Annual Cape Ann Loop rides - May 24, 2023

 RIDE REPORTS

Wednesday, 24 May 2023,Annual Cape Ann Loop rides

Ride Leaders:  Zach Woods, assisted by Clyde Kessel, and Selig Saltzman

67 miles, 9:30 am start from Wenham, MA and 

32 miles, 10:00 am start from Gloucester, MA

Bikers - 67 mi (6):   Zach, Clyde, Craig Tulig, Ken Weber, Lauren Hefferon, and Renee Rees.

Bikers - 32 mi (16):  Selig, Dale Ferguson, Dick French, Frank Aronson, Frank Scibilia, Joan Fenster, Joanne Samuels, John Ho, Linda Moraski, Marie Keutmann, Martin Hemler, Matt Osber, Richard Vignoni, Steve Venizelos, Susan Broome, and first-timer Patricia McCaffrey.

On Ride with GPS the route is called Cape Ann WW 2023 XL, and it was excellently plotted by Richard Vignoni to provide a great and diverse tour of Cape Ann, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Gloucester, Rockport, Essex, and Hamilton.  The ride includes a bit of everything from coastal views, through cities and towns, around or over rivers, and past bogs and horse farms.

Lovely, bright sun tempered what started as cool temperatures and helped to keep the sometimes-strong coastal winds from being too chilly.  We managed to avoid missing nearly all of the occasional sudden and quick turns.  That said, we did miss a bit of the route out to the Eastern Point Lighthouse, but we made up for it with a bonus stop at Ocean Alliance (http://www.oceanalliance.org/) where we got great views from the famous Tarr & Wonson Paint Manufactory that is visible across the harbor from downtown Gloucester.

Everyone enjoyed the lunch stop at Willow Rest in Gloucester, with some picking up one of their tasty sandwiches.  The energy that lunch provided was welcomed by all as we still had nearly thirty miles to ride.

We made up some more distance when we had to find an alternate, longer route to avoid the closed bridge out to Conomo Point, but we were still able to catch the great views which that spot offers.

The ride went very smoothly from start to finish with everyone staying close together and arrows only needed occasionally.  Thanks to Clyde for serving as sweep, and to the folks who acted as arrows when needed.

Report by Zach Woods.

The core ride group was larger than expected, because several riders, who had planned to do the long ride, decided it would end too late.  We stopped at various sites of scenic, historic, or cultural interest, and enjoyed views of the Boston skyline and the NH coast.

A few riders ate on benches next to the Blynman Canal in Gloucester, having bought lunch at Poseidon’s (across the street) or at a lobster place in town.

Although there were no mechanical issues, there was one stationary fall.  Thank you to the several arrows and, especially, to Susan Broome for sweeping the entire ride.

Report by Selig Saltzman.

Harold Parker Reversed - May 17, 2023

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 17 May 2023, Harold Parker Reversed

Ride Leader:  Tom Allen

34 miles, 10:00 am start from North Reading, MA

Bikers (11):  Tom, Betsy Kimball, Craig Tulig, Dick French, Frank Aronson, Gene Ho, Julia Zhogina, Martin Hemler, Susan Broome, Susan Sabin, and Zach Woods.

The route is called Ingaldsby CCW for a counter clockwise route from North Reading to Ingaldsby Farm in Boxford.  However, when we arrived at that point in the ride, Ingaldsby Farm was shuttered with no sign of any activity. I guess the route name should change.

Regardless, we enjoyed a bright day of cycling over scenic and low-traffic roads, despite cool and blustery conditions.  After the failure of the planned stop at Ingaldsby, we pushed on another couple of miles to West Village Provisions in West Boxford for some calorie-loading and fluid-unloading.

The return back towards North Reading brought the wind to a more favorable quarter, but it was still not really helpful.  Also not helpful was a flat that took some time to repair.  And then, a complication introduced by the leader who had called up a prior version of the route on his phone - this added an extra half-mile and 30 vertical feet for those riders who followed the leader rather than the published route.

From there we muddled our way back to lunch at Ryer's Store where the sandwiches got rave reviews from those who stayed.

Thank you to Susan Broome for serving as sweep, and to the numerous arrows who never needed to be asked.

Report by Tom Allen.

Mystic River Ride - May 10, 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 10 May 2023, Mystic River Ride

Ride Leader:  Joe Tavilla

28 miles, 10:00 am start from Woburn, MA

Bikers (14):  Joe, Butch Pemstein, Dick French, Jeff Wallen, Ken Weber, Marie Keutmann, Martin Hemler, Molly Schaeffer, Selig Saltzman, Susan Broome, Susan Sabin, Tom Allen, Zach Woods, and first-timer Diane Manganaro.

Fourteen riders left the Horn Pond Recreation Area in Woburn and rode through Winchester.  The first re-group stop was at the Medford Boat Club which offered great views of both the Upper and Lower Mystic Lakes.  We continued through Medford and into Everett via a combination of public roads and the multi-purpose trails of the Mystic River Reservation.  The trails delivered us directly onto the well-landscaped grounds of the Encore Casino.

Then, it was on to Assembly Square for an outdoor lunch from a variety of eateries. The post-lunch part of the ride continued through the Mystic River Reservation and then through quiet neighborhoods in Medford and Winchester.

Report by Joe Tavilla.

Dudley Ramble - April 26, 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 26 April 2023, Dudley Ramble

Ride Leader:  Clyde Kessel

31 miles, 10:00 am start from Wayland, MA

Bikers (20):  Clyde, Betsy Kimball, Ernie Glickman, Francie Sparks, Frank Aronson, Gene Ho, Gerry Sheetoo, Jim Whinfield, John Ho, John Kitchen, Joel Bauman, Larry Kernan, Marc Baskin, Renee Rees, Roy Westerberg, Susan Broome Tom Allen, Zach Woods, and first-timers Frank Calabrese and Martin Hemler.

Present at lunch:  Scott Chamberlain.

The riders started to arrive at The Chat more than thirty minutes ahead of time - such well-organized folks!  Around ten minutes before the ride start, the restaurant owner showed up and was considerably concerned that her parking lot was half full of cyclists’ cars.  I reassured her that the staff was aware of our plans (it was on their calendar) and that she could expect fourteen cyclists for lunch.  She relaxed considerably.

It was a perfect day for a bike ride, a bit cool at the start, but comfortable all the way to the end.  It was borderline warm enough to eat outdoors on the Chat’s patio, but it was closed, presumably for lack of servers.

This ride is a WW classic, created by Brett Serkez years ago.  It is full of short cut-throughs and longer pathways, all paved, which delighted many of the riders who hadn’t done this particular ride before.  The group tended to spread out, but we regrouped three times and that kept the arrows’ wait times reasonable.  Along the route, we crossed the future BFRT (phase 3?)  and saw the construction well underway.

In the past, the Chat has seated us at individual tables of about four cyclists each.  It’s not too difficult for four friends to divvy up the check equitably.   This time, however, The Chat had set up one large table for all fourteen of us, with no separate checks allowed.  It worked out well; the rider leader paid the bill on his credit card and earned $5 cash back.  Each cyclist paid the ride leader what they thought was fair and the total only came up $20 short, resulting in a net loss of only $15.  Not bad for such a large group!

Scott Chamberlain (from Belmont Wheelworks) rode his bike out to The Chat for lunch today.  He lurked and didn’t come over to introduce himself until nearly all the WWs had left.

The new app we use (Wild Apricot, what a great name) to manage rider registration is wonderful.  It makes it easy to register for a ride and easy for the ride leader to do the check-ins.  I couldn’t be happier.  I’ve also made peace with the whole concept of pre-registration - having an idea of the group size ahead of time makes the ride leader’s job much easier.

Thanks to Susan Broome for sweeping and to the small group of speedy riders who did all of the arrowing.

Report by Clyde Kessel.

Through the Woods and Over the River - Blue Hills and Neponset - April 19, 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 19 April 2023, Through the Woods and Over the River - Blue Hills and Neponset

Ride Leaders:  David Wean & Ron Beland

25 or 27 miles, 10:00 am start from Canton, MA

Bikers (14):  David, Ron, Betsy Kimball, Craig Tulig, Dan Nelson, Don Mannes, Frank Aronson, Gerry Sheetoo, Jim Whinfield, John Kitchen, Susan Sabin, Veronica Vedensky, Zach Woods, and first-timer David Chastain.

We had a nice, but cool and windy, romp through Milton, Quincy, Dorchester, Mattapan, Milton (again) and Canton.

We warmed up with a climb to the overlook on Chickatawbut Road, speeding down the back side into Quincy.  We rode through Quincy and cruised Wollaston Beach, stopping at Marina Bay for a water view and restroom stop.  We crossed to Dorchester on the Neponset Bridge walkway and viewed the estuary from the paths around Pope John Paul II Park.  The Neponset Trail took us back along the "high speed trolley" line to Mattapan Square, from which we found our way back to the Blue Hills Reservation.  Four of the riders chose to climb the access road to the top of Great Blue Hill (0.9 miles, 400 feet of climbing), and nine of the group enjoyed a tasty lunch at Trillium Brewery, a mile and a half from the parking lot.

No mechanical mishaps, other than that the sole of one rider's bike shoe separated from the rest of his shoe.  However, he valiantly pedaled on (including to the top of Great Blue Hill).

Report by David Wean.

Spin to Stow - April 12, 2023

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 12 April 2023, Spin to Stow

Ride Leader:  Marc Baskin

40 miles, 10:30 am start from Weston, MA

Bikers (7):  Marc, Curt Dudley-Marling, Frank Scibilia, Julie Dodd, Mary Kernan, Richard French, and first-timer Richard Saffran.

Present at lunch:  Helen Greitzer.

With a small, but eager, group of riders, on a warm, but windy, day, we rode out in a northwesterly direction, going to both West Concord and West Acton.  We then turned south through Stow and came back along the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge.

We stopped midway at what used to be a Dunkin’ Donuts, but has now become a "Mug and Muffin."  Julie Dodd, saved the day when one of our riders had a flat, about 1.5 miles from the end of the ride.  Julie raced back to her car and returned to pick up the stranded rider.

For me, the high point of the ride was having a delightful lunch at Dumpling Daughter with WW coordinator, Helen Greitzer.

Report by Marc Baskin.

 

Breakheart Reservation - April 5. 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 5 April 2023, Breakheart Reservation

Ride Leader:  Tom Allen

25 miles, 10:00 am start from Winchester, MA

Bikers (5): Tom, Craig Tulig, Jim Whinfield, and first-timers, Keren Hamel and Tsachi Avrahami.

The four who registered for this ride were present for a chilly start that did not get warmer, but we were able to warm ourselves as there were various hills to climb.  We did lose one rider who voluntarily dropped out after about 4 miles.  The remainder of us rode as a group and without the deployment any arrows.

Both the way to and return from Breakheart Reservation introduced new ways and roads to the group.  The track taken (rather by accident than by design) through the reservation was the invigorating, hilly one.  The planned restroom stop at the Breakheart visitors center was cited as a welcomed ride feature.

As we got close to the return/start point, two more riders left for direct routes home.  The remaining rider, Craig, and I had quite a nice lunch with a well-earned beer at the Black Horse Tavern.

I want to thank those who showed up to ride on a rather cold and gray day and made it a warm event.

Report by Tom Allen.