Route for Sept. 24 Tour De Greylock Bike Ride Finalized

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Economic Development Committee is in the final stages of planning the first annual Tour de Greylock bike ride, which will take cyclists through six communities navigating the base of Mount Greylock. 

The committee discussed Thursday the final 41-mile route that will take riders through Lanesborough, New Ashford, Williamstown, Adams, North Adams and Cheshire. The inaugural event, which has been in planning for several months, is slated to begin at 8 a.m. on Sept. 24, with the ride's start and end points at the Berkshire Mall. 

The group is also working on securing sponsorships and merchandise for the event. Committee Chair Barbara Davis-Hassan plans to write a cover letter inviting every business in Lanesborough to participate as a sponsor. 

"I think that would be wonderful; to say we would like to invite all of Lanesborough businesses to be sponsors of this first annual Tour De Greylock," she said. 

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission representative Laura Brennan said she will try to spread information about the event in Pittsfield. Recording secretary Patricia Hubbard is also trying to get people informed. 

"I think it's just about promoting, promoting, promoting, now," she said. "I'll send [information] out to all the bike shops so they can get it on their websites and I generated a list of all the bike clubs in the northeast." 

Committee member Thomas Voisin said he was concerned about the stretch of the ride from Adams to North Adams, particularly the section going through Curran Highway. The group agreed they must take precautions to ensure the safety of both cyclists and drivers. 

"I think that's probably a stretch that we need to have extra conversations with the police departments about," Brennan said. "And talk about what kinds of precautions we can take; can we put up extra signage along that stretch to warn cars? I agree it's definitely the most hectic stretch." 

In other business, the committee discussed its new business guidance booklet, which is almost complete. Brennan said she wants to get more info on the timeline for the town's new website before publishing it. 

"The key thing that is sort of putting this whole thing on hold is that the website is going to switch to a new platform," she said. "Every single link that we've been incorporated into this draft will be wrong." 

The committee discussed the possibility of having a home-based business-to-business event. The committee has coordinated several such events to bring exposure to local businesses, which Davis-Hassan said have been successful. 

"It was a small intimate group, but it was so amazing ... Everybody kind of did what they're supposed to do; network, do business, create," she said. 

The committee does not plan on holding another business-to-business event until after the Tour De Greylock bike ride.

BCC Sees $1M in Federal Funds for Trades Academy

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:15PM / Thursday, April 09, 2026

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal secured $995,000 to begin design and construction of the academy. The congressman had earlier attended the Norman Rockwell Museum business breakfast, which celebrated Laurie Norton Moffatt's 49 years leading the institution.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College was awarded nearly $1 million in federal funds to support a Trades Academy. 

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal visited the college to highlight the $995,000 he secured through congressionally directed spending. Executive Director of Workforce and Community Education Linda Clairmont said BCC can be a destination for adults who want to learn a skilled trade. 

"I want to join up with the amazing work that Taconic and McCann (vocational high schools) are doing to prepare people for these really specific skills, helping people become confident professionals with a direct path to high-wage, high-demand jobs," she explained. 

"And we're also addressing the labor shortage that exists in this county, around the state, and around the country, in the skilled trades." 

The federal funding will support a feasibility study of an existing vacant building on campus, as well as the evaluation and abatement of any hazardous materials at the location, because it was once a power plant. 

BCC will dip its toe into the skilled trades with its first HVAC training program, for which it received $1.2 million from the state in support. The $995,000 in federal funds will go toward creating the academy in a building located on the main campus, and the HVAC heat pump training program will be funded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. 

The $1 million in federal monies will get the college to construction documents, maybe fund some construction, and help identify the necessary equipment and other learning space needs for a skilled trade, Clairmont reported. 

The funding is part of more than $14 million in congressionally directed spending secured by the congressman to support economic development, workforce training, and community infrastructure across the Berkshires.

Neal said there are about 6.5 million jobs in the United States that go unanswered every day.