Friday, November 28, 2014

November 26, 2014, Day Before Turkey Day party


PARTY REPORT
Wednesday, November 26, 2014, Day Before Turkey Day party

Party Hosts:  Jerry Green & Kathy Halmi 
11:30 am start at Jerry & Kathy's home, Lexington
, MA 

Partygoers (37):  Jerry & Kathy, Adena Schutzberg, Betty Hoffman, Bill Lane, Bill Widnall, Bob Anderson, Bob Apsler, Bob Sawyer, Bob Wolf, Butch Pemstein, Carol Anderson, Carol Glod, Chuck McWilliams, Clyde Kessel, Don Mannes, Eli Post, Francie Sparks, Helen Greitzer, Janet Miller, John Allen, Judi Burten, Judy Kanigel, Kathy Jonas, Marie Keutmann, Michael Levine, Mike Hanauer, Patrick Ward, Richard Fortier, Richard Vignoni, Rita Cramer, Robyn Maislin, Selig Saltzman, Steve Maislin, Sumner Kagan, Susan Sabin, and Tom Fortmann.

Thirty-seven WWs attended our DBTD post-ride party.  While there were no rides, due to weather considerations, there was a party which enabled those attending to hone their Thanksgiving dinner skills, in advance, for the big day.  We used a new caterer this year and there were many favorable comments about the turkey, in particular.  One of the highlights of the party was singing Happy Birthday to our friend, Bob Sawyer, who is ninety-three years young.

Special thanks to Jerry Green and Kathy Halmi for opening their home to us.  Thanks also to the many volunteers who made the party the success that it was, and without whom there would have been no party:

Adena, Janet, & Patrick did setup 
Helen & Kathy picked up the food;
Richard V. transported the beer and wine
Betty collected $$ from partygoers
Adena, Judi, & Kathy reheated the food and got it to the table
Richard V. carved the turkeys
Clyde battled traffic and the elements to pick up three missing pumpkin pies
Helen prepared cranberry sauce and cooked twelve pounds of butternut squash
Judi baked a gluten-free pumpkin pie
Don, Kathy, Richard F., & Susan assisted with cleanup
And finally, Jerry & Kathy supervised various logistical aspects of the party

Report by Helen Greitzer.

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RIDE ANNOUNCEMENT

WED, December 3, 2014, Weston Piece

Ride Leader:  Tom Allen617 650 3675, biking@tomandcarole.org
35 miles, 10:00 am start from Norumbega Park (aka the "Duck Feeding Area"), Weston, MA

Description:  The ride will be mostly in Weston, with excursions into Lincoln, Wellesley, Newton, and Waltham, where we will have our lunch.  We will explore some familiar roads, some off-road trails (your skinny tire bike will be just fine), and some suburban roads that will be less familiar. You may preview the route on the RideWithGPS website.

There will be a restroom stop at about mile 9 and lunch (Mexican) will be at mile 31.  For anyone on a constrained schedule, the opportunity exists to cut the route short at about mile 28, skipping lunch (and some interesting riding in Waltham).

Directions:  from Rtes 128/I-95 north of the Mass Pike, take exit 24 and proceed straight through the stop light onto River Road.  Turn right onto Norumbega Road just past the entrance to the turnpike.  Follow around to the right and enter the parking area.
From Rtes 128/I-95 south of the MASS PIKE, take exit 24 for Rte 30 (bundled with exits 23 and 25) and turn left onto Commonwealth Avenue (Rte 30).  Proceed across Rte 128, turn right onto River Road, and continue as described above.

From the MASS PIKE, exit as if for Rtes 128/I-95 north.  After the tolls, this will take you to exit 24 (Rte 30) on the right (BEFORE actually getting onto Rte 128).  Turn left onto Commonwealth Avenue (Rte 30), proceed across Rte 128, turn right onto River Road, and continue as described above.
From Commonwealth Avenue (Rte 30) in Newton, heading west, take ramp for Rtes 128/I-95 north, but don't go all the way down the ramp.  There is a right turn off the ramp that goes directly down to the parking area.

Note: There is no bathroom facility at the start, so try not to arrive full of coffee.

Rain/snow cancels, watch your email.  If in doubt, contact ride leader.

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Upcoming rides:

December 10, Bernie Flynn, TBA
December 17, Marie Keutmann, Hanukkah ride/hike & party
Devember 24, Ann Northup
December 31, TBD, TBA
January 7 2015, TBD, TBA

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Wednesday Wheeler 2014 Scoreboard:

Number of rides/activities:  41
Average & of riders:  26.5
Total rider-miles:  30,293

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Helen Greitzer, 508 878 6988, <helengreitzer@hotmail.com>

    __o
 _ `\ <._
( * )/ ( * )
^^~~^~~~^^^~~^

Friday, November 14, 2014

November 12, 2014, Rides from Verrill Farm



RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 
Rides from Verrill Farm

Ride Leaders:  Ken Hablow & Bernie Flynn
40 & 30 miles, 10:00 am start from Verrill Farm, Concord, MA

Riders - 40 mi (15):  Ken, Barry Nelson, Bob Wolf, Brian Miller, Brian O'Connor, Butch Pemstein, Clyde Kessel, Dmitry Gorenburg, Dom Jorge, Howie Davidson, James Hsia, Rick Carlson, Sarit Feldman, Selig Saltzman, and Steve Bader.
Riders - 30 mi (17):  Bernie, Dave Slade, Ellen Gugel, Illka Suvanto, Jack Donohue, Jimmy White, Kathy Jonas, Maurice King, Mike Hanauer, Paul Greco, Rich Taylor, Richard Fortier, Skip Perry, Susan Broome, Susan Sabin, Tom Swanson, and Wick Doggett.

The morning fog burned off and by 10:00 am the weather was very comfortable and the roads mostly dry.  Since Helen had a “household emergency,” Eli filled in for her at the start and took attendance.  During the safety talk I emphasized the importance of the arrows being in the line of sight of the oncoming riders.

Those of us on the long ride stayed together pretty much the whole ride, except for one long hill going into Harvard and, even then, we were only a few minutes apart.  Although we “arrowed” most of the time, the sweep was always in sight.  We stopped for a Porta-John break at mile 11, after which we encountered Howie Davidson and Sarit Feldman on their tandem - they stayed with us for the rest of the ride.  We made one more short stop at a Dunkin Donuts at mile 27.  Upon our return, we all remained for lunch at Verrill Farm, after which five of us departed by bike for the ride home.

Our only incident was a flat tire less than a mile from the end of the ride.  Thanks to Barry for sweeping.  Our average speed was 14.5 mph.

Report by Ken Hablow.

Seventeen riders joined the 30 mile ride from Verrill Farm in Concord.  It was a delightful fall day and the route took us on quiet roads through Acton, Boxboro, Stow, Sudbury, and back to Concord.  The group stooped for a breather at the Delaney Flood Control Boat Launch, a picturesque pond with a strange name.  There was one more stop at a gas station/Dunkin Donuts for an indoor nature break about two miles later, following a GPS induced, wrong turn on Rte 117.  I guess that my editing of Ken's route was not as careful as I thought - a lesson learned.

The group stayed mostly together, with some concern about bunching up.  There were requests to pick up the pace and requests to slow it down, but in the end we made it back without incident and with many smiles.

Report by Bernie Flynn.

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Photo (above) courtesy of Clyde Kessel.  Additional photos, courtesy of Jack Donohue, may be found at   https://www.facebook.com/WednesDayWheelers/posts/294496974072220


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SAFETY REPORT

We started out with a long line of sixteen riders behind the leader, but, by the time we reached Lawes Brook Road, we were able to establish a second group several car lengths behind the lead group.  As arrows were released from the leader's quiver, the second group provided fresh arrows up front, while occasionally frisky arrows returned to the front from their arrow positions.  Later on, group size was regulated by a gentle increase in pace.  Both of these were/are effective techniques.

We did a good job regrouping off the road at the Delaney Wildlife Management Area (FWIW - the water area there shows up as Delaney Flood Control Site - inquiring minds wanted to know - but I digress) and at the Dunkin Donuts on Hudson Road.

Report by Rich Taylor.

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RIDE ANNOUNCEMENT

WED, November 19, 2014, Dessert Anglais II - Jam Roly Poly

Ride Leader:  Brian O'Connor, <brianoconnor78@gmail.com>
~35 miles, 10:00 am start from Nancy's Airfield Cafe, 302 Boxboro Road, Stow, MA

Description:  With a healthy appetite for a childhood winter pudding classic, I have concocted Dessert Anglais II - Jam Roly Poly.  The ride starts at Nancy's Airfield Cafe (located at the Minuteman Airfield in Stow), and takes in the well known Lost Lake rollercoaster, but for me this part of the ride is my "Jam Roly Poly."  The ride will be at a moderate pace, but, as long as I have plenty of arrows in my quiver, all members of the team can ride at their own pace.  There are restrooms at the start, inside Nancy’s cafe, and at the public library in Groton.

Lunch will be at Nancy’s - it is a little pricey, but there are a lot of options, the food is very good, and Nancy is a great hostess.  Those interested in lunch need to commit at the ride start, so we can let Nancy know how many to expect at ~1:00 pm.

For those who arrive early at the ride start, you are welcome to join the ride leader who will be enjoying an expresso or two at Nancy's, beginning at 9:15 am.
GPS Route - 
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6100551

A recipe for Jam Roly Poly:  
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/13354/jam-rolypoly
 
Directions:   use 302 Boxboro Road, Stow, MA for GPS or google maps.

Rain cancels - watch your email.  If in doubt, contact ride leader.

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Upcoming rides:

November 26, Bob Apsler, Clyde Kessel, & John Allen, Day Before Turkey Day rides & party
December 3, Tom Allen, Weston Piece
December 10, TBD, TBA
December 17, Marie Keutmann, Hanukkah ride/hike & party
December 24, Ann Northup, Jingle Bell walk/ride & party

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Wednesday Wheeler 2014 Scoreboard:

Number of rides/activities:  41
Average & of riders:  26.0
Total rider-miles:  31,381

***************************

Helen Greitzer, 508 878 6988, <helengreitzer@hotmail.com>

    __o
 _ `\ <._
( * )/ ( * )
^^~~^~~~^^^~~^

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Around Farrar Pond hike - March 5, 2014

 HIKE REPORT


Wednesday, March 5, 2014, Around Farrar Pond hike
Hike Leaders:  Marie Keutmann & Richard Vignoni
10:00 am start from Marie's house, Lincoln
, MA

Hikers (10 WWs + 1 canine):  Marie & Zoe, Richard, Bill Ebsworth, Dick Harter, Gardner Gray Janet Miller
, John Nilsson, Mike Counihan, Sander Nydick, and Tom Allen.  
Present at lunch (3 eaters & 3 bikers):  Helen Greitzer, Jacque Smith, and Patrick Ward, as well as Bob Wolf, Clyde Kessel, and Rich Taylor (see ride report below).

We were hoping for a good snowstorm on Monday so that we could xc ski or snowshoe, but, without new snow, the only choice was to walk with traction devices.  We set out from my house onto the trail around Farrar Pond.  The trail, which was packed down by snowshoers of prior weeks, gradually became more uneven as the snowshoe tracks turned into just walkers' tracks.  We passed canoes and kayaks covered in snow, large trees felled by beavers, and then crossed a boardwalk covered in snow.  The usual route around the pond involves some bushwhacking, but, given the snow, we decided to walk up a driveway to Route 126 and then up to Route 117.  We crossed over 117 into the Mount Misery area and eventually made our way back to my house, passing over the dam at the end of Farrar Pond.
 
Hike report by Marie Keutmann.

Bob, Rich, and Clyde rode out on a beautiful cold day, one of those days which is cold enough to keep the roads clean and dry, but warm enough to be comfortable.  The 30 mile ride took us around Sudbury, Stow, Acton, Concord and, after lunch, back to Lincoln.  We violated, slightly, the 1 mile per degree rule but there were no complaints.  There were, obviously, no arrows to thank, but thanks are due to Bob for planning the route.

Ride report by Clyde Kessel.

Thanks to Bill Ebsworth for hike photos.