ABC Ride: Wednesday, September 17 at 10:30 a.m. from 29 Pratt Way, Hopkinton
Joel Arbeitman
The Ashland Bike Club’s next ride will be held Wednesday, September 17 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 XI (get the right version)
Ride
Rating:
Distance: Moderate
(23.8)
Elevation:
Moderate-Challenging
(60)
Total Gain: 1429 feet
Steepest: 7.3%
Wednesday’s Weather
Wednesday’s
forecast is
calling for a cloudy
day with temps between
66 and 72 degrees. There’s a very
slight chance of a
shower so be sure to check your email before you leave home to
make sure the
ride was not postponed.
The
Ride
If you’ve been keeping score at home, this
will be
ABC’s 43rd ride this year. Our
goal is to schedule 65 rides a year but we’re only able to do
that when the
weather cooperates.
Although our Red Rock ride has long been one of ABC’s most
popular routes, 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 so that we’ll know whether to modify our reservation. If you would like to study the Red Rock’s menu before the ride, click here. We have a reservation for 12 at 12:15 pm.
Bring your appetite and be prepared to do plenty of hill climbing, too. Make no mistake about it, this is a hilly route!!
On the way back home, we’ve recently added a few new roads in Hopkinton to our route including W. Elm St, the eastern end of Pond St, and Winter St. All these roads offer excellent scenery.
Here’s a link to a map of Wednesday’s route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50691890
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”.
Charity Ride
Rider: Aiko Pinkoski
Event: Ride for Food
for Open Table
Aiko writes:
**If you already donated - THANK YOU and you may be getting this because some people gave anonymously and I really can't tell who you are!
Just 3 more weeks to go to my fourth Ride for Food ride for Open Table!
Where did the summer go? I am having my worst late summer/fall allergy season this year, just as my bruised rib from early August finally healed... so my biking this summer has suffered a bit... but enough whining!
It's really not about me, it's about Open Table and all the clients we serve...and as you might have guessed, the need is growing! Our numbers for FY25 are out and we had a 11% increase in total assistance (25,146!) with a 4% increase in unique individual clients (8821!). Please support me in whatever amount you can. Thank you!
https://ride.threesquaresne.org/AikoRFF2025
PS If you want to send in a check, or DAF, or cash by carrier pigeon-let me know so I can tell you how (well maybe not the pigeon ...)
PPS If you want to join me on that day-you can still join the team! or volunteer that day! They are still looking for volunteers.
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
Inkuyo – Cumba
Casa
Still Reeling with the Feeling
Wow, wasn’t ABC’s last outing something special? We tied our “most riders”
record with 43 of
us doing the ride. And the very-well-attended post-ride bbq
was something
special, too.
A great big ABC THANK YOU to Nancy and Michael Collette for planning the route, leading the ride, and hosting the bbq. Chef Michael’s food was great, lots of us chipped in all sorts of extra goodies, and the camaraderie was top notch.
If our hosts are willing, we’re hoping to do this again next year.
Don’t be uptight!
If, like me, you tend to specialize in just one sport, that
sport
likely strengthen some muscles more than others. For cyclists, the
quadraceps and the hip
flexors tend to get the strongest and the tightest. While
gaining strength in
these muscles can help with cycling, they can cause injuries
when they lack
flexibility. Been
there; done that.
Don’t ignore those lower leg aches and pains that can build up gradually over time.
With just a little bit of regular stretching, you can avoid injury and keep cycling.
Here’s a simple 1-2-3 article that provides a few easy-to-do stretches for your hip flexors to help you keep pedaling: https://www.fitandwell.com/wellness/yoga/a-yoga-teacher-recommends-people-with-tight-hip-flexors-start-their-day-with-this-quick-routine
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 … and your appetite!!
See you Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at Hopkinton’s Fruit Street Athletic Fields (29 Pratt Way, Hopkinton). The food will be great, the scenery will be even better, and the company of your fellow riders will be best of all!
Joel