North Shore: Nahant, Marblehead, Salem - May 30, 2018

RIDE REPORTS


WEDNESDAY, 30 May 2018, North Shore – Nahant, Marblehead, Salem
Ride Leaders:  Gardner (Sandy) Gray & William Feiring
41 or 30 miles, 10:00 am start from Nahant Beach, Nahant, MA


Riders (25):  Gardner, William, Adena Schutzberg, Andy Brand, Barbara Jacobs, Butch Pemstein, Celia Donatio, Dan Krechmer, Dave Balaban, David Fay, Don Buchholtz, Elissa Brown, Elsa Lawrence, Ilkka Suvanto, Judi Burten, Julie Dodd, Kevin Donnelly, Nancy Schlecht, Rochelle Holman, Ron Beland, Selig Saltzman, Ted Nyder, Tom Lawrence, Veronica Vedensky, and Wing Chow.

Twenty-five WWs braved the convoluted route to Nahant Beach for the start of a spectacular ride up the coast.  At the start we broke up into two groups with Gardner (Sandy) Gray leading the 41 mile ride, with Butch Pemstein as sweep.  William Feiring led the 30 mile group and Barbara Jacobs was his sweep.  Both groups stayed together - past Lynn Beach, into Swampscott, and on to Marblehead Neck where we stopped to take in the sights at Chandler Hovey Park.  We continued together through Marblehead to Fort Sewall, where the 40 mile group headed out first, to continue north, and the 30 mile group headed back to Nahant. 

Just after the two groups split, the 40 mile group headed down a gravel path through Chadwick Lead Mills Park where Tom Lawrence caught a stick in his wheel and went down hard.  Tom was taken to the hospital for xrays and observation.  Note:  Tom’s new helmet was dented - thank goodness that he was wearing it.  Tom is sore, but is recovering nicely at home.

The 40 mile group continued north through Pickering Point, Pickering Wharf, the Salem Ferry Dock, Winter Island Park, and onto Salem Willows Park where we headed back south, through the outdoor Salem Mall.  With the wind now at our backs, we had a fast ride back to Nahant where some folks jumped into their cars, while others continued on through Nahant and to lunch at the Tides.  Outside of Tom’s accident and a wardrobe malfunction, all had a great time exploring the Ghost coast.

Report by Gardner Gray.

The 30 mile group made a stop at Red Rock Park, on Lynn Shore Drive, to take in some beautiful ocean views.  Once we hit the trail parallel to Nahant Road, we were hoping for a nice tailwind but, instead, there was a strong crosswind (reminded me of driving my car over a bridge on a very windy day).  Once we made it to Nahant, we still didn't get any tailwinds, but had some headwinds.  A lot of us had never been to Nahant and really enjoyed the great vistas.

Report by William Feiring.