Bonsai Run - September 28, 2016

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RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 28 September 2016, Doug's Fabulous Bonsai Ride

Ride Leaders:  Doug Hobkirk & Jack Donohue

40 & 34 miles from Nashoba Valley Ski Area Westford, MA

Riders - 40 mi (10): Doug, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dave Balaban, Gene Ho, Julie Dodd, Kaz Zelny, Neil Martin, Tim Wilson, Veronica Vedensky, and Wing Chow.

Riders - 34 mi (11):  Jack, Chuck McWilliams, Don Buchholtz, Gardner (Sandy) Gray, Jack Mroczkowski, Janet Miller, Jeff Smith, Martha Soper, Ray Komow, Tom Allen, and Tom Lucas.

 

The ride was excellent - we rode as a group and we had virtually no arrows.  The heart of the ride (miles 9-27) was almost completely devoid of traffic (excluding 800 yards on Rte 40 and a half mile on Rte  113) - maybe 5-8 cars passed us.  FEW cars, but LOTS of other cyclists!

We passed the short riders at mile 3 (shift cable issue), then again on Roller-Coaster Road at mile 12 (flat tire) - they had taken a shortcut to get ahead of us.  And then we ran into them again at Dunkin Donuts.  Whew!  Half the long riders dawdled in Dunkin Donuts, while five stalwart riders waited at the intersection (I could never be as patient as they were), so I suggested they join the short group.  After what seemed like two to three hours at DD, we left and continued on the ride.  The rest and food amped everyone up - lots of chat - but we humped the final thirteen miles, passing the short riders at mile 35.  That was a lot more interaction between our two groups than I would have thought possible. 

The temperature dropped just before we arrived at Bonsai West, so we at inside one of the barns.  Good food, cider, and apples (thank you, Kathy!).  The convivial atmosphere inside a primitive shelter was very pleasing.  Then I got to spend some time with Michael Levin, Mister Bonsai West, capping a superb day for me.

The "Rally Ride" arrows (marking the route from about mile 2 to mile 29) were reassuring (I always use them on the sweeping curves on Keyes Road).  Weather report said there was not much chance we could avoid getting wet, but we and the roads stayed dry.  Everyone, including me, avoided mishaps.  I was tired!  This was my first long ride since my accident in June.

Thanks to Gene Ho for sweeping and to all the hardy souls who ventured out and made the ride such a success. 

Report by Doug Hobkirk.

Having no prior knowledge of the route, I was an excellent choice to lead the short ride, but, armed with my RideWithGps app, I was sure I could do it.  Weather report was discouraging and I thought I might be off the hook for leading, but I woke to an email from Helen saying the ride was on.  This turned out to be an excellent decision, since, while we had a bit of moisture for most of the ride, there was no serious rain.

I had some insider information from Ken Hablow that the route included a dirt path.  This conjured up images of knarly single track and I am too old for a faceplant, so I modified the route to avoid the dirt.  Truth in advertising, it was no longer a 34 mile ride, merely 33.5 miles, but I took the liberty of rounding up.

Very early in the ride Tom L. broke his rear derailleur cable.  He managed to move the stop screw so the chain was two up from the smallest gear, still a pretty hefty gear (especially facing the ups and downs of Lost Lake Road).  However, he soldiered on with his two speed and managed to make it over the hills - quite impressive.

The group mostly stayed together, arrow services not required for the most part.  At one point I received a call from sweep Tom A., telling me that Janet had a flat tire, but they had it under control.  So we whiled away the wait time with an impromptu photo shoot.  While we were waiting, the long riders came by.  Doug was puzzled as to how we got ahead of them and I fessed up to my route deviation.  After Janet and Tom showed up, we were off again.

Things were going swimmingly when disaster struck -- the phone I was using for navigation unilaterally decided to reboot itself.  Fortunately, there were others in the group that were GPS-enabled.  I was later able to resuscitate the app and to my delight found it still had the route.

I hadn't worked out a rest stop, and regrouping wasn't needed, so we waited 'til Dunkin Donuts in Westford, where we had another photo op (this time with Tom and Janet).  Some of us used the opportunity for a feeding. And, once again, we mingled with the long riders who showed up shortly after we arrived.

Then back on the bikes for the finish of a lovely ride.  Thanks to Tom Allen for sweeping and flat repair assistance.  Thanks also to Doug for planning the ride and arranging for lunch at Bonsai West.

Report by Jack Donohue

At the Start

Waiting for the flat repair

Short ride riders in front of Dunkin' Donuts

Around Boston - September 21, 2016

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 21 September 2016, Around Boston
Ride Leaders:  Tom Allen & Fred Newton
41 & 32 miles from Larz Anderson Park, Brookline, MA

Riders - 41 mi (9): Tom, Bob Apsler, Dave Balaban, Ellen Gugel, Gene Ho, Greg Stathis, Selig Saltzman, Steve Bader, and Wing Chow.
Riders - 32 mi (10):  Fred, Chuck McWilliams, David Kobes, Dmitry Gorenburg, Gary Smiley, James Hsia, Janet Miller, Jeff Smith, Romaine Randall, Steve Bogue, and first-timer Kayo deOliveira.

As Fred notes below, it was an ideal September riding day with the last day of summer bringing a strong surge of summer weather with it.  The two groups stayed together for the first half dozen miles as we climbed the gradual slope of Bellevue Hill and schussed down Enneking and Turtle Pond Parkways.  Saying goodbye to the 32 milers at Readville, we started up the hill to Blue Hill and made a dehydration/rehydration stop at Houghton's Pond recreation area.

We were treated with lovely riding and exhilarating downhills on Chickatawbut and Wompatuck Roads.  Meandering through Quincy and Milton brought us to suburbia where we connected to the Neponset River Trail.  As the trail ended in Dorchester, we dealt with some more urban conditions getting to the Harbor Walk, around UMass Boston and the Kennedy Library, and on into South Boston.

The South Boston "Innovation District" was a riding mess.  I apologize to my (and Fred's) riders for the torn up condition of the roads and the resulting traffic.  We did work our way to the harbor path by the Moakley Courthouse and over the Seaport Boulevard bridge into downtown Boston.  Crossing into Charlestown via the Charles River Dam locks (See Fred's description below), we crossed under the Zakim Bridge and on over to the Paul Dudley White bike path.

Our group was surprised to find the we were nearly caught up with the short riders at the restaurant where a subset of us joined them for a pleasant lunch. (Others rode directly back to the the start or other destinations to keep schedules.)

Thanks to Greg Stathis for serving as sweep for the 41 mile route.

Ride Report by Tom Allen.

The shorter ride was a delight, with a perfect day and temperature of 73 at the start, rising to 84 - 86 for most of the ride, and spiking to 90 a couple of times.  We were cooled by a nice breeze once we hit the harbor and the Charles River.  Out of the 32 mile total distance, there were eleven miles of bike paths, free of vehicular traffic, including the Neponset Bikeway, Harbor Walk, and the Emerald Necklace paths.  The road traffic was fairly light outside of downtown Boston, but painted bike lanes in Boston helped keep us safe.

Thanks to Janet for suggesting, and convincing Tom, to omit the Washington Street bridge in favor of crossing the locks via Beverly Street, where we walked our bikes and enjoyed seeing the locks close up.  Also, thanks to Gary for pointing out the Charlestown Bells which most, if not all, of us enjoyed playing upon entering Charlestown.

Four of our group had a very tasty lunch at Audubon Boston and we were joined by four of Tom’s long group, who arrived about ten minutes after we did.  I recommend the veggie burger!

Thanks to Steve Bogue for sweeping the 32 mile route.

Ride Report by Fred Newton.

Seacoast Ride - North Shore - September 14, 2016

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 14 September 2016, Seacoast Ride - North Shore
Ride Leader:  Gardner (Sandy) Gray
30 miles from Nahant Beach, Nahant, MA

Riders (12): Gardner, David Wean, Don Buchholtz, Everett Briggs, John Roberts, Scott Bernstein, Selig Saltzman, Steve Bader, Stuart Kaufman, Tom Allen, Wing Chow, and first-timer Ray Komow.

After a shaky start, we were all able to get together for a fabulous ride along the coast, through Nahant, Swampscott, and Marblehead, and featuring spectacular views of Boston. Most of the riders had not visited many of the sites, while those who were familiar with the area suggested adding extra loops that contributed to what some called, a WW top 10 route.

After the ride several of us enjoyed an excellent seafood lunch at the Tides Restaurant overlooking Nahant Beach.

Ride report by Gardner Gray.

Cape Ann Artists ride - September 7 2016

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 7 September 2016, Cape Ann Artists ride
Ride Leader:  Selig Saltzman
32 miles from Fisherman’s Monument, Gloucester, MA

Riders (3):  Selig, David Kobes, and Jim Cant.

The rain stopped and the sun shone at 10:00 am, so the only two arrivals were given what travel companies call a small group tour.  The usual points of artist related and scenic interest were visited, with many opportunities for photographs, including the Hopper house, the life size giraffe, and the fisherman's statue.

Lunch was at Willow Rest - good as usual.  There were no mishaps.  The ride leader hopes that his two guests enjoyed the day and were not overwhelmed by the commentary.

Ride report by Selig Saltzman.

Photo by David Kobes