Ride from Verrill Farm - May 31, 2017

 Long Ride Report:

Ken, Barry Nelson. Bob Wolf, Curt Dudley-Marling, Frank Hubbard, Gene Ho, Greg Stathis, Julie Dodd, Larry Kernan, Ray Komow, Russ Keene, Steve Bader, Veronica Vedensky

 

We also had no rain. The roads were damp for the first hour then mostly dry. With temperatures in the mid 50s to low 60s, moderate humidity, no wind, and mostly cloudy this was a very comfortable day. Arrows were not needed as we stayed together although Gene volunteered to sweep. With his orange jacket and yellow helmet it was easy to keep him in sight with my mirror. We generally split into 2 or 3 smaller groups with enough space in-between for traffic. We made a few short stops to regroup including a short lunch stop in Berlin center. Early in the ride, as we approached Long Hill in Bolton Larry and Barry took off and were never seen or heard from again.

 

Testing the Berlin and Hudson PD and FD

As nice as the ride was we needed some excitement which unfortunately was provided by Veronica. Just about the crack-of- noon, in Hudson, just over the Berlin line, she caught her front wheel in a crack and went down. Bob Wolf called 911. As he was on the phone a sergeant from Berlin drove by in a “company” pickup truck on his way to lunch. He stopped, put on his flashing blue lights (which promptly snarled traffic) and administered first aid. Of course by that time the Hudson PD and FD were on their way. Besides the Berlin sergeant we had an officer from Hudson, an ambulance, and the obligatory fire truck. Veronica wanted to ride even though her knee was bandaged and her rear derailleur hanger was bent. We had options in place for her but she soldiered on and finished the ride with us. Back at the farm several folks went inside for refreshments. By that time the sun was out and it was very comfortable riding home.

Cape Ann Loop with remote start - May 24, 2017

RIDE REPORTS

Wednesday 24 May 2017, Cape Ann Loop with remote start

Ride Leaders:  Richard Vignoni & Selig Saltzman (ably assisted by Ray Komow)
67 mi (remote start) option - 9:30 am start from Gordon College, Wenham, MA

32 mi core ride - 10:00 am start from Stage Fort Park, Gloucester, MA

Riders - 67 mi (6):  Richard, Barbara Martin, Bernie Flynn, Greg Stathis, Russ Keene, and Everett Briggs (who remoted from his home in Cambridge).

Riders - 32 mi (14):  Selig, Ray, Andrea Clardy, Barbara Jacobs, Dale Ferguson, David Fay, Jack Mroczkowski, Jimmy White, Jon Clardy, Marie Keutmann, Richard Fortier, Roy Westerberg, Susan Sabin, and Ted Nyder.

With a forecast for possible morning showers, five riders showed up at Gordon College.  Since the group was small, and since everyone was using RWGPS, we headed out without using a sweep or arrows managing nicely to stay together along the way.  Several miles into the route, we picked up Everett who had cycled in from Cambridge, making it six.  Unfortunately, we were not able to pick up another rider, which prevented us from calling ourselves the Magnificent Seven.

We worked our way up the coast making the usual loops through Kettle Cove and Magnolia.  We biked through Stage Fort Park, then started our way around Cape Ann.  We biked behind the buildings at the fish pier where several large fishing boats were docked.

From there, we biked to the end of the Rocky Neck artist colony and then into the Gloucester Marine Railway Company’s yard to view a 90 foot sailing vessel in dry dock.  The yard manager, a woman named Viking, came out, greeted us and gave us a short tour.  The boat is owned by the park department and is a 1960’s replica of an old sailing vessel, built using composite materials and fiberglass encapsulation.  Unfortunately, the intended low maintenance design did not hold up so well, due to fresh water leakage.  Viking took us inside a work shed attached to the side of the boat where we could see a cutaway in the hull and the front portion of the keel being re-built.  This was one of the highlights of the day.  Be sure to check out Russ Keene's photo album (below).

From there we proceeded along the coast making the usual loops which included Eastern Point Light and Good Harbor Beach.   After circling Lobster Cove, we biked over the wooden foot bridge, then on to our lunch stop at Willows Rest, which I deemed to be another highlight of the day.   After lunch, we headed out Rte 133 through the marshes of Essex, visiting Conomo Point where we hung out for a bit to enjoy the views.  Then we headed inland, arriving back at Gordon College at 4:15 pm.

It was a great day of cycling.  The weather cooperated, with the rain never materializing, and the commuting and route traffic was light.

Report by Richard Vignoni.

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The core ride went down the usual cul-de-sacs, for scenic views, and passed by some places of artistic and/or historic interest.  These included a house which was the subject of a Hopper painting, the Fitz Henry Lane house, and a lifesize giraffe statute.

Lunch for the majority was at Charlie's for lobster rolls.

There were no mishaps or lost riders.  Thank you to the numerous arrows, to Ray for being my co-leader, and to Jimmy for sweeping.

Report by Selig Saltzman.

Photo by Barbara Martin

Russ Keene's photos:     https://goo.gl/photos/9TpjASqbYhCnJXLE8  

Aggie's Ice Cream Ride & ME Coastal Ride - May 17, 2017

RIDE REPORTS

Wednesday 17 May 2017, Aggie's Ice Cream Ride & ME Coastal Ride

Ride Leaders:  Karen Saltus & Ken Hablow
38 or 52 miles, 10:00 am start from Kittery Lions Club parking lot, Kittery, ME


Riders - 38 mi (14):  Karen, Bob Anderson, Carol Anderson, Dale Ferguson, David Fay, Elsa Lawrence, Jimmy White, Paula Bossone, Tom Lawrence, and first-timers Cheryl Houston, Dick McNamara, Gina Harrison, Julia Zhogina, and Phil Hertz.

Riders - 52 mi (12):  Ken, Bernie Flynn, Bob Wadsworth, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dom Jorge, Gardner Gray, Greg Stathis, Ray Komow, Rich Taylor, Rick Lawrence, Russ Keene, and Selig Saltzman.


It was a gorgeous spring day with temps forecast into the 80s.  Soon after departing, the leader went on autopilot and led the group down the wrong road.  We quickly got back on track and enjoyed beautiful back roads through Kittery, Eliot, and South Berwick, with a few hills to get our heart rates going.


We got to Aggie’s and were shocked to find it closed!  We stood there uncomprehending for several minutes. Fortunately, the leader avoided mutiny when the Aggie's owner came from his house next door and said that there was an employee inside and that he would have her open the ordering windows.  Catastrophe averted.

The ride back was mostly along the Eastern Trail (if anyone doesn’t know what this is and would like to know, please email  kitterykaren@yahoo.com  and I’ll send you a link) with views of the Piscataqua River accompanying us from time to time.  Many riders commented that this route was a new favorite.

Report by Karen Saltus.


With all the confusion about routes, I got a confidential email from the NSA that they had picked up some online chatter about people in this area wanting to do a coastal ride on Wednesday.  Thus, the seeds were sown.  At the start I assembled all those wanting to do the long ride and made the proposal to do a coastal ride, instead of the original inland route.  All twelve of us agreed that, given the warm weather, conditions were ideal for a coastal ride.


It had to have been dead low tide, which makes the coast more interesting, especially going by York Beach with no umbrellas sticking out of the great expanse of sandy beach.  We made the obligatory swing into Nubble Light (see photo).  From York we took Shore Road through Cape Neddick to Ogunquit, with a short side trip into Perkins Cove.  We stopped for lunch at the Village Market in Ogunquit.

The route back was inland with a loop through Eliot. This portion of the ride had a few hills that we had not anticipated, but nothing very steep or long.  The return route goes along the Piscataqua River for a while.  We never got out of sight of one other the entire ride, although Rich Taylor did stop to arrow on a couple of occasions, just to be sure we had not lost anyone.

Thanks to Russ Keene for sweeping and for taking on-road photos.  Upon our return to Kittery, including the loop into Perkins Cove, our odometers registered 52 miles.  I heard eleven WWs comment that this was their favorite ride in that area.

Report by Ken Hablow.

Not Quite Haverhill - May 10, 2017

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday 10 May 2017, Not Quite Haverhill
Ride Leader:  Tom Allen
~35 miles, 10:00am start from Ipswich River Park, North Reading, MA

Riders (17):  Tom, Adele Ferreira, Adena Schutzberg, Bill Widnall, Bob Anderson, Carol Anderson, Deb Kirchwey, Dom Jorge, Greg Stathis, Ilkka Suvanto, Judith McMichael, Larry Kornetsky, Maurice King, Patrick Ward, Rich Taylor, Selig Saltzman, and Wing Chow.

Still in the middle of a cool May interval, we did start with sunshine, but it didn't last.  The cool weather, however, did not produce any complaints.

The route featured many miles of very smooth pavement, thanks to some recent road surface work, and a minimal amount of traffic.  The few stretches of atrocious pavement only highlighted the extended stretches of good road.

There seemed to be universal praise for the route, which the ride leader graciously acknowledges.  The route is somewhat modified from years past returning back through a portion of Harold Parker State Forest, rather than via Middleton.  That avoided a few busier roads and the unpleasant Rte 114/Essex Street intersection.

Lunch at Ryer's Store was enjoyed by all who participated.  Thanks to Adena for sweeping (second week in a row!) and to Greg Stathis for all those arrows. (Others had begun to complain that they weren't getting their share.)

Photo by Rich Taylor at the Ingaldsby Farm stop where we lingered for donuts and scones, as well as the use of the modest comfort facility.

Report by Tom Allen.

Honey Dew Ride - May 3, 2017

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday 3 May 2017, Honey Dew Ride

Ride Leaders:  Marc Baskin and Tom Allen

40 or 30 miles, 10:00am start from Burchard Park, Weston, MA

Riders - 40 mi (31):  Marc, Adena Schutzberg, Barry Kaditz, Barry Nelson, Bernie Flynn, Bob Apsler, Bob Wolf, Dom Jorge, Francie Sparks, Frank Hubbard, Gene Ho, Herb Kavet, James Hsia, Jim Mayer, Julie Dodd, Kaz Zelny, Ken Hablow, Lindy King, Ray Komow, Rich Taylor, Rick Carlson, Rick Lawrence, Robin Frain, Roy Westerberg, Russ Keene, Selig Saltzman, Steve Carlson, Steve Delaney, Veronica Vedensky, Wing Chow, and first-timer Sandy Gotlib.

Riders - 30 mi (7):  Tom, David Wean, Don Mannes, Ilkka Suvanto, John Allen, Robyn Maislin, and Susan Sabin.

It started sunny, but cool, and ended up cloudy and cooler.  The 40 mile riders were rewarded with fresh donuts from Honey Dew Donuts.  I checked with the baker and was assured that the donuts were low calorie, low fat, gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, Kosher, and Halal.  My French cruller was great!

As far as I know, we had no flats.  The donuts were just an appetizer for a great lunch at Off Center in Weston Center where we met the speedy 30 mile riders who somehow beat us to the end.

Hats off and special thanks to Adena who swept the entire 40 mile route successfully!!  Thanks also to Tom Allen who, on very short notice, led the 30 milers who, I hope, enjoyed their ride.  I know that they had a superb ride leader.

Report by Marc Baskin.

With the day bright and blustery, a majority of those gathered at Burchard Park elected the 40 mile ride led by Marc.  That left an intimate group of seven for the 30 mile route.  We left after the main group and held back enough to let them get out of sight.  There seemed to be a head wind regardless of which direction the route went.  An exception was when we benefitted from the fetch off Heard Pond in the Pelham Island area in Wayland. 

Our small group size allowed us to largely dispense with arrowing, and we made brief re-grouping pauses whenever the sweep was out of sight.  Thanks to Ilkka for sweeping and to Marc for a quite delightful route over familiar and picturesque roads.

Report by Tom Allen.

Bustin' In - April 28, 2017

RIDE REPORT

Friday, 28 April 2017, Bustin' In
Ride Leaders:  Roy Westerberg & Ken Hablow
29 or 39 miles, 10:00 am start from Stow Shopping Center, Stow, MA

Riders - 29 mi (5):  Roy, Doug Hobkirk, James Hsia, Ray Komow, and Tom Lucas.
Riders - 39 mi (11):  Ken, Barry Nelson, Bob Wadsworth, Gene Ho, Greg Stathis, Judith McMichael, Julie Dodd, Rick Lawrence, Russ Keene, Steve Carlson, and first-timer Greg Clugston.

Weatherwise, the start was gloomy, but the forecast was favorable and, sure enough, in less than an hour the sun broke through, giving us a lovely warm spring day.  We enjoyed the sights of many flowering trees and shrubs, daffodils and tulips, and the fresh bright green of newly sprouted leaves and grass.  At the athletic fields near Liberty Square at mile 12, we met up with the long group and were pleased to find that a porta-potty had materialized there in the last day or two.

With only five riders in the short group who all seemed to ride at about the same speed, we had no need for arrows.  There were no mechanical problems, except for a dropped chain which was quickly set right.  Thanks to Tom Lucas for serving faithfully as sweep for the whole ride. And thanks to Ken for leading the longer ride.

Many of us from both groups enjoyed lunch at Emma’s afterwards.

Report by Roy Westerberg.

Even though the day started damp and gloomy, the sun started to peek out about 11:00 am, as advertised, and it turned into a beautiful riding day with little to no wind.  Those of us on the long ride also stayed together the entire day.  The stronger riders were at the top of the hills first and waited for the rest of the group.  Thus, there was no reason for human arrows, other than in a couple of places.  Regardless, I could always see the whole group in my mirror.  It was nice to see Judith back on her bike.  Greg Clugston, our visitor from Michigan, remarked on how nice our roads are for virtually “traffic free” and scenic riding.

Thanks to Gene for sweeping and a big shout-out to Roy for laying out a very nice, albeit a bit hilly, route.

Report by Ken Hablow.

Ken, Russ, Gene, and Bob at top of Vose Hill, courtesy of Barry Nelson.

Rooster Ride - 4/19/2017

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 19 April 2017, The Rooster Ride

Ride Leader:  Jack Donohue

32 miles, 10:00 am start from Bikeway Source parking lot, Bedford, MA

Riders (19):  Jack, Brett Serkez, Butch Pemstein, Chuck McWilliams, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dom Jorge, Elissa Brown, Ilkka Suvanto, Julie Dodd, Ken Hablow, Larry Kernan, Ray Komow, Richard Vignoni, Rick Lawrence, Robert Wilson, Roy Westerberg, Selig Saltzman, Susan Sabin, and Tom Allen.

Joined enroute (3): Barry Nelson, David Wright, and Kaz Zelny.

Present at lunch (4): Helen Greitzer and Susan Grieb (aka Mrs. D), as well as mountain bikers, Larry Kornetsky and Margie Lee.

Once again, confusion reigned supreme at the start, as I changed the start location to the parking lot next to Bikeway Source (but not the description which was still Bedford Depot).  Fortunately, we all managed to find each other.

After an earlier taste of real spring, we once again bundled up against chilly temperatures and a nasty wind, but once we got moving and up to cruising speed it was quite comfortable.  The group mostly stayed together, minimal arrow services required.  Despite a rather long string of riders, they were all good citizens, keeping to the right and yielding for drivers - nary a honking horn was heard.

Our first stop was at the visitor's center on Liberty Street, where we encountered some musket-toting minutewomen.  Fortunately, the natives were friendly and even joined us for a photo op.  We ran into the rest of the reenactment a bit later, as we continued up Barnes Hill/Barretts Mill Roads.  No shots were fired, though there were a few of us with red coats.

We were pleased to find that the portajohn next to the ballfield off Griffin Road had been reinstated.  After a bit of climbing on Curve Street, we enjoyed the twisty descent on Bingham Road.  Then we zipped through Carlisle center, onto East Riding Road and the newly repaved Brook Street.  Back on Rte 225 for the home stretch, Julie took the town line sprint into Bedford and pulled us along at a fine pace.

Most everyone repaired to Ken's Deli for lunch, where Helen, Susan, Larry, and Margie joined us.  Several of us even enjoyed the outdoor seating.

Thanks to Butch for sweeping.

Ride report by Jack Donohue.

We encountered some Minutewomen

A few additions to the group (clue -- they're the ones without bikes)

Butch, our sweep