ABC Ride: THURSDAY, July 23 at 10:30 a.m. from 29 Pratt Way, Hopkinton

[ABC Riders]

NOTE:  ABC RIDE MOVED TO THURSDAY!!!

This THURSDAY, July 23 at 10:30 a.m. from Hopkinton’s Fruit St Athletic Fields (29 Pratt Way, Hopkinton), we’re planning a ride in the towns of Hopkinton, Upton, Grafton, and Westborough through the wilds of Metrowest.

GPS Address:  29 Pratt Way, Hopkinton, MA (Fruit St Athletic Fields)

Route Name:  ABC – Take Me Home, Country Roads

Ride Rating:
Distance:  Moderate (27.3)
Elevation: Challenging (58)
Total Gain: 1578 feet
Steepest:    6.6%

THURSDAY’s Weather
Well, the good old Weather Bureau tricked us again. It looks like we could have ridden tomorrow (Wednesday) because the rain they had been forecasting seems to have disappeared.

THURSDAY’s forecast looks great, though, with temps between 71 and 77 degrees, totally sunny skies, and really dry, comfortable air.  THURSDAY’S weather should give us a perfect 10 out of 10!!

Looking ahead, Saturday looks great, too.

The Ride
ABC rides often include lots of country roads.  This one has so many we named the ride after them.  It’s not definite but this route “might” not include a single traffic light. Let us know if you spot one!

For THURSDAY’s ride, which will be only our second roll on this ABC route, we’ll be heading west from Hopkinton, to Upton and Grafton before heading back to Hopkinton via Westborough. Parts of this route give an entirely new meaning to the term “boonies”.

So, no traffic lights, tons of country vistas, and … hills.  There’s no escaping them on this route. With almost 1,600 feet of climbing, well, eat a good breakfast, reserve an Uber, or maybe check out some local B&Bs.  There is some good news, though.  The steepest grade is only 6.6% which isn’t all that steep. No killer hills; just lots of them.

You can see a map of THURSDAY’s route here:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51863202

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”. 

As always, you can download a copy of the route to your phone or GPS device.

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
Leaving songs … kinda sweet; kinda sad.

Steve Earle - Goodbye
John Hiatt - Adios to California
Eilen Jewell - Dusty Boxcar Wall
Kurt Kirkwood - Movin’ On
Patty Griffin - Goodbye

Bonus Beach Boys Cover Song:
Foxes and Fossils – Don’t Worry Baby

Another ABC Charity Rider
ABC’er have been turning out in force this year to do what they can to provide support to a wide range of important charities.

ABC’er Joe Mattia will be riding in support off ALS research.  To help Joe turn his cycling miles into funding for more research to triumph over this horrible disease, please visit his personal fundraising page by clicking this link.

Joe also volunteers for a great organization that provides free household goods to families in need. If you have household items you can donate, please visit this site to learn more:  https://www.householdgoods.org/.

This is totally knots!
If you have 18 seconds to watch this video, it could save you big time in a pinch.

This can’t possibly work, can it?  Let me know if you try it.

Check this out:  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hM2zZxa5rZ0

Want more cyclists? There’s really only one solution!
Survey says: “protected bike lanes”.

Ask 1,000 people why they won’t ride their bikes on the roads and you’ll get 2,000 answers all of which will provide the same message: I won’t ride if I don’t think it’s safe.

Not really rocket science, is it?

The response from governments all over the country has been to build a few off-road bike paths and miles and miles of painted-stripe bike lanes that, for the most part, don’t interconnect and do painfully little to protect bike riders. Go ahead, ask people if those painted stripes make them feel protected. You can guess what most of the responses will be.

“Protected” bike lanes, though, are a whole different bike game. If people have confidence in the degree of protection provided by physical buffers between the cars and the bikes, study after study has shown significant increases in bicycle ridership.

Off-road paths can be great but they rarely connect most destinations, e.g. schools, train stations, libraries, office parks, parks, beaches, food establishments, and many other places. A well-planned, on-road network of “protected” bike lanes can make those connections and give less experienced bike riders the confidence they need.

Read more about protected bike lanes here:  https://sf.streetsblog.org/2026/07/08/study-only-protected-bike-lanes-cause-a-real-increase-in-cycling

To recap THURSDAY’s ABC ride, it’s a hilly one.  Be sure to check your email after 9:00 a.m. THURSDAY morning to make sure we didn’t cancel or postpone the ride and don’t forget those helmets.

See you soon.

Joel