ABC Ride: THURSDAY, April 23 at 11:00 a.m. from Featherland Park, Sudbury
Joel Arbeitman
Note: Ride moved to THURSDAY!!!
The next Ashland Bike Club ride will be held this THURSDAY, April 23 at 11:00 a.m. The ride will start at Featherland Park (491 Concord Rd) in Sudbury. We’ll meet in the parking lot near the tennis courts.
GPS Address: 491 Concord Rd, Sudbury, Ma
Route Name: ABC – Bruce Freeman Inferno Ride II (get the right version)
Ride Rating:
Distance: Easy (19.5)
Elevation: Easy
(29) *** (see below)
Total Gain: 550 feet
Steepest: 4.4%
*** What does ABC’s “Elevation” number mean?
We like to explain how we use this metric from time to time especially for our newer riders to help them understand how hilly any given route might be.
The elevation number is a simple calculation that divides the total gain, i.e., the total number of uphill feet (in this case, 550) by the ride distance in miles (in this case, 19.5). For this ride, it results in an average gain per mile of 29 feet.
A very rough rule of thumb, and again, the elevation number is an average that doesn’t indicate how hard or easy any given uphill on the route might be, is as follows:
Under 30: easy (so, a 33 might be called “easy-moderate”)
35 – 45: moderate
50 and up: challenging
60 and up: bring a note
from your
doctor (no, not serious!)
The words we use to describe the elevation rating often use the table above but, at times, they modify it to include factors like a very steep uphill or a very long uphill.
THURSDAY’s
Weather
ABC
often does this
route when it’s too hot to ride hence the name.
The route provides lots of shade and virtually no hills.
Thursday,
though, will definitely not be too hot.
Temps
on Thursday should range from about 55 to 60 degrees under
mostly sunny skies.
THURSDAY’s Ride
THURSDAY’s
ride is one of the flattest routes ABC offers. The entire route (except
for about ½ mile)
will be held on the Bruce Freeman Trail which is not just very
flat but also
offers plenty of shade for those really hot days. If you’re a
fan of EASY, don’t
miss this one!
Here's a link to a map of THURSDAY’s route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51391917
You can print our “official cue sheet” for the ride by clicking the link above, then click “More”, then click “Print Map and Cue PDF”, and finally click “Print Official”.
Off the Route
Our
“Off the Route”
feature includes various topics we hope you’ll find
interesting and useful. Please
let us know what you think.
Ashland
Bike Club Radio
Here are a few songs with a
little humor
…
Michael Douglas and Bob Dylan – Things
Have Changed
Steve Goodman – Vegematic
Steve Goodman – A Dying
Cub Fan’s Last Request
The Chenille Sisters - Namedroppings
Jerry Garcia & David Grisman – There
Ain’t No Bugs On Me
Sally Rogers & Howie Bursen – A Chat
with Your Mother
The ABC
2026 Face Plant
Award
We usually wait until December to
give
this award (actually, we’ve never given this award before) but
I think it’s
fair to say no one is likely to top this.
Watch
this very short “face
plant” video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jScCtSzwNj8
While we hate to see anyone get hurt, there should be a
special place in hell
for bicycle thieves. There was a time in early America that
those convicted of
stealing a horse could be subjected to public flogging,
branding, lengthy
prison sentences, or even the death penalty. Perhaps penalties
for bicycle
theft should be at least a little more severe than they
currently are.
And lack of enforcement is an inexcusable problem. There are an estimated 2 million bicycle thefts every year in the US and virtually nothing is being done about them. At an average price of roughly $1000 to $2000, and many are far more costly than that, that’s potentially a $2 to $4 billion a year problem.
Bicycles
have become
very expensive, many depend on them for transportation, and
police departments
still see them as toys. Law enforcement needs to take the
problem far more
seriously. Bike theft is easily a multi-billion dollar
industry and our laws
and our law enforcement are asleep at the wheel.
Healthier
Homemade “Eggs”
Vegans don’t eat eggs. They do, however, make
their own “vegan eggs”
which make great omelets. There are millions of ways to cook
these but here’s a
basic recipe. You don’t need to be vegan to enjoy great vegan
dishes. With no
cholesterol and lots of fiber, these are healthier than “real”
eggs whether you’re
a vegan or not.
Homemade
Vegan “Eggs”
INGREDIENTS (add to a blender)
2 cups soaked (at least 2 hrs or overnight) yellow lentils (or
red lentils)
2 cups (equal to lentils) plant
milk
8 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp black salt (or regular
salt)
DIRECTIONS
Blend
Store in sealed jar
Use within 5 days or so
For
omelets: (if you’re
making omelettes with two t’s, just double the recipe😎)
Stir fry some veggies (onions,
tomatoes,
mushrooms, whatever) and then set aside
Grease a pan (try vegan butter) or olive oil
Add enough sauteed veggies for one omelet
Poor the vegan egg mixture on top (about 8 inches in diameter)
of the veggies
Use a large spatula to pinch in the edges when it’s a little
firmer
Keep pressing down on the omelet with the spatula so it cooks
through
Flip the omelet when it’s firm enough to cook the other side
(good luck!!)
Serve with salsa on top
The recipe makes enough for four very large omelets.
Cycling
Has Been Linked
to Lower Dementia Risk and Better Brain Health
Well, here’s some good news.
Anytime you
can combine safe (and fun) physical exercise with sunshine and
scenery, and
great companionship, you must be doing something really good,
not just for your
overall health, but for your brain health and your mood as
well.
Now, a recent study, conducted over 13 years and covering almost ½ million participants, confirms some of the many benefits of being a cyclist.
Keep up the good work, ABCers!!!
Read the details of the study: https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-linked-lower-dementia-risk-314377
To recap this THURSDAY’s ride, we will meet at Featherland Park in Sudbury at 11:00 a.m.
Also, be sure to check your email on THURSDAY after 9:30 a.m. to make sure we didn’t postpone or cancel the ride and … don’t forget those helmets!
See you THURSDAY!!
Joel