ABC Ride: Wednesday, September 3 at 10:30 a.m. from Burchard Park in Weston
Joel Arbeitman
The Ashland Bike Club’s next ride is scheduled for this Wednesday, September 3 at 10:30 a.m. from Burchard Park in Weston.
GPS Address: 269 Concord Rd, Weston, Ma
Note: After entering the park, take the first fork to the right and the second fork to the left to reach the parking area.
Route Name: ABC – Pelham Island VI (get the right version!)
Ride Rating:
Distance: Moderate (24.4)
Elevation: Moderate (47)
Total Gain: 1137 feet
Steepest: 7.7%
The Weather
WEDNESDAY’s forecast calls for a very sunny
day with
temps ranging
from 70 to 77 degrees.
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IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP – PLEASE READ!!!
The following safety tip is important to understand
especially for
Wednesday’s ride.
At the 10.2-mile mark, we take a left turn at a light off Oak St onto Route 30. As we approach the intersection, Oak St divides into two lanes. The right lane is marked “right-turn only”. We all understand that we should not use that lane because we are not making a right turn.
The left lane markings allow cars to either go straight across Route 30 (in this case onto Rice Rd) or turn left. Assume several cars are already stopped at the light in the left lane as you approach. With this setup, you should never pass the stopped cars on the right to get up to the light.
Why not? Because while you’re trying to turn left, some of those cars might go straight across the intersection.
What’s the safe way to approach an intersection like this? TAKE THE LANE. You should not pass any cars stopped in the left lane and you should “take the lane” (stay in the middle of the left lane) so that no subsequent cars can pass you. When you reach the intersection, signal for a left turn and then turn left.
If you have questions, please ask!!!
WEDNESDAY’S
Ride
This is a fairly new route for the club and we’ve been
truly
stunned at the rave reviews it has received.
The route has all kinds of twists and turns and lots of
very different
sections. Starting from the parking lot in Burchard Park in
Weston, it incorporates
three very scenic ponds and a roll along sections of the Mass
Central Rail
Trail.
At just under 24.4 miles, it’s “just long enough but not too long”. Although there are plenty of really flat sections, there are also a few tough hills just to make sure you don’t become complacent.
Rest stops are planned at 8.4 miles overlooking Nonesuch Pond, at 13.0 miles overlooking Dudley Pond, and at 17.6 miles overlooking Heard Pond.
Here’s a link to a map of WEDNESDAY’s route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52488494
You can print our “official cue sheet” by clicking the link above, then click “More”, then click “Print Map and Cue PDF”, and finally click “Print Official”. If your phone’s battery has been dying on our rides, consider bringing a copy of the printed directions just in case you need them.
Charity - Urgent Help Needed
ABCer
Rick
Wacha really needs some help from ABC. He just spent a fortune
saving his dog
Chester and the dog now needs a special, and expensive,
procedure. Rick emphasized
that he doesn’t need large contributions; he just needs as many
of us to pitch
in as possible. Every little bit helps!
As a dog owner, count me in!! I can’t imagine having my dog face a health crisis that I couldn’t afford to treat. C’mon ABCers and especially you dog people, let’s lend Rick a hand.
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Rick writes: |
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Hello, |
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Off the Route
Our
“Off the Route”
feature includes interesting tidbits we’ve come across that we
think are worth
sharing. Please let us know what you think.
Ashland
Bike Club Radio
The Allman Brothers Band – Blue Sky
If it
can go (on flat
ground or uphill) without pedaling, it is NOT A BICYCLE
Sorry throttle fans but, speaking
just
for myself, I think “bikes” with throttles are providing way
too much appeal to
non-bike riders and should be banned. While requiring pedaling
clearly does not
guarantee safe riding, most of the behavior problems are
coming from throttle “bike-riders”
– very often kids. Some of ABC’s e-bike riders really hate
this point of view. It’s
understandable because they ride responsibly. ABCers are NOT
the problem. But,
nevertheless, there really is a problem.
We either need real enforcement, which is a pipe dream given limited police budgets, or we need to look at banning throttle bikes. Just my two cents.
Watch this nonsense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XmDx9U13J0
For
Whom the Bell Tolls
On a recent World Bicycle Day,
hundreds
of bicycle riders gathered to ding their little bicycle bells
along in time
with Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”. Wouldn’t it be cool if we
had smart e-bells
that could be synchronized to play music like this while ABC
is riding down a
bike path?
I rarely use it, but I have an app on my phone that I can use in lieu of a bicycle bell. The app provides all kinds of different bell sounds. It can even be set to ding once or continuously. The app (free) is called “HandBell” if you want to download it.
Check out the article about bicycle bell music from World Bicycle Day: https://escapecollective.com/what-do-927-bicycle-bells-playing-along-to-vivaldi-sound-like/
And watch the video here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1111119394286793 (click the loudspeaker to turn on the audio)
To recap this WEDNESDAY’s ride, we’ll meet at 10:30 a.m. at Burchard Park at 269 Concord Rd in Weston.
Remember to check your email after 9:00 a.m. on WEDNESDAY morning to make sure we didn't cancel or postpone the ride due to weather or for other reasons and ... don't forget those helmets!
See you soon.
Joel