ABC Ride: Saturday, November 9 at 10:30 a.m. from Dover-Sherborn Middle School, Dover, Ma
Joel Arbeitman
The Ashland Bike Club’s next ride, called Dreaming of Dover VII, is scheduled for this Saturday, November 9 at 10:30 a.m. from the Dover-Sherborn Regional Middle School parking lot.
GPS Address: 155 Farm St, Dover, Ma
Route Name: ABC – Dreaming of Dover VII (get the right version)
Ride Rating:
Distance: Moderate (25.0)
Elevation: Moderate-Challenging
(44)
Total Gain: 1101 feet
Steepest: 7.0%
The Weather
Saturday’s forecast calls for a totally sunny
but breezy day with
temps ranging from 46 - 51 degrees. Dress warm –
that breeze is going
to make it feel colder than it is.
The
Ride
When we created this route, we knew we had come up with a
winner. Even still, we
have been overwhelmed by the
feedback we’ve received from club members.
This is one of ABC’s most popular routes.
This version, version VII, has numerous new features. Because we weren’t happy with the 1.25 miles the previous version required on Route 16 due to high traffic volume, we now do an out-and-back on Claybrook Rd which is a club favorite. We’ve also added a loop on Strawberry Hill Rd. The scenery there is amazing but it does add a challenging hill or two.
Overall, this route meanders through Dover, South Natick, Needham, and Medfield before returning to Dover. Although almost every road on the route is great, some standouts include Claybrook Rd, Elm Bank in S. Natick, and Pine St in Dover. The route is an embarrassment of riches with great scenery throughout the entire ride.
This version of our Dreaming of Dover route, version VII, is 25 miles long and, although it constantly goes up and down, most of the hills really aren’t too bad.
Rest stops are planned at the 8-mile mark at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Elm Bank in South Natick, at the 12.3-mile mark at Village Falls Park in Needham, and at the 17.6-mile mark in Dover. No food stops have been planned for the ride.
Here’s a link to a map of Saturday’s route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48125079
You can print our “official cue sheet” by clicking the link above, then click “More”, then click “Print Map and Cue PDF”, and finally click “Print Official”.
Emergency
Contact Form
Have
you provided ABC with your emergency contact information yet?
If
you haven’t or if your contact information has changed, please
follow the
instructions below. Note that we retain your information from
previous years so
there’s no need to resubmit it.
The Ashland Bike Club has an “Emergency Contact Form” that
offers our riders
the opportunity to provide us with their contact information and
also their
emergency contact information.
Completion of the form is optional but recommended. If you would like us to be
able to contact
someone in case of emergency, this is the information we’ll
need.
We try to bring an up-to-date list of everyone’s contact information on every ride.
The EMERGENCY CONTACT FORM can be reached by clicking here.
Off the Route
Our
“Off the Route”
feature includes interesting tidbits we’ve come across that we
think are worth
sharing. Please let us
know what you
think.
When
are You Too Old to
Ride a Bike?
Thanks to ABC’s Steve Crocetti
for
sending this article.
What’s your guess? I’m going with 120. Of course, this will always be a “one size does not fit all” type of question.
Read the article: https://www.patriotledger.com/story/lifestyle/2024/11/05/cycling-seniors-riding-bicycle-outside-when-to-stop-age-advice-safety/75920293007
Bike
Lanes Slow Down Automobile
Traffic and Reduce Fatalities
Bike lanes are far from a perfect
solution. Even where
they exist, all too
often they are not adequately networked.
There’s also evidence that shows that they don’t
attract that many
people to ride on the roads. Most
survey
respondents require “separated bike lanes.”, These are lanes
physically
separated from automobile traffic with some kind of barrier. If people don’t feel
safe, they will never
ride on the roads.
There are many other types of safety infrastructure that cyclists need to make them safer. The good news, though, is that even absent these other elements, bike lanes definitely slow traffic and that leads to more safety.
Read the article: https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/how-bike-lanes-slow-drivers-and-save-lives
Just
Some Tunes
Music can be tricky to share because there are so many different
types of
music and so many varied preferences. The songs below,
though, should
have wide appeal for many different reasons. Personally, I'm
a sucker for
the sadness and poetry these songs convey. How about you?
Does ABC have
any other folkies?
John
Prine - How Lucky
Bob Dylan - Song for Woody
Party Griffin - Florida
Van Morrison - Reminds Me of You
John Denver - Some Days are Diamonds
Kim Richey - A Place Called Home
To recap this Saturday’s ride, we’ll meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Dover-Sherborn Regional Middle School parking lot at 155 Farm Street in Dover.
Remember to check your email after 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning to make sure we didn't cancel or postpone the ride due to weather or for other reasons and ... don't forget those helmets!
See you soon.
Joel