Ahhh... family

Jun 18 - Wells State Park, Sturbridge MA to Ludlow MA:  34 miles

This was a hilly day. It started with the ascent out of Wells State Park, which we tried to avoid by taking a bike trail cutover to an adjacent road which completely did not work out, but added 2.2 miles of walking with bikes on up and down rocky trails, and 40 minutes of time. PLUS THE MOSQUITOES rivalled anything I've seen in Alaska. ARGH.

But really, it was mostly Old Warren Road. I'm sure the local cyclists know what I'm talking about.  Its not that far from our destination, so I was going in mostly on empty, anxious to see our Ludlow relatives, and anticipating being plied with food. I like hills, but after the 3rd curve yielding yet MORE uphill, I was ready for it to be over.  

Good thing, I was not wrong about the food!! Lunch with my aunt and uncle, dinner + ice cream with my cousins ...  We are well fueled for tomorrow.

I moved even more gear to the back. A definite error!!  Tomorrow I'll be moving some back up front and then we may be donating some at our next stop :-).

Google maps cycling routes have been bang on - recommending the same routes as I get from the printed bike maps, and matching any data I've collected from Strava heat maps.  I feel very comfortable letting it recommend the best route, then we write down turn-by-turns for the day, and only turn on a smartphone where the signage is not clear.