Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Witches and Pitches - August 30, 2017

 RIDE REPORTS

 

Wednesday, 30 August 2017

Ride Leaders:  Lindy King & Sue Edwards

43 or 28 miles, 9:30 & 10:00 am starts from Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, MA

 

Riders - 43 mi (10):  Lindy, Bernie Flynn, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dave Balaban, Frank Hubbard, Judith McMichael, Kathy Horvath, Kevin Donnelly, Neil Martin, and Ray Komow.

Riders - 28 mi (13):  Sue, Bob Wilson, Ed Rumsey, Elissa Brown, Greg Tobin, Jack Mroczkowski, Kaz Zelny, Patrick Ward, Rich Taylor, Richard Fortier, Rochelle Holman, Ron Marland, and Roy Westerberg.

 

It was slightly drizzling as I rode to the start of the Witches & Pitches ride in Groton.  Fortunately, as I arrived, the clouds parted, the sun peeked through, and a group of WW riders were raring to go!  The early morning temperatures were still cool, so we had a mix of riders with jackets, vests, arm-warmers, long tights, etc.  Being a small and compatible bunch, we opted for riding as a group and using arrows only sparingly.  After a very spirited start, we regrouped to remove the extra layers and rode on to Monument Square in Hollis, NH.

 

We departed Hollis at a more sensible pace and made our way over to the very lovely Witches Spring Road.  Shortly thereafter, as I was looking forward to the lovely pitches on Ponemah Hill Road, we were stopped by the highway crew because the road was out – apparently had been for some weeks.  Although it was not as lovely a route as I had hoped for, we rode on 122 south, then picked up the short route and had a wonderful time riding around Rocky Pond Road and downhill into Brookline, NH.  We came upon Sue and Kaz (from the 28 mile route), fixing his flat, and then met up with the rest of that group a short distance later.  We stopped at the (now defunct) Brookline General Store for a snack, and then the ballfield @ Bohannon Bridge for a pit stop and photo op.  It was a lovely ride through the wilds of Pepperell back to Groton.

 

Report by Lindy King.

 

It was a very good day to be on a bicycle.  The cool, light breeze swept most of the grey away and our mostly lucky thirteen pedaled the shorter version of Witches and Pitches under bluebird skies and puffy white clouds.

 

Though it was our intention to have twenty-six fully inflated tires for the entire route, one fellow's fell flat, at the halfway point.  Though he begged and pleaded with us not to hover and wait, we hid around the corner, hovering and waiting.  Suddenly, the long route pedalers came whizzing by; we were caught in their spellbinding wake.  We handed Kaz, the guy with the flat, the cue sheet - as he had implored all along.  With his sworn avowal to text when he got going, we clipped in and spun on - up and down hills, past farms and ferns and fields, and a few, fluffy white hens.

 

With about ten mile to go, we began the human arrow system because our middle was spreading; throughout the ride, Greg arrowed (thank you!).  In the end, we were all in the right place, at the right time, at the start point, on our bikes on this glorious day.

 

Report by Sue Edwards.






Sunday, August 20, 2017

Wachusett from the East and Lancaster Meander - August 16, 2017

RIDE REPORTS

Wednesday, 16 August 2017, Wachusett from the East and Lancaster Meander
Ride Leaders:  Richard Vignoni & Butch Pemstein
39 or 18 miles, 10:00 & 10:30 am starts from Forbush Mill Soccer Field, Bolton, MA

Riders 39 mile (16): Richard, Bob Apsler, Elizabeth Wicks, Ellen Gugel, Everett Briggs, Francie Sparks, Frank Hubbard, Gene Ho, Judith McMichael, Kaz Zelny, Kevin Donnelly, Lindy King, Margie Lee, Ray Komow, Steve Carlson, and Tony Lee.
Riders 18 mile (12): Butch, Ann Northup, Barbara Jacobs, David Kobes, Don Buchholtz, Janet Miller, Jeff Smith, Judi Burten, Marie Keutmann, Rochelle Holman, Susan Sabin, and Ted Nyder.

Wachusett from the East (39 mi) - With nice weather, fifteen veteran WW riders headed out of the Forbush Mill Road parking lot, through the hills and climbs on their way to Mount Wachusett.  The 20 mile route to the mountain took some lesser known/used roads, arriving at the visitor center via Pine Hill.  Some of the riders chose to go to the summit, while a few of us stayed behind and hung out while waiting for the return of the summiteers.  Bob and Everett apparently didn’t have enough climbing so they went down and back up Mile Hill Road.  While the outbound route was almost all uphill, we were rewarded with a return that was almost all downhill.  The route lived up to its advertising, as being very hilly and very beautiful, and found the leader near the back of the pack on some of the climbs.  Lunch was at Meadowbrook Orchards, with a few riders heading back on their own due to time constraints.  Thanks to Everett for sweeping the group to the mountain and to Judith McMichael for sweeping the return.  Additional thanks to all those who arrowed and participated.

Report By Richard Vignoni.

Lancaster Meander (18 mi) - We were almost always well spaced and there were an adequate number of regroups, ALL of which were well off the traveled way.  There was one terrific downhill, no particularly memorable uphills, and very little traffic.  Lunch was at Bolton Orchards.

Thanks to David for sweeping, accolades to Don for his reign as Arrow King, and a special tip of the hat to John Nilsson who designed the route.  It was a lovely day on the bike.  It was Truly Mellow.

Report By Butch Pemstein.

Long Riders


Sunday, August 13, 2017

Down Brown & Crossing Cisco - August 9, 2017

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 9 August 2017, Down Brown & Crossing Cisco
Ride Leaders:  Bill Wachur & Patrick Ward
39 or 29 miles, 10:00 am start from Stow Shopping Center, Stow, MA

Riders - 39 mi (16):  Bill, Barry Kaditz, Bob Wadsworth, Dave Balaban, Dom Jorge, Don Buchholtz, Francie Sparks, Kathy Horvath, Kaz Zelny, Kevin Donnelly, Ray Komow, Richard Vignoni, Rick Lawrence, Tim Wilson, and first-timers Dan Krechmer and Sue Edwards.
Riders - 29 mi (15):  Patrick, Arthur Teepe, Butch Pemstein, David Kobes, Doug Hobkirk, Elsa Lawrence, Janet Miller, Jimmy White, Richard Fortier, Ron Marland, Susan Broome, Tom Lawrence, Winslow Green, and first-timers Mark Levine and Melissa Brown.

Many accolades for the new "Down Brown" route.  Some folks were grateful for all the shady country lanes, some loved the "dipsy doodle" of Old Littleton Road heading to the Harvard General Store, and some of us were just plain happy that there were more downhills than uphills.  And let's not forget the weather - it was spectacular!  Beaucoup thanks to Kevin Donnelly for sweeping and for all the like-minded riders that joined us today and made it one enjoyable ride.

One mechanical issue to report and it was mine (dropped chain).  We safely regrouped several times, including stops at the Harvard General Store and Bolton Orchards.  Some folks stopped for a congenial post-ride lunch at Emma's Café in the Stow Shopping Center.

Report by Bill Wachur.

"Mellow" was the advertised pace of the shorter ride and I tried to deliver, often cruising along flatter stretches at 13-14 mph.  The whole group easily handled this speed, so we kept together and made the sweep's work easy.  Riders handled the Stow Road climb well and loved the long downhill on Oak Hill Road.  After a relaxed pit stop, we cruised back through very quiet, tree-shaded roads in Harvard to the Stow Shopping Center.  Many of us tarried there to enjoy a social lunch at Emma's Café.

Many thanks to Jimmy for sweeping and for the many pro-active arrows.

We did have one safety incident in which a driver going down Oak Hill Road swerved wide to the left to avoid a rider, also going downhill.  (I think this was a judgement error on the driver's part.)  Another driver, coming uphill, swerved almost off the road in response.  The two drivers wound up cursing each other.

In the safety talk, Bill and I had both emphasized the importance of keeping to the right (if pavement conditions allow) when descending on these quiet roads, especially when the rider spots cars coming from opposite directions.  Keeping to the right is even more important when a rider going downhill can't see around corners because of trees and greenery.

Report by Patrick Ward.

Monday, August 7, 2017

To the End of the World and Back/To Hull in a Handbasket - August 2, 2017

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 2 August 2017, "To the End of the World and Back" / "To Hull in a Handbasket"
Ride Leaders:  David Wean, Bob Apsler
28 and 40 miles, 10:00 am start from Wompatuck State Park, Hingham, MA

Riders - 28 mi (9):  David, Barry Kaditz, David Kobes, Greg Tobin, Marie Keutmann, Nancy Cahn, Richard Vignoni, Ron Beland, and Susan Broome.
Riders - 40 mi (8):  Bob, Butch Pemstein, Dave Balaban, Dmitry Gorenburg, Francie Sparks, Herb Kavet, Kevin Donnelly, and Ray Komow.

We rode together for the first ten miles, through Great Esker and Bare Cove Parks, on either side of the Back River estuary that divides Weymouth and Hingham.

After the split, the longer riders took off for the tip of Hull, leaving no water unviewed, nor hill unclimbed.  Who knew that there would be 13% grades on a beach ride?  The beautiful day provided gorgeous views from many vantage points.

The shorter riders substituted three miles on the carriage paths of World's End, enjoying water views as well as the mirror labyrinth, "A New End" (photo attached).

Both groups continued along Jerusalem Road in Cohasset, passing "some ok houses," and about half of us ate sandwiches on the deck at Fresh Feast in Cohasset Center.  We returned via a couple of miles of paved roads through Wompatuck Park, with plenty of time to miss the afternoon thunderstorms.

Thanks to David Kobes, the (first time!) sweep for the short ride, to Butch for sweeping the long ride, which was managed without arrows, as well as to those who volunteered to arrow (on the short ride).  We'd be lost without you!

Safety notes - we successfully broke two of the three cardinal rules of Wednesday Wheelers, one on purpose and one inadvertently:  "Single file, single file, single file" (ask Butch) was suspended as we took one of the lanes of the Rte 3A bridge and, again, as we climbed Summer Street after Hingham Center (both are narrow-laned four lane roads without shoulders).  The second violation ("Regroup off the road") occurred when we regrouped on the path at the bottom of the Great Esker, not realizing that one of people coming our way was walking with a seeing eye dog.  Oops!

Report by David Wean and Bob Apsler.