ABC Ride: Wednesday, May 21 at 10:30 a.m. from 406 Commonwealth Ave, W. Concord, Ma

[Joel Arbeitman]

This Wednesday, May 21 at 10:30 a.m., ABC has scheduled a ride from the parking area directly across the street from the ex-Concord Prison at “roughly” 406 Commonwealth Ave, West Concord.

 

GPS Address:  406 Commonwealth Ave, West Concord, Ma

 

Note:  The parking lot is located on the opposite side of Commonwealth Ave from the prison.  It is located very close to a crosswalk where the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail crosses Commonwealth Ave.  Parking is available in both the upper and lower lots.  Bathrooms are available at the far end of the lower lot.

 

Route Name:  ABC – Bruce Freeman to Kimball Farm Ice Cream – Reversed II (get the right version)

 

Ride Rating:
Distance:  Moderate (26.4)
Elevation: Moderate-Challenging (46) – See elevation note under “Wednesday’s Ride”
Total Gain: 1202 feet
Steepest:  6.4%

 

Wednesday’s Weather

The forecast is calling for a very cool day with temps right around 53 degrees under cloudy skies.

 

Be sure to dress appropriately!!

 

FYI, we are NOT planning to schedule a ride over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

 

Wednesday’s Ride

Each time we ride this route, or some variation of it, it receives some of the best feedback we ever get from our riders.  The scenery is spectacular.

 

The ride starts by heading north for about 1.0 mile on the Bruce Freeman Trail and finishes with just under 4.7 miles southbound on the trail.  The rest of the ride is packed with an endless series of beautiful country roads, ponds and marshes, farms and, of course, lots of hills as we travel through Concord, Acton, and Carlisle before returning to the start.

We have an ice cream stop at Kimball’s that comes at the 11.8-mile mark. We’ve also scheduled other stops roughly every 5 or 6 miles at 6.0, 16.8, and a short regroup at 21.4 to allow the group to cross Route 27 as a unit.

Come explore this great route with us and be sure to let us know what you think.

Note about the route’s elevation:  The elevation metric we use is the total uphill (in feet) divided by the total distance (in miles).  This route scores a 46.  We usually would characterize that elevation as “moderate” but for this route we listed it as “moderate-challenging”.

We did this because 5.7 miles of the 26.4-mile total miles are on a mostly flat bike path.  If we applied our formula to the non-bike-path miles, we would calculate 1202 / 20.7 giving us an elevation of 58 which is more difficult than the “average” elevation of 46.

 

The previous version of this route had a killer hill which has been replaced with a scenic, much flatter, country road.

Here’s a link to a map of Wednesday’s route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46841041

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.

Ashland Bike Club Radio
Norman Blake and Tony Rice – New River Train

And a very funny submission from David Wean.  Don’t miss this one!!!
Laurel & Hardy – Laurel & Hardy Meet Santana

Looking to upgrade your cycling gear?  This ride notice’s “off the route” section is all about “toys” that can help make you safer and improve your ride.

Electric Mini-Pumps
I’m not sure we’ve seen one of these yet on an ABC ride but maybe it’s a good idea.

This author thinks they are:  https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/i-used-to-scoff-at-electric-mini-pumps-now-i-cant-imagine-my-life-without-one

Here’s one from Topeak:  https://bikerumor.com/the-topeak-e-booster-digital-inflator-is-a-palm-sized-powerhouse-review/

Car Back Radar
These devices have started showing up on our rides.  They provide an audio signal when a car is approaching from behind.  The ones I’ve seen so far are made by Garmin but, now, there’s a new kid on the block with some really nice added features.  They’re pricey though!

Check out this review of the new Wahoo Radar: https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/a64792201/wahoo-trackr-radar-review/

To recap this Wednesday’s ride, we’ll meet near Concord Prison at “roughly” 406 Commonwealth Ave, Concord at 10:30 a.m.

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

See you soon.

Joel