D2R2 2012

Thunder and lightning is not something you want to awake to before embarking on a 7 hour climb through the foothills of the Green Mountains, right? Especially considering 60% of the roads are packed dirt. Yet, last Saturday turned out to be a beautiful sunny day in Deerfield, MA. I guess it just rained everywhere else. That being said, I'll fill in the brief details from this year's suffer-fest, D2R2.

Brad and I met up around 9:30 am at the registration tent before departing on my second, and his first, round of D2R2. Last year I cautiously signed up for the 100k and decided to do the same this year. There was no possible way I wanted more climbing after 8,000 feet. The balance of the climbing on the 100k also favors the first half of the course so after lunch the hills don't seem that bad in comparison. For me, riding is more about the experience rather than the distance, so 100k was plenty. I got the feeling Brad felt the same way.

The dreaded Patten Hill climb proved to be equally challenging this year. Perhaps this was augmented by the absence of the infamous bagpiper. So instead of feeling like Braveheart, I felt more like faintheart as I silently huffed and puffed up to the first water stop. Everything after that just seems like a blur of hills, laughs, and food. Brad and I met up with another rider going solo after his buddy bailed out near the start. We formed a great trio and generated a highly positive group dynamic. We didn't miss a single turn and managed to even cross the finish line smiles.

Lunch was predictably awesome thanks to the efforts of the many volunteers and sponsors, too numerous and too kind to list here. Overall, it was a great experience. It's funny, I never seem to have the right words to describe how incredibly punishing and beautiful this ride is. I guess the best thing to do would be to let the pictures speak for me: