ABC Ride: Wednesday, March 26 at 10:30 a.m. across from 49 Exchange St, Holliston

[Joel Arbeitman]

Hi everyone.

The Ashland Bike Club’s next “spring warmup” ride has been scheduled for this Wednesday, March 26 at 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday’s ride will begin at the downtown Holliston parking lot across from 49 Exchange St in Holliston.  There’s plenty of parking available.

GPS address:  across from 49 Exchange St, Holliston

Route Name:  ABC – Spring Warmup 6 (version II) (get the right version)

Ride Rating:
Distance:  Easy (15.1)
Elevation: Easy-Moderate (40)
Total Gain: 607 feet
Steepest:   5.9%

The Weather
The forecast for Wednesday is calling for a partly cloudy, chilly day with temps starting out around 45 degrees and then rising to just 48.  We had been planning to cancel the ride because they were calling for rain but … not anymore (to quoth the raven).

FYI the current forecast for Saturday looks really bad but … maybe that will improve, too.  Stay tuned …

The Ride
This is a really short route at just 15.1 miles.  Most of the route is very flat although it does include two moderately challenging hills.  This extremely scenic route rolls past a number of farms as we travel through Holliston, Millis and Medway. We’ll also ride past the spectacular Millis Swamp.

On the way back, we have an optional in-ride lunch option and a post-ride lunch option.

As with all our early season rides, we plan to keep the pace down to give everyone a chance to get back into shape after the winter.

Here’s a link to a map of Wednesday’s route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42519822

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”.

ABC 2025 Memberships
Please note that all memberships from last year expired on January 31.  Although our insurance premium increased again for 2025 (what else is new), we’re going to keep the same $10 per year dues we’ve always had.

If you want to join the club for 2025, dues should be paid any time before your second ride of this season.  Our insurance automatically covers all riders for their first ride with the club each year; you will not be covered for subsequent rides until you pay your dues.  Memberships can only be paid for with cash; we have no way to accept checks or credit cards.  We often are unable to make change; please try to pay with a $10 bill.  Thanks!!

Off the Route
Our “Off the Route” feature includes various bicycling and non-bicycling topics we think are worth sharing.  Please let us know what you think.

Ashland Bike Club Radio:  Robert Earl Keen – It’s the Little Things

9 Common Mistakes Riders Make in the Spring
With some people, spring begins when they see their first robin.  With others, the grass starts to turn green.  With ABC’ers, we know spring has sprung when we start having our “Spring Warmup” series of rides which are much shorter than our summer rides.

The idea is to start easy and build up gradually.  The article below provides a “best practices” approach to getting back into shape on those early spring rides.

Check it out:  https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/im-a-cycling-coach-these-are-the-9-most-common-mistakes-riders-make-every-spring

Me?  Walk up a hill? No way!!
Last year I changed all the gearing on my bike to make it much easier to ride up the hills we encounter.  What a difference!  But the change had an effect I wasn’t anticipating.  I thought that, finally, I could make it up any hill without major stress and that that was the main goal.  But that was not the main benefit.  Sure, it was much easier to get up the hills, but the main change I noticed was that I wasn’t tired for the remainder of the ride after climbing a tough hill.  The benefit wasn’t just one hill; it was the entire ride.

The article below talks about why you should consider walking up hills you find especially challenging.  The goal isn’t just to “make it” to the top; the goal is to make it to the top and still feel good for the rest of the ride.

While we are admittedly not exactly climbing the Alps on most rides, perhaps an occasional uphill stroll might be just what the doctor ordered.

Read the article:  https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/want-to-finish-long-bike-rides-quicker-get-off-and-walk-up-hills

See you this Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at the downtown Holliston lot (across from 49 Exchange St, Holliston).

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

Joel