Leaf peeping in the Bountiful Berkshires: Cycling, Swimming and Sampling the Local Harvest

Today was a good day -- a great day, in fact. One that I will conjure up during cold winter nights hoping that the sheer memory of it will warm me.

We leaf peeped the Southern Berkshires in Western Massachusetts atop our bikes, but left enough time for an icy swim in sweaty bike clothes, a hot lunch in downtown Great Barrington, and a visit to our favorite local farm stand and apple orchard. We took in the beauty of the area and brought home some of its wonderful bounty.

It was the perfect day to be outside, a sunny 80 degrees with a light breeze. The cloudless sky was a vibrant periwinkle blue. And though the leaves were starting to change color and find themselves under someone’s tires or a rake, there was still plenty of shade.  Also, it was hot enough for a refreshing river dip -- a treat in early October.  

We parked at the VFW in New Marlborough. The plan was to pedal a scenic 36-mile, mostly rolling loop that would take us through Sheffield and Ashley Falls, toward Lakeville, Connecticut (past the Twin Lakes) and back through Canaan and Southfield.

Autumn in the Air

Cycling this route in early autumn, we were treated to the smoky smell of fallen leaves, the site of undulating fields containing neat rows of brown spindly corn stalks and a bright white, slanting sun that warmed our backs and tanned our faces.

This ride was pretty mellow with no big climbs -- leaving us time and energy for other fun stuff. Southwestern Massachusetts has quiet, low traffic roads with amazing distant views of the pretty Berkshire Hills and many family farms.

During the trip, we pedaled by several groups of grazing cows, horses and goats enjoying this amazingly warm, sunny afternoon.

Along the way, we passed over the Farmington River, which looked muddy and high.

It seems Tropical Storm Irene had damaged several roadways along this river, marked by the many bright orange traffic cones and large cement blocks placed where lanes were partially washed out.

On the shores of the Farmington and Konkapot Rivers, we spotted piles of white sand and numerous downed trees also a result of the storm.

These scenes did not dampen our soaring, fresh-air induced spirits but only added some texture to the already beautiful scenery that is natural to this area. We rode at a leisurely pace and stopped for a quick snack and photo op just past Ashley
Falls center.

At the halfway point near the pretty and clear Twin Lakes in Connecticut, we picked up the pace, hustling back to the car with growling stomachs and minds on food.

Having vacationed in this area for the past 10 years, we have our favorite spots.  After the ride we jumped into one of them, the icy Konkapot River -- while still in our bike clothes.

It was a great way to get the sweat off before eating and farm stand hopping.   The Southfield Store (with its pulled pork sandwich and homemade chili) was our original lunch destination, but they stopped serving at 2:30, so we grabbed chips, an iced tea and drove to Great Barrington.

Our aim was Baba Louie's for one of their daily pasta specials and thin sour dough pizza, but they closed at 3 p.m.

Just next door is another favorite, Siam Square, where we finally sat down for some delicious Thai cuisine.

I quickly downed two iced Thai teas served with sweet cream and hungrily ate a noodle dish made with black soy sauce. Tom quietly and quickly gobbled up his seafood Pad Thai dish.

Farm Fresh

Walking through downtown Great Barrington, we marveled at the crowds strolling and shopping and gladly headed out of town toward several favorite farm
stands.

First stop was Boardman’s Farm Stand, which has an amazing view of the Berkshire Hills looking west. There we bought pumpkins, late season tomatoes, corn and a large butternut squash. The owner saw that I was curious about the dark green, patty cake squash and kindly gave me one with directions for an easy recipe. 

Next up was the TerMar Triangle Farm stand on Route 183, directly across from the Sandisfield Historical Society. This small, self-service stand, our absolute favorite in the area, has all kinds of local fruits, vegetables, cranberries, homemade relishes and jams -- I purchased two blueberry and peach/nectarine. 

Our last stop was Riiska Brook Apple Orchard, also in Sandisfield.

If you enjoy apple picking, I highly recommend this place. It is on a quiet back road, not overrun by hoards of kids or tourists and has a large, peaceful orchard with a wide variety of eating and baking apples. You can even bring your dog.

At Riiska we discovered the Spencer -- a firm, hard biting, sweet tasting apple that stays a long while in the refrigerator.

Inside their Apple Shack we purchased a bag of Macouns, took a few photos and noticed several smiling workers shining apples with gloved hands. They explained to us that shiny produce sells quicker. 

We loaded the bag of shiny maroon red apples into our dusty car, along with the rest of our precious Berkshire bounty and headed home under the setting autumn sun.