Monday, May 30, 2022

Cape Ann Loop (core ride) - May 25, 2022

 RIDE REPORT


Wednesday, 25 May 2022, Cape Ann Loop (core ride)

Ride Leader:  Selig Saltzman

32 miles, 10:00 am start from Gloucester, MA


Riders (14):  Selig, Adam Walpert, Barbara Jacobs, Butch Pemstein, Dale Ferguson, Frank Aronson, Sandy Gray, Joan Fenster, Judi Burten, Julie Dodd, Marie Keutmann, Ted Nyder, and first-timers Judith Gertler and Steve Venizelos.


We stopped at various sites of scenic, historic, or cultural interest as well as at Sandy’s house in Rockport for a beach view and a photo op.  Lunch for ten of us was at Capt. Hook’s (cheap and good).  Thanks to the several arrows and to Butch for sweeping the entire ride.


Report by Selig Saltzman.





Cape Ann Loop with remote start - May 25, 2022

 RIDE REPORT


Wednesday, 25 May 2022, Cape Ann Loop with remote start

Ride Leader:  Richard Vignoni

67 miles, 9:30 am start from Wenham, MA


Riders: (6) Richard, Clyde Kessel, Ed Hill, Elizabeth Wicks, Gerry Sheetoo, and Robin Frain.


After a two-year hiatus of our annual ride around Cape Ann, six riders headed out of the Gordon College parking lot in Wenham.  We worked our way along the coast to Cape Ann.   We continued along the route, hitting the coves and sights, as described in the ride announcement, with a few intentional and unintentional variations.


Lunch was at Willows Rest where we hung out and enjoyed the food.


By consensus we had decided to not use human arrows due to the size of our group.  We stayed together nicely, riding at a spirited WW pace, getting back to our cars at around 3:45 pm.  It was a very nice day of riding.


Report by Richard Vignoni.

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Spring Butterfly Ride - May 18, 2022

 RIDE REPORT


Wednesday, 18 May 2022, Spring Butterfly Ride
Ride Leader:  Clyde Kessel
32 miles, 10:00 am start from Carlisle, MA

Riders (18):  Clyde, Adam Walpert, Beth Rosenzweig, Cindy Chin, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dale Ferguson, Doug Chin, Ed Hill, Frank Aronson, Garry Sheetoo, Julie Dodd, Kim Wach, Patrick Ward, Rochelle Holman, Romaine Randall, Roy Westerberg, Stan Kay, and Tom Allen.
Present at lunch:  Helen Greitzer.   :)

What a lovely day for a bike ride; with eighteen riders total, it was a good-sized group.  As usual, the group stayed together very well at the beginning, until we got to the hills.  At that point we got rather spread out and stopped a few times for regrouping.  Early on, we came to a detour and stopped to use the handily placed porta-john, while the always energetic Beth rode ahead to scout out the detour.  She returned and gave it her blessing (the detour, not the john), so we continued on.  FWIW - this leader thinks that the "unexpected" is part of the fun of a ride and doesn’t feel (very) guilty about not scouting the route a day or two in advance.


We did have a couple of arrows who left their posts too early and, in one case, the sweep went down the wrong road for a short bit before backtracking.  A big thanks to Beth for doing most of the arrows and to Tom for sweeping.


Turnout at lunch has been weak for WWs of late.  However, today it was relatively good; six people stayed to eat at the pizza resto, and Helen joined us.  Some of us discovered that the chicken romaine salad was pretty bad.


Report by Clyde Kessel.

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

WW Redux I - May 11, 2022

 RIDE REPORT


Wednesday, 11 May 2022, WW Redux I
Ride Leader:  Susan Sabin
26 miles, 10:00 am start from Concord, MA

Riders (15):  Susan, Adena Schutzburg, Bill Widnall, Butch Pemstein, Dale Ferguson, Elsa Lawrence, Frank Aronson, Gardner Gray, Janet Miller, Peggy Gelin, Rich Taylor, Sally Chapman, Susan Broome, Tom Lawrence, and first-timer Mary Anargirou

Many of the participants were doing their first ride of the season ,or even for several seasons, but everyone found their biking legs along the way.


The day was supposed to be cloudy with a mid-50s high, but, instead, was bright and sunny.  Many shed layers even before we started.  The route, designed by Peggy Gelin, was a great one, and surprised many who live in the vicinity for its pleasant and often unknown vistas.


There were several regrouping stops, all but one of which was to wait for all riders.  On the only other rest stop, the leader pulled off the road to snack and drink, while absolutely everyone else stood and waited patiently!  So much for that!


This ride was billed as an old-fashioned WW ride, and it delivered a few reminders that nostalgia is not necessarily a working model.  Remember the days when an arrow left his or her post too soon?  Remember when a rider needed to leave early for a personal appointment and didn’t have a gps file to show the way?  Oh, yes, those were the days my friends.  On that topic, from here on out any ride I lead will have a gps file available for download.


The leader’s average pace ended up at 12.8 mph, slightly above advertised, and in the twenty-six miles that we pedaled, we climbed only 1,100 feet.


A big shout out to Adena and Susan Broome who, as joint sweeps, were especially helpful.  Many thanks also to Elsa, Frank, and Tom (our oldest participant) who did extra duty as arrows, catching up again and again.

Report by Susan Sabin.

A Nice Ride for a Wednesday - May 11, 2022

 RIDE REPORT


Wednesday, 11 May 2022, A Nice Ride for a Wednesday
Ride Leader:   Lindy King
41 miles, 10:00 am start from Chelmsford, MA

Riders (18):  Lindy, Barbara Martin, Betsy Harper, Beth Rosenzweig, Clyde Kessel, Ed Hill, Garry Sheetoo, Jamie King, Joel Bauman, Julie Dodd, Maria Noya, Robert Rybarczyk, Rochelle Holman, Romaine Randall, Wing Chow, first-timers Lyda Budrys and Renee Rees (visiting from Baltimore), and a mystery rider.

It was a beautiful sunny morning for a ride and the winds had died down a little.  A congenial group of Wednesday Wheelers met at Heart Pond in Chelmsford for a 41 mile ride on a lovely day.  No arm-twisting was involved when Jamie King volunteered as sweep!  After initial announcements, we set off on a flat portion of the route before tackling the many hills before us - Heald Street in Carlisle and Nagog Hills in Acton among others.


As leader, I opted for periodic regrouping of riders so there wouldn’t be any long gaps between our human arrows.  That turned out to be wise, as it created may more opportunities for people to chat and get to know each other better.  I don’t think anyone minded.   :-)   After Rocky Hill Road in Groton we had a bit longer stop waiting for Jamie and Renee, as her rear brake spring had broken and she was only able to use her front brake.  Luckily we had a good climb before us as we ascended Graniteville Road up to Westford and our only store on the route.  Muffins on Main was a welcome sight after the most challenging hill of the ride!  Everyone had a chance for a restroom break, a snack, and conversations.  We then proceeded downhill and onto a flat course 'til ride’s end.


Many thanks to Jamie for volunteering as sweep and to Beth and Clyde for doing more than their share of “arrowing.”  Additional thanks to Maria and Barbara for the photos.


Report by Lindy King.






Monday, May 2, 2022

President's Ride Preview - April 27 2022,

 Wednesday, 27 April 2022, President's Ride Preview

Ride Leaders:  Mary & Larry Kernan
39 miles, 10:30 am start from Bedford, MA

Riders (18):  Mary, LarryBetsy Harper, Bill Widnall, Butch Pemstein, Celia Donatio, Clyde Kessel, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dale Ferguson, Ed Hill, Everett Briggs, Glenn Pransky, Kaz Zelny,Rochelle Holman, Selig Saltzman, and first-timers Hal Stuart, Jamie King, and Terry Snyder.
Present at lunch:  Helen Greitzer.


Our ride started off on shaky ground as several riders showed up early, most of whom apologized profusely and one of whom complained bitterly that rides are supposed to start at 10:00 am.


It was a cooler than expected day and we warmed quickly as Larry led the start with a climb up Page Hill.  Although the group quickly separated along the climb, frequent stops along the way kept us together throughout the ride.

 

We were pleased to be visited by two illustrious alums, Bill Widnall and Jamie King, both past CRW presidents.  Bill was on his first outing of the season and peeled off early, with a promise to join us for future rides.  Jamie seems to have remembered how to ride a bike that doesn’t have a throttle and everyone who knew him from yesteryear was happy to see him.


Having gone down by one, we then left Dale about five miles later.  He had a flat just as we were crossing Rte 2 and quickly assessed that it would take him a while to change the tube, having recently put a motor on his bike.  As Dale is an able mechanic, we trusted his assessment and he demurred after one rider offered to have his wife pick Dale up and return him to the ride start.  Dale did get back safely and we’re grateful that he let the leaders know.


Now down by two, we continued at a spirited pace with many assisting as arrows including Everett, Celia, Betsy, Rochelle, and others.  Our numbers went up by one when we found Hal, who'd arrived late at the start and rode the route in reverse until he found us.  The number went up again when we were joined by Terry, though we’re not sure if we should count riders or bikes - Glenn had ridden their tandem alone from the ride start, until Terry joined in, meeting us in Wayland.  Shortly after that, we met up with Clyde.  At that point the leaders lost count and simply included in the group anyone in between the leader and the sweep.


The ride culminated with a windswept picnic in the leaders’ backyard.  It was BYO lunch, with beverages and cookies provided.  Better planning would have included hot chocolate.  Helen also joined us for the picnic (should she be included in the count?) and some gentle arm-twisting ensued to encourage others to help by leading future WW rides.


Thanks to Curt for sharing sweep duty with Mary.


Report by Mary Kernan.