Coming up this Saturday, June 4:

http://www.sevenhillswheelmen.org/centuries.htm

Have you done the King's Tour of the Quabbin in previous years?
Any comments would be of interest, e.g. difficulty of the course,
clarity of route markings, your overall experience, etc. Thanks!

I do it every year! Or at least every year since 2000, when I first moved to Massachusetts.

The amount of climbing has always been disputed, but it's somewhere around 6,000 feet. The first 30-some miles to the town of Ware are fairly easy; just gently rolling stuff, with the exception of the climb through Barre. Immediately after Ware you start climbing Mt. Quabbin. The markings through Quabbin State Park can be a bit confusing as there are a couple scenic detours they send you on. They can only use chalk on the roads in the park because it's a park.

The trip through Quabbin Park is (IMHO) the prettiest part of the route. After that -- if you're on the 100 mile route -- you start a 20 mile stretch on Rt. 202, a substantial amount of which is uphill. After that, you start the climb into Petersham. The Petersham climb is where a lot of people "crack" -- i.e., it's the fourth big climb in a row.

After you're past Petersham, it's rolling onto Barre. And then it's a lot of false-flat uphill and real uphill back to Rutland from there.

There isn't a whole lot of support on the route; Seven Hills Wheelmen is a small club. There's a rest-stop at around mile 20, and there's another official one in Petersham. There's a store in Belchertown (mile 50, just as you start Rt. 202), and another store on Rt. 202 itself, and in Barre (mile 10 and mile 90).

It's certainly not "easy", but if you pace yourself on the early climbs, you should be fine.

The "inside word" is that the double metric route (i.e., 125 miles) is actually easier then the 100 route. If you look at the elevation profiles on the 7 Hills Wheelmen site, you can see where that theory comes from. I've done both; I'd say they're about the same in terms of difficulty. The decision point is mile 50 (Belchertown).

Thanks for the helpful comments, kfurrow!

Do you happen to know anything about the metric century ride?
Not sure if I want to do a full century this early in the season...

I do it every year! Or at least every year since 2000, when I first moved to Massachusetts.

The amount of climbing has always been disputed, but it's somewhere around 6,000 feet. The first 30-some miles to the town of Ware are fairly easy; just gently rolling stuff, with the exception of the climb through Barre. Immediately after Ware you start climbing Mt. Quabbin. The markings through Quabbin State Park can be a bit confusing as there are a couple scenic detours they send you on. They can only use chalk on the roads in the park because it's a park.

The trip through Quabbin Park is (IMHO) the prettiest part of the route. After that -- if you're on the 100 mile route -- you start a 20 mile stretch on Rt. 202, a substantial amount of which is uphill. After that, you start the climb into Petersham. The Petersham climb is where a lot of people "crack" -- i.e., it's the fourth big climb in a row.

After you're past Petersham, it's rolling onto Barre. And then it's a lot of false-flat uphill and real uphill back to Rutland from there.

There isn't a whole lot of support on the route; Seven Hills Wheelmen is a small club. There's a rest-stop at around mile 20, and there's another official one in Petersham. There's a store in Belchertown (mile 50, just as you start Rt. 202), and another store on Rt. 202 itself, and in Barre (mile 10 and mile 90).

It's certainly not "easy", but if you pace yourself on the early climbs, you should be fine.

The "inside word" is that the double metric route (i.e., 125 miles) is actually easier then the 100 route. If you look at the elevation profiles on the 7 Hills Wheelmen site, you can see where that theory comes from. I've done both; I'd say they're about the same in terms of difficulty. The decision point is mile 50 (Belchertown).

Thanks for the helpful comments, kfurrow!

Do you happen to know anything about the metric century ride?
Not sure if I want to do a full century this early in the season...

I've done the metric route once or twice. It's the same for the first 30 miles to the town of Ware. My recollection is that it's back-end loaded; i.e., the last 30 miles are tougher then the first 30. It's a nice route though - just quiet roads, rolling hills, couple bigger hills... Nothing really sticks out as being "overly memorable" about it.

I've done the metric route once or twice. It's the same for the first 30 miles to the town of Ware. My recollection is that it's back-end loaded; i.e., the last 30 miles are tougher then the first 30. It's a nice route though - just quiet roads, rolling hills, couple bigger hills... Nothing really sticks out as being "overly memorable" about it.

Great - I may give this one a shot. Thanks again!