Southie-Lexington - August 23, 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 23 August 2023, Southie-Lexington

Ride leader:  Gary Williams

45 miles, 10:00 am start from South Boston, MA

Riders (11):  Gary, Adam Walpert, Bill Perry, Craig Tulig, David Goldberg, Frank Aronson, Gene Ho, Susan Broome, Tod Cochran, Zichen Niu, and first-timer Neil MacGaffey.

Ten riders left Castle Island State Park under a sunny sky with comfortable temps.  After working our way north, through the Seaport and the North End, we met up with Adam at the USS Constitution in Charlestown.  We continued to work our way north into Somerville and Assembly Row, and turned west along the Mystic River to Medford.

After a brief biological break at the Concon Band Shell, we continued west and entered the Alewife Reservation.  We then cycled on the Minuteman Trail to Lexington, where our crew paused for a break at Rancatore's Ice Cream, after which we turned south towards Waltham and dealt with two construction detours on Waltham Avenue.

Once in Waltham, we rode along the Charles River Greenway into Watertown, and then onto the Dr. Paul Dudley White Trail along the Charles River and back into Boston.  Massachusetts Avenue ultimately proved to be the disruptor, as a last-second detour to avoid traffic resulted in the group getting separated from two riders who were, understandably, unhappy about having to catch up.  In the end, everyone made it back to the start.

Thanks to Susan for sweeping.

Report by Gary Williams.

Norfolk STBG 35 - July 16, 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 16 July 2023, Norfolk STBG 35

Ride leader:  Alan Cantor

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

Riders (10):  Alan, Dave Balaban, David Goldberg, Dmitry Gorenburg, Frank Aronson, Frank Calabrese, Gary Williams, Gerry Sheetoo, Karina Illescas, and first-timer Kevin Soll.

Nine riders patiently waited for the leader’s arrival and mechanical fix.  We headed off into gray weather that offered a few drops here and there - no complaints.  The roads were mostly good, with a section of milled surface along the way.  While maintaining a relatively brisk pace for WW, as this leader is prone to do, the group stayed relatively tight with arrows spending little time at their posts.

I am grateful for the many arrows, especially Karina who did many more than others.  Thanks to Gary for sweeping diligently.  No mechanicals or other issues.

Report by Alan Cantor.

Lancaster Meander - August 9, 2023

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 9 August 2023, Lancaster Meander

Ride Leader:  Marie Keutmann

18 miles, 10:30 am start from Bolton, MA

Riders (12):  Marie, Barbara Jacobs, Herb Kavet, Jim Whinfield, John Springfield, Judy Perrin, Marlene Heroux, Peggy Gelin, Richard Vignoni, Susan Sabin, Ted Nyder, and Winslow Green.

With great weather, twelve riders showed up at Forbush Fields for the 18-mile, relaxed pace ride starting a half hour after the 40-mile challenging Wachusett ride.  We headed out doing the three loops through Lancaster and Bolton as advertised, with the steepest hill being less than 4%.

We were delighted to see Winslow Green who joined the Wednesday Wheelers twenty-five years ago, but hadn’t been seen on a WW ride for several years.  Winslow commented that it was nice to have a relaxed pace WW ride - others agreed.

Most of the riders had lunch at Bolton Orchards at the end of the ride, where we ate outside at the picnic tables.  It was a nice day of riding with a nice group of people.  Thanks to Barbara for sweeping and to all those who arrowed and participated.

Report by Marie Keutmann.

Wachusett from the East - August 9, 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 9 August 2023, Wachusett from the East

Ride Leader:  Zach Woods

39.7 miles, 10:00 am start from Bolton, MA

Riders (10):  Zach, Al Kumnick, Aviram Cohen, Betsy Harper, Craig Tulig, Frank Calabrese, John Kitchen, Sue Amsel, and first-timers Graham Eacock and Lior Netzer.

This ride is known as Wachusett from the East and the first half, to the Wachusett Mountain John Hitchcock Visitor Center, can be quite challenging as it is mostly a steady uphill climb.  Fortunately, pleasant weather helped to mediate the hills a bit.  Before starting, the group decided that they would prefer following the route on their own and, given that everyone had the route loaded onto their devices, we went without human arrows.  This led to the majority of the riders heading off with a 15 mph pace as a goal, with a slightly slower sweep taking up the rear.

Shortly before the mid-point one of the riders was dealing with rear derailleur difficulties which did not seem to be diagnosable and repairable by the roadside, so they turned around and headed back to the start location.  Two other riders cut the route a little short as they needed to get to appointments.  The majority of the remaining riders biked the easier downhill return to the lunch stop at Meadowbrook Orchards at mile 34.1, after which they rode back to the start point in Bolton.

Report by Zach Woods.

To the End of the World and Back - August 2, 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 2 August 2023, "To the End of the World and Back"

Ride Leader:  David Wean

27 mi, 10:00 am start from Hingham, MA

Riders (24):  David, Barbara Jacobs, Bill Perry, Cynthia Zabin, David Goldberg, Don Buchholtz, Elsa Lawrence, Frank Aronson, Gary Williams, Gene Ho, Gerry Sheetoo, Janusz Wicher, John Kitchen, Judy Perrin, Linda Moraski, Marie Keutmann, Melissa Norton, Richard Vignoni, Steve Bogue, Susan Sabin, Ted Nyder, Zach Woods, and first-timers Brian Meredith and Paul Loiselle.

After the first few miles on the road, we began our “tour de parks.”  We started with Weymouth's Osprey Overlook Park and then climbed through Great ("more than just pretty good") Esker Park (where we had a mishap - on the downhill side, one of the riders had a spill after hitting one of the water bars which are meant to divert water from the path, but can divert cyclists, too.  This resulted in a number of scrapes that were quickly addressed with band-aids provided by another rider).

We then meandered through Hingham's Bare Cove Park along the other side of the Back River estuary which divides Hingham and Weymouth.  Continuing by road through downtown Hingham, we made our way to World's End (admission fee, but fortunately we had enough Trustees memberships between us) where we enjoyed the water views from this fantastic park.  About half the group chose to ride the couple of miles of gravel paths all around the two hummocks that make up the park, while the others used that 45 minutes to stroll the sections closer to the entrance.

From there we cruised the smoother pavement on Jerusalem Road and Atlantic Avenue in Cohasset, passing lovely homes and enjoying some dramatic views, including a glimpse of a 1938 house designed by Gropius and Breuer.  In Cohasset center, most of us stopped for lunch at the several picnic tables in the park, with sandwiches from a few of the local restaurants, including one that had opened since the last time we ran this ride and another that is finally in full swing post-COVID.

After a couple more road miles and one last hill, we rolled along the stone dust Whitney Spur Bikeway, which led us back into Wompatuck Park to finish the ride.  Low average speed, but high average enjoyment.  Thanks to Zach for sweeping the ride, including the World's End paths, and to Barbara for her first aid supplies.

Report by David Wean.

Patriots' Training Camp ride - July 26 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 26 July 2023,Patriots' Training Camp ride

Ride Leader:  Gene Ho

35 miles, 8:30 am start from Dover, MA

Riders (16):  Gene, Barry Kaditz, Bob Apsler, Charley Lax, Craig Tulig, Cynthia Zabin, David Wean, Don Buchholtz, Ellen Dirgins, Francie Sparks, Frank Calabrese, Gerry Sheetoo, Kim Wach, Wing Chow, Zach Woods, and first-timer Laurie Voke.

Fifteen riders registered for the ride and sixteen showed up.

A casual conversation at lunch after a recent Wednesday Wheeler ride.

Me: "You doing the season's ticket again this year?"
Gary and Frank simultaneously: "Yes!"
Frank: "20 seasons with the Pats".
Gary: "Had my Giants' pass since I was a kid."
Rochelle: "I've been going to the Pats pre season practices for years."
Me: "I went to Pats games way back in the 60's and early 70's."

Since some of our routes in the area south of Boston go by Gillette stadium, it should have been easy to configure a route to attend one of the pre-season practices there. Especially since the first one was scheduled for a Wednesday. There were lots of possible routes. Finding one without the ubiquitous road construction and with enough shade from the sun took a few tries.

Only one of the diehard football fans showed up for the actual ride, but, more riders showed up than expected. Some of the reasons given: "It looked interesting". "We've never been to a football game." "I used to take my kids when they were small". But the most compelling and frequently given excuse was: "The route went by my house and I had nothing better to do."

Here are some of the folks who had nothing better to do.  Splitting into fast and slow groups made rider cohesion easier with few outliers.

With the nice weather, we encountered a crowd of enthusiastic fans on our arrival at the stadium.

And even more in the bleachers and lawn at the end zone. 

Gary went to the NY Giants practice.  Not quite the same turnout in there.

With the bleachers full, we sat/stood in the end zone.  Since the Pats were focusing on end zone drills, this gave us a good window on the action.  Shorts and t shirts only, no pads.  So, it's touch football.  They're bigger on safety now than in the past.  Note the red jerseys - No contact at all. For players recovering from injuries and all the quarterbacks. And the oversized padded helmets to reduce head injuries.  Oddly, the lack of contact clarifies the intricacy of the plays and the contribution each team member makes.

Quarterback Mac Jones connects with newly acquired team member Ju-ju Smith-Shuster in a well executed play.

Not all plays work out as well.  Tight coverage on the QB results in an overthrown pass.

Here's video of Ju-Ju's premier with the Pats.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qnxdet9th3i7lxs8bq60k/2023-07-26-10.50.57.mov?rlkey=