Wednesday, April 29, 2015, Deer Island
Ride Leader: Tom Allen
35 miles, 10:00 am start from Danehy Park, Cambridge, MA (Click here for route.)
Riders (20): Adena Schutzberg, Betty Hoffman, Dave Slade, Dick Harter, Sandy Gray, Ilkka Suvanto, Jacque Smith, Marie Keutmann, Maurice King, Selig Saltzman, Susan Sabin, Tom Allen, Kathy Jonas, Winnie Parker, Gary Smiley, David Wean, Don Mannes, Judi Burton, Cindy Holthouse, Elissa Brown. Present at start: Alan Schneyer
I had ordered brilliant, sunny weather but delivery was not forthcoming. It was rather gray with an easterly breeze that did not bode assistance in our ride toward the coast. The ride itself got off to a rocky start with the combination of a mechanical issue and a botched arrow isolating 3 riders in parts unknown in Cambridge. Unable to rouse any of them by phone, we decided to push on. That decision split Alan Schneyer from his wife (Elissa) and he decided to ride back to see if he could make contact, thus placing him in the present-at-start category.
So now down to 17 riders we continued through Somerville and onto bike paths in Medford along the Mystic River, which we crossed and followed through the Mystic Reservation and around to the parking lot at the Wellington T station. From there we found the Northern Strand Bikeway through Malden and taking us to Revere.
We reached the shore at Revere Beach and posed for a portrait of our slightly reduced number taken by a kindly passer by. Then, miracle of miracles, the three originally lost riders appeared! David Wean had resourcefully followed the route on his smart phone using the RideWithGPS app, making him an accidental co-leader. (Alan Schneyer never did locate the lost group and got his ride by biking back to Concord as his driver was among the missing at the time.)
We (now 20 in number) rode along the beach walk to a welcome stop at the facilities. The view from Deer Island was quite impressive and we lingered a bit as we found ourselves in the lee of wind and it was quite comfortable.
Then after circling the path around Deer Island and its impressive sewage digesters, we rode back through Winthrop and East Boston and crossed over to Chelsea where we engaged some challenging traffic before reaching the relative calm of Commandant's Way. The final stretch was rather gritty through Everett and Sullivan Square (which is not square). Upon making our way to Davis Square for lunch a number of riders wished to head directly back to the cars, and Dick Harter graciously led that contingent back to Danehy Park.
There were no flats (remarkably) and two mechanical issues: the aforementioned problem that split off the lost 3, and a broken chain on the no-lunch ride back to the cars. Many riders commented favorably on the route and were happy to learn about the bike paths as well as experience new streets and areas.Thanks to Dick Harter for sweeping and to David Wean for repairing the early mechanical issue and for successfully reunited with us at mile 14.One more thing: check out this web site for a special kind of weather forecast: Windyty.com
Safety notes by Tom Allen: The group did not seem daunted by traffic and we stayed as a tightly knotted group when the traffic was a factor. This made us predictable to drivers who could consider us a single entity. One rider noted a lapse of passing etiquette (please pass only on the left) and a general absence of the "On-Your-Left" call outs.
Comment by Betty Hoffman: A safety reminder: Before you move out to pass another cyclist, it's a good idea to inform the rider in front of you that you are about to do so. This precaution helps to prevent collisions. On rides like yesterday's urban ride, road surfaces tend to be in bad shape. in such conditions, riders sometimes deviate from a straight course (move left) to avoid road hazards like deep potholes, cracks in the road surface, and obstructions on the road like the board in the road toward the end of yesterday's ride.
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