Things I see everyday on my ride make me happy.

• The smiling face of a friend as you battle the nasty snow sleet together “Yahooooooooooooo!” echoing over the wind, friends make even the worst weather worth riding in.
• The fact that the elderly gentleman who ran out in front of me and the cab next to me (and the mini-van in the lane after that) managed to NOT get run over by any of us, even though he tried really really hard.
• The instant karma moment when the guy who was backing up the wrong way through the intersection nearly missed running me over, only to smash ass first into a telephone pole.
• The girl riding no handed down Hampshire street rocking out to her music while conducting an invisible orchestra. Not safe, but awesome to witness.
• The elderly lady popping a perfect track stand on her sweet fixy at a red light. (blew my mind!)
• The woman with her two kids on the back of an extra-cycle cruising up Cambridge street towards downtown without a care in the world.
• The view from the Longfellow as the city is wrapped in fog and low clouds, like a present wrapped in cotton.

What are some of the awesome things you saw while riding your bicycle? Share them in the commons.

“Why do straight girls always try to one-up their friends? It’s so weird,” my sister once said.

It’s true, and something that also baffles me. It seems irrational and disingenuous to claim friendship, then turn around and compare, or worse, compete. The thing is, I’m not sure it’s confined to the heterosexual female friendship sphere; we all compete with each other at certain things. Maybe not to the snarky extent that straight girls do, but in a way it’s human nature to be just a little bit competitive.

So when the Salahis crashed President Obama’s first state dinner last Tuesday night, I pretty much turned around and did the same.

Okay, it wasn’t the White House. And it was Thanksgiving. And politics weren’t involved. And there was at least an oral invite…so I didn’t really crash it a la wannabe celebrities in hot pursuit of relevancy…does it count if I was the only minority…?

Yeah, didn’t think so. But it was awesomely fun regardless; an invitation to M1’s parents’s place in Marshfield resulted in absolute turkey-and-pie coma. Organic, incredibly moist turkey, bright orange winter squash, creamy mashed potatoes, unbelievable stuffing, just-right gravy, amazing apple-cranberry pie, chocolate-pecan pie [yes, that's right, chocolate and pecan], richy frothy eggnog, and, of course, really good coffee. That all went into my stomach. In one sitting. Oh my God, I love America.

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: I’m a total glutton, right? Whatever happened to moderation?

The thing is, when you do on a decent ride on your 25 pounder of a ‘cross bike the day before, the only thing you can really do when that voice of moderation pipes up is to tell it to go fuck itself. You know what I mean, we’ve all been there; legs dead after a ride with a brain caught between hazy sleep and adrenaline fueled alertness. The last thing you want to hear as you cram your mouth full of whatever’s in your fridge is that you really need to practice moderation.

And when you do the ride in shitty, cold weather, with gloved fingers alternating between freezing and sweaty, you get a free ticket to stuff yourself silly at your favorite person’s parents’s house that you almost invited yourself to for Thanksgiving. And free license to polish off the mountain of leftovers you’re sent home with as well.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m going to be working off that feast well into this month [can you believe it's December?]. But let’s be honest, it was totally worth it; and while Thanksgiving might not exist to fuel off-season training, it’s still a pretty good motivator.

Yesterday was Halloween, so I donned my pirate socks and joined in the annual Tour de Grave (sponsored by MassBike.)

It was a pretty long ride, hitting ten destinations around the Boston and Cambridge areas in total. There were over 30 riders of varying skill levels, and the going was paced to be able to keep everyone more or less grouped together. There were some challenging hills in Brookline which caused a little trouble for some, but for the most part the ride was interesting and educational. Somewhere between 20 and 30 miles was covered over the course of about five hours (!!!) with a good deal of that time spent actually in burying ground perimeters learning about each of the sites.

The places we hit were (in order) the Old Burying Ground (Cambridge,) King’s Chapel Burying Ground (Boston,) Granary Burying Ground (Boston,) Central Burying Ground (Boston,) South End Burying Ground (South End,) Eliot Burying Ground (Roxbury,) Evergreen Cemetery (Brighton,) Market Street Burying Ground (Brighton,) Cambridge Cemetery (Cambridge,) and finally the Mt. Auburn Cemetery (Cambridge.) The tour guide took a little time at each stop to explain some details about famous people buried in each place, what the practices for burial and treatment of the dead were at the time, some religious and political history to tie things together, and as we continued from one location to the next he presented a progression of the changes in the treatment of the deceased changed the entire style of human burials.

The tour was quite informative and was too much to keep all in my head, so fortunately a handout was available which provides the “readers digest” version of everything.

I experimented with using my phone to take pictures this ride, in part because it looks decent enough (as long as the lens is clean and I hold steady when I take a shot) and also because the pictures are automatically tagged with the location (which I had to fix in a few cases.) Without further ado, here are my (not so very spooky) pictures of the Tour de Grave:

Another email, another ride! The fun never stops!

——

Host: Harvard University Cycling Association
Type: Sports – Sporting Event
Network: Global
Date: Sunday, October 25, 2009
Time: 8:40am – 2:00pm
Location: Peets Coffee in Harvard Square
City/Town: Cambridge, MA
Email: TBA

The 6th annual Harvard University to Harvard, MA fundraiser fun ride with HUCA!

PLEASE NOTE: This is a no-drop ride with ride leaders and a sag wagon for breakdowns/emergencies, but it is also a ~75 mile loop to Harvard and back, or ~35mi to Concord and back. You MUST bring water and FOOD, and be prepared to ride at a 15MPH pace.

Because it looks like certain rain tomorrow, we are moving the H2H ride to SUNDAY. It will be the exact same thing–a group out to Harvard and a group out to Concord. We will meet at 8:40am at Peet’s and 9am at Belmont Wheelworks. If it turns out to rain (meaning, it is actively precipitating at 8:40am) on Sunday, the ride is canceled with no make up. The ride is no drop, within reason. We will also have cue sheets and a sag wagon for emergencies (call the number on the cue sheet).

What to bring:
–warm clothes
–plenty of water
–food
–spare tubes
–HELMET (required!)

We also could use more ride leaders, so if you’d like to ride lead, please let Eun Young know.

It should be a great day on Sunday, so come out and have fun!

more info here and here.

Got this in the email, looks like fun.

—-

Sunday, November 8, 2009: Mother Brook Bike Ride 1:00 pm, Fairmount Ave. at Truman Parkway, Hyde Park

MassBike leads the Boston Natural Areas Network and the Friends of Stony Brook Reservation on a tour of the entire length of the Mother Brook, which connects the Neponset River to the Charles River. See old mills and learn some early colonial history. We’ll check out progress on construction of the new Neponset Trail, too. Led by Doug Mink.

Got this in the email, looks like fun

——

Tune up your bikes and come for one more ride around Roxbury. On today’s ride we’ll visit Roxbury’s four Main Streets programs, hear their directors explain why each is unique, and receive recommendations on places to eat and shop. Our tour will begin in Grove Hall and travel through the foliage of Franklin Park to emerge at Egleston Square. From there we’ll bike along the Southwest Corridor Park to Mission Hill and then finish our ride in Dudley Square. The 4-mile ride is open to bikers of all skill levels, but HELMETS ARE REQUIRED.

Co-presented with the Franklin Park Coalition.

Saturday, October 17, 10am-12pm. Limit 20 people. Weather permitting.
Free with RSVP to info@discoverroxbury.org.
The tour meets at the park next to the Flames restaurant in Grove Hall, 469 Blue Hill Ave.

So how cool is this:

Massachusetts bicycle club circa 1888

Sweet tweed riders circa 2009 (aught 9 to those in the know)

For those interested in the route it was:

View Tweed Ride Boston in a larger map

Really this was a smashing good time, and will be attended next year, most definitely.

Got the following in the email, looks like a good time!

———–

Join the Somerville Bicycle Committee for our 17th annual fall Tour de Somerville. This year’s theme is “Somerville: City of Seven (Or More) Hills”.

We’ll meet on Saturday, October 17 at 10 am at Seven Hills Park (behind the Holland Street T entrance in Davis Square), leaving promptly at 10:15.

Our ride will be approximately 11 miles, and visit each of Somerville’s hills, both those that still exist and those that have been removed. Riders should wear helmets and be prepared for hill climbs and descents. We will make brief stops at the tops of most hills so that riders stay together as a group, but we won’t have extended history lectures or speeches.

The Somerville Police will escort the ride on bicycles, and Redbones will provide refreshments at the halfway point.

For more info (and a list of hills), visit http://somervillebikes.org/events.html . A route map is at http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/312795 , and a cue
sheet at http://www.bikely.com/cuesheet/route/312795 .

If it rains, we’ll try again the next day, same time and location.

I hate to admit it but I’ve reached that all too familiar impasse with my usual ride to Arlington. Like that feeling of slight disappointment mixed with guilt you feel when you’re hanging out with a really nice person and you try to make a sarcastic joke and they respond with a small frown and the statement, “aww, that’s not nice.” So to avoid sounding evil and mean you shut the hell up but end up bored out of your mind because walking on eggshells is as socially pleasant as choking on a fork. And eventually you end up avoiding the friend – or in this case, the ride – because they just make you feel bad about yourself and how “not nice” you are.

Truly nice people tend to be extremely boring, but that’s not the point here.

The point is that I needed something different. Something interesting that would stroke my ego a bit. Kind of like the gay bitchy queen friend that every girl really should have. And I found it this past weekend. In, of all places, Dover, MA.

The route I took was given to me by a Rapha Conti rider months ago, but slightly intimidated by it all, I sat on it for a while. Back then, I was still hopeful that the ride to Arlington could keep me interested; people always say how nice it is to ride out there. There was no way – I thought – that this ride and I wouldn’t get along.

But my interest started to fizzle and fade, and when M1 offered to recon a new ride with me last weekend, I dove in.

Being immediately suspicious of the hype that tends to surround extremely charismatic people, I braced myself for a bit of disappointment. Cyclists in Boston always talk about Dover and how awesome it is to ride out there. But like attractive people with little inner content, maybe, I thought, it was a boring ride with pretty scenery. Maybe it’ll only keep my attention for a few weekends, and it’ll be back to sweating over rollers because the whole outdoor cycling thing just wasn’t doing it for me.

For once, though, I was elated to be wrong. The thing about Dover is that it’s actually interesting. A good mix of flat terrain broken up with the occasional hill or two, and streets that are to Boston asphalt what Belvedere is to the stuff that comes exclusively in plastic handles. It’s the boy you’re staying up too late talking to about how awesome Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is, not the one you just sort of like to look at but can’t talk to because he just doesn’t get your jokes.

Don’t get me wrong. That doesn’t mean that the ride isn’t absolutely stunning. It’s gorgeous, and then some. The narrow road is surrounded by incredible skies, fields, and farms [we passed Chickering Farm with a sign that stated it was established in 1690!]. A beekeeper was tending to his buzzing workers as we slid by, and horses looked at us curiously. It was amazing.

And because a ride is never complete without some kind of sugar-laden something, we stopped by Abbott’s in Needham for frozen custard. Deliciously cold and gooey, it was like frozen yogurt and ice cream had a love child and offered it up to my growling stomach. It hit the spot, and was just sweet enough to power us through the brief rain shower on the way back home.

If my Dover ride was a real person, I’d be swooning over its sheer perfection. Just my luck that it isn’t, because I really hate to share.

Earlier this week I found out that the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail phase one, from Chelmsford to Westford, was opened to the public.

Even earlier on in the week I was in planning with one of my coworkers to get him out more on his bike. Our initial plan included another person, a former coworker of ours, who unfortunately had to back out due to issues with her ankle. Plans shifted from riding out to Concord, to starting a ride from Concord that might include Walden or the Sculpture Park, or even the Nagog Pond Loop (as I’ve been meaning to revisit it all summer.) But, when word of the rail trail opening came in we thought it was be good fun to go and check it out. So today we did just that.
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Dear Mark,

I assume you’re not passed out in a ditch somewhere after whatever may have transpired last night to celebrate the end of 2L. I’m hoping you can read this through the haze of your hangover.

Remember yesterday when I ran into you again after our rescheduled exams? And you told me not to take that route to Natick and I should go to Dover instead? And you said that this one route would be good and I’d like it because it’s sort of hilly and quiet and nice?

Well, I was really excited about it, and got all changed and jersey-fied for this ride. And then like 5 miles in, I hit a highway.

I actually tried to ride on it, and then I figured maybe I shouldn’t, and I tried to see if it was just a sort-of highway that ends but it was kind of scary and I couldn’t imagine how I would get back. So, instead, I ended up taking the usual 12 mile loop home and then passed out when I got to my apartment. Dover, fail, apparently.

But today, I managed to make it to Arlington via Lexington. And let me tell you, it’s like a whole different world. There are trees and little traffic and even bodies of water were involved! I was totally channeling Rapha Continental [but maybe without the speed, style, and grace]. I mean, this does not look like Massachusetts. Or at least the Massachusetts I’m used to.

The people are incredibly nice too, at least if you’re a girl and sweating buckets on some isolated private way with no clue where she’s going. Oh, yeah, I did get spit on by some kids on the way back, but I guess that comes with the territory [don't worry, I showered].

And I got lost about five times, but that goes without saying. It made the 35 mile-ish ride into something like 40, and other than a 10 minute break in Arlington, I hardly stopped. Progress, right?

I think I’ve found my daily route. It even has some legit hills, and twisty roads. If you weren’t leaving tomorrow for New York City, I’d drag you and Obersheimer there tomorrow morning. Even though with your respective gears, you’d both dust me. But come August, when you’re back, I plan on being at least a little bit stronger.

Time to sink my face into some food. Then a nap maybe, and gym time. Yeah, running starts today. I have difficulty walking, so this will be interesting. Anyway, I’m hungry. See you next week in the city, yeah?

oxox,
k

Oh, and study.

That’s pretty much all I did yesterday. I fell into bed early on Saturday in anticipation for the Sunday morning ride, even though there was no route planned. And possibly no ride partner, Pete having texted me late Saturday night that he was up for the ride but was an “anarchist party.” I figured he’ll be a no show.

I woke up bright and early to a comment on my blog from Pete. Written well past 1am. Yeah, right, he’s going to be ready by 8.30am, I thought. Screw it, I was going to do two 15 mile loops without stopping anyway [my first 30 miler - sad but true], Pete or no Pete. But a small chat box popped up in gmail around 7.45 – Mr. Pete Shelby himself, awake and willing to go on a ride after about 5 hours of sleep, even with work from noon to 6pm at CB. He picked up a Red Bull at the Store24 and we headed right into gusty winds towards hills and, for me, 30 miles of fixed [anticipated] agony.

We didn’t stop [minus the few red lights we didn't blow through] until we had thrown down 14 or so miles, and we pedaled past an apparent fire in Brookline. There were about seven fire trucks, the road was blocked off by police cars, and ambulances also lined the street. I used it as an excuse to snap a few pictures, eat some offered gummi bears, hydrate, then slide my feet back into the clips to do 15+ more miles.

My toes numb by mile 20, I was seriously jealous of Pete’s Sidis [I haven't set mine up yet]. My legs were sort of on autopilot halfway through the second loop, and only familiar landmarks and the desire not to be seen/labeled a lame quitter kept me pushing on the pedals. Well, that and good jokes – seemingly perfectly timed – which had me laughing to the point of not realizing that I was already halfway up a hill and that I just had to push a little more to crest the mofo.

My knees seemed to think 28 miles was quite enough as the last stretch home got slightly uncomfortable. That could be due to my sprint through the intersection in Washington Square, though; we never seem to make the light, except on Sundays. Sighting a green as we came down Beacon Street, I yelled ["It's Sunnnddayyyyy!!!"] and whooped as we burst through the light as it turned yellow. Gritting my teeth, sniffling while trying to breathe/pant, head down, slouched into my drops, we finished the ride in two hours and change. Less than 15mph; yeah, slow. Still, don’t hate.

I proceeded to stretch, shower, stuff my face, and fall asleep on my books [missing polo!], but dreaming of pretty bikes, summer rides, and all things Rapha [Pete unzipped his jacket just enough as we said goodbye to reveal a baby blue Rapha jersey...yeah that whole "starving artist" front is totally just to get chicks].

Next time, we’ll do it faster.

[Today's also my older sister's birthday - the only person who is capable of making me cry in sheer envy of her artistic talent, call me on all my bullshit, and the first person who taught me that what doesn't kill me will only make me stronger. Thanks, Kanako. Happy Birthday!]

I’m not quite addicted to Facebook, yet. Or, not as addicted as some. I don’t need to de-activate my account during finals because I’d be on it otherwise. I guess I’m just lazy; I don’t update my status numerous times throughout the day, I don’t stalk friends through pictures, and I don’t have 2398012984722 pictures of myself up on my profile.

When I finally caved and signed up for an account last year, I was hesitant to even friend people I’ve never met before but went to school with. There was the pre-requisite of “I have to actually talk to you first” before I confirmed friend requests.

That’s been sort of changing. Sort of. Because I’ve been Facebook friends with a certain Dan Pugatch, whom I didn’t get to meet until last night for his birthday party at Charlie’s Kitchen. That’s not to say my Facebook standards have plummeted; Dan is the incredibly awesome author/blogger behind Not Your Average Bicycle Messenger, and we both read each other’s respective blogs. In a way, he knew more about me than some of my Facebook friends that I’ve actually met.

And because I stupidly forget my SD card for my digital camera at home [total fail!], I was only able to take some crappy cell phone pictures. We finally did meet, though, last night, over a Diet Coke [for me, more on that tomorrow] and a Jameson on the rocks [for him].

It was great seeing some familiar faces, and meeting new ones. My ride partner even came with, which made sure I got home at a decent hour so I could ride, ride, ride today. Even though, as I found out later because I never drink soda, Diet Coke really kills sleep.

Still, hanging out with bike people is always fun, and always a good time. I already can’t wait for next weekend; I have polo planned [for once!], hopes of more bike parts coming in, and lots and lots of rides. There’s hottt-ness waiting for me at IBC too [I mean, other than the bike]. And of course, there’s the new bike.

Ahhhhhh!!! Can’t wait!!!!

Dec 21 is the day of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. There will be a metric century (62 miles) ride starting from City Feed on Centre St in Jamaica Plain with rollout at 8:00 a.m.

The route will go thru Belmont, Concord, Arlington and a few other towns. The pace will be doable for riders of all abilities and no one will get dropped. It is just a fun winter ride!

email Sully at msullivan456@gmail.com with questions or for more info.

Hey BNB youth!

Think you’re hot stuff on a bicycle? Prove it and hunt down ghouls and ghosts around Boston in teams of 3-4. Wear a costume, dress up your bike, and earn points for biking to checkpoints, decoding clues, and completing tasks! Don’t forget to dress up because…

BEST COSTUME WINS A BMX FRAME!!

Pick up the registration form at the BNB shop or Hub or contact Christina Illarmo, Girls’ Programming and Bike Safety Coordinator, for more information: 617 522 0222 or Christina@bikesnotbombs.org

http://www.bikesnotbombs.org/node/418

MassBike Spins – Dorchester

Beyond The Greenway II
October 26 at 10am

Presented by MassBike

“Beyond the Greenway II” will start at 10:00 am on Sunday, October 26, at
the Hallet St. entrance to Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester–so we can
bike past the new mural on the SE Expressway underpass–and head north
along the waterfront all of the way to Fort Point Channel, where we will
head up the South Bay Harbor Trail to Mass. Ave. We’ll turn around at
Crosstown and head back to the starting point. Map and more info at

www.masspaths.net/rides/NeponsetOct2008.html

(hat tip Ron, Thanks!)

Click for larger image

The Red Bull Witch Hunt will start at approximately 6:30PM on the 29th. Please check their (gah myspace) site for updates as the date gets closer. The Witch Hunt will take place from approximately 6:30PM-8:30PM. The Witches’ party will be 9:30PM – 1:00AM at a secret location in Salem, MA.

Please come prepared for the hunt from Boston to Salem with proper clothing, witches costume and bicycle safety equipment (light and helmet recommended for this night ride). Transportation for you and your bike will be provided back to Boston after the Witches’ party.

The Red Bull Witch Hunt is for anyone, and everyone 18 or older.

RSVP by Tuesday October 28th with your name, and any other names of those that will be showing up for the Witch Hunt. redbullwitchhunt@gmail.com with RSVP, questions, etc

UMass Hillel Ride to Provide: Sunday, October 19, 2008

The second annual Ride to Provide, a family-friendly bike ride to support the many community service programs and earth-friendly projects of the Hillel House at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will be held on Sunday, October 19.

Join Senator Stan Rosenberg, Representative Ellen Story, Larry Hott, Chancellor Robert Holub, Aaron Lansky, and Gerry Friedman and many other riders from the Five Colleges and throughout New England on your choice of a 9, 18, or 36 mile bike ride through the fall foliage-lined streets of Amherst, Hadley and Sunderland, with rest stops and snacks at neighboring Sukkot (traditional harvest dwellings). The Ride to Provide will end with a post-ride festival with lunch for the bikers and their families at the UMass Hillel House on North Pleasant Street, Amherst.

Click here for more info or to register.

HISTORIC BICYCLE TOUR OF MIDDLESEX CANAL (OCT 4)

On Saturday, October 4, 2008, MassBike, the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission, the Middlesex Canal Commission and the Middlesex Canal Association will sponsor the 6th annual historic bicycle tour of the southern portion of the Middlesex Canal. The Canal was the “big dig” of the end of the 18th century. Completed in 1803 after 10 years of construction, the Canal connected the Merrimac River in what is now Lowell with the Charles River at Sullivan Square in Charlestown. In many ways it served as a model for later canals including the Erie Canal. The Canal remained in operation for 50 years, providing both passenger and freight service, but could not compete successfully with the Boston and Lowell Railroad which began operation in the 1830’s.

The ride will meet at the Canal plaque at the entrance to the Sullivan Square MBTA station at 9:00. The entire ride is 38 miles, getting to Lowell in time to catch the 5:00 train (arriving in Boston 5:43), but people can leave the ride after 20 miles at the Wilmington train station (1:24, arriving in Boston 1:53) or after 28 miles at the North Billerica train station (3:07, arriving in Boston 3:43). We will make a lunch stop in Woburn and we recommend that you bring a lunch, but it will be possible to buy a sandwich there. The route is pretty flat and level, and since the route includes many stops, we will average 5 miles an hour. The ride will be relatively easy for most cyclists.
Along the way we will stop at a number of remnants and restored sections of the Canal, as well as the mansion of Loammi Baldwin, the chief engineer of the Canal, the two remaining aqueducts (which carried the Canal over rivers and brooks), and also the Francis Gate lock on the Pawtucket Canal in Lowell. At the North Billerica millpond, we will see the historic mill village and Canal Museum, and the northern end of the floating towpath that carried horses over the millpond.

The ride will be led by Dick Bauer of the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission and the Middlesex Canal Commission, Robert Winters of the Middlesex Canal Association, and Bill Kuttner of the Shirley- Eustis House. Steady rain cancels. For more information, contact Dick at dick.bauer@alum.mit.edu (617-628-6320), Robert at robert@middlesexcanal.org, or Bill at bkuttner@ctps.org.
For more information about the Middlesex Canal go to: http://www.middlesexcanal.org

Two weekends ago Sunday I attempted a ~60 mile ride: go to and take roughings of all of the Museum of Science’s Community Solar System planet kiosks (including Pluto the Plutoid.)

I should have known something was up when the MoS updated  their website and no longer offered for download the “passport,” nor made available the pages detailing the Community Solar System project at all.

But that didn’t deter me! I downloaded that passport file weeks ago, and I had worked diligently on finding somewhat feasible biking routes (more on that in a bit.) I forged ahead – the ride would not be thwarted just because the new website doesn’t have the Community Solar System project listed anymore!

Well, here is what I started with: Pluto, at the platform of the Riverside T Stop, Green D Line.

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I got this fun bit of news in the mail today. I participated in the Major Taylor Hill Climb (video and pics of that soon, I hope…) That was a blast! You should try this as well.

—

MAJOR TAYLOR CENTURY — Sept. 21, 2008

Seven Hills Wheelmen and 10th Gear Christian Youth Cyclists present:

MAJOR TAYLOR CENTURY
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Whitinsville, Mass. (see directions below) www.sevenhillswheelmen.org/centuries.htm

Bicycle 25, 62 or 100 miles on the scenic roads of south-central Massachusetts, plus a bit of Rhode Island and Connecticut.

All rides leave from the Whitin Community Center, 60 Main St., Whitinsville, Mass.

CENTURY (100 miles) — check-in 7:15-8 a.m., depart 8 a.m.
METRIC CENTURY (62 miles) — check in 8:30-9 a.m., depart 9 a.m.
QUARTER CENTURY (25 miles) — check-in 9:30-10 a.m., depart 10 a.m.
RAIN OR SHINE

Entry fees — Before Sept. 16, 10th Gear & Seven Hills Wheelmen members, $15; nonmembers, $20.
Day of ride, 10th Gear & Seven Hills Wheelmen members, $20; nonmembers, $25.

Online preregistration: www.sevenhillswheelmen.org/majortaylor

Mail-in registration: Make checks payable to 10thGear and mail to:
10thGear/MTC, c/o Village Congregational Church, P.O. Box 217, Whitinsville, MA 01588

Entry fee covers continental breakfast, cue sheet, arrowed route and snacks. Helmets are required. Proceeds benefit 10th Gear, Major Taylor Association, and Seven Hills Wheelmen.

WHO WAS MAJOR TAYLOR? Marshall W. “Major” Taylor (1878-1932), who lived in Worcester, was world cycling champion in 1899 and American sprint champion in 1900. Known as “the Worcester Whirlwind” and “the colored cyclone,” he was the second black world champion in any sport (the first was bantamweight boxer George Dixon in 1891). More about Major Taylor and the new Major Taylor monument at the Worcester Public Library:
www.majortaylorassociation.org

Century information: Arlen Hall, (508) 234-9945, mtc@10thgear.com www.sevenhillswheelmen.org/centuries.htm

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - Directions — Whitinsville is part of the town of Northbridge.

FROM THE NORTH: Take I-290 west and connect to Route 146 south in the center of Worcester at Brosnihan Square. Follow Route 146 south to the Purgatory Road exit. Turn left at the end of the ramp. Follow this road about 3 miles into the center of Whitinsville. The Whitin Community Center will be on your left. Turn left at the next traffic light on Hill Street.
The entrance is 100 feet ahead on the left.

FROM THE EAST OR WEST: Take Mass. Turnpike (I-90) to Exit 10A (Worcester/Route 146). Follow Route 146 south 8 miles to the Purgatory Road exit. Turn left at the end of the ramp. Follow this road about 3 miles into the center of Whitinsville. The Whitin Community Center will be on your left. Turn left at the next traffic light on Hill Street. The entrance is 100 feet ahead on the left.

FROM RHODE ISLAND: Follow Route 146 north to the Lackey Dam Road exit in Mass. Turn right at the end of the ramp. Follow this road 3 miles to the center of Whitinsville (traffic light). The Whitin Community Center entrance is straight ahead 100 feet on the left, on Hill Street.
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DotBike has done it again with another sweet food themed ride, I suggest you all check it out.

Saturday morning ride to the Haymarket: A vitaminised journey

When: Saturday August 30th from 9 AM to 11 AM

Where: Ride from Ashmont to the Haymarket and back along Dorchester Ave.

Join veteran cheapskates Vivian and Elisa on their quest to get the cheapest fruits and vegetable in town. For those who are not familiar with it, every Friday and Saturday a discounted produce market takes place in the Haymarket square area of downtown Boston. Fruits and vegetables are sold in outdoor stands at a fraction of what you’d pay for them at the supermarket.

They come by the full pallets from the Chelsea warehouses that supply many of Boston’s supermarkets and grocery stores. The quality can vary, but by choosing carefully, one can get enough fruits and vegetables for two weeks for under $20! It can be loud, crowded and a bit unpolished, but that’s part of the charm of the place. And nowhere else in town you will see such a diverse crowd in one location.

More info about the haymarket

We will meet in front of Ashmont Grill at 555 Talbot Ave. (intersection of Dorchester Ave. and Talbot Ave.) at 9:00 AM. If your bike needs a minor tune-up, you can show up 15 minutes early (8:45) and we’ll try to address that. We will ride on Dorchester Ave. at a leisurely pace and take a more scenic route once we get downtown. We should arrive around 9:45. We’ll take about 30 minutes for shopping and relaxing and head-back around 10:15, to beback in Ashmont around 11:00. It’s about 6 miles each way. You can also join at any point along the route by calling Vivian ahead of time at 617 290 5822.

Don’t forget your big backpack or a bungee cord if you have a bike rack (there are plenty of empty discarded cardboard boxes to be found to pack your fruits).

What if it rains? they’ll cancel and do it another weekend.

For info, contact Vivian at Vivian335@juno.com or 617 290 5822

And keep an eye on the event calendar at www.dotbike.org for other upcoming rides and events like our next commute ride home on September 10th and the Hub on Wheels ride on September 21st – register to ride as part of the DotBike team.

MassBike and the Emerging Green Builders are putting on a sweet green architecture ride. This Satureday August 23rd join Boston’s Emerging Green Builders for a bike tour of green buildings in Boston!

Meet at the Children’s Museum at 9:30 and ride until 11:30.

Feel free to bring a bagged lunch to eat after on the Esplanade and get to know some other EGBers.

Boston’s Emerging Green Builders mission is to provide students and young professionals affordable and accessible resources for integration into the growing green building industry. See http://bostonnegb.ning.com.

You are invited to join Boston’s Emerging Green Builders for a bike tour of green buildings in Boston!
Meet at the Children’s Museum Saturday, Aug. 23rd at 9:30 and ride until 11:30.
Feel free to bring a bagged lunch to eat after on the Esplanade and get to know some other EGBers.
Boston’s Emerging Green Builders mission is to provide students and young professionals affordable and accessible resources for integration into the growing green building industry. See http://bostonnegb.ning.com.

Everyone must bring their own bike and helmet.
If you need to rent a bike, go to:

www.urbanadventours.com
www.landrys.com
www.skimarket.com

These places rent out bicycles for $25-35 per day.

This event is a MassBike Spin Series Ride.

MassBike is putting on this fun little ride, should be good for all ages.

MassBike Spins – Boston Ride Series: Two If By Sea Ride

Saturday, July 26, 10am from Paul Revere Landing Park in Charlestown.

Follow the East Coast Greenway route north through Charlestown, Everett, and Malden, then cut east to Revere Beach and ride south along the beach through Winthrop to Deer Island. The ride will return through East Boston, Chelsea, and Everett, with the traditional lunch stop at Constitution Beach and more bikepaths in East Boston and Chelsea.

The ride will be about 30 miles long, with every type of riding environment you can encounter in metropolitan Boston, from wide busy streets to quiet seashore paths. Helmets are required, and hybrid bikes are recommended due to bad street surfaces. A map and cue sheet will be posted on http://www.masspaths.org soon.

So, I went on an early-summer trip to Italy for a couple of weeks. That happened a while ago now and I haven’t written anything since before leaving.

It’s taken me a while to get back into the various rhythms, and, well, the weather’s been more or less quite good so I’ve been riding a good deal! Riding > writing.

I’m working on a ride for personal enjoyment, it will be my longest single ride to date. In the Boston area is a scaled down model of the solar system (including Pluto as a planet,) called the Community Solar System. It’s centered around the Sun at the Museum of Science and spans out to as far as Newton. The distances for all of the kiosks with the planets is scaled so that walking speed is the equivalent of light speed when factored up. It’s a really neat idea, and I like it.

So far I’ve come up with a general map, starting from Pluto and working my way back into the city. There are a few more inner-system planets I’ll hit before some outer-system ones, just to keep the ride to something more sensible.

If the ride goes well for me I’ll do it again and invite others to join, but as there are some questionable navigation legs and since I’m not very familiar with the area very much, and since I’ve never lead a ride before, I hesitate to include anyone else in my crazy schemes as of yet.

So, hopefully the weather will be excellent this weekend, because since I’ve started working on this ride I’ve lost sleep thinking about it. I can’t say why I like the idea so much, I’m just a geek I guess.

[edit] Looks like fortune was not in my favor. Saturday was in the 90’s and today is sketchy. On top of that I’ve become inflicted with a summer cold (of all things!) so I’ve been more out of commission than usual.

Everyone like cruising the Dirty Dot, be sure to check out this sweet ride, presented by my Homies over at DotBike.

Dorchester Recreational Ride on Sunday June 22th, 6:00 PM

This is a relaxed 10 Mile scenic ride in Dorchester with about 4 mile on street, and 6 miles off-street with an all important stop for ice cream at the end. It is welcoming to riders who have little or no experience riding a bike on the city streets, and would like to get more confident in doing so as well as experienced riders who want to explore neighborhoods and enjoy biking with others. The pace will be slow, (about 10 miles an hour), the route is flat, and we will do our best to make all riders comfortable and safe.

The ride itself will start at the intersection of Dorchester Ave. and Talbot St., in front of the Ashmont Grill restaurant, next to the Ashmont train station.

We will start by riding North on Dorchester Ave., then take a right in Savin Hill. Those who wish to test their bike climbing skills will have the option of climbing Caspian Way, (a short -300 yards- but steep street leading to the summit of Savin Hill), and be rewarded by one of Dorchester’s most scenic view. People who find it too challenging to climb Caspian way on a bike will be able to walk their bike to the top, or just take a break and wait a few minutes at the bottom of the hill.

From there we will bike along Malibu Beach (yeah, Malibu!), down to Tenean Beach, port Norfolk, and then follow the very scenic Neponset Bike trail to Lower Mills where we’ll stop for local homemade ice cream at the Ice Cream Smith! Then we’ll ride back to Ashmont on Dorchester Ave. We expect to be back in Ashmont between 7:30 and 8:00 PM

The ride will be led by experienced Dorchester riders. People who want to learn how to fix a flat tire can show up at 5:30 PM in front of Ashmont Hill. There will be an impromptu “How to survive a flat” seminar starting 30 minutes before the ride.

If you would like to join the ride or have questions, please contact (Melissa at melquirk@gmail.com, 617-288-5548) or Vivian at 617 290 5822. Maps will be provided. We’d like to have an idea of how many riders to expect so please RSVP!

More info here.

The Dorchester beach festival is happening August 16th from 11-4 at Malibu Beach on Morrissey Boulevard and all Dorchester is invited!
Ride with DotBike to the Beach up the Neponset River Greenway Trail and then to Malibu Beach or follow other bike routes through Dorchester.

Get more info on our DotBike at the Dorchester Beach Festival page

Get active at the beach -
canoes and sailboats, games and other activities.
See water safety demonstrations, learn about shoreline ecology.
All that and a giant duck!

For more info see the Dorchester Beach Festival site

Via Boston Fixed…This sounds like a good time.

It leaves from the OSC (other side cafe) at 8:30 AM, please show up at 8AM if you plan to attend. It’s 20 bucks which includes the “ride” led by the Swanster himself. Also an all you can eat buffet (at the OSC), AND FREE PABST BLUE RIBBONS, and not just a couple!!!! Did I mention the T-shirts? The first 25 riders get em’ for free. I have really nothing to do with it other than Swanie’s my boy and I figured I would help him spread the word since his inter-web connection is down, and he’s unaware of the power of “Boston Fixed”. I may or may not be there? Oh yeah the “ride” is a relatively chill no-drop kinda affair. The BEER is COLD and the company excellent. Good way to start the day b4 I crush you all at Boston Bike Polo!

DotBike Green Dot Ride

Join us Saturday April 26 for a relaxed bike tour of Dorchester’s parks and green spaces. We’ll meet at the back (Giraffe) entrance to the Franklin Park
Zoo at 12:30. Check out www.dotbike.org, email dotbike@bostonbiker.org or call Andy at 781-367-9200 for more info.

This looks to be a very fun event.

Saturday, April 26, Beyond the Greenway Ride (for Earth Day) 10:00 am, Fowl Meadow parking lot on Brush Hill Road just south of the Neponset Valley Parkway, just east of Paul’s Bridge and the Boston/Milton border.

We’ll head the opposite direction from last month,following Burma Road to the Bridge to Nowhere, then going south on beautiful Elm St. in Canton, ending with views of the Blue Hills and Boston from The Trustees of Reservations’ new Signal Hill Reservation. It’s not a very long ride, around 10 miles, but the first couple of miles are off-road through the Fowl Meadow section of the DCR’s Blue Hills Reservation.

Hybrid or mountain bikes are recommended, though Burma Road has a hard enough surface that it has been ridden with skinny tires. Helmets are required.

The ride is cosponsored by MassBike’s Metro Boston Chapter, the Boston Natural Areas Network, an affiliate of The Trustees of Reservations and the NGO force behind the Neponset Trail, and the Neponset River Watershed Association, which works to protect and restore the Neponset River.

If it’s muddy, we’ll take Rt. 138 in at least one direction, which would add a mile each way. We could also walk Burma Road, if it’s not *that* muddy. It would be nice to get back to the start in time to make the 1:30 talk about local impacts of climate change at the Arnold Arboretum.

If it is raining hard, we won’t ride at all. There is no rain date set, but contact me about another date.

There is more information at

http://www.masspaths.org/rides/SignalHill2008.html

I got this news today, looks like a fun ride. Neponset River Greenway Spring Ride: March 22nd 2008

This ride follows Truman Parkway north along the Neponset River, then cuts through Milton along the river to Dorchester Lower Mills, where we’ll cross the river and bike through Olmsted-designed Dorchester Park. We’ll follow John Adams’ commuting route, turning off it to go over Ashmont Hill to Boston Harbor. After stops at Victory Road Park and Phillips’ Candies, we’ll follow the Neponset Trail back to Milton and ride a bit of the Boston side of the river to Hyde Park, where we will cross back to Truman Parkway and return to the start.Click here for more details

Wow thats a mouthful, but it looks like a cool ride.

Brookline Bikes Beacon Bicycle Parade
Sunday, May 18, 2008
12:30 P.M.
Amory Park
www.BrooklineBikes.org