Wednesday, 4 January 2017, Wright Woods hike & Ride(s) from Concord
Hike Leader: Jack Mroczkowski
4 or 6 mile hike, 9:30 am start from ~588 Sudbury Road, Concord, MA
Ride Leaders: Ken Hablow, Bernie Flynn, & Andy Brand
42 & 31 mile rides, 10:30 am start from North Bridge parking lot, Monument Street, Concord, MA
Riders - 31 mi (6): Andy, Harriet Fell, Jack Donohue, Patrick Ward, Robyn Maislin, and Steve Miller.
Riders - 42 mi (26): Barbara Martin, Barry Nelson, Bernie Flynn, Bob Wolf, Butch Pemstein, Curt Dudley-Marling, David Fay, Dom Jorge, Don Mannes, Frank Hubbard, Greg Stathis, Ken Hablow, Kimberly Wach, Larry Kernan, Lindy King, Marc Baskin, Michael Byrne, Rich Taylor, Rick Lawrence, Rick Carlson, Robin Frain, Selig Saltzman, Susan Sabin, Tim Jacoby, Wing Chow, and first-timer Bruce Kalow.
Present at lunch: Helen Greitzer and Kaz Zelny.
Twenty one hikers set off into the woods during a fortunate break in the rain. A number of hikers commented on the pleasant and eclectic terrain: tall pine trees, needle carpeted trails wide enough for people to walk side-by-side and converse easily, enjoyable slightly hilly “workout” sections, and plenty of water view sections.
After about two miles, the group arrived at a junction, where four people peeled off with maps to finish the shorter hike while the rest continued to Mt. Misery. An explanation was offered for Mt. Misery’s name: long ago, two bullocks with a chain around their necks escaped, got tangled in some trees, and died a miserable death.
On a more pleasant note, on the way back we climbed a winding footpath, up Fairhaven Hill, to the edge of a magnificent hilltop property with a very large mysterious statue in the garden. To try to satisfy our curiosity, I posted an inquiry note on the owner's front door the next morning. I was rather surprised to receive more than a simple answer. It is a statue of the Hindu god, Ganesha, which was shipped from Bali. The statue has a much gentler demeanor on its other side, which we were unable to see. The owners have invited us to return to their property to view the statue, as well as their gigantic solar array, more closely! I would like to accept this opportunity for a private visitation later in March or April, although probably not on a Wednesday. Please contact me if you would be interested in joining me.
Report by Jack Mroczkowski.
Wow! Who knew there would be thirty-two riders on January 4th? Everyone was attentive to the stated ride start time and showed up by 10:15 am. This allowed Jack to take attendance on his super special WW phone app so we could get under way by 10:30 – which we did.
The weather was just as forecast. It was about 35 degrees when we left and the roads were damp. The sun peeked out a few times, but not for long. The temperature for most of the ride was in the low 40s and got all the way up to 45.
With so many riders, we broke up into three groups. The 31 mile option was a late addition, led by first-time WW Ride Leader, Andy Brand, and there were six riders total. Bernie took out a faster group on the 42 mile route, while I took a slightly smaller group for 42 miles at WW pace. Broken up this way there was no need for arrowing, although in my group we placed human arrows in a few places just to be sure we did not miss anyone. We made our first Geezer stop at the South Acton fire station, the second at the Boxboro town hall, and the third along the route at a trailhead.
My group was the last to arrive back in Concord and we went directly to Trail’s End Café where we met up with Helen, some hikers, and riders from both the other ride groups. Thanks to Jack Mroczkowsk for arranging use of the back room at Trail’s End. This enabled all of us to sit together.
Thanks to Jack Donohue for taking attendance, to Andy for leading the short ride, to Bernie for leading the spirited long ride, to Barry for sweeping Bernie's long ride, and to Mike Byrne for sweeping my group. With only six riders, there was no sweep on the short ride.
Report by Ken Hablow.
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| Short and part of Long riders at the Acton rest stop (missing a few) |
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