Nightmare on Elm Street - September 20, 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 20 September 2023, Nightmare on Elm Street

Ride leader:  Jack Donohue

33 miles, 10:00 am start from Bedford, MA

Riders (11):  Jack, Allison Easton, Aviram Cohen, Barry Kaditz, Dave Balaban, Frank Aronson, Gary Williams, Renee Rees, Richard French, first-timer Marcio Silva, and one anonymous rider.

Well, unlike my previous rides, this one is not a tale of woe.  First off there were only eleven registered riders, of which I was one.  I offered a longer ride, to bag yet another Elm Street, and got three takers.  I made sure they all had navigation and sent them on their way.

I then ensured that the sweep had navigation, as well as my phone number.  I did my best to lower expectations, and gave permission to faster riders to go off the front, instead of keeping to my glacial pace and chafing at the bit.  We lost another three that way.  Since it was pretty easy to keep track of the five remaining riders, we dispensed with human arrows.

RideWithGPS navigation worked well, except for a couple of hiccups.  As Yogi Berra said:  “When you come to a fork in the road, take it” and we did. RideWithGPS is good about signaling turns, but only when the road name changes or the turn is acute.  But the "off course" message came up and no one went astray for very long.

I was impressed with what a nice ride it was, if I say so myself, although the last bit going through West Concord and Concord was a bit busy.  There were alternatives, but we had to get in those Elm Streets so we stuck to the program.

When all was done, we managed an average of 12.8 mph.  I round up, so I'm still within the official 13 mph limit.

Report by Jack Donohue.

Martha's Vineyard Tour - September 6, 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 6 September 2023, Martha's Vineyard Tour

Ride leader:  Tom Allen

45 miles, 10:30 am start from Oak Bluffs, MA

Riders (7):  Tom, Bob Cheney, Dale Ferguson, Frank Aronson, Lisa Cheney, Renee Rees, and Romaine Randall.

I met five WWs, coming on two different ferries, in Oak Bluffs.  One rider was not registered and the sixth was missing from the group.

We started out around East Chop and headed over the drawbridge toward Vineyard Haven, where we found our missing rider (Frank).  Since he had missed the 9:30 am ferry to Oak Bluffs, he took the 9:50 boat to Vineyard Haven.  It was a lucky meetup. [See note below.]

From Vineyard Haven we headed up-island toward Menemsha, but we veered off before reaching the fishing village because the little bike ferry had ceased weekday operation for the season.  Then heading back to the east we enjoyed the ups and downs of Middle Road and proceeded through West Tisbury village center.

We then picked up the state forest bike path, with multiple dips as we crossed the glacial "bottoms" which are channels carved by meltwater runoff from the glaciers of 20,000 years ago.  (Martha's Vineyard did not become an island until several thousand years later, as glaciers further north melted and the sea level rose more than 300 feet.)

We continued east towards Edgartown and were treated to the spectacle of a series of single engine airplanes flying over our heads and landing on the grass runway at the Katama Airfield.  We lunched, at the Seafood Shanty in Edgartown, on lobster rolls and fish sandwiches.  Checking the time, we decided that we could perhaps be back in Oak Bluffs in time for 3:45 pm ferry departures, so we hustled and succeeded in getting everyone on their respective boats back to the mainland.

Everyone thought that the ride was much fun, and the heat was manageable owing to shaded road and bike ways.

Note:  If you are going to do a ride, especially one with unfamiliar elements, please read (and keep handy) the announcement email.  Frank would have understood how the ferry ticketing worked and saved himself a bit of woe.  Also, the ride leader's phone number is part of the announcement.  (He fruitlessly emailed me with his ferry problem, but ride leaders can't check emails while leading.)

Finally, please register for rides you attend.  I contacted the registrants with the updated route.  The non-registered rider didn't get that notice (in this case, no harm done).

Report by Tom Allen.

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.