Spreading the love of cycling: NHS teacher taking group of students on four-day, 125-mile bike trek

Brant Jones leads a contingent of kids on a bike trip that will take them 120 miles across western Massachusetts over a period of four days. Behind him is Ansel Turner, a junior at Northampton High School. STAFF PHOTO/ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Gus Frey leans against his bike before heading out on a group bike trip with fellow Northampton High School students that will take them 120 miles across western Massachusetts. STAFF PHOTO/ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

A group of Northampton High School students depart for a bike trip that will take them 120 miles across western Massachusetts. STAFF PHOTO/ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Henry Yoshea, a student at Northampton High School, rides his bike as part of a trip with 13 other students that will take them 120 miles across western Massachusetts. STAFF PHOTO/ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Molly Rowlett, front, and Ursa Rossman, juniors at Northampton High School, depart for a bike trip that will take them 120 miles across western Massachusetts. STAFF PHOTO/ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Sean MacKay, a junior at Northampton High School, prepares to leave with his fellow students on a bike trip that will take them 120 miles across western Massachusetts. STAFF PHOTO/ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Staff Writer

Published: 06-06-2025 2:46 PM

NORTHAMPTON — At a parent’s home by the Montview Conservation Area, Brant Jones gathers the group of 14 high school students who have assembled that morning before they embark on their planned four-day adventure.

“Is anybody nervous about anything?” asks Jones, a math teacher at Northampton High School. Seeing a few raised hands, he continues. “That’s a good sign. For those who didn’t raise their hands, that makes me more nervous.”

Accompanied by Jones and several other chaperones, the students will take a bike ride of about 125 miles over the course of four days. Their first stop will be the Mohawk Trail State Forest in Charlemont, before making their way through the Berkshires with stops in Adams and Lanesborough. They’ll finish in Tolland State Forest near Otis before beginning the trek back to Northampton for the conclusion of their tour.

Jones, an avid cyclist, began organizing the multiday trips with students four years ago, once students began returning to school after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I do tours with friends and family in the summertime,” Jones said. “It had always been a dream of mine to see if I could get this going with students at the high school.”

Students pack their own belongings carried in baskets attached to their bikes, with refreshments like tea, pesto and granola. The students come from all grades of the high school, from freshmen to seniors, some having already taken the trip once before, while others are newcomers.

“My parents have always been into biking,” said Gus Frey, a tenth grader who joined the bike trip this year. “My track season is over, and it’s the last few weeks of school. I heard about this trip last year from some seniors that did it, and they said it was an absolute blast, so I figured I might as well do it this year.”

Also taking the trip for her first time was Ella Daille, a junior at Northampton High School.

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