My own D2R2 - climbing, more climbing and... swimming

It's the gravel race season! Trans Iowa is already over. Dirty Kanza starts this Saturday. But if you're looking for something more local, you will have to wait until August for Deerfield Dirt Road Randonnee, better known as D2R2 that happens around Deerfield, MA.
 

After riding the course of Kearsarge Classic two years ago, I said that "D2R2 will be next". The only problem is that I don't race and I really didn't want to wait until August. Which is why I decided to ride the course of 2017 D2R2 100k event on this year's Memorial Day.

It all started early at 5:30AM when I left my house and drove for almost 2hrs to eventually reach Greenfield, MA. It was raining, so I expected all roads to be wet most of the day, but at least it wasn't supposed to rain later on (and it didn't). Since the sun didn't break through clouds until late afternoon it was warm but cloudy - a perfect day for bike riding. If only it wasn't so humid...

The first problem I encountered right in the downtown Greenfield was where to park for the day. Most parking lots have a 4-hour limit and the same applies to on-street parking meters. Fortunately, I was there on Memorial Day and since all meters are free on holidays and Sundays, my problem was solved.

The first miles were a bit boring and fun didn't start until I reached Green River Rd around mile 7 (11km mark). The next 8 miles (13km) passed quickly since I was rolling on a wide, unpaved "highway". The Green River Rd runs along Green River under a full canopy of trees and is certainly a very nice place for a bike ride. I imagine it must look even better in the peak of fall foliage season. But at the same time, it's flat. It so easy that even your aunt could do it. On a Hubway bike. Wearing flip-flops.

These were just the first miles and I still hoped that the rest of the course would be a bit more... adventurous. Soon, road conditions changed and once I got to the Vermont border I entered a forest road (Abijah Prince Rd) that quickly turned into a rough doubletrack.

Finally, I reached the famous Green River Covered Bridge to continue further into Vermont.

Next I climbed Deer Park Rd, making my way up slowly its 11% grade. There was very little car traffic on the road and maybe that's why a large, black bear decided it was a good moment to cross the road about 70ft (20m) in front of me. Hoping that he's not going to hang out at the edge of the road and wait for me, I proceeded slowly,... singing. I guess here is where all those ultra-noisy rear hubs come handy. You simply notify all wild animals that you're coming!

It was close to 11am but still very foggy and humid. Fortunately, the next part was a steep downhill along Jacksonville Stage Rd so I could cool off a bit.

That rest was much needed, as the next part was a mad climb on 18% grade Pennel Hill Rd. I was happy I built my bike with a super low gearing of 26T/32T. Soon, I was back in Massachusetts and since after every tough climb comes a rewarding downhill, I think I broke a sound barrier on Ed Clark Rd.

So far my route followed D2R2 2017 100k and 115k routes pretty much exactly, but once I got to Adamsville I made some changes. First, I wanted to visit Shelburne Falls on my way, which was omitted along the original D2R2 route. I also felt like D2R2 ran on too many paved roads for my taste, so I wanted to include more offroad riding.

For that purpose, I decided to go across Catamount State Forest, which seemed like a great unpaved shortcut to Shelburne Falls... and what turned out to be a catastrophic mistake.

The beginning of the trail was rocky and slippery from all the wet leaves but it actually turned out to be ride-able later on. I was slowly moving forward and thought that I was going to make it to Shelburne Falls pretty soon.

But then I found out that my trail was flooded. It looked too deep to ride through it so I had to do a fair amount of bushwalking (like literally walking through bushes) but I made it across with dry feet.

Then it only got worse. A bit further down the road, trail was flooded again and resembled a small lake. I didn't see any way to get around it so I had to take my shoes off and try to walk through it.

That didn't go well. Water was so deep that not wanting to end up waist-down in it, I had to bail out. I found a narrow ledge along this "lake" that I could use to get to the other side.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. The last flooded section didn't look that deep so I decided to ride through it. Big mistake. I got stuck in the huge puddle of mud and spent the next half an hour trying to empty mud out of my shoes and clean up at least a little. I guess that was the adventure I asked for.
All this means that if you get an idea to ride your bike there - just slap yourself in the face and find something better to do. Seriously.

The good thing was that the rest of this road was just smooth sailing, if you can describe a very rocky mountain-bike-only trail this way.

I got to Shelburne Falls hungry and wet so I stopped at Hearty Eats (highly recommended!) for lunch. It must've been the food that kept me going since the next miles all the way to Deerfield passed pretty quickly. I know that I cheated a little bit skipping climbing on Patten Rd, which is a part of the original D2R2 course (I chose to visit Shelburne Falls instead) but honestly, traversing Catamount State Forest was much more challenging than that.

In Deerfield, the sun was out, sky turned blue and I quickly realized how lucky I was not having to ride the full 100km in scorching sun. I'll take a cloudy day anytime!

I didn't stop in Deerfield but the historical center looks interesting and cute. Probably worth another, separate visit.

Overall, I found D2R2 route a bit challenging but not due its technical difficulty (there is none), but its length and amount of climbing. I would probably design the route differently, but then you would likely need to wear fishing waders on your bike.

Best D2R2 100km time: about 3hrs 30min.

My time: 8hrs (6hrs riding, 1.5hrs "swimming", 30min lunch).