Wednesday, 9 August 2017, Down Brown & Crossing Cisco
Ride Leaders: Bill Wachur & Patrick Ward
39 or 29 miles, 10:00 am start from Stow Shopping Center, Stow, MA
Riders - 39 mi (16): Bill, Barry Kaditz, Bob Wadsworth, Dave Balaban, Dom Jorge, Don Buchholtz, Francie Sparks, Kathy Horvath, Kaz Zelny, Kevin Donnelly, Ray Komow, Richard Vignoni, Rick Lawrence, Tim Wilson, and first-timers Dan Krechmer and Sue Edwards.
Riders - 29 mi (15): Patrick, Arthur Teepe, Butch Pemstein, David Kobes, Doug Hobkirk, Elsa Lawrence, Janet Miller, Jimmy White, Richard Fortier, Ron Marland, Susan Broome, Tom Lawrence, Winslow Green, and first-timers Mark Levine and Melissa Brown.
Many accolades for the new "Down Brown" route. Some folks were grateful for all the shady country lanes, some loved the "dipsy doodle" of Old Littleton Road heading to the Harvard General Store, and some of us were just plain happy that there were more downhills than uphills. And let's not forget the weather - it was spectacular! Beaucoup thanks to Kevin Donnelly for sweeping and for all the like-minded riders that joined us today and made it one enjoyable ride.
One mechanical issue to report and it was mine (dropped chain). We safely regrouped several times, including stops at the Harvard General Store and Bolton Orchards. Some folks stopped for a congenial post-ride lunch at Emma's Café in the Stow Shopping Center.
Report by Bill Wachur.
"Mellow" was the advertised pace of the shorter ride and I tried to deliver, often cruising along flatter stretches at 13-14 mph. The whole group easily handled this speed, so we kept together and made the sweep's work easy. Riders handled the Stow Road climb well and loved the long downhill on Oak Hill Road. After a relaxed pit stop, we cruised back through very quiet, tree-shaded roads in Harvard to the Stow Shopping Center. Many of us tarried there to enjoy a social lunch at Emma's Café.
Many thanks to Jimmy for sweeping and for the many pro-active arrows.
We did have one safety incident in which a driver going down Oak Hill Road swerved wide to the left to avoid a rider, also going downhill. (I think this was a judgement error on the driver's part.) Another driver, coming uphill, swerved almost off the road in response. The two drivers wound up cursing each other.
In the safety talk, Bill and I had both emphasized the importance of keeping to the right (if pavement conditions allow) when descending on these quiet roads, especially when the rider spots cars coming from opposite directions. Keeping to the right is even more important when a rider going downhill can't see around corners because of trees and greenery.
Report by Patrick Ward.
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