At 5 a.m. on July 26, 27 riders readied themselves for the Petersham Double, a John Marino Competition event. They would climb 9,200 feet while riding in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The weather was excellent: 62 degrees at the start, rising to 84 degrees, but all day the riders reported that it felt warmer because of full sun.

The first 33-mile leg to Uxbridge is relatively flat, although the first climb up Pine Street in Dover broke up the pack a bit. The second 53-mile leg may be the toughest with 3,740 feet of climbing starting with the long uphill grind from Uxbridge to Wallum Lake. At this point, the lead group was down to a dozen or so as riders found their own pace. Small groups were forming that would stay together for much of the day.

Once the riders reached Clam Shack Hill, a five-mile climb, the water and snack stop at the top was a welcome sight. At this point, Melinda Lyon and a few others blew right by, intent on stopping as little as possible. Chris Block remarked, "hmm . . . they're not going to stop!"

The lunch stop is at Petersham Common, a lovely New England town green, complete with country store that serves a variety of soups and sandwiches. It was turning out to be a perfect day. Unlike last year where the leaders rode fast but enjoyed some coffee and delicacies along the way, the leaders this year gassed up and were gone. It was in Petersham that I first heard Dale Perzanoski say to Dan McCarthy "Do you want to try to break 11 hours?" The rest is history. You have to know Dan to understand. He does mountain bike races across Central America and stuff like that. While they left Petersham alone, Melinda and John Jurczynski joined them at the Paxton water stop. This group of four would stay together the rest of the day.

The first four rolled in at 3:47 p.m., jubilant at their accomplishment. Likewise as other riders finished you could see smiles on everyone's faces. This was truly a special group of riders. Steve Kaplan deserves special mention as the only person who has now done all four Petersham Doubles. My friend Bruce Cohen did his longest ride ever after having both hips replaced about nine months ago! Can B-M-B be in your future Bruce?

A big "Thank You" goes to Jason and Laurie who drove the other sag vehicle. Thanks also to Barry and Linda for the maps, and helping at the start/finish.

Congratulations to everyone who finished. See you next year!

More information and photos at Petersham website.

JMC Results