ABC Ride: Wednesday, November 6 at 10:30 a.m. from Fruit Street Athletic Complex, Hopkinton, MA

[Joel Arbeitman]

I'm resending this ride notice in case you didn't receive the original.  The attached file has been removed because it was too large to send.  That is the only change from the original notice.

The Ashland Bike Club’s next ride will be held Wednesday, November 6 at 10:30 a.m. from Hopkinton Fruit Street Athletic Fields.

GPS Address:  29 Pratt Way, Hopkinton, Ma (Note:  our “new(ish)” starting location – check a map before you leave home!)

Route Name:  ABC – Red Rock, Upton X (get the right version)

Ride Rating:
Distance:   Moderate (24)
Elevation:  Moderate-Challenging (57)
Total Gain: 1375 feet
Steepest:    6.8% (RideWithGPS is providing inconsistent slope info – we’re looking into this.  Unlike the last time, it now reads 11.1%.  I doubt it got steeper.)

Wednesday’s Weather
Wednesday’s forecast is calling for a partly cloudy day, temps between 72 and 76 degrees, and a fairly strong breeze.  It’s really rare to get a November day much better than this.  Ride while you can because it won’t stay warm like this for long!

Take a hint from this guy:  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FzsdlNaw6i0

The Ride
Although this has long been one of ABC’s most popular rides, we keep tweaking the route to make it even better.  Because the Fruit St. bridge is still closed to bicycles (an outrage!), we’ll be starting this ride from our newish location at Hopkinton’s Fruit St Athletic Fields.  There is plenty of parking in the lot which is about .6 miles from Fruit St.

The modified route still includes a roll through Upton State Forest, and a few back roads in Grafton that will make you feel like you’re traveling through the deep-woods boonies of Maine.  Most of the route feels far more rural than it does suburban and takes place on very scenic country roads with numerous water views.  This is very clearly one of ABC’s most scenic routes.

At the ride’s mid-point, we’ll be paying a visit to the Red Rock Grill & Bar in Upton for a little outdoor dining on their patio. We’ll try to get a headcount before we start riding of how many would like to stay for lunch.  If you would like to study the Red Rock’s menu before the ride, click here.

Bring your appetite and be prepared to do plenty of hill climbing, too.  Make no mistake about it, this is a hilly route!!

Here’s a link to a map of Wednesday’s route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48281382

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.

ABC Heroes
It’s  riders who make the club what it is.

There are always plenty of ABC’ers to recognize for all they do to make the club better, but this week we’re highlighting three of them.

First, a big shout out to Nancy and Mike Collette.  They provided the route the club rode on Saturday.  It got rave reviews and you can be sure we’ll be making it a regular part of ABC’s ride calendar.  The route was amazingly rural and the horses, the farms and fields, and the water views were fantastic.  Also a special thanks to Nancy for doing a great job leading the ride.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, Mike and Nancy also hosted 10 of us who went back to their house for a great meal that Chef Mike cooked on his outdoor grill.  I had to skip dinner when I got home.  The “I gotta get going” crowd really missed out on a great time.

And we would also like to thank one of our newer riders, Bob Glover.  What did Bob do?

Check out the attached video from our recent Southwick Zoo ride. <<==  Note:  attached video removed from message because it was too large to send!!

Bob used to work in TV.  Maybe that explains why the video he created is so wonderfully creative.

Uphills and downhills
Here’s a little bike-riding math to ponder …

You have to ride uphill for one mile and then down the other side for one mile … a total of two miles of riding.

You ride uphill at 10 mph and downhill at 30 mph (riding this fast is dangerous!!).

What is your average speed over the two miles?

Here’s a hint:  if you say 20 mph, you’re going to flunk ABC’s mandatory math exam.

Please remember to check your email after 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday to make sure the ride was not cancelled or postponed due to weather or other reasons and … don’t forget those helmets!

See you Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at Hopkinton’s Fruit Street Athletic Fields (29 Pratt Way, Hopkinton).  The food will be good, the scenery will be better, and the company of your fellow riders will be best of all!

Joel