Sunday, April 30, 2017

Bustin' In - April 28, 2017

RIDE REPORT

Friday, 28 April 2017, Bustin' In
Ride Leaders:  Roy Westerberg & Ken Hablow
29 or 39 miles, 10:00 am start from Stow Shopping Center, Stow, MA

Riders - 29 mi (5):  Roy, Doug Hobkirk, James Hsia, Ray Komow, and Tom Lucas.
Riders - 39 mi (11):  Ken, Barry Nelson, Bob Wadsworth, Gene Ho, Greg Stathis, Judith McMichael, Julie Dodd, Rick Lawrence, Russ Keene, Steve Carlson, and first-timer Greg Clugston.

Weatherwise, the start was gloomy, but the forecast was favorable and, sure enough, in less than an hour the sun broke through, giving us a lovely warm spring day.  We enjoyed the sights of many flowering trees and shrubs, daffodils and tulips, and the fresh bright green of newly sprouted leaves and grass.  At the athletic fields near Liberty Square at mile 12, we met up with the long group and were pleased to find that a porta-potty had materialized there in the last day or two.

With only five riders in the short group who all seemed to ride at about the same speed, we had no need for arrows.  There were no mechanical problems, except for a dropped chain which was quickly set right.  Thanks to Tom Lucas for serving faithfully as sweep for the whole ride. And thanks to Ken for leading the longer ride.

Many of us from both groups enjoyed lunch at Emma’s afterwards.

Report by Roy Westerberg.

Even though the day started damp and gloomy, the sun started to peek out about 11:00 am, as advertised, and it turned into a beautiful riding day with little to no wind.  Those of us on the long ride also stayed together the entire day.  The stronger riders were at the top of the hills first and waited for the rest of the group.  Thus, there was no reason for human arrows, other than in a couple of places.  Regardless, I could always see the whole group in my mirror.  It was nice to see Judith back on her bike.  Greg Clugston, our visitor from Michigan, remarked on how nice our roads are for virtually “traffic free” and scenic riding.

Thanks to Gene for sweeping and a big shout-out to Roy for laying out a very nice, albeit a bit hilly, route.

Report by Ken Hablow.

Ken, Russ, Gene, and Bob at top of Vose Hill, courtesy of Barry Nelson.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Rooster Ride - 4/19/2017

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 19 April 2017, The Rooster Ride
Ride Leader:  Jack Donohue
32 miles, 10:00 am start from Bikeway Source parking lot, Bedford, MA

Riders (19):  Jack, Brett Serkez, Butch Pemstein, Chuck McWilliams, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dom Jorge, Elissa Brown, Ilkka Suvanto, Julie Dodd, Ken Hablow, Larry Kernan, Ray Komow, Richard Vignoni, Rick Lawrence, Robert Wilson, Roy Westerberg, Selig Saltzman, Susan Sabin, and Tom Allen.
Joined enroute (3): Barry Nelson, David Wright, and Kaz Zelny.
Present at lunch (4): Helen Greitzer and Susan Grieb (aka Mrs. D), as well as mountain bikers, Larry Kornetsky and Margie Lee.

Once again, confusion reigned supreme at the start, as I changed the start location to the parking lot next to Bikeway Source (but not the description which was still Bedford Depot).  Fortunately, we all managed to find each other.

After an earlier taste of real spring, we once again bundled up against chilly temperatures and a nasty wind, but once we got moving and up to cruising speed it was quite comfortable.  The group mostly stayed together, minimal arrow services required.  Despite a rather long string of riders, they were all good citizens, keeping to the right and yielding for drivers - nary a honking horn was heard.

Our first stop was at the visitor's center on Liberty Street, where we encountered some musket-toting minutewomen.  Fortunately, the natives were friendly and even joined us for a photo op.  We ran into the rest of the reenactment a bit later, as we continued up Barnes Hill/Barretts Mill Roads.  No shots were fired, though there were a few of us with red coats.

We were pleased to find that the portajohn next to the ballfield off Griffin Road had been reinstated.  After a bit of climbing on Curve Street, we enjoyed the twisty descent on Bingham Road.  Then we zipped through Carlisle center, onto East Riding Road and the newly repaved Brook Street.  Back on Rte 225 for the home stretch, Julie took the town line sprint into Bedford and pulled us along at a fine pace.

Most everyone repaired to Ken's Deli for lunch, where Helen, Susan, Larry, and Margie joined us.  Several of us even enjoyed the outdoor seating.

Thanks to Butch for sweeping.

Ride report by Jack Donohue.


We encountered some Minutewomen
A few additions to the group (clue -- they're the ones without bikes)


Butch, our sweep

Monday, April 17, 2017

Early Spring Ride from Littleton - April 12, 2017

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 12 April 2017, Early Spring Ride from Littleton
Ride Leader:  Lindy King
29 or 52 miles, 10:00 am start from Castle in the Trees Playground parking lot, Littleton, MA

Riders - 52 mi (2):  Lindy, Fred Vaughn.
Riders - 29 mi (14):  Chuck McWilliams, Clyde Kessel, David Fay, Gardner Gray, James Hsia, Jeff Smith, Jim Mayer, Julie Dodd, Ray Komow, Ron Cater, Roy Westerberg, Tod Cochran, Tom Lucas, and Wing Chow.
Riders - other (2):  Barbara Martin, Ken Hablow.

This very congenial group of cyclists rode along the roads of Littleton, through Acton, past Nashoba Fruit Farm, and up and down the Nagog Hills.  It was quite warm and sunny at the start, despite the threat of rain later in the day.  We came upon Barb and Ken while crossing onto Strawberry Hill Road and proceeded along lovely back roads, through Concord and around Carlisle, to an agreed upon group stop at Great Brook Farm, where we hung out for a few minutes.  Clyde had remoted from home, so that was the last we saw of him!  The ride rolled along through Chelmsford and Westford, and returned to Littleton under forboding skies.  Unfortunately, Roy had a flat a few miles from the end, but, with the assistance of Tom Lucas, was able to fix it before David drove his car back to help.

Many thanks to all the human arrows, especially Julie and Ron who get extra kudos for not abandoning their posts while waiting for Roy and Tom to ride through!!!  We climbed over 1800’ on the regular ride, and almost 3000’ on the extended ride which was quite an adventure for Fred and Lindy, as the temperature dropped and the pelting rain descended.  Both arrived at the end, happy but soggy.

Ride report by Lindy King.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Blue Moon Bagel Ride - April 5, 2017

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 5 April 2017, Blue Moon Bagel Ride
Ride Leader:  Barry Nelson
40 miles, 10:00 am start from Blue Moon Bagel Cafe parking lot, Medfield, MA

Riders (8):  Barry, Barbara Martin, Butch Pemstein, Curt Dudley-Marling, Marc Baskin, Selig Saltzman, Steve Carlson, and Tom Lucas.

With a small group of riders, we dispensed with human arrows.  Tom volunteered to be sweep, but was never called upon to fulfill that role.

The group lacked discipline and riders frequently went in front of the leader, especially on the hills.  There was no problem staying together until five miles from the end, when one fast rider was speeding down the last hill at almost 40 mph and missed the right turn at he bottom.  After waiting sixteen minutes at the missed turn, we abandoned him and never saw him again during the ride.  He did find his way back to lunch, however, since he knew the highlight of the ride was the Blue Moon.

After a fantastic lunch, Barbara and Marc rode home, ending up with over 66 miles each on a cold, cloudy day.

Ride report by Barry Nelson.




Sunday, April 2, 2017

Ashland and Beyond - March 29, 2017

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 29 March 2017, Ashland and Beyond
Ride Leader:  Alan Cantor
37 miles, 10:00 am start from Shaw's Plaza parking lot, Ashland, MA

Riders (11):  Alan, Dmitry Gorenburg, Frank Hubbard, Judith McMichael, Julie Dodd, Kim Wach, Marc Baskin, Mike Byrne, Richard Vignoni, Rick Carlson, and Russ Keene.

Ten intrepid riders joined me for a wonderful romp through southern Metrowest.  The roads were wet and the temperatures cool, but this did not deter these wonderful people.

With this small a peloton and judging the riding abilities to be pretty much even, we rode without a sweep and did not arrow.  This proved to work, as we needed only a couple of regroups.  There was one mechanical issue when Rick’s crank arm almost came off his bike.  This caused a delayed arrival of Russ and Rick at the only long stop we took.  No big deal here, as Russ had the tools to make the on-road repair.

A grand time was had by all. Four riders stayed in the area to enjoy local cuisine for lunch.

Ride report by Alan Cantor.

Great Brook Ski/Showshoe - March 15, 2017


SKI/SNOWSHOE REPORT

Wednesday 15 March 2017, XC Skiing & Snowshoeing at Great Brook Farm
XC Ski Leader:  Janet Miller
6.1 miles, 10:15 am start from Great Brook Farm Ski Touring Center, Carlisle, MA
Snowshoe Leaders:  Clyde Kessel and Mike Hanauer
2.8 miles, 10:15 am start from Great Brook Farm Ski Touring Center, Carlisle, MA

XC Skiers (7):  Janet, Alan Fierce, Chuck McWilliams, Marie Keutmann, Robyn Maislin, Russ Keene, and Susan Sabin.
Snowshoers (5):  Clyde, Mike, Adele Ferreira, Jack Mroczkowski, and Patrick Ward.

Seven WWs set out on the groomed cross country ski trails on the east side of Lowell Street at about the same time as the snowshoers.  The temperature was in the low 20s and the snow was somewhat crusty, so the trail grooming was somewhat rough in places, making for more challenging skiing.  Russ was skate-skiing and found that he could do that on the ungroomed areas of the fields, as he just stayed on top of the snow, which had a thin layer of powder over the crust.  We mostly skied the perimeter loop in a clockwise direction.  The Woodchuck Trail proved most difficult and several skiers fell there (some more than once).  Unfortunately, the frame of Chuck’s glasses broke when he fell, which meant that he was left with only one lens.  Without good depth perception, he opted to take a shortcut back to the Ski Center, where the rest of us met up with him after we returned.  Thanks to Russ for recording the route on RideWithGPS https://ridewithgps.com/trips/13409659?privacy_code=LS6zUnFwI2WmsNi5, which showed that we skied 6.1 miles and ascended/descended 332 ft.

XC Ski report by Janet Miller.

Five WWs set out on snowshoes about 15 minutes late, largely due to a traffic jam in Carlisle - two snow plows had collided and blocked Lowell Street for a short while.  The portion of the park that lies west of Lowell Street allows all forms of recreation without charge, so that is where we headed.  For the first part of the hike, we followed the snowshoe tracks someone else had left.  After that, it was the tracks of an early morning skier, as well as those of a deer which had clearly taken advantage of the skier’s tracks.  Most of us found that our snowshoes would sink into the snow - Adele, however, seemed to be a talented floater.

In the sun, it was quite warm, but in the woods, especially if you caught the wind, it was a bit chilly.  Finally, we came to virgin snow and were on our own navigation.  There were no blazes to be seen, so navigating was, occasionally, tricky.  There were a couple of times when we were bushwhacking off the trail, although it didn’t really make much difference.  Along the way we spotted a pileated woodpecker and a hawk which was harder to identify, since we could only see its white underside.

Here is our route:  https://ridewithgps.com/trips/13413686

Snowshoe report by Clyde Kessel and Mike Hanauer.