RIDE REPORT
Wednesday, 12 July 2023, For Sheldon 2023 - a ride from Wayland
Ride leader: Harriet Fell, assisted by John Allen
32 miles, 10:00 am start from Wayland, MA
Riders (21): Harriet, John, Allison Easton, Aviram Cohen, Barry Kaditz, Barry Nelson, Bill Perry, Craig Tulig, David Goldberg, Ed Hill, Frank Aronson, Frank Calabrese, Gary Anderson, Gary Williams, Gene Ho, Jamie King, Joel Bauman, John Ho, Linda Nelson, and Renee Rees, plus one rider who registered at the ride start and appears on the registration list as “Anonymus user.”
This was a ride in memory of Sheldon Brown, who would have been 79 on July 14, 2023. He died on February 4, 2008 and, for several years, we tried to run a ride in his memory close to February 4th, but the cancellation rate was high due to snowstorms or what they left behind on the roads. This is the second time we have run this ride close to Sheldon’s birthday.
Despite the 92F temperature, twenty-one WWs did the ride or some part of it. Lindy King showed up with Jamie at the start, but didn't ride as she is recovering from a broken wrist.
Part of the route had to be changed as construction on Peakham Road started on July 11th. Given the heat, I suggested that we just head west on Rte 20 for about two miles to Wayside Inn Road. Some riders did not want to ride that far on Rte 20 and took a longer route to the south. One rider ended up taking Peakham Road despite the construction. Two riders headed home once we reached the rail trail in Weston.
Jamie King did a shorter ride because he rode a Raleigh 3-speed in honor of Sheldon (who was very fond of Raleighs). Raleigh built chrome-plated Raleigh Sports bicycles, like Jamie's, only in 1966 - not for sale, but to hang on display in dealers' front windows. Extra-credit question: where is there another chromed three-speed on display in the Boston area, what make and model is it, and who was its original owner?
We made a short stop near the Grist Mill on Wayside Inn Road, but the groups didn’t coalesce until we arrived at the rail trail.
Twelve of us had post-ride lunch together at The Local. Several people at lunch talked about interactions with Sheldon or with his website. A few people talked about cyclists out west who asked whether they knew Sheldon Brown as soon as they found out that the person they were speaking with came from Massachusetts.
[Comments from John re. riding on Rte 20: Preferred routes for CRW rides are on scenic, lightly-traveled rural roads, but almost every ride must include connecting segments on numbered highways. As CRW's Safety Coordinator, I stress that riding these can be safe, if not necessarily pleasant. Some safety tactics - like merging into line in congested traffic -- may seem counterintuitive.
I am a CyclingSavvy instructor and recommend the free CyclingSavvy Club Rider Essentials course, online. It also covers in-group communication and protocol. I have a workshop scheduled, with two or three options for a Zoom session, as well as on-bike sessions on September 23rd. You may contact me, at johnsallen68@gmail.com or 781 856 4058, for further information.]
Report by Harriet Fell and John Allen.
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Answer to extra-credit question: Dr. Paul Dudley White's chrome-plated Schwinn Paramount (equipped to suit him, with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub, North Road handlebars, and a kickstand) is on display at the Museum of Science. The bicycle was a gift to Dr. White from Schwinn in recognition of his support for bicycling.
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