Rides from Verrill Farm - February 28, 2018

RIDE REPORT

WED 28 February 2018, Rides from Verrill Farm
Ride Leaders, Ken Hablow & Tom Allen
45 or 23 Miles, 10:00 am start from Verrill Farm

Riders – 23 mi (13): Tom, Barbara Pike, Chuck McWilliams, Don Buchholtz, Harriet Fell, Jack Donohue, Janet Miller, John Allen, Richard Fortier, Robert Wilson, Robyn Maislin, Selig Saltzman, and Winslow Green.
Riders – 45 mi (25): Ken, Barbara Gaughan, Bill Lane, Bob Wadsworth, Bob Wolf, Dan Krechmer, David Fay, Dom Jorge, Elizabeth Wicks, Francie Sparks, Gene Ho, Joe Tavilla, Judith McMichael, Julie Dodd, Kaz Zelny, Mike Byrne, Rich Taylor, Richard Lawrence, Richard Vignoni, Rochelle Holman, Russ Keene, Sanford Gotlib, Tim Wilson, Wing Chow, and first-timer Maria Noya.
Present at lunch: Helen Greitzer and Mike Hanauer.

The shorter route riders waited for the long route riders to depart giving them enough time to avoid the embarrassment of being caught up. (It worked except for the meet up at the South Acton fire station, which was not at all embarrassing.) Our numbers varied as we picked up one rider on the route (Janet Miller) and lost a couple to planned truncations.

The route was praised by our riders who were pleased that there was a short ride option to accommodate early-season legs. I made clear that I could take none of the credit for either the route or the weather. Thanks to the many arrows who volunteered without prompting and to John Allen for sweeping us. Happily there were no issues for him to deal with.

Lunch was pleasantly spent in the Verrill Farm greenhouse where we were met by Helen (our stellar coordinator) and by Mike Hanauer who rode down from Carlisle for sustenance and company. And a special shout out to Chuck McWilliams, who treated his ride leader to a Verrill sandwich (a nice precedent!).

Report by Tom Allen.

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The longer ride consisted of a rather large group with varying degrees of early season fitness. This helped to break the group apart and leave lots of room for traffic. We also picked up a rider on the route in West Concord, Richard Vignoni who had just left PT. It was nice to see Richard back riding after knee replacement surgery in November.

The first part of the ride was rolling. We were spread out, but mostly visible, so we used arrows only where necessary. Once we got into the hillier part of the ride, we used more arrows and stopped several times to re-group so the arrows did not have to wait an unusual length of time.

We made a well needed food and rest stop at Idylwilde Farms in Acton. This was prolonged by several of the riders tending to another who had a problem with the length of the ride and the hills. We re-grouped at the Keyes Road parking lot in Concord, so we could navigate through the center of town as a single group. In full disclosure, we stopped after the stop sign not at it. My luck, there was a Concord officer walking through the parking lot and nicely told us we needed to stop at the stop sign. At one point Wing Chow and Sandy Gotlib blasted off the front never to be seen or heard from again.

Thanks to Mike Byrne for sweeping and to all those who arrowed. Thanks also to Kaz for keeping the ride leader in good humor during the ride - we certainly do not want to leave Kaz out there by himself. Also a big shout out to Tom Allen for leading the short ride option.
I can’t take credit for the weather, although I will take credit for picking a nice day only four days before the ride. The route, however, was mine. Several people said they thought they knew all the roads in the area we rode in, but were amazed by being on some that they had never cycled previously.

Report by Ken Hablow.

Short Riders at the Start

Long Riders at Rest Stop

Short Riders at Rest Stop

Assabet Loop - February 21, 2018

RIDE REPORT


Wednesday, 21 February 2018, Assabet Loop
Ride Leader: Glenn Pransky
32 miles, 10:00 am start from Haskell Field parking lot, Sudbury MA

Riders (21): Glenn, Alan Fierce, Dan Krechmer, David Fay, David Wean, Dmitry Gorenburg, Duncan Warden, Gardner Gray, Gene Ho, George Stromberg, Gerry Sheetoo, Joe Tavilla, Kaz Zelny, Mike Byrne, Patrick Ward, Richard Vignoni, Rick Lawrence, Ron Beland, Susan Sabin, and first-timers David Kaiser and Moshe Werba,

We started with gray skies and damp roads, but unusual weather with temps in the mid 50s that rapidly warmed to the mid 60s by the end of the ride, bright sunshine, and a strong south-westerly wind that gusted to over 20 knots at times.  The first stop was at the Wayside Inn, then around Lake Boone and on to the first de-watering stop at the Stow Library.  We then had a chance to preview the northern end of the Assabet Valley Rail Trail in South Acton, which should be open for use by the summer.

The group tended to spread out, with fast riders at the front eager to work off some excess lipids from staying inside all winter, and those who have been training in the elements.  An impressive group was at the rear, maintaining a reasonable pace despite some having had very few road miles since the fall.  Arrowing was generously provided by several riders, so no one was lost.

Special thanks to David Wean who served as sweep.  We averaged about 13.5 MPH, but most everyone seemed to be happy at their own pace.

After returning to Haskell Field, ten riders continued to Glenn’s house for a take-out lunch.   Thanks to Terry (Glenn’s wife) who served everyone home-made gluten-free treats.

Concord to Boxborough - February 14, 2018

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 14 February 2018, Concord to Boxborough
Ride Leader:  Ken Hablow
36 miles, 10:00 am start from North Bridge parking lot, Concord, MA

Riders (22):  Ken, Bernie Flynn, Bob Wadsworth, Bob Wolf, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dan Krechmer, David Fay, Dom Jorge, Frank Hubbard, Gene Ho, Gerry Sheetoo, Glenn Pransky, Jack Donohue, Judith McMichael, Marc Baskin, Patrick Ward, Peter Megdal, Ray Komow, Rick Lawrence, Russ Keene, Selig Saltzman, and Wing Chow.

It was partly cloudy and slightly above freezing when twenty-two of us left the parking lot at 10:00 am.  The roads were dry at the start, with little or no ice.  As we rode, the sun came out and the temperature crept up and leveled off at about 46 degrees.  There was a slight south wind, but with the warm temperature (for this time of year) it was very comfortable.

We made our first stop at the South Acton fire station which has the cleanest restroom of the three Acton fire stations.  We continued on through West Acton where we picked up some very quiet back roads and ultimately rode to the top of Hill Road in Boxboro.  There was one more scheduled stop at Boxboro Town Hall.  With the warmup, the snow/ice that was left on the side of the roads began to melt, but there was very little water as a result.  We used occasional arrows, but the group spread out with consistency so the riders in front were always visible to the sweep. Stopping at the few traffic lights we encountered helped keep the group together, as did a few re-grouping stops.  Kudos to everyone for keeping a pace of about 13 mph.

At the end of the ride there was a group that went to Trail’s End Café for lunch.

Thanks to Rick Lawrence for sweeping, to those who arrowed, and to Jack for using his WW "app" to take attendance, as well as for taking the group photo

Walden Pond Winter Hike - January 31, 2018

HIKE REPORT

Wednesday 31 January 2018,  Walden Pond Winter Hike
Hike Leaders:  Judith McMichael & Janet Miller
4-5 miles, 10:00 am start from The Food Project parking lot, Concord, MA

Hikers (17):  Judith, Janet, Chris Stix, Chuck McWilliams, David Fay, Gerry Sheetoo, Greg Stathis, Jack Mroczkowski, Marie Keutmann, Peter Shaw, Richard Fortier, Robyn Maislin, Roy Westerberg, Russ Keene, Steve Maislin, William Feiring and first-timer, Joe DiMare.

The third annual Walden Pond hike took place on a glorious, sunny day, with temps in the high 20s - perfect conditions for hiking.  As promised, we checked on the beaver pond at Heywood Meadow, the Thoreau cabin site, and we enjoyed multiple views of snow and ice-covered Walden Pond and the charming sounds of the ice groaning as the sun warmed its surface.  We saw one lone man fishing two different holes whilst reclining in his folding chair on the ice.

After a break at the visitor center, we hiked over to Goose Pond, then did a zigzag hike up Pine Hill and were rewarded with clear views of Mts. Wachusett and Monadnock.  We returned to our cars via a beautiful forest trail, spying the administrative buildings of The Walden Woods Project and the Thoreau Institute along the way.  In contrast to what you would experience in the summer, our group did not come across a single other hiker.   A hungry group of nine had a very pleasant lunch in the toasty, warm greenhouse at Verrill Farm.

Report by Judith McMichael.

Winter Hike in the Wilds of Wellesley - January 24, 2018

HIKE REPORT

Wednesday, 24 January 2018, Winter Hike in the Wilds of Wellesley
Hike Leader:  Susan Sabin
~5 miles, 10:00 am start from Grove Street, Wellesley, MA

Hikers (16):  Susan, Annemarie Altman, Chris George, Chuck McWilliams, David Wean, Dmitry Gorenburg, Don Mannes, Elsa Lawrence, Gerry Sheetoo, Margie Lee, Marie Keutmann, Patrick Ward, Ron Beland, Tom Allen, Tony Lee, and first-timer Lisa Najavits.

It was a lovely day for a walk in the woods . . . . .  The trails were frozen enough to not be too muddy and, after days of rain, not icy enough for the donning of microspikes.  The group easily stuck together, mixing and matching in multiple conversations.

About a dozen of us lunched at Amarin, capping a lovely outing.

Report by Susan Sabin.

Winter Hike at Callahan State Park - January 18, 2018

HIKE REPORT

Thursday, 18 January 2018, Winter Hike at Callahan State Park
Hike Leaders: Tony & Margie Lee
5.6 miles, 10:00 am start from Callahan SP parking lot, Framingham MA

Hikers:  Tony, Margie, Elsa Lawrence, Gerry Sheetoo, Janet Miller, Judith McMichael, Marie Keutmann, Patrick Ward, and Richard Vignoni.

Sunny, blue skies welcomed us on the snowy trails at Callahan.  Everyone had traction devices and, other than an occasional clod on the bottom, we moved along well.  We enjoyed a couple of trails on the southside and then crossed over Edmands Road and headed up “Billy Goat Hill,” descended around the meadow, and wound our way to and around Beebe Pond.  Climbing the hill past the large stone fireplace, we made our way over to “Six Pack Hill,” which everyone ascended without faltering (the legend is that anyone not making it must buy a 6-pack for the others).  Between the near perfect winter weather, beauty of the woods, and great camaraderie, it was a wonderful hike.

Most of us headed over to British Beer Company for libations and good pub food, including irresistible truffle fries.

Report by Margie Lee

Winter Hikes in Estabrook Woods - January 3, 2018

Wednesday, 3 January 2018, Winter Hikes in Estabrook Woods

Hike Leaders:  Jack Mroczkowski & Mike Hanauer

Guest Hike Leader:  Susan Broome

5.5 miles, 10:30 am start from 2 Redcoat Lane, Concord, MA

4.3 miles, 11:00 am start from 2 Redcoat Lane, Concord, MA

Hikers – 5.5 mi (15):  Jack, Susan, Allan Fierce, Barbara Jacobs, Bob Anderson, Carol Anderson, Elsa Lawrence, Gerry Sheetoo, Judith McMichael, Marie Keutmann, Richard Fortier, Robyn Maislin, Roy Westerberg, Susan Sabin, and Ted Nyder.

Hikers – 4.3 mi (6):  Mike, David Wean, Joan Laxson, Joanne Samuels, Tom Allen, and William Feiring.

Present at lunch (2):  Helen Greitzer and Patrick Ward.

Two separate hiking groups were blessed with a welcome, “warm” break in the weather. 
The longer route was led by Susan Broome who “shot out of the gate” to lead at a spirited and steady pace.  She did a great job - only an occasional nudge from the organizer was needed to keep her on track at the many trail intersections.

After a short walk off-trail in Carlisle, we entered the Carr reservation off Bellows Hill road for the return path.  This stretch of the trek was particularly enjoyable - between the landscapes and no sounds of people, it felt like we were in real wilderness.  The path meandered through a mix of tall pines, stream crossings, and small hills.  There were lots of sparkling snow decorations on branches.  At one point we came across a deer lick or nest where the deer had bedded down for the night.

The private lunch arrangement at Trails End worked well.  I hope that we can repeat this in the future.

Report by Jack Mroczkowski.

Six of us left at 11:04 am for what I thought was an entertaining, enlightening, and invigorating tour of Thoreau Country.  Much of this was a team effort on what proved to be, perhaps, a day of the best hiking weather in many moons!

The only steep climb was at the very start (and end), which seemed to provide some comfort.  Along Estabrook "Road" we admired the beauty of the snowy stillness, wondered about the car tracks, questioned the animal tracks on Mink Pond, pondered the impact of the Lime Kiln, and observed the old cellar hole known as Estabrook Place.  Tom took a number of evidence photos of these places of yore, as well as of our stimulating and humorous conversations.  We then turned west onto the Tanager Trail at the teepee, and south onto the East Hubbard Trail where the conversation turned to the nature and source of the scat we found on the trail.  Joan proved to be the most knowledgeable here, a reputation she may regret.

Approaching the Hutchins Pond Trail, we saw the beaver dam and the gear meant to thwart them.  We then encountered a woman and man traveling with a number of dogs.  The woman was on a balloon-tired bike which resulted in much conversation about snow riding and the needed associated tires and gearing. 

Opposite Hutchins Pond, we turned west onto the Spruce Trail which was very scenic -- but that is all I recall of that section.  As we came into the home stretch, we went south on the Esker trail, observed the corrals (and wondered where might be the horses), crossed the stream, and found our cars where we left them.

My thanks to all who participated and, especially, to Tom for his photos, his GPS guidance, and his observations of the sinking rocks.

Report by Mike Hanauer.