ABC Ride: Wednesday, March 25 at 11 a.m. from 214 Parkerville Rd, Southborough
Joel Arbeitman
Hello ABC’ers!! The winter that seemed like it would never end has morphed into spring and that can mean only one thing … ABC is ready to start riding again.
February 1 marked the beginning of our 14th riding season!! Speaking just for myself, I can’t wait to see all my riding buddies again. I’m also looking forward to meeting the many new riders who joined the ABC mailing list over the winter.
SPECIAL ONLINE E-BIKE MEETING
For all you e-bikers, and anyone else who just wants to stop
by to say “hello”,
we have scheduled an online ZOOM meeting for tomorrow (Tuesday,
March 24) night
at 7 pm.
Here’s the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86942027963
The purpose of the meeting is to share information about ABC’s brand-new e-bike policies and to listen to any feedback club members would like to provide.
Light refreshments will be served. 🙃
If you are not able to attend the online meeting to learn about the club’s new e-bike policies, please email the club at: ashland...@gmail.com and information about the new policy will be emailed to you. Please write: “E-Bike Policies” in the subject line.
ABC’s First Ride of 2026
Here’s information about ABC’s first ride of the year. As you may know, our first few rides are very short and very slow to give our winter couch-potatoes a chance to start getting back into shape.
This is a great time to start riding with the club for those of you who have never done so before.
We’re planning a ride for this Wednesday, March 25 at 11:00 a.m. from Mooney Park (aka the Mary Finn School) opposite 214 Parkerville Rd in Southborough.
GPS address: across from 214 Parkerville Rd, Southborough, Ma (Note: there’s lots of parking across the street if the lot is crowded)
Route Name: ABC – Spring Warmup 2 (no version number)
Ride
Rating:
Distance: Easy (14.0)
Elevation: Moderate (46)
Total Gain: 649 feet
Steepest: 4.1%
Wednesday’s
Weather
We
should
see temps ranging between 44 and 49
degrees under cloudy
skies. We
had hoped for
warmer, sunnier weather but …
It’s likely to be a bit chilly out there. Gloves and maybe a thin beany to wear under your helmet might be a good idea.
Wednesday’s
Ride
This is a short route at just 14 miles but it does
include several moderately
challenging hills. The
route meanders
through some scenic wooded areas and also offers some great water
views. The
ride might seem short but it still should offer a really good
early-season
workout. Up for lunch after the ride? Just let me know.
Here’s a link to a
map of Wednesday’s
route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26851592
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”.
Note: The first few rides each year take a little longer than usual to get rolling due to dues payments and other administrative issues. Please be patient.
ABC 2026 Memberships
Please note that all
memberships from last year expired on January 31. Although our insurance
premium increased
again for 2026 (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 2026, dues should be paid any time
on or 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, credit cards, other payment methods, or …
chickens. We often are
unable to make change; please
try to pay with a $10 bill. Thanks!!
By the way, riders who are or will be 80 years old or older during 2026 get a free ABC membership. And, our new policy for riders 90 and up? We pay you $10.
Emergency
Contact Form
Have you provided ABC with your emergency contact information
yet?
If you haven’t or
if your
contact information has changed, please follow the instructions
below. Note
that if you gave us contact information in the past, we still
have it on file
and you don’t need to add it again.
The Ashland Bike
Club has
created an “Emergency Contact Form” that offers our riders the
opportunity to
provide us with their contact information and also their
emergency contact
information. Completion
of the form
is optional but recommended.
If you
would like us to be able to contact someone in case of
emergency, this is the
information we’ll need.
We’ll try to bring an up-to-date list of everyone’s contact information on every ride.
The EMERGENCY CONTACT FORM can be reached by clicking here.
Off the
Route
ABC’s “Off the Route” includes cycling and
non-cycling
tidbits that we hope you’ll find useful, funny, or, perhaps,
interesting. Please
let us know what you think.
Ashland Bike Club Radio
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Lodi
Carl Perkins – Boppin the
Blues
Snook Eaglin – I Got a
Woman
Danny & the Juniors – At
the Hop
How to Not Get Hit By Cars
Most club riders are good … we’re really good. But even the best of us
should start the year
with a quick review of the fundamentals.
The document below explains the safest way to handle a
variety of common
situations that arise on the roads.
Would you handle the recommendations the right way when you have to make a snap judgment to avoid getting hit?
Take five minutes and study the article and the diagrams. Reading this once a year is highly recommended.
How to Not Get Hit by Cars: https://www.bicyclesafe.com/
Recalls
Trek and Electra Recall - https://bikerumor.com/the-cpsc-issues-recalls-for-trek-and-electra-throttle-e-bikes/
Shimano Settlement - https://www.bikeradar.com/news/shimano-11-5m-cpsc-settlement
Political Satire
We usually avoid politics in our ride notices but
this satire was
especially well done - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ6u9CZ0FdE
See you this Wednesday
at 11:00 a.m. across from 214 Parkerville Rd in
Southborough. Remember
to check your email after 9:30
a.m. on Wednesday to make sure we didn’t postpone or cancel
the ride due to
weather or other reasons.
I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone.
And, as always … don’t forget those helmets! Oh, and don’t forget tomorrow night’s online Zoom meeting (7 pm) to discuss ABC’s new e-bike policies.
Joel