Annual Circling Wachusett Foliage Ride - October 15, 2025

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 15 October 2025, Annual Circling Wachusett Foliage Ride

Ride Leader:  Clyde Kessel

37.6 mi, 10:00 am start from Sterling, MA

Riders (7):  Clyde, Barbara Martin, Ed Hill, Ellen Gugel, Greg Stathis, Wing Chow, and first-timer Jim French.  [Barbara and Greg remoted from an undisclosed location in Lancaster.]

 

It was a brisk day with a brisk wind and we (almost) all had the route on our GPS devices, so we (almost) all agreed to dispense with human arrows for the day.  Barbara and Greg were, however, appointed to be co-sweeps.   In the end, Greg did arrow a few of the turns (how does the sweep arrow a turn?).  The ride leader, on a recumbent, on a hilly route, did not spend much of the day at the front of the pack, and he was the last and slowest one up Mountain Road.  The group didn’t get very spread out because the folks in front stopped to wait at the tops of hills.

 

This particular ride starts with a long climb, which is great to warm you up on a brisk morning.  It ends with a matching three-mile descent which is great, just because.  At one point during the ride, half the group stopped to watch a flock of starlings cavorting while the other half rode ahead and waited out in the middle of a three-way intersection.

 

We had a tail wind on the way up Mountain Road, so several of us complained about getting overheated, then chilled, at the visitor center.  No-one opted to climb to the summit.  Several riders thought going down Pine Street would be unpleasant and unsafe, so we opted to go down Merriam Street instead.

 

After most of us had arrived at the finish, Barbara phoned to say her wheel had locked up on the final descent.  There was no accident and no injury, and Barbara showed up shortly afterwards after diagnosing and fixing a problem with her fender.

 

Thanks to everyone for showing up.

 

Ride report by Clyde Kessel.

, Merrimack River and Newburyport - October 1, 2025

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 1 October 2025, Merrimack River and Newburyport

Ride Leader:  Tom Allen

~37 mi, 10:00 am start from Newbury, MA

Riders (8):  Tom, Frank Aronson, Jim Campen, Richard French, Shawn Corr, Wing Chow, and first-timers David Rotman (friend of Frank) and Stephen Epstein.

Our start was a little delayed awaiting latecomers.  (Shawn—not a latecomer—took the train from Boston as his car was unavailable.)  As we were about to set out at about 10:15, Frank said his electronic shifter was uncharged.  So he was locked into a single speed bike.  Fortunately this was a relatively flat ride, with only a couple of climbs that were short enough for him to walk.  The flatness of the ride was offset by headwinds in parts of the route, so the rest of us were happy to have working shifters while Frank got a good workout. 

Did I mention that the day was absolutely gorgeous with clear blue skies and blue waters of the Merrimack?  A feast for the eyes.  We stopped briefly on Plum Island to see the large waves rolling in from the Atlantic storms.

Newburyport maintains bike trails and we rode on a couple of them.  They're decorated with various art pieces and provide a change of pace on a long(ish) ride. 

Lunch was enjoyed at the Port City Sandwiches shop.  Two folks didn't have time to stay and headed back to the parking lot on their own.  Shawn headed back up the trail to the railroad station.  The rest of us had a pleasant ride back to our cars.

Report by Tom Allen.