You like hills?  You will love riding the Vineyard.  Not too steep nor too long, but a constant up and down when riding to and back from Gay Head.  My Garmin touring computer was acting up pretty bad.  So much so that I lost around 10 miles, and we had to reverse a few times because of turns we missed.  It all worked out.  I rode 54 miles, everyone I was riding alongside rode 63. I did some creative stuff with my garmin to try to match the miles, but still came up short.

With our varied group of riders, the pain index ranged from zero to massive.  I was somewhere in the middle. Because as a good organizer, I stayed with the slowest riders. That and being overweight and slow myself.

In the town of Minemsha, we took a small pontoon ferry across the channel before riding to the lighthouse at Gay Head.  The captain was a hoot, telling a couple of crazy stories of his days as a Duck Tour Driver in Boston.

Near the end, a couple of us took a shortcut in order to get to the 2:30 ferry for the return trip.  The other went the long way, got overheated and jumped off a bridge into the waters near the location of the movie “Jaws”.  They swear they heard a strange noise  when they were in the waters.  Da dum.  da dum.   dadumdadumdadum.  They had to catch the next boat which was only thirty minutes later.  The Video on Facebook is HERE

2018 Martha’s Vineyard from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

Monday July 9

Bike Ride on the Vineyard. $25 round trip with your bike.

This is an early Morning start.  We will meet at 7 AM at the Falmouth parking lot on the Shining Sea Bikeway across from the Peter Pan Bus Station at 59 Depot Street.  Park in the dirt lot across the street from the station.  It’s free to park here and it’s a 2 mile ride to the ferry.

We will board the 8:15 ferry for the short ride to Vineyard Haven and begin our 40-50 mile bike ride to Gay Head at a leisurely pace.

There is a shorter easy ride along the beach to Edgartown which in the past, some have oped to ride.  Your on your own for the short ride. It’s easy to navigate and there is no worry about getting lost.

We will return on either the 2:30 P.M. boat from Vineyard Haven, or the 2:50 commercial boat from Oak Bluffs.

Click Here for the GPS  info

There will be a mountain bike ride through the bioreserve on Tuesday 7/3/18.

Time:  6:00PM

Date:  7/3/18

Location:  Meet at the intersection of Riggenbach Rd. and Wilson Rd.

                Parking on Riggenbach Rd.

Specifics:  This ride is all on road, but some of the roads are in sorry shape and have not been maintained in 60 years or more.

                  This means that you will need a mountain bike.  It is doubtful that road bikes will survive some of these roads.

The Route:  We will travel down Wilson Rd., across the causeway to Blossom Rd.  Up Yellow Hill Rd.  Left on Indian Town Rd. left on Copicut Rd.  Left on Bell Rock Rd. and back to Wilson Rd.  Total distance is 12 or 13 miles.

Bring:          Water, snacks, bug repellant, cameras and anything that I forgot to list or that you might need.

Wednesday Night Ride With Hiram

Cancelled

Meet at the YMCA on Union St. in New Bedford for a 6 PM start.  The route varies every week and Hiram is always open to suggestions at the start.  If there are none, Hiram will pick a route.

Thursday July 5

Monday July 9
Ride Martha’s Vineyard  Round trip ferry with bike is $25

This is an early Morning start.  We will meet at 7 AM at the Falmouth parking lot on the Shining Sea Bikeway across from the Peter Pan Bus Station at 59 Depot Street.  Park in the dirt lot across the street from the station.  It’s free to park here and it’s a 2 mile ride to the ferry.

We will board the 8:15 ferry for the short ride to Vineyard Haven and begin our 40-50 mile bike ride to Gay Head at a leisurely pace.  There is a shorter easy ride along the beach to Edgartown which in the past, some have oped to ride.  Your on your own for the short ride. It’s easy to navigate and there is no worry about getting lost.

E-mail me with any questions

johninfairhaven@yahoo.com

Monday Mornings Highland Ride – weekly ride – meetup 7:45AM, Ride starts at 8:00AM – Start from Bristol Community College on Elsbree Street (please park by tennis courts).  This will be an approximately 15 mile ride through the beautiful Highland section of Fall River. Margaret has ramped up the ride!! The ride will take an hour to complete. A perfect start to our week day. Rain cancels our rides…hope to see you there!

Ten Speed Spokes bike shop in Newport, R.I. held it’s 21st annual Longest Day of the Year Ride.  The number of riders was impressive as was the number of pizzas and beer cans. All free by the way.  It was my 7th and it’s always a hoot to ride this one.

In the past I rode in the second or third pack.  Today, I tucked myself into the fast group, and they pulled me along, allowing me to get some pretty good video.

2018 Longest Day of the Year Ride from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

Wednesday, June 20.  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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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

8 A.M. sharp.  If your a minute late, there is no one at the parking lot, near the tennis courts of Bristol Community College in Fall River, MA.  Jim the retired Fire Fighter found this out today.  Luckily he is a strong rider and he was able to chase us down.

A short ride though the Upper Highlands of the city before a highway crossing into the industrial area.  Three of us did the extended couple of miles while the others took a break and waited the the Amazon distribution center.

On that extension, I was pleasantly surprise we were riding comfortably in excess of 20 MPH.  When we reached the turn around point, we all realized why?  Downhill and the wind at our back.  A strong wind that we now had to navigate back.  And the hills. Oh those hills. Short and steep.  Everyone was smiling between the curse words and gasps.

The weather cooperated nicely for our ride along the Atlantic Ocean in Westport, MA.  Quiet back roads, beaches, sand dunes and bikes.  What more could one ask for a perfect bicycle ride.

Westport_Horseneck Beach from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

The e-mail said 22 miles of flat easy riding.  Apparently rolling hills are flat easy riding to some people.  Twelve experienced road riders showed for this one.  Lots of ex’s. A couple of ex racers, ex touring riders,  but mostly ex young people.  Riding with a new member from Amsterdam, I learned a few new Dutch words as we climbed a couple of the longer hill together.

Everyone ended with a smile and some eased their pain at a local pub conveniently located at the end of the route.  I didn’t want to be tempted with a beer or two since I had a 20 mile drive home.  Not to worry, I did make up for it at home.

2018 June 14 Thursday Night Ramble from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

CAFE RIDE STARTING FROM FORT HILL SATURDAY 9 AM START

Starting at the Fort Hill parking lot a casual** 27 mile ride along the East Bay Bicycle Path to Bristol for coffee and bagels at Bristol Bagel on Hope Street.

For directions to Fort Hill bike path access search for directions to intersection of Mercer Street and Veterans Memorial Parkway in East Providence through Google Maps or GPS. (1 Mercer St.) Parking is overlooking the river on the West side of the highway.

Saturday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 8 mph in the morning.

Sunday, June 17, 2018 Westport ride to Horseneck Beach –

Meetup at 8:45 A.M. ride starts at 9:00 A.M. – Meetup location is at Westport Middle School – 380 Old County Rd. Westport, MA

Distance: approx. 21 miles – Rain cancels the ride. – We will ride From Westport Middle School to Horseneck Beach and back. – Bring water, snacks, sunscreen, cameras and anything else you might want or need. Helmets are highly recommended. This will be an all on road ride and is probably best suited for experienced riders.

50 miles through 6 towns of country riding.

It was an early morning start for this solo ride.  My first inkling was the Tour de Creme ice cream ride route.  But I also wanted to ride over the Padanaram (paid-nair-im) Bridge,  in Dartmouth, MA. that just opened after two years while under repair.   It didn’t take long to decide to do both.   Most of the ride was a pleasure but then some of it wasn’t.

When I turned into the UMass Dartmouth campus at around the 35 mile mark, my respect for the local weather man was bittersweet. Many complain that they seldom get thing right, this sonofabitch was spot on.  During his 7 A.M. report, he predicted a sunny, warm morning. He also said to beware of the wind sometime around noon.  When I made the turn onto “Ring Road”, it was like I rode into a net. The kind that used to catch the greyhounds at the end of the race. The one that gives when the dogs run into it. Yeah, like that.

One of the highlights of the ride was when I spotted a water pump in a cemetery.  While there I took a short stroll around the ground and found a grave stone marked  “Born 1600. died 1647”.  There were quite a few 1600’s birth dates on the stones.

I struggled here and there on this ride and my legs began to tighten when I had around eight miles left.  However, once I crossed the bridge from the city into my home town, I was like a cow smelling the barn.  All my woes melted away as I pedaled at a good clip the final three miles.

p.s.  I did stop at the marked for some flank steak to make a crock pot Mongolian beef dish.  It game out phenomenal.

50 Miles, 6 Towns of Country Riding from John Sullivan on Vimeo.