Day Two -- Worcester, MA to Windsor Locks, CT

We all were able to get a somewhat earlier start out of Worcester this morning, the better to get a short day's ride in before the heat became too unbearable. We were only partially successful, as it was 70 and quite humid before we had gone half a dozen miles, and it was well over 90 when we finished about 2:00.

The day started with a storied climb up "Dead Horse Hill" as we were leaving Worcester. The hill proved to be a challenge for the first automobiles and (rising to the challenge) locals soon organized car races up the hill. On a modern, lightweight bicycle, the hill was no worse than several on my daily commute to the office, but the stories made it seem special. Pictures were taken of a group of us at the bottom of the hill.

The ride followed beautiful country roads from Worcester to Sturbridge in Southern Massachusetts, and then from Sturbridge to Stafford Connecticut. The countryside was similar to that of yesterday's ride, but a little more open, with more country farms and ponds scattered along the way. A bunch of us stopped by New City Pond outside of Staffordville for a photo op that couldn't be passed up. Here are Debbie, Chris and me. We did think about jumping into the pond to cool off!

A few miles up the road we stopped at Millpond Country Store in Stafford, a quaint general store with a copious selection of handmade sandwiches available. It was a bit early for lunch, but we couldn't resist. We felt a little less out of place in the cool room in back than during our lunch yesterday, though we did share the space with a coffee clatch of locals that was just breaking up.

This first part of the ride involved a fair amount of up and down, but it was pleasant to have the fairly short climbs broken up with some fun descents. After Staffordville, the terrain leveled out, but the roads were more crowded and the countryside a little less rural. After a day with many miles of peaceful countryside, it's a bit of a let down to finish just outside the boundary of Bradley International Airport, but it hasn't been too noisy and we're enjoying being in comfortable air conditioned rooms during the hottest part of the day.

Here's today's route: 66.3 miles and 2100 feet of climbing.