sherbornpeddler

*[Gamesmanship Alert!]*
Yes but if you find that difficult I guess we could start later and ride slower......

Nah, the 70 was residual from offering a longer day on the 13th.

sherbornpeddler

Zipp, exactly. Same for me. Jim can make the 14th. I am limited to the morning only.

I'm open to ideas but keeping a cow tunnel theme, I'll propose a Holliston-swoopy-suburban-road ride to east to Dover or south to RI or north to Hopkinton. Start at 8:00, 8:30, 9:00 AM? 45 mile range? It can be Carlisle based just as well if that enables more to join. That would be in the 40F to 50F temperature range and keep it in the morning.

jimmuller 

Oh, I can ride that fast, but that dang Heisenberg guy tells me I won't know where I am when I get there.
It sounds good to me. Starting at 9 is easier and warmer but any time will do in a pinch. Holliston/Dover/etc is a new area for me. Zipp, bkg, cmlwy, you got any preferences?

All that being said however, don't bend the details for me. A northern cow tunnel route might be easier for bkg. And since you (sbp) and zipp are limited in time on Sunday, go on Saturday. It will allow for a longer ride and more route options. I'll ride on Sunday anyway and ride fast enough to go backwards in time and meet you guys somewhere (but I'm not sure when). Or exactly at your starting time (but I'm not sure where).

Just post a nice report, preferably with pics.

cmolway

I'd be up for a morning ride out of Carisle on Saturday morning.

ZIPP2001

9 am saturday morning sounds good to me, a little warmer and I figure I have a good drive to get to your starting point. Just pm me the address of the starting location so i can find my way there. I don't ride out that way so I look forward to seeing some new roads.

jimmuller 

If I can get home from this CT ride by, say, noon then I can go on Saturday. So s'pose we start as close to 9AM as we can...bearing in mind that when a group says they'll start at 9 they end up starting at 9:15. 40 miles at an average of 15mph means 2hrs 40min. Figure in some stopping time and it still comes out okay. Great! I'll be there, even if I end up a bit late for my later commitment.

So we have one request for 9AM and another for leaving from Carlisle. bkggrl or cmlwy, you are the Carlisle connections. You have a route in mind? It would be good to have a place to park half a few vehicles for a few hours. sbp, this work for you? Would you have route suggestions?

If no one has a preferred route I can put one together from the roads I know. The CT's location is shown more or less from bkggrl's map but I've never been out rt225 that way. As long as it is safely bikeable we can hit it along the way.

cmolway

I have only done a couple of rides in carisle. I was hoping someone else had a route in mind. **It is really the farthest west I can start a ride on Saturday. CRW does a few rides out there that are marked. Here's one that looks interesting: https://crw.org/cgi-bin/cues2htm.pl?id=95

jimmuller 

This does look interesting but it has one problem - it runs completely around The Cow Tunnel which appears to be under rt225 half a mile west of Carlisle Center. Not that The Cow Tunnel (or even just a cow tunnel) is significant in the cosmic sense but it does provide a subject for conversation and historical conjecture. (Why did the cow cross the road? She didn't. She went through the tunnel. How may cows does it take to change a light bulb? None. They go through the tunnel to get back to the barn before dark.)

A slightly different problem with this ride is that it starts up in Chelmsford. If you're coming from Melrose and will be pressed for time that is further away than it need be. Of course we don't need to do it exactly. Rather, it provides a basis for judging candidate roads.

biikinggrrrl, you'll have to chime in on a starting place that can hold a few cars without bothering anyone. I'm wondering about that ice cream stand on rt225 east of Carlisle Center, where I've seen a farmers' market occasionally. I don't recall the name but it is easy to find. Another option is the boat landing on the north (westbound) side of rt225 on the east bank of the Concord River.

Or we could start in Concord (giving sbp a place to meet up, perhaps by bike). We could park along the boat landing (on Lowell Rd by the Old Calf pasture). The road there gets a lot of parked cars during warmer weather and few now. Or we could start at the North Bridge (Minute Man Historical Park). The lot on Monument St isn't very big but a few cars wouldn't be noticed. There is a bigger lot at the park headquarters on the connector road between Liberty St and Monument St. There are restrooms there and at the Monument Rd lot. Plus it is easier to get to from rt128 because you don't have to drive through Bedford.

Yes? No? Thoughts?

cmolway

As long as some has an idea where we are going, I am up for it. I got dropped and lost in Carisle the last time I was riding there. I would prefer to not repeat the experience.

sherbornpeddler

Greetings Gang! Following BG's lead I crashed my PC. Anyone have a XP boot disc?

So, Carlisle, 9AM Saturday meet at Ferns at the intersection of Concord and Bedford (aka RT 225). I'll be the good looking blue Serotta ridden in contrast by a somewhat scruffy cow tunnelist.

I'll open to suggestions and will have a map with me for the 9:00-9:15 discussions. Suffice to say we'll head west on 225 in search of the Towle field Cow Tunnel. From there I'll suggest we head south through Concord, Sudbury and Wayland then angle east to Weston, north to Lincoln, Concord and back to Carlisle. about 40 miles, few hills (sorry Z). I'll try to post a google map link separately.

This is a suggestion only and biasd only by my limited of knowledge of Carlisle roads. I can navigate the route I suggest but am very much open to any other ideas. I only insist we pass by the cow tunnel.

cmolway

If there are no takers for Saturday and people would prefer to put something together for Sunday, I can do a local club-ride on Saturday.

On that note, there is an unscheduled NSC ride out of Topsfield if anyone is interested. It usually pulls a decent crowd, especially if the temps are going to be as warm as predicted. There are usually enough to run separate A,B and C level groups. Nice marked ride with 25 35 and 50 mile routes: https://nscyc.org/rides/Sat2.htm

sherbornpeddler

A Carlisle Cow Tunnel route 40 miles starting at Fern's in Carlsile. This has plenty of opportunity for adjustment to keep the herd happy. Moo!
https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...9&ie=UTF8&z=13

sherbornpeddler

Cmolway, we overlapped. It sounds like a fine option and I'm sorry for not pulling this together sooner.
I'll check in tonight and see if we have consensus.
I prefer Saturday morning but can ride Sunday.

cmolway

sounds good. I am in for 9am on Saturday in Carisle. I'll be on a white and red Supersix.

jimmuller 

I like the plan! 9AM in Carlisle. Fern's... Is that the cafe/general store in Carlisle Center across from the library?

ZIPP2001

I'm in for Saturday, just look for the bright yelow Smart car.

sherbornpeddler

We are on for Saturday, 9AM!
I hope BikingGirl and her tribe and others can join us. Safe to say we are all adjustable in ride length and speed.

Alert rider Jim points out the route I posted didn't go by the Cow Tunnel which was the whole point of casting off from Fern's. The tunnel is ~200 ft past the Towle Field parking lot on the south side of Westford Rd.
This corrected version comes to 41.5 miles
https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...9&ie=UTF8&z=13

Yes, Fern's is the general store/coffee/deli across from the library at the rotary.

bikinggrrrl

Wow! Go away for a few days and you guys create and execute a beautiful plan! I have another engagement later on this morning, but am going to try to head over to Ferns at 9 just to meet y'all and take a picture of the group.

There are a few places to park your cars here in Carlisle:
Kimball's Ice Cream stand at Bates Farm, where the Farmer's Market is held on Sunday mornings is a great option. It is located on 225 headed toward Bedford.
Next to Ferns is the Center Park, located on Lowell Street headed towards Chelmsford. It can hold a few cars.
On Church Street (runs parallel to 225 headed towards Bedford) there are tons of parking spaces at the Spaulding Field which also hosts a port-o-potty, I believe.
There is a parking lot out by the Towle Land (cow tunnel) as well but I don't know how large it is.

Toilets can be found at the Gleason Library, if they are open. There are portable potties as well but get moved around from time to time: Ferns, Kimball's, Spaulding Field all have them, I think.

Did anyone else have trouble accessing Bike Forums this week? I tried to log on multiple times and was only successful today.

ZIPP2001

Thanks for the fun ride, I enjoyed meeting SBP, cmolway, and jimmuller. It was great to put a face and bike to your avatar, if you take all my rides the last two years I have never seen as many riders as I did today. You guys have some really nice roads and great scenery, Thanks again for the fun. bikinggrrl to bad you couldn't join us, but was nice to see you pass by.

Jim from Boston

I thought about you guys and your ride on this beautiful day on which I didn't ride at all, but was asked twice if I did. I could easily visualize the roads you took. Jim M was nice eough to include me in a PM invitation, but I had a list of excuses longer than Carter's has Little Liver Pills, including recovering from a flu-like illness.

The Fifty Plus Forum had a informal cycling rally this past June in the New York State Finger Lakes Region in connection with a three day cycling weekend held by a local cycling club, and it was great to meet other cycling enthusiasts who had previously known each other only through posts.

jimmuller 

Yes, we certainly did ride today. I show that we did 39.6 miles, Carlisle, Concord, Sudbury, Weston, Lincoln, Concord, Carlisle, and maybe a few places I didn't know existed. First, some pics:

me, shebornpeddler, cmolway, zipp2001


Did anyone lose a cow tunnel around here?


Here it is!


sherbornpeddler tries it for size


lit up with flash

Gentlemen, it was a pleasure meeting and riding with you. bikinggrrrl (at least I think that's who it was) even showed up by car but we had already hit the road so the conversation was brief. The weather was great, the roads wonderful. The ride was great!

As the pics show, there was an old steel bike, a new steel bike, an old CF bike, and a new CF bike. The most Star-Trek-ish was Zipp's, which he said was 1993. I would (humorously) have said cmolway was a funny way to spell chrom-moly, but no, he was on CF.

For me it was challenging, ah, a lesson in humility. Not the distance but the speed. We started west for the cow tunnel at a breakneck pace and I usually take an hour to warm up! Plus I'm not used to keeping to anyone's pace but my own, and these guys were flat out fast. Even more, normally I would have stopped to eat once or twice during a ride like that, but no, we just kept moving. By quittin' time breakfast was long ago. cmolway and zipp2001 kept running ahead and returning so they must have run 10% further than I did. And every time I'd get up a good speed someone would blow by me a zillion mph faster. Wow! Hats off to the three of you! I think cmolway said we ended with an average speed above 16mph.

We had a few technical glitches. I threw my chain on a chainring upshift. Somehow the chain came off the RD too and ran under the rear wheel. The wheel stopped and scrapped the chain along the pavement for 10 ft. Fortunately I didn't go down. About 2 inches of the chain are now very shiny! I threw the chain twice more but not so dramatically. Eventually I adjusted the FD stop screw. I've never had this happen before. It must have been the proximity of CF that caused it, I am sure. (I guess it's time for some maintenance.)

[sherbornpeddler asked what I was bothering to use the small chainring for anyway, (admitting some gamesmanship). I told him I should never have switched from the 60-tooth chainring to the 72.]

cmolway got a flat late in the ride, and the replacement promptly went BANG! Fortunately a quick patch on the first tube held okay. sherbornpeddler had no trouble and zipp2001 didn't run low on dilithium crystals.

By ride's end the temperature had climbed above 60degF and bicycles were in bloom everywhere.

Let's do it again. Longer if you wish, but at my pace this time!

atom bomb

Wow, fantastic pix! And a wonderful ride report. Thanks for posting that. You guys are amazing. Gotta' see that cow tunnel one of these days.

sherbornpeddler

“A half a mile Cmolway”

I too had a fine time.
Jim Thank you for your pictures and write up.
I was struck by the group. It began in this forum with appreciation for each others insights. The Cow Tunnel was a catalyst but the real incentive was the opportunity to get to meet cycling along nice roads.

We could easily have cut short or splintered due to “old and new carbon, old and new steel” and disparate riding styles. A wayward chain and pinch flat proved the “all for one, one for all” thing was stronger than our differences. Several times I laughed at our differences when Z and C burst ahead of J and my tour pace and wondered how we’d ever get through this ride. The answer is you are fine people and a pleasure to get to know.

JM I really hope you made your afternoon in Gloucester. I know you preferred Sunday and it was very nice of you to make the time yesterday. It wouldn’t have been the same without you. I wish I had a picture of the chain skid which is a story in itself. How you stayed up was impressive and you seemed so casual putting things back in place. I am inspired to get my Raleigh together and coerce you into a ride or at the very least join your next Pastor Bob ride.

Z, I don’t know how I’d fair in your hills but I’d love to hear more of your ride experiences. I believe you when you say you are happy on rides even if not at a CAT II pace. C, you are a commuter and high speed group ride inspiration and will keep secret my complete lack of distance estimation.

BG, It was so cool of you to post parking advice and drive by. JM credited your Strawberry Hill advice and we referenced your Sandy Pond and Baker Bridge routing so you were with us in spirit. I thought the Strawberry Hill section was the best.

Pretty funny how I over estimated distances of road segments for the sprinters in the group. I underestimated the Strawberry Hill segment and overestimated the impact of bypassing Wayland and Weston centers to Weston Observatory and Lincoln via Tower to Sandy Pond past DeCordova, Gropius House and Walden.

So:
Coffee at Fern’s.
Carlisle Cow Tunnel and BG’s drive by
Strawberry Hill
Concord and Sudbury River flood plains parallel to Jim’s canoeing tour
Training Field
Weston Observatory (just past Jim’s Chain Skid and remarkable recovery) How did you keep so casual? No way would an Ultegra chain have survived.
DeCordova Museum and Gropius House
Walden Pond where the famous hippie Thoreau hid out. We speculated he’d have been a fixie rider.
Concord Bridge and C’s pinch flat.
https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...,0.037937&z=15

cmolway

thanks for the tour de carlisle. it was a beautiful day for a bike ride.

jimmuller 

Very true, and I appreciate the fact that you true speedsters accommodated my more relaxed pace and technical difficulties. Thank you for that. There is a flip side though. When C was fixing his tire I offered that, since I knew the area well and we were mostly back to the start, any of you could head back at a faster pace and leave me behind. After all, some of you (me included) had other commitments for the afternoon. No one took up the offer. Great! That meant I felt obligated to keep up your pace for the rest of the run! Of course it is also an inspiration for me to go faster.

Yes I did, thanks, and it had another bike connection. We attended an open house at CB Fisk Organ Builders in Gloucester where another BF member, scottryder, works. I have a previous connection to CB Fisk so it was a nice convergence. Scott also has an '82 Peugeot tandem frame and components for sale and we are intrigued by it. If we can make it fit us... If you can't go fast you might as well do it in style.

(Plus it let us learn of an organ concert today at St John's Episcopal Church in Gloucester on another CB Fisk organ. We just got back. It was great. Maybe you aren't an organ enthusiast but they sort of represent the most magnificent musical accomplishment possible in, say, 1620. At CB Fisk they still make them the same way they did back then.)

It also let me catch up with BF member ftwelder and mrs. ftwelder again. They came over from Vermont to the open house. As he put it, even if you have nothing to do with organs the chance to see something like this doesn't come around very often.

I'm glad the ride inspired you to get your Raleigh back together. (Style is everything, you know. ) As for the chain, I figured if it didn't break it ought to work, and if it did break I could push the bike up hills and coast it down until one of you showed up with a car to take me back to Carlisle. The wear was on the outside, the non-gear edge, so it didn't affect shifting. Here is proof...


Great fun!