Wednesday Wheelers : Birdhouses of Boxboro

RIDE REPORT

Thursday, 8 December 2016, Looking for the "Birdhouses of Boxboro"

Ride Leader: Ken Hablow

35 miles, 10:00 am start from North Bridge parking lot, Monument Street, Concord, MA

Riders (16): Ken, Barry Nelson, Bob Wolf, Butch Pemstein, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dom Jorge, Francie Sparks, Jack Donohue, Larry Kernan, Lindy King, Ray Komow, Rick Lawrence, Roy Westerberg, Selig Saltzman, Wing Chow, and first-timer David Fay.

The weather was definitely better than on Wednesday. It was chilly, but not bone-chilling cold. It was 32 degrees when I left home at about 9:15 am, and maybe a couple of degrees warmer at the ride start. The temperature rose to 38 during the ride. The roads were damp, but otherwise clear - there were no puddles or ice. Worthy of note: Lindy actually drove to Concord.

Fourteen of us started out and stayed together enough so I could see the line of riders in my mirror most of the time. There were a few instances where we used arrows, even though they were not necessary. We made a few short stops to collect the group. We rode mostly in single file and were very courteous to passing vehicles.

Butch left us at the top of Strawberry Hill because he forgot warm gloves and his hands were cold. We made our obligatory geezer stop at the South Acton fire station at about mile 8. I thought I saw a "Welcome CRW" sign, but I may have been mistaken. It was here that Bob and Wing found us. Bob had to return home, so he left the group at mile 10.

We found the birdhouses on Hill Road!! Our photographer of record, Jack Donohue, took the attached photo to commemorate the occasion. Just as we approached the house where the birdhouses reside, a car swerved into the driveway. The driver told us that her husband’s grandfather had put the birdhouses up and she was glad that the house was still in the family. Since Wing kept blasting off the front of the group, he missed the photo, but, as Jack always says, “if you go off the front you are on your own.”

At the bottom of the hill, just before the Rte 111 crossing, we passed by another favorite geezer stop at the Boxboro town hall. However, we did stop at yet a third favorite stop at a trailhead on South Acton Road. Again I pointed out a "Welcome CRW" sign, but was told that it really read "Watch for Lyme Disease."

Roy and the Bedford group left us in Concord center to head home and the rest of us rode back to the parking lot. Thanks to Jack for sweeping and taking photos.

Report by Ken Hablow.