This Week - West Acton - NH Seacoast - Lunenburg

Dear AdventuRiders,

I got an "A" in Meteorology 101 in college, but that was a long time ago. The "official" weatherpersons are changing their minds constantly, so I will leave it to the morning of the ride and I'll be as optimistic as possible. Generally this week it should be 50s when we leave and near 70 when we return with or without clouds / rain. Let's hope for the best.

On Monday, October 1st - West Acton

• 9:30 AM - The Morning Recreation Ride will leave.
• 11:30 AM - We should be back.
• Starting Point Map - Elm Street Playground, West Acton
• Route Map - West Acton - Maynard - ARNWR
• Distance - 14.5 miles.
• Elevation Gain - 215 feet (easy).
• Unpaved - 1/2 mile - may be a bit rough.
• Equipment - I may bring my hybrid, but any well maintained bike will work.

AR Index - Roughly equal to 16 flat, smooth miles.

11:30 AM Lunch at Idylwilde Farms.

• 12:30 PM - The Afternoon Recreation Ride will leave.
• 2:30 PM - We should be back.
• Starting Point Map - Elm Street Playground, West Acton.
• Route Map - West Acton - Stow - ARRT.
• Distance - 17.8 miles.
• Elevation Gain - 315 feet (moderate).
• Unpaved - 2 miles - generally smooth.
• Equipment - I may bring my hybrid, but any well maintained bike will work.

AR Index - Roughly equal to 20 flat, smooth miles.

On Wednesday, October 3rd - NH Seacoast

I am proposing a "Best of the Seacoast Century" ride on Wednesday. There are two flavors of rides, a 1/3 century that starts at Rye Harbor State Park at 9:30 AM, and a 1/2 century that starts at Hampton Beach State Park at 8:30 AM.

The 1/2 Century riders will meet the 1/3 Century riders at Rye Harbor and enjoy the seacoast to Newcastle and Portsmouth before turning inland along the Great Bay. We will ride through the old Pease Air Force Base and historic Newington and across the General Sullivan's Bridge to Newick's Lobster House in Dover for lunch.

On the way back, it is a smooth pavement and rolling hills ride back to the coast. The 1/3 century ride will be back before 2:30PM and the 1/2 century ride will be back before 3:30PM.

Here is the 1/3 Century Map. The AR Index is roughly equal to 36 flat, smooth miles.

Here is the 1/2 Century Map. The AR Index is roughly equal to 51 flat, smooth miles.

On Friday, October 5th - Lunenburg

• 9:30 AM - The Fitness Ride will leave.
• 12:30 PM - We should be back.
• Starting Point Map - Lunenburg Center.
• Route Map - Lunenburg - Pearl Hill.
• Distance - 26 miles
• Elevation Gain - 750 feet
• Unpaved - None.
• Equipment - I plan to bring my road bike.

Lunch at the Bangkok Hill Restaurant.

AR Index - Roughly equal to 33 flat, smooth miles.

Hope to see you there,

Bill and Carole

Best of the Seacoast next Wednesday?

Dear AdventuRiders,

If you can't ride next Wednesday, 10/3, you can quit reading now.

Unfortunately this gloomy weather is supposed to last until Wednesday :-( However, the Wednesday forecast (yes it's a long way off) looks delightful. At the risk of ruining the forecast, I am proposing a "Best of the Seacoast" ride on Wednesday. There are two flavors of rides, a 1/3 century that starts at Rye Harbor State Park at 9:30 AM, and a 1/2 century that starts at Hampton Beach State Park at 8:30 AM.

The 1/2 Century riders will meet the 1/3 Century riders at Rye Harbor and enjoy the seacoast to Newcastle and Portsmouth before turning inland along the Great Bay. We will ride through the old Pease Air Force Base and historic Newington and across the General Sullivan's Bridge to Newick's Lobster House in Dover for lunch.

On the way back, it is a smooth pavement and rolling hills ride back to the coast. The 1/3 century ride will be back before 2:30PM and the 1/2 century ride will be back before 3:30PM.

Here is the 1/3 Century Map. The AR Index is roughly equal to 36 flat, smooth miles.

Here is the 1/2 Century Map. The AR Index is roughly equal to 51 flat, smooth miles.

RSVP if you are interested.

Thanks,

Bill (and hopefully Carole)

STOP - The Fitness Ride is Postponed

Reminder - Lunenburg on Friday

Dear AdventuRiders,

Since I totally failed to predict the pretty good day for biking on Wednesday :-( I will simply show you to the current hourly forecast and try to make a better decision tomorrow morning.

The ride is sort of a figure 8 so we can ride 1/2 the ride and easily bail out if the weather gets nasty.

We will ride UP on Sunnyhill Road, then DOWN (mostly) to Lake Shirley. Then it's back UP to the alpacas and Hickory Hills Lake. From there it is UP to Bayberry Hill before zooming down to Pearl Hill State Park. Then it's smooth sailing on new asphalt for about 4 miles. After a final UP to the golf course we will cruise back to Lunenburg Center.

On Friday, September 28th - Lunenburg

• 9:30 AM - The Fitness Ride will leave.
• 12:30 PM - We should be back.
• Starting Point Map - Lunenburg Center.
• Route Map - Lunenburg - Pearl Hill.
• Distance - 26 miles
• Elevation Gain - 750 feet
• Unpaved - None.
• Equipment - I plan to bring my road bike.

Lunch at the Bangkok Hill Restaurant.

AR Index - Roughly equal to 33 flat, smooth miles.

Hope to see you there,

Bill and Carole

STOP - The Exploration Ride is Postponed

Reminder - Bolton Center on Wednesday - Lunenburg on Friday

Dear AdventuRiders,

Well the weather is not looking good tomorrow :-( The forecast is for Cloudy, low 60s, breezy with a 50% chance of rain when we leave. It should be near 70, windy and a 40% chance of rain when we return.

On Wednesday, September, 26th - Bolton Center

This ride features the vineyard and orchards of Bolton and Berlin. We will have a significant hill early in the ride that will take us UP to beautiful views of the Nashoba Valley. We will visit the Old Church / New Community Center in Berlin before following the Wachusett Aquaduct toward Northboro. Then we will avoid Solomon Pond Mall on our way to the Assebet River Rail Trail for a breezy downhill run to Hudson.

After a yummy lunch and your choice of 80 beers on tap at the Horseshoe Pub, we will head back past cute animals on some scenic backroads.

• 9:30 AM - The Exploration Ride will leave.
• 11:30 AM - Lunch at the Horseshoe Pub in Hudson.
• 2:30 PM - We should be back.
• Starting Point Map - Bolton Center Baseball Diamonds
• Route Map - Bolton - ARRT - Hudson
• Distance - 26 miles.
• Elevation Gain - 750 feet.
• Unpaved - None
• Equipment - I plan to bring my road bike.

AR Index - Roughly equal to 33 flat, smooth miles.

On Friday, September 28th - Lunenburg

• 9:30 AM - The Fitness Ride will leave.
• 12:30 PM - We should be back.
• Starting Point Map - Lunenburg Center.
• Route Map - Lunenburg - Pearl Hill.
• Distance - 26 miles
• Elevation Gain - 750 feet
• Unpaved - None.
• Equipment - I plan to bring my road bike.

Lunch at the Bangkok Hill Restaurant.

AR Index - Roughly equal to 33 flat, smooth miles.

Hope to see you there,

Bill and Carole

GO - Forge Pond - Westford

Its chilly this morning.