Bike Fall River Announces 2 rides for the weekend.
Saturday – Ride Around the Taunton River
Saturday, July 11, 2015 – Meet at 7:45am at the Park N Ride in Somerset off of County Street near the Rockland Trust Bank.
Ride will start at 8:00am This ride is for experienced road cyclists. The distance is approximately 23 to 25 miles and riders will encounter several hilly roads. Know your limitations.
The group will ride north along the scenic Somerset shoreline onto Dighton and then cross over the Taunton River into Berkley. From Berkley the group will head south into Freetown, Fall River and then over the Veterans Memorial Bridge back into Somerset.
Helmets are highly recommended, make sure to bring water and a snack.
Sunday – East Bay Bike Path and Colt State Park (Great Ride For Beginners!!!)
Sunday, July 12, 2015 – Meet at 7:45am at the parking lot along the East Bay Bike Path in Warren. Take 103 from Somerset to Warren, take first left after Dels Lemonade stand and park along the left. Ride starts at 8:00am. The East Bay Bike path and the paths in Colt State Park are level with very small inclines. This ride will be at a leisurely pace and will take in the beautiful scenery at Colt State Park. The ride is approximately 10 to 12 miles. When the ride is over riders can opt for a longer ride by heading north on the East Bay Bike path. Helmets are highly recommended and make sure to bring water and a snack.
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Number one son got married in Panama this past March. His wife’s 97 year old grandmother could not make the trip so there was a reception celebrating the wedding in Santa Fe. Of course, there are lots of other things to do and we did our best to squeeze in a much as we could. Fine southwest dining was a big part of the stay in New Mexico.
We hung around Santa Fe an extra day so we could watch the US women’s football match. We walked into the house three minutes into the match and thought people were pulling my leg when they said the US was up two-nil. The game was the polar opposite of Pearl Harbor,
Wish me luck on the raffleSanta Fe Art MuseumBest seat in the house
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All of us who visit touring sites either do, or want to do long distance touring. Since 2005 when I signed onto bikeforums and crazyguyonabike, I have envisioned myself doing some kind of cross country tour, be it east to west, or south to north. Last year I was within a week of riding the Southern Tier solo until things happened to force a postponement. I ended up riding the GAP/Martha’s Vineyard tour a few weeks ago as my annual bike tour.
I rode the GAP, Montour and Panhandle trails last year with a large group, and had a wonderful time. Being a social person who also enjoys time riding solo made the Rails to Trails sponsored sojourn, a good experience. I did some riding alone, some with new found friends and at the end of the day participated in the social events that were made available by the locals when we passed through or stayed overnight in their towns. This year two of us did the same ride on our own and the experience
Great Allegheny PassageBarroom in the basement.
was the polar opposite. Converted rail trails are often long stretches of nothing between major rail yards with a few small towns scattered between. Without an event with 300 bike riders coming to town, there is no reason for any business to remain open past 6 or 8 PM.
Riding 60+ miles a day on dirt with a slight incline can certainly test the patience and endurance of older guys like me. The reason for those miles was to get to a town, relax over a nice dinner and have a few cold ones while rehashing the day. There was also a time factor involved when riders have to get back to work. In reality, we ended up walking to a Walmart one evening and settling into a bar room in a house basement the next night eating frozen pizza and potato chips.
On the flip side, towpaths like the Erie Canal have towns every couple of miles, catering to bike and boat tourist during the summer. Again to finish the end to end bike ride, it’s 8 days on crushed limestone averaging 50 miles a day. The Erie Canal has the option of NY Bike Route 5 (Rt 31 for cars), which allows riders to make up time by riding on pavement. If your ride, you know how
Bike route 5 paralleling the Erie Canal towpath
refreshing it is to ride on pavement compared to crushed limestone, especially if it’s wet. The Erie Canal offers a plethora of choices to stay or if one prefers, free camping at any lock station. The Erie Canal is a fun bike ride as opposed to the Great Allegheny Passage, which is more of an adventure.
Our Brockport home. Camping on the canal.
There are lots of local day rides available on these converted trails, and I’ll continue to ride them, but the long, boring, dusty week long rides on rail trails have been eliminated from my touring list.
Bike touring for many is a life changing adventure. For many it’s a fun vacation or it can be anywhere between the two.
Next years tour is narrowed down to three choices. The Erie Canal, an 8 day tour. Cape Cod and Martha’s Vinyard in 6 days. Inn to Inn in Bar Harbor Maine in 6 days using Adventure Cycling’s Itinerary without the off days.
This is one of the highlight rides of the summer. Ride along the beaches, five mile drive, the mansions and chasms of Newport, RI. The ride begins at 6 PM at the bike shop which is across the street from the baseball stadium.
Newport bike has a large parking lot less than a mile from the bike shop and it’s available free of charge for anyone with a bike.
Ten Speed Spokes Longest Day Ride is a 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.
This year the Honky Tonk Knights are playing live tunes for your return to the shop.
The ride will be on June 25th and will start at 6pm. Be sure to get here by 5:30pm at the latest to allow time for check in. T-shirts will be limited to the first 150 people who check in on the day of the ride so get here early!
After the ride Five Speed Spokes bike shop provides, entertainment, soda, a beer, pizza and snacks. All included in the free ride.
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The ride in Tiverton, RI last night was a bust. No big deal for this retired guy. I’ll do a long ride tomorrow morning. Well, tomorrow morning arrived and I remembered I am playing tennis tonight. No big deal for this retired guy. I’ll do a long ride tomorrow. Tomorrow will come and I’ll be lucky to walk after a couple hours of tennis tonight. I did find a solution to those next day lactic acid filled burning legs. An ice bath after tennis.
Filling a tub with the coldest water possible out of the faucet, then sitting in it, is very difficult. Last year the best I could do was kneel in the tub. Last week however, I tried the frog in the boiling water system. The one that says if you drop a frog in very hot water it will jump out. But, if you put a frog in cool water and slowly bring it to a boil, the frog will allow itself to be cooked. I sit in an empty tub and turn the cold water on so it flows very slowly, gradually opening the faucet as I adjust to the shock. It’s not easy, but it’s doable. It’s amazing how fast the lactic acid recovery is by a simple ice bath. Or in my case, a cold bath. It’s common for pro athletes to do the ice bath after a game.
There was time to do a ride around town today. Fairhaven, MA is a waterfront town within sight of the western side of Cape Cod and on a clear day, Martha’s Vineyard. A camera is an essential bike component for any bike blogger worth their salt. Sometimes a photographer begins the day with a theme and there are other times, like today, that we simply pay attention to the world and stay ready for what ever happens. There was a lot going on today.
Lots of BoatsCouple on the beach at Fort PhoenixReturning from deep sea fishing tripDog Walker at Fort PhoenixEntering New Bedford, MA harborBasketball in the parkGull standing guardLobster BoatTug behind Palmer’s Island Light
There was a rally for the volunteers for Saturday’s Buzzard Bay Swim. It was too good an evening not to ride my bike the four miles to the gathering and the waterfront was abuzz with activity.
It was a quiet ride home but I did stop at the salt marsh to watch all the activity in the water. Duck families, egrets, lots of small birds like robins, starlings and others scrambling for a last minute meal, making a racket with their screams. Needless to say, the nine feet of snow we had on the ground a few short weeks ago is nothing but a fond memory.
As always, click any photo for big. Click again for bigger.
As always, click any photo for big. Click Again for bigger. See all the Photos on flickrHERE
The call was issued by the Fall River Bike gang to meet in Newport for an early Sunday morning bike ride. Expecting a medium hard ride, I loaded the road bike and set out on the 45 minute drive to the start at Newport Bike Coalition office on the island. (Newport is on Acquidneck Island). There I met up with five other riders and ended up being unofficially elected to lead this ride.
Sunny, eighty something degrees with no wind riding our bikes in Newport RI. There are things just as good I’m sure, but I doubt if there is anything better. Early in the ride we all decided this would not be a ride so much as a sightseeing adventure on our bikes. Because of all the stops, it took us three hours to ride twenty two miles. The up side, we all got some great photos.
Fort Adams. Newport, RI
Fort Adams, Ocean Drive, First and Second Beaches and Purgatory Chasm were the highlights of this ride. I didn’t get a photo but we stopped near Flo’s Clam Shack were their special is two hot dogs and a bottle of Moet for $110. It’s so unique that it’s one of the most popular items on the menu. Remember, we are in Newport. Home of Mansion Row on Bellvue Ave, the tennis hall of fame and the America’s Cup Yacht races. As daddy always says, “money don’t spend itself”.
Summer home in Newport RISecond Beach, Newport, RIGhost Bike, Newport RIMy favorite toy
The Campgrounds at Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard
We drove back to New England but were certainly not ready to end our bike tour. We decided to drive out to Wood’s Hole and catch the ferry to “the Vineyard” to do a day of riding, eating, drinking beer and sightseeing. We got all that accomplished.
A bit of fun with the panorama function on my camera.
One of the things that struck me was how much better riding is when it’s done in civilization. The GAP for me is rated a little below OK. With the stories we heard of the C&O conditions, I really think it would have soured both Brandon and I on bike touring. MORE
After staying in a wonderful airbnb, we took a Uber to the train station to unbox and assemble our bikes. Withing a few pedal strokes I knew I had severely over packed. I found a post office a mile away and shipped home all my cooking and some of the camping gear. Keeping only the tent and a pillow, just in case.
It was 1:30 by the time we got riding and we got in a slow 62 miles to the town of Connellsville, PA. We ran into a father and son from Alaska, Jeff and Finn who turned us on to a cheap motor lodge at the top of a pretty severe hill. Normally this would not be an issue, but after riding 60 miles on dirt, it was kind of tough.
Today we will continue into Myerdale, around 60 miles. More about today later today. Pictures and all that stuff.
I like Red Roof. It’s inexpensive. That’s the extent of the good things to say. You get the point.
I drove the the Red Rood Inn at Baltimore airport last night. Brandon is flying in from Austin this morning. We will drive 30 miles to Union Station in DC, box our bikes and do the tourist thing while we wait to board the 4:30 Amtrak to Pittsburgh.
Tomorrow morning we begin our bike ride from Pittsburgh to DC on the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O canal towpath. We will be mixing camping with soft beds and hot showers.
A Midnight Rider 