Ride from Concord - June 22, 2022

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 22 June 2022, Ride from Concord

Ride Leader:  Bernie Mango

~31 miles, 10:00 am start from Concord, MA

Riders (23):  Bernie, Adam Walpert, Barry Nelson, Bill Widnall, Butch Pemstein, Catherine Widgery, Clyde Kessel, Dale Ferguson, Don Mannes, Frank Aronson, Gary Anderson, Gary Williams, Janet Miller, Jim Whinfield, Jim White, Joel Bauman, Marc Baskin, Marie Keutmann, Peggy Gelin, Rich Taylor, Sandy Gotlib, Susan Sabin, and Wing Chow.

The milky sky and mild temperature made for ideal riding conditions as we gathered across from the strawberry field at Verrill Farm. As riders arrived and kitted out their gear, those staying for the post ride luncheon went inside to place orders at the deli counter. Calling out our names as we huddled for the ride briefing gave us a chance to reintroduce and applaud our WW founder Bill Widnall. Thank you, Bill.

This 30 mile route knitted together many of the most scenic, and hilly sections from Jack Donohue‘s catalog of Monday Rides. Plenty of 8% grades and newly paved surfaces on winding, country roads, together with light midday/midweek traffic, made for arduous climbs and thrilling, long descents. The pace was WW brisk, having completed the course with a moving time of just a bit more than two hours. Although this group was larger than usual the pack stayed together through the many twists and turns thanks to generously offered arrowing by, among others, Catherine, Frank, Susan, Sandy, Butch and Wing as well as our safety sweep, Gary, who brought everyone home.

Our parade of brilliantly colored jerseys rolled through Concord Center past the outdoor diners at the Colonial Inn, delighting out of town vacationers.

Regrouping at the North Bridge rest area gave riders an opportunity to shed layers as muscles and temps warmed. Anxious to continue, the stop was short and off we rode with the real work ahead of us.

Over hill and dale we sped, through the deep shadows of forested lands, wide sunny fields and the promise of new corn shoots, the beaver lodge in Iron Ore Swamp, broad residential lawns with their owners checking RFD mailboxes as we passed, smiling and waving.

The midway stop at Great Brook Farm gave us all a chance to refresh and chat. To mark the spectacular turnout for this lovely ride we all lined up for a photo, Bill Widnall front and center, to be included in the CRW Yearbook. Butch took advantage of our stop to remind everyone of the iconic charity ride: the PanMass Challange, benefitting Dana Farber Cancer research. Several members of our group are participating in it and welcome donations supporting their ride. Thank you, Butch.

Happy and exhausted we passed the big red horse barn and pulled into the parking lot to load our machines on racks and into back hatches. The deli counter was a busy place with lunchtime orders, but pre-ordering made life easier for our group as we picked up sandwiches and made our way to the outdoor picnic tables and tents. Conversational topics were as varied as the colors of our jerseys, and just as brilliant. Barry Nelson passed on some great tips regarding chain, sprocket and cable maintenance.

Final fist bumps and hugs before heading to our cars while intrepid cyclists, Frank and Barry, rode home to log a 60-mile day!

Ride report by Bernie Mango.

Island Cruise - June 15, 2022

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 15 June 2022, Island Cruise

Ride Leader:  Alan Cantor

36 miles, 10:00 am start from Sherborn, MA

Riders (13):  Alan, Adam Walpert, Dimitry Gorenburg, Ellen Dirgins, Frank Aronson, Gerry Sheetoo, John Kitchen, Kim Wach, Rochelle Holman, Sandy Gotlib, Veronica Vedensky, Wes DeNering, and first-timer Mel Prenovitz. 

It was a beautiful day for a beautiful ride with beautiful people.  Thanks to all who expertly arrowed and to Wes for being the sweep. A big shout out to Kathy Horvath who took the time to send an email informing me that she would not be riding.  

Ride report by Alan Cantor.

Dudley Ramble - June 8, 2022

Wednesday, 8 June 2022, Dudley Ramble

Ride Leader:  Clyde Kessel

31 miles, 10:00 am start from Wayland, MA

Riders (6):  Clyde, Bernie Mango, Catherine Widgery, Gary Williams, Gerry Sheetoo, and John Kitchen.

What a beautiful day for a ride.  It was raining as we drove to the start.  For some of us it was drizzle, while for others it was real rain.  In the restaurant parking lot, we all put on light rain gear, except for the ride leader who forgot to bring even a wind breaker.  We then all mounted our GPS devices on our handlebars, except for the ride leader who forgot to bring his.

At exactly 10:00 am, the rain stopped and the clouds parted to reveal the sun.  This turned out to presage a lovely bike ride.  Since there were only six of us and the leader did not have an effective navigation device, we agreed to stay close together so we wouldn’t need arrows and so the other riders could help navigate.  We ended up using a peculiar system - someone in the back would call out the turns and the info got relayed from rider to rider up to the leader whose only remaining job was to simply set the pace - and remember where the restrooms are.  Bernie, in a bright yellow shirt, was the sweep.

Our first planned stop was at Our Lady of Fatima Church with a huge empty parking lot.  Sadly, there was a huge funeral in progress and we weren’t able to use the facilities as planned.  Haskell Field, five miles up the road, filled the need.

We did stay close together for the first 2/3 of the ride, but eventually the hills extracted their due and we started to spread out a bit, resulting in two riders missing a turn.  Almost immediately, we noticed we were short two riders, and they noticed they were short four riders, so we all took steps to reunite and continue the ride happily.

On the ride, we saw two turtles and the ride leader saw two more while driving to the start.

Five of us stayed to have lunch on the new patio at the Dudley Chateau (a product of Covid, no doubt).  We had a wide-ranging conversation about everything from the viability of software businesses to airport art installations and plenty of topics in between.

Thank you, Bernie, for sweeping and thank you, Brett, for designing the Dudley Ramble family of rides.

Report by Clyde Kessel.

 

WW Redux II - June 8, 2022

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 8 June 2022, WW Redux II

Ride Leader:  Susan Sabin

~28 miles, 10:00 am start from Wellesley, MA

Riders (4):  Susan, Don Mannes, Elsa Lawrence, and Tom Lawrence.

The ride started in a very light drizzle, but as the skies cleared and the sun came out, the humidity disappeared and we had ourselves a gorgeous spring day.  With only four of us, we could stop and check to see that Elsa’s problematic tire was inflated, or not, and on our final check it was not.  Tom pumped, the tire blew, and we called AAA.

Then came the day’s adventure!  The phone call for help was itself very funny.  AAA:  ”What color is your bike?? “.  Really?! 

Finally, they said they would come in about half an hour, and would tow for free if the distance would be less than ten miles.  That info changed to $6 per mile(or $42), and finally to a fee of $4 total.

And, we waited an hour!  But, as I said, the day was gorgeous, we each had a comfortable rock on which to sit, and the breeze kept the bugs at bay. 

All in all, it was a lovely day for a bike ride and a looong rest in the woods.

Ride report by Susan Sabin.