4/2 Saturday Ride (Sunday again...)

I'm reluctant to continue to switch the ride to Sunday morning, but the weather seems to be pushing us that way each week. There is a chance that the rain and snow will be out of here early Saturday morning, but to be honest, I'd prefer to ride on Sunday when it's a dry and sunny.

So...once again we will do a Sunday ride, leaving the shop at 9:00am to give the sun a little time to warm things up. This week we are going to wander up to Freeport (MapMyRide route).

Don't forget that in addition to this blog, you can also get updates via twitter (@cyclemaine) or the new Cyclemaine Facebook page.

Another reminder that now is a great time to get your bike(s) tuned. To that end, I'm curious whether there is any interest in a brief cleaning/adjusting "clinic." I was thinking of an informal gathering after a ride where we could go through the basics of what to clean, how to clean it, and how to make adjustments to braking and shifting to keep everything safe and efficient.

Finally, here's a comic from yehudamoon.com that should resonate with anyone who cycles in Maine this time of year.

3/26 Saturday Ride

Apologies for the sparse post. Apparently my phone doesn't play with blogger all that well. We will head out tomorrow at 9:00 and head out through Falmouth and a bit of Westbrook (MapMyRide route).

Rescheduled Ride - 12:00 Sunday

Well, when I looked last night the weather was calling for a dry day. Then I woke up this morning and there's snow everywhere. Oh well, I guess that's spring in Maine.

If the weather is to be believed, tomorrow looks to be a nice day. However, it's gonna be below freezing for much of the morning. I'm happy to ride at 9:00 (it should be about 28°) or we can start at 12:00 when the temps should be in the upper 30s. Personally, I'd rather ride at noon.

If folks would like to ride and 9:00 would work better than noon, please leave a comment here, hit me via twitter (@cyclemaine) or comment on the new Cyclemaine Facebook page.

The route will be a bit different than the one I posted for today, taking us over to Falmouth, through Cumberland and back (MapMyRide route).

3/19 Saturday Ride (9:00am)

RIDE POSTPONED UNTIL TOMORROW DUE TO SNOW. DETAILS ON TOMORROW'S RIDE WILL BE POSTED LATER THIS MORNING.

It looks to be clear this Saturday, so we will be heading out to do the same route as last week—out to Cumberland over to Sligo and back (MapMyRide route).

It promises to be a bit chilly in the early morning, so we will head out a tad later - 9:00 am - to give the sun a little time to warm things up a few degrees.

A few notes we want to bring to people's attention:

We have some social media contacts for you this year. We will be posting ride routes on the CCCP facebook page and you can get cycling-related tweets from me by following @cyclemaine on twitter.

Diane and Christine have coordinated a bike maintenance class for women. For those of you that want to gain some familiarity with general bike maintenance tasks, the class will take place at Back Bay Bicycle at 6:00pm, Wednesday, March 23. Best of all, the class is free!

For those of you (like me) who aren't the right sex to attend the women's maintenance class, now's the time to get your bike in for its pre-season service. After last week's creaky drivetrains and squeaky brakes, it's obvious that there are plenty of bikes that need some TLC.

Finally, here's an appropriate early season cartoon compliments of Yehuda Moon.

3/12 Saturday Ride

The title may be a little deceiving since I'm inclined to push the ride to Sunday this week. I'm just not sure the rain will be out of here early Saturday morning and the standing water is likely to be a bit of a safety concern. Sunday, however, looks to be a pretty good day.

So, let's plan to ride on Sunday, leaving the shop at 9:00. We'll start the season with a nice leisurely ride out to Cumberland, over to Sligo and back (MapMyRide route).

There are some changes to the route maps this year based on feedback to my earlier post. Not that we tear out of the gate by any stretch, but we will plan to ride out as a group until the spot marked with the green marker on the map (where Middle Rd. bears right this week). I don't think it will matter much this week, but in future weeks, this phase of the ride will be to ensure that the A and B portions of the ride stick together and to give people a chance to warm up before they commit to one route or another.

There are also some red check checkered markers on the route. These mark the planned regroup points.

Hope to see you Sunday morning. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to email me.