she upgraded to a
new model.
Over the next few months I started enthusiastically "hanging
out" on the Bike Friday website. I let my mind wander from link
to link reading the stories and getting to know the Bike Friday team
including Customer Evangelist Lynette
Chiang, who rode and blogged
about our Bike
Across Italy tour.
We've designed this tour with input from seasoned Bike Friday
owners, and believe it has all the things Friday folks look for in a
tour: a comfortably challenging route, great food,
accommodations and scenery, plenty of time to both explore and
socialize with like minds, and value for money. Join our little wheels
for all that and more on this special "Bike Friday in the
Berkshires tour". Even if you ride a conventional bike you'll
be warmly welcomed. -Lauren
Hefferon
Sunday,
Day 1: Natural
Bridge
and the
Deerfield
River
Distance:
20 / 55 miles
Riding
time: 2-6 hours
Highlights:
Visit a natural wonder and ride along beautiful river rapids in
Vermont
.
After
checking in for our first day at the
Williams Inn, in
Williamstown MA, we'll take
a short ride to Natural
Bridge State Park in nearby
North Adams
MA. Those
arriving early and who wish for a more challenging ride will continue
with a climb along the hairpin
turn on the Mohawk Trail, then descending to the Deerfield River and
ride along the Hoosac range into rural southern Vermont.
You'll ride past the eastern portal of
the 5-mile Hoosac Tunnel,
the longest train tunnel in the world when it was finished
in 1875. Enjoy the Williams
Inn's indoor pool and gym when you return, followed by a
group welcoming dinner at the inn.
Monday,
Day 2: Bennington
Vermont
loop
Distance:
21 / 45 / 53 miles
Riding
time: 2-6 hrs.
Highlights:
Visit an historic battlefield , old car museum, and ride through three
covered bridges!
Today's
ride takes us into Vermont
with a very gradual climb and outstanding views of the Taconic Mountain
Range. We descend
along the
Green Mountains
to charming Bennington with
stops at the Bennington
Fish Hatchery, Hemmings
Motor News old car museum and stop for an early picnic lunch
at the Bennington
Monument . We'll
ride through three covered bridges and a bit of New York
State
farm land with the option of an extra loop to visit to
the Bennington
Battlefield in
Hoosick,
NY. For a
shorter ride there's a wonderful descent to
North Pownal. The extra mileage option includes a
steady 6%, 4 mile climb and descent over
Petersburg
Pass
(elevation 1700 ft.). We
spend a second evening at the Williams
Inn
. For dinner tonight, Williamstown offers many wonderful
restaurants within easy walking distance.
Tuesday,
Day 3: Along the Taconics to Egremont.
Distance:
50 miles
Riding
time: 3-5 hours
Highlights:
Hancock
Shaker
Village
, scenic valleys
Today we'll leave our cars safely behind at the
Williams Inn and head south, crossing into neighboring New York
State for a dozen miles along the Taconic Mountains before
swinging back into Massachusetts. You'll want to spend a
couple of hours at the fascinating Hancock
Shaker Village , where we'll have a group lunch..
Soon we reach West
Stockbridge , known for its skilled artisans, and continue
along the edge of the mountains through tiny Alford, reaching our
destination, the Egremont Inn
in South
Egremont MA.
Wednesday,
Day 4:
Mount
Everett
Distance:
30/40/55 miles
Riding
time: 4-6 hours
Highlights:
Waterfall,
Mount
Everett
, Harlem Valley Rail Trail , Bartholomew's Cobble
For the climbers, there's an optional 5 mile
ascent along Mount Everett, the second
highest mountain in
Bash
Bish
Falls and Twin Lakes Massachusetts
. After reaching rural
Mount Washington, population 130 , you'll enjoy a great descent to Copake
,
New York, riding past remarkable Bash
Bish Falls. After lunch at Depot Deli in
Copake
Falls
, we'll ride a few miles on the Harlem
Valley Rail Trail and several miles through upstate farm
country before crossing the
Taconic Mountains
on our return to
South Egremont A longer route returns
through the Litchfield Hills of northwest Connecticut
. For those seeking an easy scenic ride, you can
choose a 30 mile loop to Twin Lakes Connecticut with a visit to
Bartholomew's Cobble and the state's oldest covered
bridge in Sheffield,
MA. We enjoy a group dinner tonight in the Egremont Inn's outstanding
restaurant.
Thursday, Day 5:
Umpachenee
Falls
and Lenox
Distance:
17/40/53 miles
Riding
time: 4-6 hours
Highlights:
Waterfalls, Norman Rockwell, Botanical Garden
Today
we'll take the back roads through Sheffield,
MA. as we begin our ride to
Umpacheenee
Falls and tiny Mill River MA. The longer loop takes
you to
Campbells
Falls
as well on the
Connecticut
state line, and the opportunity to visit the Buggy
Whips Antiques in Southfield
. We rejoin the shorter loop and ride past the
Guthrie
Center
(the church made famous in the movie Alice's
Restaurant) before cycling several miles along Housatonic
River
rapids on our way to Lenox. You'll have a tough choice of places
to visit: the Norman
Rockwell Museum, Chesterwood
the studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French, and Berkshire Botanical
Garden before we reach the Apple
Tree Inn, across the street from the Tanglewood
Music Festival and Kripalu
Yoga Center.
Friday, Day 6,
Around
Beartown
Mountain
Distance:
25/45 miles
Riding
time: 2-6 hours
Highlights:
Stockbridge,
Monterey
and the Gingerbread House
Today
we ride past Naumkaeg
and other guilded era mansions on Prospect Hill before reaching
popular Stockbridge. We continue through
Monument
Valley
and past Beartown
State Forest before stopping at the Monterey
General Store. After descending to Tyringham, home of the
Santarella Gingerbread House,
we ride through Lee
and Lenoxdale, with the last few miles on beautiful
Undermountain Road. A shorter loop rides out and
back along the Tyringham
Valley. We'll have a final group dinner
this evening at the Apple Tree Inn.
Saturday Day 7, To Williamstown and
Mount
Greylock
Distance:
32/38/54 miles .
Riding
time: 4-6 hours
Highlights:
Mount
Greylock, Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
In
the morning we check out of the Apple Tree Inn for our return to
Williamstown. After a stop for hot cider at Bartlett's
Orchard , we'll ride past Pittsfield
State Forest and Balance
Rock State Park before reaching Lanesborough. You'll have a
tantalizing choice when you reach Mount
Greylock , the highest mountain in
Massachusetts. The direct route to
Williamstown offers scenic views from the west, or take the Ashuwilticook
Rail Trail along
Cheshire
Lake
from the east. For a final challenge, enjoy the 12 mile
(average 6% grade) climb up the mountain, stopping for refreshments at Bascom
Lodge on the summit. There's an option for a steep descent
for a ride total of 38 miles, or a slower descent rejoining the ride
along the western edge of Greylock. We return to
the
Williams
Inn
for snacks and beverages as we say our farewells.
Services
provided by Ciclismo Classico:
Daily
group breakfast, three dinners and two lunches. (lunch suggestions noted
on cue sheet)
Van
luggage carried inn to inn
Van support
each day of tour
Two
cycling guides
Maps
and cue sheets for each day of tour.
Bicycle
rentals available, $100 for length of tour
$1395.00
per person, double occupancy. Add $500 single occupancy.
Getting
There:
Airports:
Albany NY (ALB)
is a one hour drive from
Williamstown
,
MA
Logan airport in
Boston
is a three hour drive from Williamstown
Train:
Amtrak
passes through
Pittsfield
,
MA
(1/2 hr. from Williamstown) from
Boston
as well as points west.
Bus:
Peter Pan
Bus Line goes to Williamstown from Boston
.
Please
inform Ciclismo Classico when you make your registration if you have
transportation requests
Berkshire
Restaurants:
Williamstown:
Freightyard
Restaurant & Pub , Hobson's
Choice
,Jae's
Inn , Mezze
Bistro & Bar
South
Egremont
: The
Old Mill , John
Andrews , Mom's
Country Cafe
Lenox
Prime , Church
St. Café ,
Frankie's Restaurante Italiano
Berkshire
Bike Shops:
The Spoke
Mountain
Goat Arcadian
Shop Berkshire
Bike and Board Plaines
Ordinary Cycles
Visit
Ciclismo Classico Site to join this tour
Tour
and site design by Gordon Harris of Bike New England

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