ABC Ride: Wednesday, October 1 at 10:30 a.m. from 74 Veterans Memorial Parkway, E. Providence, RI

[Joel Arbeitman]

Special Ashland Bike Club Outing:
East Bay Bike Path, East Providence to Bristol, RI

This Wednesday, October 1 at 10:30 a.m. from the East Bay parking lot in E. Providence, the Ashland Bike Club is holding its next ride on the spectacular East Bay Bike Path. The ride begins in East Providence and heads south along the path to Bristol, Rhode Island which is just north of Newport.  Many in the club rate this as their favorite bike path ride.

GPS Address:  74 Veterans Memorial Parkway, E. Providence, RI
(you can also use 1 Mercer St, E. Providence, RI)

The parking lot is a horseshoe-shaped lot on the west side of Veterans Memorial Parkway (across from the end of Mercer St).  If the lot is full, it’s perfectly okay to park on the grass next to the lot.

Just as a rough gauge, the drive to East Providence from Ashland usually takes a little over an hour.

Route Name:  ABC – East Bay Bike Path and Colt State Park II  (get the right version!!)

Ride Rating:
Distance:   Challenging (31.7)
Elevation:  Easy (36)
Total Gain: 1136 feet
Steepest:    4.7%

Wednesday’s Weather
The forecast for Wednesday calls for a slightly cool day with tons of sun.  Temps are likely to range between 57 and 64 degrees.

Colt State Park

The Ride
If you’re a fan of bike paths with great ocean scenery, no hills, and no cars to contend with, this ride’s for you!  This might well be the best bike path in New England.

The total round-trip is around 31 miles but it’s almost totally flat.  Right after lunch, we’ll travel a few miles on the roads to reach the spectacularly scenic Colt State Park where we’ll be treated to lots of great water views.  When we leave the park, we’ll be back on the bike path for the rest of the ride.

You can print our “official cue sheet” by clicking the link below, then click “More”, then click “Print Map and Cue PDF”, and finally click “Print Official”. 

Map of the route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51171256

Lunch-wise, let’s plan to spend about an hour overlooking the harbor at the end of the bike path.  There are plenty of take-out places nearby or you can bring your lunch.  All the places listed below are within a five-minute walk (or bike) from the boardwalk where we meet for lunch.  We often go to:

Papa Joe’s Wrap Shack (567 Hope St – 401-253-9911)
Tong Phoon Thai (382 Thames St – 401-396-9225)
Portside Tavern (444 Thames St – 401-396-5140) – menu says Sat/Sun but is available every day
The Beehive Café (10 Franklin St – 401-396-9994). 

Please check out the menus before the ride. We’ll probably arrive for lunch at roughly 12:15 – 12:45 pm.  Also, consider bringing a bike lock so you can lock up your bike during lunch. 

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
Janis Joplin – Ball and Chain

 

Bike Path Etiquette and Safety

Bike paths can be very safe for everyone if you use them correctly.  Because they are often crowded with two-way traffic, they are narrow, and they often have numerous road crossings, they can also be dangerous if you aren’t cautious!  Even the tiniest road crossing with virtually no traffic on it can be deadly if you get there the same time as that once-a-year car! Stop or slow down at crossings, use your VOICE to say “stopping” or “slowing” to alert the riders behind you, and give a HAND SIGNAL if you can.

 

Here are some good tips for riding on bike paths:

 

1.     Pass others only when there is no oncoming traffic (bikes, walkers, joggers, rollerbladers, dogs) - oncoming traffic has the right of way. If you're over the center line, make sure you return to the right side of the path well before oncoming walkers or riders approach.

2.     Keep right except to pass.

3.     Slow down when passing.

4.     Be extremely careful at road crossings - you should always stop before crossing a road (the path is designed to force you to slow down) - don't assume cars on cross streets will stop for you.  Be sure to give a hand signal and a verbal cue to the riders behind you that you are slowing or stopping!!

5.     Never assume pedestrians, dogs and others will continue in a straight line - they may suddenly move directly in front of you - pass at a safe distance to allow for this

6.     Always say "passing on your left" (or ring a bell) but don't wait until you're on top of someone and scare them - give them notice as you're approaching.

 

Passing Zone … or Failing Zone?
It occurred to me recently to research whether it is legal for a car or truck to pass a cyclist on the road in Massachusetts (going the same direction) when there is a “no passing” zone. Do you think it’s legal … or not?

 

Apparently, it is legal but the driver must still provide at least a minimum four-foot passing distance.  They are allowed to cross over the centerline, even a double yellow centerline, to achieve this as long as they do so only when it is safe.

 

But, from my point of view, therein lies the rub!

 

The question needs to be asked whether it is ever safe to do so when a “no passing” zone has been called for.  One would think that the zone was put in place because visibility about oncoming traffic is limited, for example,when there’s an upcoming curve in the road or perhaps a dangerous intersection is approaching.

 

While it’s true that a car passing a cyclist “might” not have to cross the centerline to obey the law, imagine what such a “no passing” sign would look like.  Perhaps it could say “No passing (unless you’re passing a cyclist)”. That would be a little absurd, wouldn’t it?

 

Anyway, if there’s a “no passing” zone and the driver would have to cross the centerline to safely pass a cyclist, the law should prohibit passing a cyclist because crossing the centerline in this zone would almost always be unsafe.

 

For this reason, the Massachusetts passing-zone law gets a failing grade.  When the sign says “no passing”, it should include prohibiting the passing of on-road cyclists.

 

What are your thoughts on this?

 

Oh, deer!
Here’s a little quiz about Wednesday’s ride.

 

Somewhere along the route (hint: inside Colt State Park), Google Maps shows a deer when viewing the route using “street view”.

 

 

At what mileage mark of ABC’s route (again, inside the park) is the deer visible?

 

The first 1,000 responders with the right answer win a free, round-trip ride on the East Bay Bike Path.  Colt State Park officials assured me they made arrangements for the deer to return to the park during our ride. We’ll see.

 

To recap, we’ll meet this Wednesday at the East Bay parking lot in East Providence at 10:30 a.m.  If for any reason we need to postpone or cancel the ride, we’ll send an email no later than 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning.  Be sure to check your email after 8 a.m.  If there’s no email, the ride is on!

Remember that between commuting and riding, this is a long day so plan accordingly and … don’t forget those helmets!! Oh, and bring a light jacket, a windbreaker, or maybe even both.  You can always remove them during the ride when it warms up.

See you soon.

Joel