5/19 Saturday Ride

We have under two weeks until the CCCP Memorial Day ride, which means that we have only one weekend left to put together a longer training ride.

We will be starting the longer route and the shorter route from different locations this week. 

The longer ride will leave from Cumberland, while the shorter route will leave from Back Bay Bikes as usual. Both rides will leave at 8:00.

The Shorter Route — Starting at Back Bay Bikes
Riders who want to do the shorter route should meet at 8:00 at Back Bay Bikes. The route will head out through Falmouth and Cumberland and return on Rte 88 (MapMyRide route). We have an unofficial leader, but if you plan to do this ride and would be willing to step up as an official leader, please drop me an email.


The Longer Route — Starting at the Cumberland Fire Station
Riders who want to do the longer route should meet at 8:00 in the parking lot of the Cumberland fire station located on Tuttle Rd. The fire station is at the top of Tuttle, just before the intersection with Rte 9 (Main St.). For those driving, there is ample parking in the school parking lot (note the "P" markers on the route map).

The longer route will follow the Raymond Hill loop (MapMyRide route). This is one of the longer, hillier rides in the area, so please plan accordingly by bringing plenty to drink and consider bringing some food to consume as well. We will likely stop at the general store just before Egypt Rd. However, I believe they are cash only, so make sure you've got cash if you think you'll want something there.

If you are biking to the start of the longer route, please add extra time to limit the possibility that we will leave before you get there.

If you have any questions, please drop me an email.

5/12 Saturday Ride

Back to our usual schedule this weekend, leaving the shop at 8:00am.

This week we have a fairly long and hilly ride planned as we will be touring Falmouth, Cumberland, Grey, New Gloucester and Yarmouth (MapMyRide route). It is also likely to be relatively warm, so please make sure you have enough to drink and eat. We will stop at Pineland either on the way out or the way back so people can stock up.

For those interested in a shorter ride, there will be shorter route that includes Mountain Rd. and then heads back via Cumberland and Rte 88. (MapMyRide route).

A quick note about next week's ride. On 5/19 we will be leaving from Cumberland and heading out to do the Raymond Hill loop. (MapMyRide route). The plan will be to collect at the fire station at the corner of Tuttle and Main at 8:00am. We also hope to have a shorter route that will leave from the shop, so if you are interested in leading that ride, please drop me an email.

4/21 Saturday Ride

UPDATE FRIDAY 1:00pm

We're getting less confident that the ride will stay dry on Saturday, so we have decided to change the route a bit.

The new plan is to head out Middle Rd., up Tuttle, catch Dutton Hill, and then follow the rest of the original route (MapMyRide route). This change will keep the distance almost identical, but will provide us with several additional options for shortening the ride if the weather decides not to cooperate.

We'll still plan to leave the shop at 8:00 am.

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After watching the weather all week, it looks like the conditions for this week's ride could go either way. By all accounts, the best chance of a dry ride will be early in the day and the temps should be fairly steady, so we will plan to leave the shop at 8:00 am.

For now, we will plan on doing the planned route out through Falmouth, Cumberland and Yarmouth (MapMyRide route). However, we may shorten things up depending on the weather.

For those looking to do the shorter loop, we are planning to follow the same track as last week (MapMyRide route).

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please drop me an email.

4/14 Saturday Ride

It's that time of year again. Once again, we have put together a progression of rides that we hope will help people prepare for the CCCP Memorial Day ride on May 28.

For some reason, it feels like we don't have much time this year, so this first week or two are a bit of a stretch over the distance we have been riding. If we stick together and ride as a group, we are confident that these distances will be reasonable, so please stick together and ride as a group—especially this next week or two.

This week's ride will tour Falmouth, Yarmouth and Cumberland (MapMyRide route).

We will also have a shorter ride for people that don't want, or don't have time, to go the full distance (MapMyRide route). The full group will stay together until Mountain Rd. and then split. Also, a huge thank you to Christine for helping us out by leading the shorter loop.

As for start time, we are going to head out from the shop at 8:30am. This seems like the best compromise between letting things warm up and making sure we get back at a reasonable time.

As I mentioned this week is the first in a series of rides designed to help people prepare for the CCCP Memorial Day ride. The rest of the schedule looks like this:

• 4/21: Falmouth, Yarmouth and Cumberland (MapMyRide route)
• 4/28: Yarmouth, Pineland, New Gloucester and Falmouth (MapMyRide route)
• 5/5: Freeport and Brunswick (MapMyRide route)
• 5/12: Falmouth, Grey, Pineland and New Gloucester (MapMyRide route)
• 5/19: Raymond Hill loop - **Cumberland start** (MapMyRide route)
• 5/26: Undecided, but probably either the 4/14 or 4/21 route

If you have any questions about the ride, if you want to give me your feedback on the proposed routes, or if you are willing to help us out as a leader, please drop me an email.

4/7 Saturday Ride

It doesn't look like there will be much warmup tomorrow morning, but we'll leave a little bit late to give the sun a chance to warm things up a touch. Plan to leave the shop at 9:00.

This week we'll head out through Falmouth and Cumberland (MapMyRide route).

3/31 Saturday Ride

After much debate whether Saturday or Sunday would be the better day this weekend, we have decided to stick with Saturday. However, we will be leaving at 10:00 am to give the sun some time to warm things up.

As for the route, that is still up in the air, but the likely candidate is our first trip of the season up Mountain Rd. (MapMyRide route).

3/24 Saturday Ride

It doesn't look like the summer weather is going to stay around for the weekend, so it may be a bit chilly on Saturday morning. To give the sun a chance to warm things up a touch we will plan to leave the shop at 9:30.

The route this week will stay relatively short and relatively flat as we do the familiar route around Greely and Tuttle (MapMyRide route).

We are looking for people who are willing to help with some of the leadership tasks this season. If you are willing to help us out, the bar is quite low. All you need to do is show up like you usually do, make sure you know the route, and pay a little bit of attention to your fellow riders. If you have any interest in helping us out, please drop me an email.

See you Saturday at 9:30.

2012 Saturday Morning Rides

There's more snow on the ground now than we've had for most of the winter, but it's time to start thinking about starting things up for the 2012 season. Right now, I'm thinking that the first ride of the season will be on St. Patrick's Day — Saturday, March 17.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel that St. Patrick's day offers a great excuse for us to head out a bit later than usual and to plan on collecting somewhere after the ride to grab a drink. Every spring we look to poll the group on what you want to accomplish this year and how you would like to see the rides structured. This year we might as well discuss the options over a drink. Hopefully people will turn out for a nice early season ride and a chance to share your thoughts on the upcoming season.

Given that it's early in the season and we have no idea what the weather will look like, we will plan on a relatively short ride on 3/17 to get our legs back. Probably a jaunt out Middle and then back in Rte 88 (MapMyRide route). It will be the first Saturday after we push the clocks forward, so we're thinking it makes sense to head out at 11:00 with the hope that we will be sitting somewhere warm with a drink in hand around 12:30.

If you have thoughts on where we should head after the ride, or if you want to voice your thoughts on the upcoming season, please leave a comment (name included so we can follow-up) and/or drop me an email.

11/19 Saturday Ride

Saturday looks to be sunny and clear, so the riding should be fine. Unfortunately, I will be in NJ enjoying the riding there. We will maintain our default routes for the day, regardless (Falmouth, Mountain Rd., Blanchard, Rte 88 [MapMyRide route]; or Mountain, branch off to Dutton Hill, Hunts & Long Hill, Sligo, Rte 88 [MapMyRide route]). I'm counting on someone to step up to lead. We should also discuss starting the ride a little later (9:00?) to let the chill burn off. Please post a comment or email bron@cyclemaine.com

11/12 Saturday Ride

If you post on Friday at 10:00 will anyone read it? Who knows...

There will be a ride tomorrow for those looking to get out and enjoy the crisp fall morning.

10/22 Saturday Ride

Now that we are through the fall century rides and looking at winding things up as fall turns to winter, we are going to switch things up from our traditional Saturday rides. Rather than varying the route, for the rest of the season, we are going to have a regular ride and a long ride that will start together and then break off.

The routes are well-known to ride regulars. The regular route will head out to Falmouth, up Mountain Rd., over to Cumberland and then back into town via Rte 88 (MapMyRide route). The longer route will also head up Middle Rd, but will branch off to do Dutton Hill, Hunts and Long hills and then Sligo before also returning to town via Rte 88 (MapMyRide route).

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to drop me an email.

10/15 Saturday Ride

The ride will leave the ship at 8:00 am tomorrow. Bring suggestions for a route.

10/8 Saturday Ride

Sorry for the delayed post. I got sidetracked traveling to meet my new niece.

Since I'm out of town and Bron is riding the Dempsey Challenge, I will leave it up to the group to pick a route. If you want a suggestion, the Freeport ride (MapMyRide route) would be one option.

10/1 Saturday Ride

This Sunday is the Cadillac Challenge, so we are going to have a relatively short ride up toward Freeport (MapMyRide route).

For those not riding on Sunday and wanting a few extra miles before the Dempsey Challenge, fee free to break off when we hit S. Freeport Rd. and travel on up to Brunswick.

9/24 Saturday Ride

We need some help this weekend. Bron is tied up with work and I remain in the throws of a series of weddings, so we need a leader for this week's ride. Please drop me an email if you are willing to take the reins.

The weather looks like it may be a bit on the wet side, but I know there are people targeting the Cadillac Challenge and the Dempsey Challenge, so I am happy to throw out a 60+ mile route if folks are interested. Once I get some feedback from a leader and get a sense of where he/she is interested in heading this weekend, I will post a route.

9/17 Saturday Ride

First, a final pitch for riders to head up to the Loon Echo Trek. The weather looks to be absolutely perfect for the ride this year and includes some classic stretches of New England roads. For those of you still building toward other rides, like the Cadillac Challenge or the Dempsey Challenge, the 50-mile ride is a nice route and the turnaround point is pretty much at the base of Evan's Notch. If you wanted to add a few more miles and a lot more climbing, the 50 mile loop with a trip up and over Evans Notch might be a good choice. You would head up the steep side and then have the option to cruise down and come back over again on the more gradual approach.

As for our Saturday ride, we are going to take another shot at last week's route, which didn't pan out too well since I didn't realize that the Lobsterman Tri would have the roads closed. The route will head up Mountain Rd., over to Cumberland, down the new pavement on Tuttle and then split. Those looking for a short ride can simply head back to town via 88, and those looking to get extra miles for the Cadallac and the Dempsey can head out toward Brunswick for a loop that will end up being about 65 miles (MapMyRide route).

9/10 Saturday Ride

The fall century rides are basically upon us. The Loon Echo Trek is next weekend, Sept 17, the Cadillac Challenge is October 2 and the Dempsey Challenge is October 9. To help folks get some additional miles with the group, we are going to head out on a longer ride this week. The route will head up through Falmouth and then loop over to Freeport and toward Brunswick (MapMyRide route).

For those riders not inclined to do the full 65 mile ride, there is a fairly natural split point when the group hits the end of Tuttle Rd. and turns left to head out toward Freeport. Anyone interested in keeping the ride closer to 30 miles can simply head straight to 88 at this turn and follow 88 back into town.

9/3 Saturday Ride

This week the ride will head out over Mountain Rd. and Dutton Hill (MapMyRide route).

8/27 Saturday Ride

It looks like Saturday morning might be the only reasonable window to get out for a ride this weekend. We'll take a familiar route up Mountain Rd, and then wind around a bit in Westbrook and Falmouth (MapMyRide route).

On a separate note, we are quickly getting toward fall and there are a host of local rides coming up, including the Loon Echo, the Cadillac and the Dempsey. I'd like to hear from people that may want longer routes as a way to get some extra miles in before these rides. Unfortunately, while I'm more than willing to help suggest routes, I am unlikely to be able to actually lead the longer rides. If you're interested in taking the reins for one of these longer rides, please drop me an email.

8/13 Saturday Ride

This week we will head out toward Freeport (MapMyRide route).