Falcon Ridge Folk Festival

Thursday, July 21, 2004, I woke up at 5:00 A.M., ate breakfast, dressed, and was on the road by 6:00 A.M.. Originally I had thought that the approximately 65 mile trip would take me between 4.5 and 5 hours. I knew five hours was a more reasonable estimate with the hills of the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, and the added weight and resistance of my new addition, the trailer. But, before I had gone even ten miles, I knew I was in for something different. (Brett, you forgot to say, "Mother was right."!)

All in all, it wasn't bad at all, after I settled down to the fact that the trip would take a good deal longer than I had thought. Eventually, I was having some fun, but the hills of several towns in a row really made me worried. I even thought at one point I would have to get off and push my bike and trailer up a hill. But after a break, I climbed back on and ground even the worst hill out.

Up those brutal hills I was carrying my tent, sleeping bag, frisbee, clothes, food, juice, and a blanket. If I had been smarter, I would have bought less food (espeically the liquids, of which I started with about 12 pounds in my trailer!) in Northampton and instead bought food in Hillsdale, NY, the town of my destination. Oh well. But I did make it! What turned out to be a 70-mile trip ended up taking 6.5 hours, and I still arrived before any of the festivities of the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (http://falconridgefolk.com) began.

The Festival was awesome! I played ultimate frisbee on Friday, listened to great music with great friends Thursday through Sunday, played games, enjoyed the weather (even the rain on Friday during which we played frisbee), and went for a bike ride. It was just a little 20-mile loop Saturday morning with a dude from a nearby tent who had his bike with him. He didn't ride there, but I saw a few others who had.

After everyone left Sunday night, as the festival came to a close, I trudged back up the Hill alone. i found a beckoning fire, and a welcoming couple who were also staying the night, and they were listening to the Red Sox play the Yankees. I stayed with them until the end of the game and felt absolutely at home with them (they fed me!) as I do with almost everyone at Falcon Ridge. It is an amazing place and experience. It is as close to a holy place as I have.

Monday morning I woke up and began helping take down all the stuff that makes year-round Long Hill Farm into "Falcon Ridge Folk Festival." I found out this year that they pay $5/hour in cash for help on Monday and Tuesday following the festival. I spent the morning rolling up what felt like miles of cheap orange snow-fence. They fed us lunch (and breakfast, and snacks, and later dinner, too!), then I went and helped tear down the Dance Stage. Things were moving so smoothly that we finished the dance floor (which is huge!) early and moved on to deconstructing the Main Stage. We didn't finish that until late Tuesday morning, at which point I decided to take my leave.

I left Falcon Ridge by 1:00 P.M. after fixing a flat tire while getting ready. Rain was impending and it had been raining lightly all morning. It stayed dry for a few miles, but it was a very wet trip home to Northampton. The return trip took almost as long as the trip out, and was actually more painful to my back, but that is due to factors other than the biking. I had to fix a flat tire only 20 miles from home, and I had been doing manual labor for a day and a half, including contorting myself under the Main Stage to get at the screws that hold it together. The elevation of Hillsdale, NY is about 500 feet higher than that of Northampton, so I had an easier ride coming back, though not easy.

The only other thing I have to add about the route is that I noticed that there were at least two "historical markers" along Route 23. I noticed them both on the way home, actually. They point out that General Knox travelled that route on his way to support George Washington. (During Stage 4 I saw road marked "Gen. Knox." I am not up on my Revolutionary War history, so I don't know much about Knox or his travels, but perhaps I'm following several of his travels.)

Pride in myself was foremost when I arrived home around 7:15 P.M. Tuesday. It was an awesome weekend, and I was glad I didn't have to get up for work in the morning.

Total miles there: 70     Total ride time there: 6.5 hours
           Total miles while there: 20
Total miles home: 70      Total ride time home: 6.25 hours

On to Stage 2: The Greenfield Triathlon

Back to bike_travels

Back to Brett Constantine