ABC Ride: THURSDAY, May 21 at 11:00 a.m. from Stone Park, Ashland
Joel Arbeitman
Hi everyone.
Our next Ashland Bike Club ride will be held THURSDAY, May 21 at 11:00 a.m. The ride will start from Stone Park near downtown Ashland.
GPS Address: Across from 27 Park Rd, Ashland
Route Name: ABC – The Upside-Down Moose
Ride
Rating:
Distance: Easy (22.0)
Elevation:
Moderate-Challenging (59)
Total Gain: 1302 feet
Steepest: 6.8%
THURSDAY’s
Weather
After
two
really hot days on Tuesday and Wednesday, THURSDAY promises a
comfortable, cloudy
day with temps between 69 and 64.
The
Ride
I think
it’s safe to say
that this is the club’s (or probably any club’s) only
upside-down moose
ride. What’s up with
that???
The route packs quite a wallop in many ways. We start off with a roll along Ashland’s Trolley Brook Trail, then make our way through the rolling hills in Hopkinton State Park, then, a little farther along, there are even more uphills to climb as we cruise through Southborough on our way to Westborough. The reward? Ice cream at Uhlman’s! And, finally, we finish up with some great country roads and lots of water views as we make our way back to the start.
The distance is easy … the hills are rated moderate-challenging. Let us know if you actually see a moose during the ride. I plan to wear my Bullwinkle socks but that doesn’t count!
Here's a link to a map of THURSDAY’s route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39188081
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 regular “Off the Route”
section includes
helpful information about bicycle riding and other topics we
hope you will find
interesting.
Ashland Bike Club Radio
Simon & Bullwinkle – Bridge
Over Troubled Water
Paul Simon – Kodachrome
Jack & Daisy – America
Paul Simon & Joan Baez – The
Boxer
Simon & Bullwinkle – Homeward
Bound
E-Bikes Insurance Update
There are a couple of important updates we can share about
changes
in the world of e-bikes.
As many of you know, we have had to ban, hopefully temporarily, all Class 3 e-bikes. Many ABC riders use this type of e-bike and they have always used them responsibly on ABC club rides.
After carefully reviewing ABC’s insurance policy, that we obtain through the League of American Bicyclists (LAB), I learned that neither our riders nor the club itself would have any liability protection if a Class 3 e-bike was involved in an accident that resulted in a lawsuit. We felt that until we had liability coverage, we could no longer permit the use of Class 3 e-bikes on club rides.
But we also fought like hell to get the policy changed. Our first step was to speak with the insurance company. They seemed open to considering a change but also didn’t seem willing to make any commitments. Not good enough!!
My next step was to contact LAB’s Executive Director. I told him that probably none of LAB’s 300,000 members had any idea they weren’t covered for Class 3 e-bikes. I told him that at a minimum the League needed to notify its members about the exclusion in the policy. As “our advocacy” organization, the League had a duty to disclose the facts to its membership.
He immediately set up a meeting with the insurance company and, the great news is. that the insurance company has committed to covering Class 3s. They are currently working with their underwriters to do various “insurance things” at which point we should see a notification of the new coverage.
I’ve called several times over the last month and, unfortunately, have not received any subsequent updates. We’re confident this will happen … sometime soon.
The Senate’s New E-Bike Bill
A bill has been introduced in the Massachusetts Senate
(S.3077)
that some have nicknamed the “Ride Safe Act”.
Among numerous other changes, one major change is that Class 3s would now be legally recognized and they would also be permitted on multi-use paths (aka bike paths).
The bill has lots of good changes but, I’m sorry to say, I don’t think it goes nearly far enough to actually reduce the number and severity of e-accidents.
What I see as the missing piece is the absence of a slower class of e-bike for kids and inexperienced riders. From my point of view, allowing a ten-year-old kid on a bike that can go 20 mph, perhaps on a bike path, is way too fast.
Link to the bill: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S3077/Senate/Bill/Text
A hearing on the bill will be held on May 28.
How to provide testimony: https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/5694
Can
Do
Our old manual can opener finally has flipped its last lid.
Put
another way, it broke.
I had no interest in those new-fangled electric gizmos. I was just looking for something really basic.
But, there’s a new kid on the block.
The problem with the old can opener was that it always left about ¼ inch of the lid still attached. Risking life and limb, I had to twist it and bend it until it snapped off.
Many years ago, I got a really bad gash on my thumb fooling with a lid’s sharp edges.
The new gizmo, however, leaves a totally run-your-finger-along-it smooth edge on both the lid and the can. It makes such a good cut that you can even pop the lid back on if you don’t use all the contents.
This thing works differently from good-ole-reliable. Instead of cutting the top of the lid in the traditional way, it actually cuts the side of the can very near the top.
When you’re ready, check this out: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000079XW2
It’s a little pricey but I appreciate the added safety.
To recap THURSDAY’s ride, we will “meet” at Stone Park in Ashland (across from 27 Park Rd) at 11:00 a.m.
As always, check your email after 9:30 a.m. on ride days to make sure we didn’t postpone or cancel the ride and … don’t forget those helmets!
See you soon.
Bullwinkle 