Sunday, October 2nd
So. Dartmouth Beach &

Westport Winery Ride (map)

Rider: 6

Mileage: 28 miles

Terrain: Mostly flat

Meeting Place: Buttonwood Park Zoo Meeting Time: 9:45am Leave promptly at 10:00

Destination: New Bedford, Dartmouth, Westport

Notes: Refreshment stop at the Westport Winery.

South Dartmouth and Westport are  picture postcard communities and today's chrystal clear weather enhanced the experience.  Too bad that there were only 6 of us. But I want to believe that everyone else was enjoying other rides or at least other outdoor activities.  Traffic was light, and we were soon on lightly traveled roads.  Before we knew it, we were crossing the bridge in Padanaram and cruising along Buzzards Bay.  It seemed like we were the only organized ride, but certainly not the only cyclists.   Before we know it, were were at the Westport winery, enjoying lunch and a quit tasting.  The final leg of the ride was equally enjoyable and were back to the start before the Red Sox game began.

Lots of new riders among the 21 in our group.  And while the weather was not perfect, at least we had a little bit of sun to begin with and unlike when we attempted this ride on the only rainy Sunday in all of July, there were only clouds today. 

This was simple a ride that kept to quite roads.  The photo was take at Long Lake.  No swimming this  time, but a good place to do a little socializing.  From Long Lake, it was a short ride to Kimball Farm where people enjoyed good food and better ice cream.  From Kimbal's we made our way back to the Old North Bridge, enjoying the long down hill near the end; a nice reward for our earlier climbs.  This groups was a little stronger than usual and some people had to stretch themselves a little to keep up.  Congratulations to all the Ordinary People who excelled today!

Click here for more of Tom Bate's photos

This 27 mile ride had all the hallmarks of a BFOP ride - nice people, beautiful scenery, good food and ice cream!  The weather couldn't have been better for riding, or for enjoying the beautiful warm greens and cool blues of the marshes on Great Neck.  After a couple of mechanical

mishaps at the very start of the ride, everything went smoothly.  We rode through quaint Wenham and into horsey Hamilton.  In Ipswich, we made a slight detour on Argilla Road to stop at Russell's Orchard for lunch.  We shared bread and cheese and tapenade, sampled peach as well as apple cider and some folks had to have ice cream.  Then we headed over to Great Neck, stopped at a beach (some of us to dip at least a toe into the chilly water) to enjoy the view and rest, and then circled around Great Neck for some beautiful vistas.  We rode into Ipswich and stopped at a really nice place for ice cream and then had to do some hills in the homestretch.  We all made it back to Wenham safe and sound. 

Saturday, June 25th
Looking For A Hill

Mileage: 54 miles

Leader: Joe Tavilla 508 428 6887 or cell: 508 450 1934

Terrain: FLAT

Destination:  Carver, Rochester, Middleboro, Wareham & Marion

Meeting Place: Carver Public Library, Route 58, Carver, MA

Directions: From Interstate 495, travel south on 495 to Exit 2. Travel Route 58 north into Carver. Library will be on right, just past police station/Town Hall.

Meeting Time: 10:00 AM

Note:  This is a longer ride at a moderate pace.  Please be prepared.  It will not stop as often as the usually rides, but a rider will be waiting at every corner to make sure no one gets lost.

The ride name aptly describes the terrain. If you're looking for a hill - that's all you do, look - keep on looking but you will NOT find a hill on this ride. What you will find are lots of lightly traveled flat roads, numerous cranberry bogs, working farms - one with Clydesdale horses, a breathtaking seaside golf course, the campus of Tabor Academy and the charming seacoast village of Marion on the Massachusetts south coast.

40 riders from 3 different bike groups (CRW, AMC and BRFOP) enjoyed the ocean views and breezes of the Massachusetts South Coast on Saturday. A mid-morning rest and re-group stop at East Over Farm was followed by lunch in the seacoast town Marion. The ride began at 10:10 AM and ended at 3:30 PM.

Sunday, June 19th
Duxbury Beach Powder Point Bridge Ride

Mileage: 23 miles

Meeting Place:  Stop & Shop parking lot (area closest to Rt. 139)  on Rt. 139. 

Click here for map and driving directions

Meeting Time: 9:45am Leave promptly at 10:00

Destination: Pembroke, Duxbury, Marshfield

People just love this ride.  We had 38 patiently waiting at the parking lot.   This is a simple ride with beautifully wooded roads and lots of time along the water.  We stopped at the 42nd parallel and found out that it is the border between 8 state.  Some people picked up lunch at the French bakery before heading off to Farfar's and their wonderful ice cream.  It really hard to fit in all the stops that this ride encourages.  Fortunately it was a little cool, so we did not have to spend much time at the beach.  Speaking of weather, even though it was a little murky around Boston, by mid morning the clouds had started to lift.  As you can see from the photo, by noon, we had clear blue skies.  In the afternoon, we rode across past the magnificent houses along the shore and across the wood plank Powder Point Bridge to the beach.  The ride back from the beach was a combination of more heavily traveled roads, one very heavily traveled road and finally on to quiet roads that took us back to the start.

Friday June 10th - Monday June 13st
Warwick Valley Weekend Ride
Mileage: Three days of rides 18 - 25 each day
Terrain: Flat and Rolling Hills
Destination: Southeaster NY and Northern NJ
Notes:  The area is great for easy riding.  There are many small villages about 5 miles apart and Warwick has a certain charm that reminds me of Europe. 

This the second year in a row that we have done this riding weekend.  And I can only say that it's hard to figure which was better.  Even the heat didn't diminish our spirits.  And neither did the wine tasting.  I could go on and on, but Adina very graciously wrote up a great report.  Click here to read it and see more photos.

Sunday, June 5th

Cape Ann Circuit (map)
Mileage: ~25 miles
Terrain: Mostly flat with few hills.
Destination: Gloucester and Rockport and all around Cape Anne. 
Meeting Place: Stage Fort Park in Gloucester.

Meeting Time: 9:45am Leave promptly at 10:00

Notes: We will make a lunch stop in Rockport. Bring a picnic lunch or you can buy food there.

More picture courtesy of Dave Strauss

We made our first trip to the north shore.  Thirty two people showed up!  The is something so exciting about getting away from greater Boston.  Six people took advantage of the train.  I sounded like the party began on the way up.  The nice weather was a welcome relief from the May rains, although it did start to get a little warm toward the end.  The route was easy to follow as you will see on the map.  But we did deviate a little as we went out to the Eastern Point Lighthouse and Andrews Point and Annisquam.  Both were worth the effort.  We even rode across a wooden foot bridge!  Lunch in Rockport was just right, as was the ice cream and drink stop at Richdale Farms shortly before the finish.  If you do this ride, be sure not go attempt the 128 Rotary.  Take a left on Poplar just before it.  Then follow it on to Maplewood, under 128, right on Grove, cross Washington Street and it take you almost all the way back to the start.

Saturday, May 28th
Attleboro Ride
Ride Leader: Thomas Collett
Mileage: ~25 miles
Terrain: Mostly flat with few hills.
Destination: Attleboro, Norton Center, Mansfield and Foxboro. 
Meeting Place: Attleboro T Station

Meeting Time: Meet at 7:00am!
Other Notes: At one point we will vote on Fools Hill in Foxboro. Do we want to go up it or down? That vote will plan the final route.

The 28th of May ride was great There were only 4 riders though. I guess to many people wanted to watch Saturday morning cartoons. The weather was great, sun with big puffy clouds. I took us about 4 hours to ride with a few stops. No repairs besides a squeaky chain. Total miles over 30. I was riding around Westwood, Dover and Dedham on Monday found a ride that might be good for the group. But it has more hills. Also a Vermont ride 3rd week in August. I hope Bruce has a ride set up for this weekend. Thomas

Sunday, May 15th
Dudley Road Ride (Map)
Mileage: 20
Terrain: Flat - Gently Rolling Hills
Destination: Arlington, Lexington, Bedford, Billerica, Carlisle.
Meeting Place: Bedford end of the Minuteman Bike Path (opposite Bikeway Source)
Other Notes:  Ice cream stop at Great Brook Farm!

For all those who relied on the weather report and did not ride; the joke was on you.  Eleven people on 9 bikes did ride.  That meant we had 2 tandems today.  And except for a few sprinkles, the day was terrific.  This is a really great ride route that I do every year.  It takes us on back roads so that we arrive at Great Brook Farm from a direction most people are not familiar with.  We took route 4, detoured on to Dudley Road which rejoins route 4.  Then a quick left on to Treble Cove Rd and a right on to West St which took us all the way to Great Brook Farm for our ice cream stop.  The ride back was also enjoyable; taking us past the cranberry bog, through Carlisle Center, out East street and rejoining route 225 and back to our starting place.

Monday, April 18th (Patriot's Day)
Ciclismo Classico's Chalk The Hill
Ride Leader:  Cat Bryant

Mileage: 26 (what else would you expect?)  Only kidding; it's about 15 miles.

Terrain: Mostly gentle, but of course there is Heartbreak Hill!

Destination:  Newton to the finish line and back to "Chalk the hill"

Meeting Place: Peets Coffee Shop  in Newton Center

It sure was fine riding the route and crossing the finish line.  There were lots of other bikes on the road and the crowds began to swell as the time passed and we approached "heartbreak hill" where creativity reigned.

Sunday, April 17th
Auburndale to Concord and Back (map)
Mileage: 30.1 miles

Riders: 22

Yet another impossibly good April day!  Usually we ride toward Concord from Arlington.  So leaving from Auburndale was a nice change.  And is was nice to see new faces too.  We made our way across the Mass Pike/128 interchange on Rt. 30 and soon turned on the Newton St.  This hill isn't too steep, but it is a little long.  Yet no one seemed to have a problem.  After a quick stop in Weston Center, we took a the nicely wooded route that brought us into Lincoln where we skirted the Red Coats as they prepared for battle.  From here, we rode past the DeCordova, the Gropius House and Walden Pond, soon finding ourselves in Concord Center.  A quick rest break and we were off toward Sudbury.  No problems here except that part of Hazelbrook Rd had recently had a load of coarse gravel dropped on it making a short stretch slow going for skinny tires.  It was clear sailing after this.  We rode on Meadowbrook through the golf course without getting hit by stray golf balls and found ourselves back at the start about 2:00.  And I promise to be more accurate about mileage for now on :-)

Sunday, April 10th
Horn Pond Loop (map)
Mileage: 19.5

Riders: 28
Terrain: Flat, Rolling Hills and One Big Mother hill
Destination: Arlington, Winchester, Woburn, Lexington

Carberry's parking lot was crowded this morning with 28 anxious riders. 

The weather was beautiful and it although we have done this ride before, the scenery is a lot different without the leaves on trees.  The only bad thing about doing this ride this early in the season is that the toilets at Horn Pond were not open yet :-)  Fortunately, Mahoney's Garden Center is close by (no, we didn't use the trees there).

The Horn Pond ride is taken from one of the popular pocket rides published by Rubel Bike Maps, but after several years of following it closely, I decided to look for some variations.  Instead of riding along Summer St. to get from Johnson Rd. to East St., we continued a short distance down Maple St.  Then through a neighborhood of mansions, and a little way along Woburn St. to Rumford.  After reconnecting with the published route, we followed a dirt road the goes through mostly undeveloped woods.  I had warned people about the dirt road.  The mountain bikers loved it and everybody else seem to wonder what the fuss was.  I think the road was called Pine St, although the woods seemed to be all deciduas trees.  Go figure.  East Street took us most of the way to Lexington Center, where we picked up the bike path and returned to the starting spot where some of us lingered for lunch.

Sunday, March 26,  2005 (Easter)
Easter on The Charles
Riders: 20

Mileage:  21 
Terrain: Mostly Flat
Destination:  Arlington, Cambridge, Boston, Somerville

Year 5 of this annual Easter ride was pretty early in the season.  But even so and with temperature in the lower 40's at the start, we had 20 eager and riders.  There are a lot of people who have had enough of winter and are ready to ride at the first chance.  I have never seen so many people out on Easter.

With Jack and Billy again in the lead, we charted a new route this year.  We headed down the Minuteman Bikeway to Alewife, connected with the Fresh Pond bike path and turned on to Huron St.  We turned on to Concord Ave., passed through the Harvard Divinity School and out to the Charles.  This year we went down the Cambridge side of the Charles River, crossing on the Mass Ave bridge.  This avoided the construction and rather narrow parts on the

other side of the river.  After the obligatory photo stop and socializing at Arthur Fiedler's statue, he continued on to Science Park.  To get home, we took Hampshire St. to Willow St.; turned on to the Somerville Bike Path, connected with the Minuteman and back to our starting point at Trader Joes.  After such a good ride, everyone seem to be looking forward to the next.  Maybe it will be sunny and in the 70's :-)