Wednesday, 1 May 2024, Wachusett Reservoir and MCRT
Ride Leader: Tom Allen
33 miles, 11:00 am start from Sterling, MA
Riders (8): Tom, Frank Calabrese, Frank Scibilia, Gerry Sheetoo, Susan Broome, Susan Sabin, and first-timers Christine & Shawn Corr.
Present at start: Elizabeth Wicks.
We gathered at Rota Spring Ice Cream parking lot at 11:00 am, before any customers appeared, and had an orderly start that soon became less orderly. The initial part of the ride was an uphill that some riders were ready to attack and others not quite seasonally there yet. The result was a fracturing of our group with a couple of riders setting their own pace while the leader stayed behind to make sure folks did not become lost.
We did catch up with the breakaway riders (Elizabeth and Frank C.) and managed to keep together for a few more miles (minus one rider who had her own route on the GPS rather than mine). We then rendezvoused with the lone rider at about the time that Elizabeth and Frank decided to set their own pace (based on Elizabeth's local knowledge). We never saw Frank again. [Perhaps he would supply his own ride report. We did see Elizabeth a bit later on, but by then she was on her own mission and did not rejoin.]
The challenge of the ride was the hills, not the unpaved rail trail paths. All who stayed with the group agreed that the ride was worth the effort.
At Clinton we saw the Train Tunnel mouth, and I described how the tracks would have gone over our heads on a trestle and crossed to the other side of the Nashua River. This railroad routing was necessitated by the construction of the Wachusett dam. See picture (Wikipedia) below to see a train crossing the gap and construction of the dam in the background. We saw the footings for the viaduct structure as we passed by the dam.
Six of us enjoyed a late afternoon lunch at the very accommodating Meadowbrook Orchards.
Thanks to Frank Scibilia for sweeping and taking care of the ride's only flat (his own).
Report by Tom Allen.
