Category: Massachusetts South Coast

Upcoming Rides

Thursday, June 7      Bike the Night in Providence

RI Bike Coalition is partnering with PVDFest to host the most festive Bike the Night yet! We’ll be meeting at Burnside Park at 8 PM before departing on a 8 to 10 mile ride through Providence and ending for a party at the The Black Sheep Providence. Providence Art Culture Tourism will be providing some bike decorations, but support the fun by getting you and your bike PVDFest-ready!

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Saturday, June 9  Ride the East Bay

This ride is perfect for beginners.  Mett up at 8:30 A.M. The ride stars at 9:00 A.M. Meet up location………Route 103 to Warren.  At Dell’s Lemonade, take the first left into the parking lot.   For beginners it’s an 8 mile ride to Bristol and back.  After returning to Warren the more experienced riders can ride to Providence and back making it a 32 mile round trip ride.

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Sunday, June 10.  Elliot’s Ride.  9:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. in Newport R.I. at Fort Adams.

It’s a free ride during an all day bicycle event for every age, every skill, everyone.  come out and ride along Newort’s scenic ocean coastline.  Whether it’s your first time, or your favorite ride, this is the day to celebrate the joy of bike riding together.  There is also a walking event if that’s your preference. You do need to register  HERE

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Monday, June 11. Monday Morning Highland Ride.  Weekly ride that meets at 7:45 A.M. Wheels down at 8 A.M at Bristol Community college on Elsbree Street.  Park by the tennis courts.  The is an 11-15 mile ride through the beautiful Highland section of Fall River.  About an hour to complete.  Some riders are apt to continue riding to get a few more miles under their belts.

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Wednesday, June 13.  Wednesday Night Road Ride.

*****NOTE****This is an upgrade for the more advanced riders. We will no longer have two meeting places and the rides will be on quiet country roads.

Meet at Staples in Fairhaven at 5:45 P.M. for a 6 P.M. wheels down start.  This week will be around 26 miles through the towns of Fairhaven, Mattapoisett and Rochester.  It’s mostly flat but there are a couple of inclines that may slow you down.  We will have a lead rider for those who want to hammer as well as a sag rider for those who want to smell the roses.

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Sunday June 17, 2018.  Westport Ride to Horseneck Beach.  Meet at 8:45 A.M. for a 9 A.M. start at the Westport Middle School- 380 County Rd. Westport, MA.

21 miles from the middle school to Horseneck Beach and of course, back. Bring water, snacks, sunscreen, cameras and anything else you may want or need.  Helmets are a good choice for this all road ride.  This is best suited for intermediate or better, riders.

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Thursday, June 21.  Longest Day of the Year Ride.  Sponsored by Ten Speed Spokes Bike Shop.

Click Here for directions.

Ten Speed Spoke’s Longest Day Ride is our yearly event held to celebrate the start of summer and all things cycling.  It features 4 different length arrowed courses.  Everything is free!  Shirts and helmets are required.

All skill levels and ages of cyclists are invited.  To join, please register here.

See the video of one of the past year’s ride  HERE

 

I’m Calling the EPA

Today’s daily post suggestion.

Karma Chameleon Reincarnation: do you believe in it?

Do you believe in heaven and hell?  Gods? Aliens? Ghost? How about crop circles? Reincarnation is in the same category as all those other things.  I know none of those exist, so my answer is no, I don’t believe in reincarnation or any of those other things.  But they can be fun pranks to play on people.

 

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Coffee, Bagel and the paper.

It was such a nice morning,29 and sunny, that I had my coffee and a bagel on the outside deck of Flower Girls Baking Company after my daily gym session.  Today is also a nice day to go for a long enough ride to put on my Garmin. Stay tuned.  Continue reading “I’m Calling the EPA” →

The Daily Prompt and Riding A Bicycle In The Winter

The Daily Prompt is a writing training aid.  It suggests a subject to help what we call writers block.  I try to incorporate the “Prompt” with my bicycle writing into one post. Sometimes it works. Today’s prompt is titled Alma Mater

Alma Mater —You’ve been asked to speak at your high school alma mater — about the path of life. (Whoa.) Draft the speech.

My University soccer team was being inducted into the schools hall of fame.  A good number of the players traveled to the event.  The team was from 20 some odd years past, so there was a lot of catching up to do.  It was an annual event and there were a six or eight different inductees.  Individuals, our team, a coach for example.  It was the standard college ceremony.  We were the first to be inducted that night and lined up on the side of the stage at the bottom of the stairs.  As the short bio of our team was being read as an introduction, a team mate standing behind me said. “we took a vote and nominated you to give the speech”.  At that moment the MC announced, “Please give a warm welcome to the 1977 UMass soccer team”.

Winter Biking

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Those who ride in the winter can relate.  Those who don’t are missing out. Continue reading “The Daily Prompt and Riding A Bicycle In The Winter” →

Just Me And The Dogs On The MUP.

Sudden Shifts Sudden shifts in weather can occur at the beach for sure.  But they can also happen riding a bike three days after a blizzard. Soft snow, icy footprints, crusty snow and pavement can make for some challenging bicycle riding.  But if you bike, you know it’s also fun.

Riding on snow
The footprints and bike tracks are all mine and my dogs.  The tire tracks are my neighbors quad.

MUP is an acronym for Multi Use Path.  The one I use is a Rail to Trail converted alternate route into town.  If the path is not clear, the only way to town is on US Rt. 6. A four lane highway with a posted speed of 40 MPH.  Most drivers exceed 50 and approach 60 MPH since the road was newly paved in the fall.

I decided to get studded tires for my bike this winter because the town doesn’t clear this path of snow, and no one on rt 6 clears their sidewalks. Those two things force bikes and pedestrians onto a state highway to get to the town center.

Today I rode the MUP to the gym and the coffee shop.  The terrain was a mix of ice, crusty snow, blacktop and 5″ deep soft snow.  I had to stop three times and walk when I hit the soft snow.  The one mile ride was a pretty good leg workout and warm up for my time in the gym.  After the workout I stopped in the Flower Girl Baking Company for a good cup of coffee and a really light and delicious slice of quiche.

Flower Girls Baking Co.
Flower Girls Baking Company in Fairhaven.  You gotta try the quiche.

On the return trip I avoided riding on the path and took my chances on RT 6.  It’s two lanes in each direction and I took 1/3 of the lane forcing cars to go around and not squeeze me into the embankment.  It worked out fine with every vehicle moving to the passing lane as they drove by me.  Today I got to ride a little ebony and a little ivory.

Below is the example of sudden shifts in the terrain while riding my bike. (Having fun).

The Blizzard of 2016

Say Your Name My name is Lucy and I like snow.

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This one is a humdinger in the making.  The call is for 12-15 inches with high winds and heavy wet snow. I’m hoping the temperature drops into the 20’s to make the snow much lighter.  This storm is predicted to last 24 hours with more snow coming later in the week.   I am fond of saying that things like this are just a weather event until people are added into the equation.  Then it becomes a catastrophe. Continue reading “The Blizzard of 2016” →

Dam You DPW

We got a pretty good snow storm yesterday. Naturally I had to drive to the airport so the kid could fly back to his 70 degree weather in Austin.  Also both studded tires arrived this week and the storm couldn’t have been more opportune.

Putting on the tires was a frustrating task.  Both fought back with every stud, but I finally got them installed. All this work took place in between football games.  The English Premier League takes up most of my Saturday mornings.  It’s not very good football, but it’s fun to watch.  I did a fair share of profanities not only from the studded tires, but also the games.   My wrist hurts from struggling with that last few inches of the tire install, and my ankle hurts from stomping on the floor when one of the teams I decided to support today, played stupid.

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Studded Tires Installed on the Marin.

I decided to take the dogs for a walk before the inaugural studded tire ride and when I looked down the street the first thing that came to mind was, “Dam you, DPW.  They did a great job prepping the streets before and clearing the streets after the snow.  First time ever by the way.  Last year it took weeks to get the streets down to pavement.  Dam DPW. I’m going to bitch. I have a six mile ride into the city tomorrow for Yoga and am hoping that New Bedford keeps their low standard of clearing the roads in tact.

Clear Evergreen St.

Overcast Tree on Evergreen St.
At least the trees have snow cover. 

More Snow

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Winter is usually a medium inconvienience here on the south coast of Massachusetts.  Usually a moderate snowfall is long gone within a few days and bicycle riders especially bike commuters have few complaints.  This year however is very unfriendly to bicycling.  Boston for example has accumulated over six feet of snow. The constant cold has prevented any snow-melt between storms and the city has run out of places to put the white stuff.  Boston has resorted to trucking the snow to be dumped in the river.

bike 2015 blizzard

The SouthCoast of Massachusetts has fared much better having only accumulated thirty inches, more or less. One of the consequences is that everything and everyone has slowed down and there is very little complaining.  “It snowed a lot but it will melt in time” is the battle cry for now.

It’s not unusual to get a few feet of snow annually.  What is unusual is to have it all at once with no melting between storms. It’s winter and the four seasons is why we live here.  Snow is part of the lifestyle, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.