For the past seven years, Glen has organized the #cycling Farm Ride that brings cyclists of all skill levels to the Happy Valley to enjoy our bucolic landscape, fields, farms, tobacco sheds, rivers, and local hero restaurants. Cyclists come from all over New England, New Jersey, New York. Deerfield Ted tried to get in on the action with this couple from New York.
Cyclonaut from Astoria, NY blogged about last year’s Farm Ride: “At about the 22 mile mark I reached the first rest area in Historic Deerfield. I fed myself, and filled my water bladder, all the while drinking cups of sports drink for electrolytes. Here I spoke with Brian for the first time, a friendly and knowledgeable ride marshall from New Jersey.
The homes in this section of Deerfield are beautifully preserved historic sites featuring old family homes interspersed with houses containing museum exhibits as an example of how life was in a bygone age. Thoroughly enjoying the sites, sounds, and smells, of rural Massachusetts I rode further along the route looking forward to more of the same.”
Deerfield is one of the pit stops, and it is always a pleasure to see the reaction of people who have never known of or seen Deerfield. They slow up as they pedal down Old Main Street, heads swiveling, absolutely charmed by this hidden gem just off Rtes 5&10.
You don’t have to cover all 100 miles! Some cyclists take a break on day two and enjoy messing about in boats – kayaking, canoeing, rafting. There is plenty of that in this most rural part of the state.
The other big cycling event here is the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee (D2R2) – a number of rides of differing lengths and difficulty along the narrowest, oldest, twistiest, quietest, and most-scenic roads available, all to benefit The Land Trust to support its work of conserving the rural culture of western Mass by protecting its fields, woodlands, and villages.