ABC Ride: Wednesday, August 5 at 10:30 a.m. from 406 Commonwealth Ave, W. Concord, Ma

[ABC Riders]

IMPORTANT:  Effective immediately, ABC is making major changes to the Club’s e-bike policies, and is now able to permit Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 e-bikes! See the attached-bike policy document and modified waiver form that all riders will be asked to sign before every ride.

This Wednesday, August 5 at 10:30 a.m., ABC has scheduled a ride from the lower parking area directly across the street from the former Concord Prison at “roughly” 406 Commonwealth Ave, West Concord.

 

GPS Address:  406 Commonwealth Ave, West Concord, Ma

 

Note:  The parking lot is located on the opposite side of Commonwealth Ave from the prison.  It is located very close to a crosswalk where the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail crosses Commonwealth Ave.  Let’s meet in the lower parking lot.  Bathrooms are available at the far end of the lower lot near the gazebo.

 

Route Name:  ABC – Bruce Freeman to Kimball Farm Ice Cream – Reversed II (get the right version)

 

Ride Rating:
Distance:    Moderate (26.4)
Elevation:   Moderate-Challenging (46)

Total Gain: 1202 feet
Steepest:    6.4%

 

Wednesday’s Weather

The forecast for Wednesday is calling for a great riding day with temps between 79 and 84 degrees, partly cloudy skies, and low-to-moderate humidity.

 

Looking ahead to Saturday, the current forecast is calling for a risk of thunderstorms so we might or might not schedule a ride. Stay tuned …

 

Wednesday’s Ride

Each time we ride this route, or some variation of it, it receives some of the best feedback we ever get from our riders.  The scenery is spectacular and Kimball’s homemade ice cream is some of the best around. You’ll have to earn it, though. This is one of ABC’s more difficult routes.

 

The ride starts by heading north for about 1.0 mile on the Bruce Freeman Trail and finishes with just under 4.7 miles southbound on the trail.  The rest of the ride is packed with an endless series of beautiful country roads, ponds and marshes, farms and, of course, lots of hills as we travel through Concord, Acton, and Carlisle before returning to the start.

We have an ice cream stop at Kimball’s at the 11.8-mile mark. We’ve also scheduled other stops roughly every 5 or 6 miles at 6.0, 16.8, and a short regroup at 21.4 to allow the group to cross Route 27 as a unit.

Come explore this great route with us and be sure to let us know what you think.

Here’s a link to a map of Wednesday’s route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46841041

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 interesting topics that we think are worth sharing with the ABC cycling community.  Please let us know what you think.

Ashland Bike Club Radio
Bob Dylan – Watching the River Flow
Neil Young – Down by the River
Joni Mitchell – River
Kim Richey – Every River
Alison Krauss – Gentle River
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River

ABC Welcomes Back our E-Bike Riders
Before this year’s riding season began, ABC learned that the Club’s insurance policy did not cover Class 3 e-bikes. Unfortunately, this made it necessary to ban Class 3s on all of our Club rides.

We followed up to “fix” this problem with both our insurance company, American Specialty, and with the League of American Bicyclists (“LAB”).

We have been notified by American Specialty that they have modified our coverage to now include Class 3 e-bikes. This is great news! Accordingly, the Ashland Bike Club will now allow all classes of e-bike on our Club rides as long as they comply with all laws and Club policies in effect for the governing jurisdiction where each ride takes place.

E-Bike riders will still be responsible to ensure their e-bike and the route on which they plan to use it comply with all federal, state, and local laws and with ABC’s e-bike policies.

ABC’s formal, written e-bike policy and a copy of the Club’s modified waiver form are attached. Please make sure you read both documents carefully.

If you have questions or comments, please let us know prior to your next ABC e-bike ride. Please note that the policy is still evolving and is subject to change at any time.

Upcoming Webinar on State-by-State E-Bike Laws
The League of American Bicyclists (“LAB”), of which ABC is a member club, will be hosting a free webinar about various e-bike laws around the country.

If you’re interested in attending this webinar, which will be held on Zoom, you can register by clicking here.

The webinar will be held on Tuesday, August 11 from 3 – 4 pm on Zoom.

To recap this Wednesday’s ride, we’ll meet near the former Concord Prison at “roughly” 406 Commonwealth Ave, W. Concord at 10:30 a.m.

Be sure to check your email after 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday to make sure we didn’t cancel or postpone the ride and … don’t forget those helmets!!

See you soon.

Joel