Dear AdventuRiders,
I hope everyone had a peaceful and relaxing "Spring Break". Its actually starting to look a bit like Spring outside.
We also seem to be getting the "Spring Showers". The forecast looks a bit unsettled all week, we'll see what we can do.
Monday, April 25th - Heart Pond
The weather for Monday isn't looking so good at this point, but we'll hope for the best.
We have two choices of rides on Monday, the morning ride will be an easy cruise along the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail and a trip through Great Brook Farm State Park. The afternoon ride will be a bit more challenging as we visit the scenic backroads of Carlisle.
We will meet at the Heart Pond parking lot in South Chelmsford. Here is a starting point map.
- The morning Recreation Ride will feature the new ($1,000,000 per mile) Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. We will also cruise over to Great Brook Farm State Park and ride past the cranberry bogs.
- The route is a little less than 14 miles long, a little over 200 feet vertical (easy), and there are only two noticeable hill on it. There is a short bit of old dirt road in GBFSP, but a road bike will work fine. Here is a route map.
We will have a picnic lunch at Heart Pond beach. We can get subs at Kate's Corner store or BYOL.
- The afternoon Recreation Ride will also visit Great Brook Farm State Park on our way to the scenic backroads of Carlisle.
- The route is a little over 14 miles long with almost 300 feet vertical (average). It is all on road. Here is a route map.
Here is the schedule:
- At 9:30 AM - The morning Recreation Ride will leave.
- At 11:30 AM - We will have a picnic lunch.
- At 12:30 PM - The afternoon Recreation Ride will leave.
- At 2:30 PM - We will be back.
Wednesday, April 27th - Portsmouth
As usual, the weather for the Portsmouth ride is looking "iffy". What does "Isolated Thunderstorms" actually mean? I'll keep you posted.
Although its an hour drive each way, this is a good route to accumulate early season miles without hills and with marvelous scenery. We also need to do this ride before May 1st when parking and entrance fees in NH go into effect. Yup, $4.00 per person every time we stop to admire the scenery!
We can meet at the Shaw's parking lot at 4 corners in Groton to carpool. Here is a meeting place map.
We will meet at the Hampton North Beach Parking. Here is a starting point map.
- The Exploration Ride will ride along the beautiful NH seacoast to New Castle and then to Portsmouth. Along the way we will stop at Rye Harbor State Park, O'Diorne State Park, Fort Constitution, ... Since we have experience with afternoon headwinds on the coast, I have mapped out an inland route on the way back if necessary.
- The route is about 31 miles and mostly flat. Here is a map. Its all on road, so I plan to bring my road bike.
We have many choices for lunch in Portsmouth. Here are a few suggestions:
- Lunch on the deck overlooking Portsmouth Harbor at River House Restaurant.
- Pub lunch with fresh microbrew beer at the Portsmouth Brewery.
- Lighter fare at Popovers on the sidewalk in bustling Market Square.
Here is the schedule:
- At 9:00 AM - Meet at Shaw's to carpool.
- At 10:00 AM - Meet at Hampton North Beach parking lot.
- At 12:30 PM ish - We will have lunch.
- At 3:00 PM - We will be back to North Hampton Beach.
Friday, April 29th - Boxboro
We will meet at the soccer fields on Liberty Square Road. Here is a starting point map.
- This is one of my favorite rides. Its scenic, challenging, and has a two mile downhill run through Harvard. Of course that means that there are some uphills too, but the one category 5 (easiest category) hill we have is mostly just long and not that steep.
- The route is about 25 miles long and 700 feet vertical (moderate) with most of the elevation gain in the first hill, although it is uphill back to the starting point too. It is all on road and I plan to bring my road bike. Here is a route map.
Here is the schedule:
- At 9:30 AM - The Fitness Ride will leave.
- At 12:30 PM - We will be back.
- Lunch
Hope to see you there,
Bill and Carole