Wednesday, 14 December 2016, Jingle Bell walk/ride & potluck
Walk Leader and hostess: Ann Northup
Ride Leader: Fred Newton
~5 mile walk or ~24 mile ride - 10:30 am start from Ann's house, Southborough, MA
Walkers (15): Ann, Adena Schutzberg, Barbara Jacobs, Chuck McWilliams, Eli Post, Illka Suvanto, Janet Miller, Joan Laxson, Judi Burten, Kaz Zelny, Marie Keutmann, Patrick Ward, Roy Westerberg, Sander Nydick, and first-timer Ted Nyder.
Riders (6): Fred, Butch Pemstein, Francie Sparks, Gene Ho, Richard Vignoni, and Wing Chow.
Ride start & party: Helen Greitzer and first-timer Bill Schofield.
Party: Margie and Tony Lee.
It was a sunny, brisk day for the fifteen walkers and six cyclists who set out from Ann's home at 10:30 am. The cyclists did a 23.7 mile route and the walkers did 5.3 miles to and around Hopkinton State Park. A few WWs arrived early (expecting a 10:00 start). Two arrived late: Kaz followed the route backwards and met up with the walkers at the dam; Gene didn't expect the strong headwind on his ride from Newton, so, not able to meet up with the riders, created his own ride.
It was a pleasant walk on forest trails over crunchy light snow and leaves, on roads, and on clear paths. We finished in about two hours and met up with the riders who finished at exactly the same time! Both groups, plus partygoers Margie and Tony, convened at Ann's to enjoy delicious potluck refreshments.
Many thanks to Fred for leading the cyclists.
Report by Ann Northup.
Five cold-resistant riders started out after a short safety talk. Since Butch was a bit hoarse, he declined to sing his safety song. Gene arrived late and rode the entire course by himself.
It was a clear, brisk day, with temperature ranging from 34 to 36 degrees. Fortunately, the 0.4 mile 6-6.9% grade hill, Cedar Street Extension, was waiting for us at the very beginning, so we had a chance to warm up right from the start. Since our group was small, we stayed together without a sweep. The ride was advertised as 1466 feet of climbing - it ended up being 386 feet more, bringing the total to 1852 feet which is a lot for a 23.5 mile ride, but we needed the hills to stay warm. Our steepest grade was 10.3%.
My favorite spot on the ride is Fiske Millpond on Pond Street. Large rocks poke up through the water (ice in this case) like many little mountains - very unusual = with a nice picnic table by the dam. So we had our photo taken there, before the long 2.1 mile climb up Fiske Mill Road and East Street. There was a little bit of down hill on the way to break it up. I chose a different return from last year to avoid the long, boring climb up Westborough Road with its heavy traffic, using School, Pond, Spring, and Fruit streets instead. Miraculously, we arrived back at Ann's house at the exact moment the hikers returned. The potluck was fantastic, as was the company. Thanks to Ann for opening her home to us and for hosting such a great party.
Report by Fred Newton.
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| The hikers |
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