Cycle the City and the Emerald Necklace - July 10 , 2024

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 10 July 2024, Cycle the City and the Emerald Necklace

Ride Leader:  Gary Williams

32.2 miles, 10:00 am start from South Boston, MA

 

Riders (8):  Gary, David Goldberg, Frank Aronson, Gene Ho, John Trotter, Mike Togo, Simon Lingard, and first-timer Jim Partridge.

 

We left Castle Island Park, on a warm, muggy morning, to explore Boston’s urban landscape.  We made our way through the Seaport, passing Fort Point Channel where the 1773 Boston Tea Party occurred, then shortly thereafter, the location of the infamous 1919 Great Molasses Flood in the North End.  From that point, we headed over to Charlestown where we climbed to the Bunker Hill Monument, site of the first stage of the Revolutionary War in 1775.  After, we descended to the Charlestown Navy Yard and stopped to visit the USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat.  Nearby was the USS Cassin Young, a WWII-era destroyer.

 

From there we crossed briefly into East Cambridge and then back into Boston onto the Paul Dudley White bike path along the Charles River.  We cruised down Beacon Street in Back Bay towards the Fenway neighborhood where we entered the Back Bay Fens.  We continued through the Emerald Necklace, the Riverway, Olmstead Park, past Jamaica Pond, the Arnold Arboretum (halfway-point rest stop), and Franklin Park.  From there we made our way to Mattapan and the Neponset River Trail, through Pope John Paul II Park, and into Dorchester.

 

Our intrepid crew braved a short stretch along busy Morrissey Boulevard before entering UMASS/JFK.  Our last stop was a quick breather and a gander at President Kennedy’s sailboat. We then set sail for home, back at Castle Island, where most of the group enjoyed a delicious lunch at Sullivan’s.

 

Report by Gary Williams.

Wellesley High School to Farm Pond - July 3, 2024

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 3 July 2024, Wellesley High School to Farm Pond

Ride Leader:  Gene Ho

31.4 miles, 10:00 am start from Wellesley, MA

Riders (25):  Gene, Barry Nelson, Charley Lax, Christine Corr, Ellen Gugel, Francie Sparks, Frank Aronson, Frank Hubbard, Gary Williams, Gerry Sheetoo, Janusz Wicher, Kim Wach, Linda Nelson, Marc Baskin, Melissa Norton Renee Rees, Robin Frain, Ron Marland, Sandy Gotlib, Susan Sabin, and first-timers Andrew White, Ginny Walsh, Jeff Blue, Melissa Quirk, and Richard Levine.

It was a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, where the women are strong, the men good . . . . .  Wait a minute, senior moment.

Let's start again.  It was a quiet week in Wellesley, where the women are strong, the children good looking, and all the men are about average.  With school over for the summer, the high school parking lot was available for the start of our ride.  Despite the light use of the town's athletic fields, the town made the porta-jons available for our use, much to our relief.  With the logistical details out of the way, we headed along the town’s mixed-use path.  Warned to be wary of elderly retirees who can't hear, tending to young children who can't listen, we thankfully encountered neither.

Finally blessed with the warm dry weather we had been craving, we set our destinations to complement our early summer conditions - Tangerini's Farm and Farm Pond.  With the conclusion of last summer's road construction, which bedeviled route planning the whole riding season, we received our well-deserved payback with smooth pavement and easy progress.  Between the good weather and the holiday week, it really was a quiet week in Wellesley, as well as all the rest of the towns en route. 

 

Our first stop at the halfway point, Tangerini's Farm is an actual farm, or at least looks it.  But, with the corn only knee-high on the 3rd of July, the greens and grains still seeds in the ground, and any citrus only a coincidence with the owner's name, the cash crop of the day was ice cream which was available in abundance.  Having completed the planting and with harvest too far away to think about, the Norwegian batchelor farmers are off on vacay with the rest of the town’s residents, leaving only the good-looking children to mind the farm.  They dutifully and successfully separated us and our money in exchange for ice cream.  The B-school types call that complementary market planning or some such, and they're teaching 'em young on the farm.

 

Next stop - Farm Pond.  I expected some takers with several enthusiastic swimmers in the group, but not even a toe-dip.  They say don't swim after a big lunch and we must have taken heed.

 

Final stop, actually just a pause - the Wellesley College Center for Women.  Funny, I thought the whole college was for women.  On the advice of my Norwegian batchelor lawyer friends, I will say no more.  The Center's driveway does offer access to one of Wellesley's architectural wonders - the Waban Arches, a roman style aqueduct.  Since it traverses a wetland, it's not often seen except by golfers chasing errant balls from the nearby golf course and, back in the day, by rock climbers looking for challenging climbs, and, currently, by local graffiti artists looking for an outlet.  It's totally covered with it.  When the DCR took over an abandoned railroad bridge, which had become a graffiti magnet, and turned it into a tastefully maintained walkway over the Charles River, the grafitti had to go elsewhere.  Now I know where it went.

Report by Gene Ho

 

Sharon Lake Cruise - June 26, 2024

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 26 June 2024, Sharon Lake Cruise

Ride Leader:  Ellen Dirgins

30 miles, 10:00 am start from Sharon, MA

Riders (15):  Ellen, Alan Cantor, Ann Whaley-Tobin, David Goldberg, Everett Briggs, Frank Calbrese, Gary Williams, Gene Ho, Gerry Sheetoo, Julia Zhogina, Kim Wach, Mark Friedman, Wing Chow, first-timer Rena Sokolow, and Bill (not registered, no surname).

Although it was a hot day for a bike ride, we had a great turnout.  We rode through the towns of Foxboro, Mansfield, and Sharon.  The group made a few stops for regrouping, hydrating, and restroom breaks.

 

Once we reached our lunch destination, a few riders had to leave us.  Those that stayed had a nice lunch at Angel's Cafe in Sharon center.  All riders made it back safe and sound!

 

Thanks to Bill for sweeping.  Until next time, happy riding!

Report by Ellen Dirgins.

Norfolk STBG 35 - June 19, 2024

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 19 June 2024, Norfolk STBG 35

Ride Leader:  Alan Cantor

35 miles, 10:00 am start from Sherborn, MA

Riders (7):  Alan, Bill Umphrey, Charley Lax, David Goldberg, Frank Calbrese, Mike Barry, and Simon Lingard.

The day was hot and humid and a few people who signed up decided not to ride - big thanks to all of them for emailing well ahead of time.

All the riders seemed prepared to deal with the elements and complete the ride, ignoring my suggestion of cutting a few miles out if needed.

I learned a lesson in assuming that we would all ride at the same pace and not need arrows. One rider texted me to say the pace was too high and that he would continue on his own.  This turned out to be OK and he did join some others for lunch.  However, it was not in the WW spirit and I will not make that mistake again.

As the ride proceeded, two groups formed.  The faster group included a single-speed bike and two e-bikes.  The slower group included the leader.  All found their way around the route successfully and indicated that they enjoyed the ride.  As far as I know, there were no mechanical or health issues.  Five riders had lunch together.

Since I rode to the start and knowing that five of the riders were well ahead of me, I took a quicker route home and missed the finish. I was really struck by three of the riders reaching out to me making sure I was OK.  This is the true spirit of WW and the CRW and I am grateful for it.

Report by Alan Cantor.

Stone Arch Bridge and Lost Lake - June 12. 2024

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 12 June 2024, Stone Arch Bridge and Lost Lake

Ride Leader:  Tom Allen

41 miles, 10:00 am start from Boxborough, MA

Riders (11):  Tom, Adam Walpert, Bill Perry, Bill Umphrey, Clyde Kessel, David Goldberg, Gene Ho, Janusz Wicher, Marie Keutmann, Shawn Corr, and Simon Lingard.

Another fine day for a ride with enough clouds to protect the sun-sensitive among us and to keep all from overheating.  The group size was just about ideal; enough for company, but compact enough to keep arrowing to a minimum. The ride route had to be adjusted on the prior day, to avoid some construction on the original route, which added about four miles and an extra 250 feet of ascent.  Everyone adapted admirably.

The Stone Arch bridge proved to be a very interesting stop with people marveling at the mortarless construction with all stones held in place by gravity and distributed forces.  The path to the site provided a diversion from the road and all, with their various bike styles and configurations (road, gravel, electric assist and recumbent) managed well.

The run through Lost Lake was as fun as it always is and took us to the detour point.  This part of the route had not been scouted by me, but following the able advice of Lindy King it provided a few lovely miles (and hills).

The accompanying photos are from our stop at the Stone Arch Bridge.

I think everyone (save perhaps one) stayed for lunch at the new Craft Food Hall, which proved to be an ideal ride launch (and lunch) point.

Thanks to Bill Perry for sweeping and restoring the group after a missed light split the ride just at the start.  And thanks to Lindy for the re-routing assistance.

Report by Tom Allen.

Deer Island - June 5, 2024

 RIDE REPORT

 

Wednesday, 5 June 2024, Deer Island

Ride Leader:  Tom Allen

39 miles, 10:00 am start from Cambridge, MA

 

Riders (9):  Tom, Bill Perry, David Goldberg, Everett Briggs, Frank Aronson, Jim Campen, Jim White, Robert Rybarczyk, and Wing Chow.

 

On a fine day for a ride all but one of the riders showed up at Danehy Park in Cambridge.  The one absent rider had elected to meet us at the rendezvous point for the short ride (26 miles).  I was surprised at the absence of women on the ride and the guys being mostly "of a certain age".  We could have named ourselves "The GOBs" ("Geezers on Bikes").

 

The group size was just about ideal - enough for company, but compact enough to obviate the need for deployed arrows.  The ride consisted of city streets and various bike paths [of the 39 miles of riding, 18 were bikeways or pedestrian paths.  So, despite the urban setting, we were away from cars a good bit of the way.

 

We returned Jim to his car at the Costco parking lot and the rest of us braved our way across the Alford Street bridge and through the Sullivan Square traffic challenge - fortunately there are marked and protected bike lanes through it.  We then picked up the Somerville Community Path at the East Somerville T station and followed it (with a short detour for construction) to Davis Square for LUNCH.

 

By then we had shed a few riders who could take more direct routes to their homes, but we were five until Jimmy surprised us by driving to Davis to join us for lunch.  I think that everyone enjoyed the ride, its challenges, and its company.

 

The accompanying photo, taken at the tip of Deer Island, shows a large container ship that was just being met by tugs to bring it into port.

Report by Tom Allen.

Late Spring Ride from Concord - May 29, 2024

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 29 May 2024, Late Spring Ride from Concord

Ride Leader:  Gene Ho, assisted by Frank Scibilia

28.4 miles, 11:00 am start from Concord, MA

Riders (28):  Gene, Frank Scibilia, Aliza Edwards, Barry Nelson, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dale Ferguson, Dave Balaban, David Goldberg, Don Mannes, Emily McPhillips, Frank Aronson, Frank Calabrese, Gerry Sheetoo, Herb Kavet, Joanne Samuels, John Kitchen, Linda Nelson, Marie Keutmann, Mike Hanauer, Renee Rees, Richard French, Sanford Gotlib, Susan Amsel, Susan Linz, Susan Sabin, and first-timers Alex Nelson, Charles Barry, and Dan McNamara.

A tonna folks showed up.  The headcount list showed 28 registrants and 26 that I spoke to in person.  But that's not to say they weren't all there.  I probably spoke to some twice and others not at all.  But, that's not the only thing that didn't go according to plan.  Luckily, it was an error in the right direction.  With the pent-up demand for summer weather, nature finally delivered and we all turned out to get our share.

Frank Aronson and I conspired to get more than our share.  Despite our living on opposite sides of a large town, we thought it'd be a great idea to bike from our homes, meet in Weston, and get in a few more hours of great weather by commuting to the start.  But, good weather for biking is also good weather for construction.  That obstructed my normal route to Weston.  What should have been a leisurely commute turned into a frenzied rush, against the traffic on a busy road, to make up the extra distance caused by the detour.  That was just an inconvenience.  Frank was even less lucky.  Patiently waiting for me, his phone rings.  With the bright sunlight, his phone's screen is hard to see.  Parking his bike against a signpost, he seeks the shade of a nearby building to take his call.  Crunch!  A passing garbage truck whacks the front wheel of Frank's bike, cracking the carbon rim.  So, he and his bike are out for the day - and a few bucks. The joint commute did seem like a good idea at the time though.

At the starting point in Concord, we were clogging up the Monument Street parking lot, so we had to get our show on the road fast.  We split the attendees into fast and slow groups.  Frank Scibilia, a ride leader in training, got volunteered to take the fast group out while I would ride with the party-pacers.  Frank got his folks out expeditiously and we followed shortly thereafter.  Running a tight ship with the party-pacers, we dutifully posted our human arrows and Dale, our sweep, swept our residue from the route.  Neither arrows nor the sweep had much to do though.  It really was a tight group with everyone moving at a surprisingly crisp pace.  Oddly our group had more women than guys and some of the women were new to each other.  At one turn, two riders, both women, ignored the arrow and continued straight along the road.  The sweep, thinking they had missed their turn, chased after them.  Riding a regular bike instead of his normal e-bike, he exhausted himself chasing these women fruitlessly.  When he finally returned to the group, we speculated on who the missing women were.  But all the names we considered were women who were already there.  We then realized that the women the sweep had been chasing were on their own ride and never part of the WW ride.  But, at least we now knew who the members of our own group were.  The sweep had probably heard it before but he was admonished to stop chasing strange women lest he get himself in trouble.

While that incident sucked up a fair amount of time, some of us decided to make up for it by taking advantage of the warm temps and going for a swim in Heart Pond.  They stayed in a good while so the water musta been pretty comfy.

The faster group kept tight enough not to require arrows nor a sweep, prompting at least one complaint:  without arrowing, there was no opportunity to sprint from the back to the front, depriving some of needed exercise.  Let's all rub onions in our eyes and "cry these guys a river."

Report by Gene Ho.