I bought my first road bike in 2017 from New England Bike in Southwick – a sweet deal on a Cannonade Synapse Tiagra. It’s wild that back then an end-of-season sale on a legitimate bike only cost $1050. Times have definitely changed, and that wasn’t even that long ago!
Since then, I’ve put somewhere around 20,000 miles on the bike, and it’s been the main vehicle that made cycling a focal point of my life. I’ve run through many chains and cassettes and after a couple years I was breaking spokes on the cheap stock wheels so often that I grabbed a used wheelset on Facebook Marketplace for a couple hundred bucks. I designed a custom Hollow Knight stem cap to remind me in the moment that long climbs are hard but achievable. Like many other people, I’ve experimented and found my preference for tires, stem, and bar tape – keeping in mind the balance between fashion and function.
This past summer the bike was feeling a bit sluggish and uninspiring for the first time. I didn’t know if it was me just leaning a bit more towards gravel or a new job taking up mental space. After taking the bike out on a ride one day I realized I wasn’t having fun riding it because it just wasn’t working very well; nothing was as smooth as it once was and after 20,000 miles the groupset was hurting a bit. To make matters worse, I was definitely comparing the mixed 10-speed Tiagra 4700 group with mechanical disc brakes to the GRX600/800 mix on my gravel bike.
With the arrival of new mechanical shifting 12-speed 105 R7100, 11-speed 105 R7000 was suddenly on a fire sale, so I picked up a complete group online at a great price to build myself a new bike. This is already dragging a bit, so long story short: the build wasn’t as simple as I was anticipating with weird early disc brake mounting design not matching what ended up becoming standard, and I was working a ton and didn’t have much spare time on my hands. I just wanted to ride my damn bike so in the end I called in New England bike to help finish the build, and they crushed it.
Today I finally got this stunning machine out on a short ride, and it felt like a brand new bike. It’s not the lightest bike in the world, or the most aerodynamic, or the most compliant… but this is the frame that got me so invested in bikes originally and I’m so happy that it’s living a second life. I’m sure someday I’ll get a new fancy road bike, but I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of the old C’dale.
Today’s ride was nothing huge to write home about; some junk miles through West Springfield and a small detour added a few extra was pretty classic. My route took a turn (literally) when I was suddenly on an absolutely stunning road I had never been on before in Agawam.
I wound around to familiar roads in Westfield, and a kind citizen in a huge truck shouted along words of encouragement, “Get out of the way, fucking retard!” I don’t miss living out this way.
I took the bike path through downtown Westfield, which is incredible now that it’s finished. I didn’t take any pictures of the rail trail itself, but the scenery along the path on both sides of downtown is beautiful. I’m really impressed with how nice everything turned out. Hoping Springfield picks up their act soon. Biggest sin on the day was not stopping at Circuit for coffee, but I was a bit short on time.
With not as much time at my disposal as I would’ve liked, I decided to change up my route slightly. Heading north on Montgomery Road, I ended up bearing right toward Southampton and my eventual destination on Holyoke rather than following the original extended route towards Montgomery. Balance in all things, adult responsibilities, etc.
My new route had me climb Russellville Road, which I haven’t been on in a couple years now. This nostalgic hill was the first “real” climb I ever did on a bike, about a half mile long with the steepest quarter mile in the middle at over 9%. I remember thinking I was going to actually die. I’m pretty out of shape at the moment, but at least I’m not back literally where I started – or maybe I’m just more used to suffering.
This entire section of the ride was idyllic with great views on quiet roads. It’s always nice when a spontaneous reroute ends well. I stopped to take a photo of some cows, who kindly got up to say hi, even though I told them they could keep relaxing.
I soaked in the Mt. Tom views as I sped through Southampton center on my way west. I’m happy my reroute kept me off major roads, which is tricky to do in this area. So often you need to get on 10, 202, East Mountain Road, or something equally uncomfortable to get from A to B.
The day’s persistence paid off, and with some time to spare I was able to take a minor detour to climb Easthampton’s Mountain Road, a secluded narrow dirt road that I came across accidentally a few years ago. It’s never the most efficient way to get to your destination by car, which means there’s almost no circumstance where somebody would drive on it. Just under a mile long at a constant 7-9%, the climb is hard enough to get a good workout in but not so punishing that it keeps you from enjoying the scenery. I always make sure to route this into any ride I can. The bike pics from above showing off the new hardware were taken here.
After a fast and fun descent down Southampton Road, I got to my destination to enjoy some birthday cake and a couple beers. Perfect day on the bike. I’m excited to run this groupset into the ground over the next few years.