ABC Ride: Wednesday, June 11 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, June 11 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.

From Ashland, the drive to East Providence usually takes just 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 looks picture perfect.  Temps are likely to range between 75 and 80 degrees with very sunny skies and a light breeze.

And, Saturday? Why do you even bother to ask. Sunday looks better … stay tuned!!!

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.  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. Calling in your order in advance during a rest stop (or perhaps the day before?) “might” save time (if you can get through)!  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
Kimmie Rhodes – Wild Roses

 

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.

 

Stay away from the bars?
We ride; we stop; some break out their snacks? Sometimes it’s a pb&j, sometimes a banana, and sometimes it’s those sugary energy bars or other gooey “bike snacks”. Necessary? Well, actually, food, even junk food, can give you a bit of a pick-me-up when the ride is wearing you out.

But do you really need special (and often expensive) “bike food”? You really don’t.

 

Check out this article:  https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/energy-bars-are-a-waste-of-time-just-buy-some-cereal-bars-instead

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!!

See you soon.

Joel