jimmuller 

I am organizing a ride in the Boston metro-west/northwest area. I think a great ride could focus on the Minuteman National Park, Lexington, Concord, and a few other surrounding towns such as Carlisle, Bedford, Lincoln. This is prime bike country! Some areas can be a bit hilly but not mountainous; some roads are quite flat. This area sees a lot of bikes on weekends, so bike-awareness is not a foreign concept to drivers.

Depending on route we can see an active cranberry bog and a beaver hutch on a stream in Carlisle, stop and visit the National Park ("By the rude bridge that arched the flood their flag to April's breeze unfurled, Here once embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard 'round the world" - Ralph Waldo Emerson, who bent history only a little with that poem), ride parts of the Minuteman or Bruce Freeman bike paths, stop at Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, stop at Walden Pond, stop on the banks of the Concord River.

I need suggestions for the date. I'd like it to be a Saturday. Sharon and I can make either May 19, May 29 (start of Memorial Day weekend), or June 2.

Also need thoughts on your preferred mileage and style of roads. Post your thoughts here so everyone can read them, or send me email jimmuller@rcn.com or a PM.

Keep pedaling!

pastorbobnlnh 

June 2nd or May 19 would be my best dates (church yard sale is Memorial Day Saturday)!

bikemore 

Sounds good, prefer a much shorter drive or I could ride out to the Lexington Ride Studio cafe. May is a pretty busy month for me, although oddly I think Memorial Day weekend is open .
At the moment I don't have a lot of miles in so I am thinking sub 30 miles, but maybe that will be different then.

TireLever-07

Yea yes Jim. I'm in Malden. There's also a beaver lodge with his own pond/pool across the road. Its near Lincoln, Sudbury HS. The Dairy Joy opened REAL early this year,,, in March. Around Nine Acre Corner is some excellent riding. Saw two roadkill beavers once, its a brook, or pond that overflows the road every year._Chris

top506

As soon as the date is nailed down I'll put in for the time off.

Top

jimmuller 

We're thinking Saturday June 2 would be the best date. So let's go with that for now!

I'll put together several route options... Maybe start in Lexington, run out to Bedford, over to Carlisle maybe with a stop a Fern's, run down to Concord, back through Bedford to Lexington.

Anyone else interested? Now is the time to be heard!

jimmuller 

BUMP! Saturday June 2! The weather is looking okay though too far into the future to trust.

I'm working out a route but need input from you participants before deciding length and difficulty. There are some length options too. Also a head count would be good so we don't run into parking issues wherever we start.

Starting points and gotta'-see stops I'm considering are:
Depot Park in Bedford, good parking, restrooms, not too hard to get to, located at the western end of the Minuteman Bikeway.
Carlisle Center, more limited parking but more rural (and hilly) start, the location of Fern's store where millions of migrating bikes congregate.
Minuteman (Old North Bridge) Natl Historical Park HQ, also a planned stop&visit site even if we don't start there.
Lexington Center, public parking for a few bucks, on the MM, also the location of Ride Studio Cafe, which is also a possible distance extension from Bedford.
Walden Pond in Lincoln, possible route extender across Rt 2.

Okay folks, start checking in. Drop me some email: jimmuller@rcn.com

top506

I'm there, Jim, just tell me where and when. Easy on/off from 128 or Rt 2 would be a plus.
And I'll be on the Cape this weekend if anyone is up for a CCRT/OCRT run. You can watch me shake down the Schwinn; I'm not used to cursing out a bike in American English!

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jimmuller 

Here is the plan... I'm thinking a 10AM start.

Start at Depot Park, intersection of South Rd, Railroad Ave, and Loomis St in Bedford, MA. Depot Park is an old RR car turned into a sort of museum. It is also the western end of the the Minuteman Bike Path. Parking and restrooms are available. There is a bike shop across South Rd from Depot Park.

Directions: Take Rt128. At exit 31B take Rt4/225/Great Rd west toward Bedford Center. In 1.9 miles turn Left onto Loomis St. (I believe there is a stoplight at Loomis.) Depot Park is about 1/3 mile on the left.

Alternate directions from the north if you are coming south on Rt3: At exit 26 take Rt62 west, follow Rt62 signs until it hits Rt4/225/Great Road. Turn Right onto Rt4/225, then in .2 miles turn Left on to Loomis St.

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The main Route will go west from Bedford, cross the Corcord River and turn north into northern Carlisle, pass through Great Brook Farm State Park (possible stop w/ice cream). Loop around south on the west side of Carlisle (passing an active cranberry bog), eventually turn north into Carlisle Center (possible stop w/food). Head east then south into Concord Center with a stop at the North Bridge National Historical Park. Head northeast back to Bedford. This much is about 29 miles.

We have several route options which can be ridden or skipped as time and energy permit. One option is an excursion south from Concord Center into Lincoln, passing by Walden Pond (a state park), for those who wish to see it. One version of this loop is about 8 miles, though a straight run to Wladen and back is shorter.

The final option when we have returned to Depot Park is to ride the Minuteman into Lexington for a stop at Ride Studio Cafe for some light food (or heavier food at other places in Lexington), then return on the Minuteman back to Depot Park.

ftwelder

I guess I will need to get a car running pretty soon.

pastorbobnlnh 

Frank,

I'm going. Do you want to ride together?

jimmuller 

Some details of part of the area we will ride through:

In the 1700's the various towns in Massachusetts colony had long organized armed militias for their own defense. They had even developed elite units known as Minutemen for their ability to respond to any situation in less than a minute. But by 1775 tension between the colonists and the British government had reached such a critical level that British authorities were afraid of an armed rebellion by the militias.

On the morning of April 19, 1775 a column of 700 British regulars under Lt. Col. Francis Smith set out in secret from Boston to seize a reported arms cache in Concord. However the colonists had an effective espionage network and the raid was not a surprise - they had known about it for weeks. On the night before, a signal "one if by land, two if by sea" from a church tower on Beacon Hill in Boston informed them that the British column would cross the harbor to what is now Cambridge on the north bank of the Charles River, then march westward through Menotomy (now Arlington), Lexington, and Concord.

The British column marched unimpeded until they reached Lexington Green. The Lexington Militia, about 80 men and not a Minuteman unit, under Capt. John Parker had been called out to observe but not to confront or block the road to Concord. The Concord arms cache had already been dispersed, and the British had made such raids before, finding nothing and returning home. Capt. Parker expected the same this time. However Marine Lieutenant Jesse Adair commanding the British advance guard decided to protect the column's flank by facing the militia. Both sides had orders not to fire. Yet a shot came from somewhere, most likely by an onlooker. As the militia attempted to disperse the British rushed with fixed bayonets. In the resulting melee eight colonists were killed and ten were wounded. One British soldier received a minor wound.

The British column then regrouped and continued on to Concord. By the time they reached Concord the news of firing in Lexington had spread. The small British advance guard sent out small raiding parties into Concord and a few surrounding farms but wisely decided to retreat when confronted with organized resistance. On the west side of the North Bridge across the Concord River five Minuteman companies and five more militia companies from Acton, Concord, Lincoln, and Bedford were waiting and watching.

Through the rest of that day in a desperate retreat back to Boston the British suffered significant casualties as additional militias gathered on the return route. Reinforcements, a column of 1000, under Brigadier General Hugh Percy, marched out from Boston. He met the retreating column and took command in Menotomy. Nearly surrounded by now approximately 4000 militamen, his force of 1700 was lucky to return safely to Boston. They remained under siege in Boston for almost 11 months until finally evacuating Boston on March 17, 1776.

Years later Concord resident and poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, wrote the famous poem

By the rude bridge which arched the flood
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled
Here once embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The site of the North Bridge is now Minuteman National Historical Park. A monument, a famous statue (Daniel Chester French's 1875 statue, Minute Man), and a replica wooden bridge mark the location of the first intentional organized resistance in the American Revolution.

However the first shots, including the "shot heard round the world" fired by no one knows whom, took place further east in Lexington. A statue of Captain John Parker, sculpted by Henry Hudson Kitson and erected in 1900, marks the location. Lexington had the first battle, but Concord had the better poets.

We will not ride the battle route directly, but we will see parts of it. (The battle route, Rt2A, is not my favorite road between Lexington and Concord.)

fender1

Where is nlerner??? Doesn't he do all of these types of events up in the greater Boston area? I thought for sure he would be in on this one.

nlerner

He doesn't ride anymore, but instead is a collector in this glorious hobby.

fender1

Keep on moobin'

jimmuller 

Did 45 miles on the tandem today checking out next week's route. Saw some interesting wildlife.






A bit later we saw a turkey in the road, strutting and clucking loudly...



apparently guarding the rest of his flock



While we watched a car came up the road from the other direction and slowed. The turkey apparently took it's advance as an aggressive gesture and decided to be aggressive back. While the driver tried to go around him he started pecking at the car tire. This continued for at least 50ft. The driver stopped to chat with us while the turkey kept up its aggression on the other side of the car. Eventually the car drove away and we took the opportunity to pedal away before the turkey decided to attack us.

Lunch stop at Fern's in Carlisle Center:



and a snack stop at Walden Pond:



It was a good day.

pastorbobnlnh 

Looks like it was a beautiful day for a ride! Can't wait for the ride on Saturday.

top506

That's too bad, as I owe you a beer or two and if you don't show up on rides you'll never collect.

Top

JJScaliger

I would love to go, but have to work on Saturday. It sounds like there will be a bunch of cool sights! Have a safe ride and take lots of pictures!

Rocket-Sauce 

How did I miss this thread!?! I *really* want to go, and if I only saw this thread two days ago I could, but we have plans to head up into the mountains for a family camping weekend. There is an outside chance we won't go camping thinks the the weather forecast for Sat (possible thunderstorms), but then would the ride be happening rain or shine?

I ride out that way just about every weekend and would love to meet all of you.

jimmuller 

Bummer you can't make it. (This has been posted off and on, though mostly off, for a few months.)

About the weather, as of this morning Accuweather's prediction for Saturday didn't look too bad, with rain or t-storms seeming less likely than had been predicted a day or two ago. However if the weather looks too iffy I will call a postponement. The next Saturday Sharon and I are free is June 23. Your preferences are welcome.

jimmuller 

8AM Wednesday - Accuweather, Intellicast, the Weather Channel (weather.com), and the National Weather Service (weather.gov) are all predicting rain for Saturday. Rain all day. The lowest POP] is 50% from the national weather service.

The predicted "precipitation event" could possibly maybe slide forward or backward a day, but it is looking unlikely.

Which is to say, the ride probably will not happen for at least two weeks.

JayBlurr

Let me know a week in advance through PM, i would i look to go and have friends and family who would join but would need a week notice

bikemore 

When ever I get back to commuting on bike. 2A is my route from Concord to Lexington (I cheat in the morning and take train part of the way). Anyway, maybe I won't be swamped
at work in 2 weeks...

jimmuller 

More on the weather: I have heard from Pastor Bob and he can't make any Saturday until [mumble] in late June. Sharon and I are fully committed, have gigs scheduled on Saturdays for some weeks starting late June. So it looks like a Saturday won't do between our schedule and Bob's. Bummer. We have to plan a late summer or early fall version.

However that frees us up to ride on a Sunday! We are certainly going to ride this Sunday so we might as well start at 10AM from Depot Park in Bedford as planned. If anyone wants to join us drop me an email note or PM so we'll know to look for you.

We can do the same the following Sunday too, but the long range forecast is for rain Fri-Mon so that weekend doesn't look good.