5/15 Saturday Ride

There are only two more weekends before the CCCP Memorial Day ride. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the weather forecast for this weekend stays favorable because this week's longer ride will take us up Mountain Rd., Dutton Hill and Depot Rd. (MapMyRide route). We will also have a normal Saturday loop for those looking for a ride in the neighborhood of 30 miles. Based on the interest of the group, the normal route will either be the Mountain/Mast ride (MapMyRide route) or the Mountain/Blanchard ride (MapMyRide route).

On May 22, we will have our first "destination" Saturday ride. While the normal ride will leave from the shop as usual, people interested in the longer ride will meet in Cumberland to do the Raymond Hill loop (MapMyRide route). In an attempt to better plan for this ride, we are trying to get an approximate count of people who will be joining us. So, please, drop me a quick email if you are planning on doing the Raymond Hill ride with us on May 22.

5/8 Saturday Ride

This week we will take a break from the split ride routine we have been experimenting with this spring and return to one ride that will head up Mountain Rd. and over to Cumberland (MapMyRide route).

Next week we will return to the split ride format with long routes that include more hills. On May 15, we will be doing a route that includes Mountain Rd., Dutton Hill, and Depot Rd. (MapMyRide route). This ride will utilize the current format where the entire group starts out together and then splits at a designated point (likely Mast Rd.).

On May 22, we will have our first "destination" Saturday ride. While the normal ride will leave from the shop as usual, people interested in the longer ride will meet in Cumberland to do the Raymond Hill loop (MapMyRide route). In an attempt to better plan for this ride, we are trying to get a count of people who will be joining us. So, please, drop me a quick email if you are planning on doing the Raymond Hill ride with us on May 22 so I can get an approximate head count.

If you have any questions or comments on how these split rides have been working, please email me.

Don't forget that the annual CCCP Memorial Day ride (MapMyRide route) is only a few weeks away.

Message from Patrick

Even though I haven't made a ride yet I want to give PROPS, KUDOS, THUMBS UP, GOOD ON YA'S, and sincere thanks to Chris and everyone that works at Back Bay Cycles and the club for going out of their way to help the folks get their bike together that are riding in the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride in May. I'll be riding in this great event and feel good there is someone helping out those folks from out of town.

I'm not a regular but make as many rides as I can with my schedule (I'll miss this years memorial day ride unfortunately. I'll be all primed for Hurricane Rd after riding around 550 miles in 6 days too!) and am proud to ride with such a great group of people. You just made me a lifelong member with this type of hospitality to these folks coming in from "away".

Thanks again and hope to see (ride) with y'all soon.

Take Care, Be Safe
Patrick

5/1 Saturday Ride

This Saturday we we will have another split ride. The normal ride is a loop we did last fall that heads up to Freeport (MapMyRide route). The longer route is the next ride in our series intended to help people prepare for the CCCP Memorial day ride. This week the longer route will also head up to Freeport, but will then continue on up toward Brunswick (MapMyRide route). Both rides will leave the shop together around 8:00 am and then split once we get to S. Freeport Rd.

At a bit over 51 miles, the loop toward Brunswick is one of the longer rides that we do. The total time for the 51 miles will likely be in the neighborhood of just over three hours, so please plan accordingly. In three hours on the bike, the weather is certain to change during the ride, so make sure you are dressed appropriately. In addition, it is important to have enough liquids and preferably some solid food to consume. We highly recommend bringing two full water bottles and something to munch on like an energy bar or a bagel. We pass the Bow St. Market in Freeport at about mile 32, which will provide people a chance to refuel if needed.

Next week we will be taking a break from these longer rides to give people a chance to rest. But, the following two weeks will include lots of hills and then Memorial Day will be upon us. If you are interested in using the longer Saturday routes as way to prepare for the Memorial Day ride, here is the tentative ride schedule:

• 5/1 Saturday Ride: Brunswick Loop (MapMyRide route)
• 5/8 Saturday Ride: Mountain Rd. and Mast Rd. (MapMyRide route)
• 5/15 Saturday Ride: Mountain Rd, Dutton Hill and Depot Rd. (MapMyRide route)
• 5/22 Saturday Ride: Raymond Hill loop - leaving from Cumberland (MapMyRide route)
• 5/29 Saturday Ride: Middle Rd, Tuttle and Greely (MapMyRide route)
• 5/31 MEMORIAL DAY RIDE (MapMyRide route)

Please email me if you have any questions.

4/24 Saturday Ride

It has been a bit of a roller coaster for spring weather so far. Kudos to Nathan and Richard for making last week's somewhat wintery ride:

Luckily, the snow from last Saturday seems to be behind us and things are looking good for Saturday, so this week we will head up Mountain Rd. and through Cumberland (MapMyRide route).

As we mentioned in last week's post, we are trying to incorporate the option of a longer route to allow people to prepare for the annual CCCP Memorial Day ride. So, when the group reaches Forest Lake Rd., riders interested in taking a longer ride can break off and head over Dutton Hill and up to Grey (MapMyRide route). Although, the longer route currently includes Sligo Rd., please note that we may shorten things a bit depending on time and other factors by cutting out Sligo.

As always, we will all leave the shop at just about 8:00 and will ride as one group until we reach the designated split point.

If you are interested in using the longer Saturday routes as way to prepare for the Memorial Day ride, here is the tentative ride schedule:

• 4/24 Saturday Ride: Mountain Rd., Dutton Hill and Sligo Rd. (MapMyRide route)
• 5/1 Saturday Ride: Brunswick Loop (MapMyRide route)
• 5/8 Saturday Ride: Mountain Rd. and Mast Rd. (MapMyRide route)
• 5/15 Saturday Ride: Mountain Rd, Dutton Hill and Depot Rd. (MapMyRide route)
• 5/22 Saturday Ride: Raymond Hill loop - leaving from Cumberland (MapMyRide route)
• 5/29 Saturday Ride: Middle Rd, Tuttle and Greely (MapMyRide route)
• 5/31 MEMORIAL DAY RIDE (MapMyRide route)

Please email me if you have any questions.

4/17 Saturday Ride and Proposed Training Schedule

There has been some discussion about the prospect of using the Saturday morning rides as a training vehicle for the CCCP Memorial Day ride through the White Mountains. The good news is that the level of interest has convinced us that it's worth given the idea a try. The bad news is that in order to be effective, we really need to start adding some hillier terrain starting this week. The really bad news is that weather forecast for Saturday is not pretty.

I have convinced a very small contingent of folks to head out rain or shine. Therefore, I am planning on being at the shop on Saturday morning regardless of the weather. The route will be about 35 miles and include both Mountain Rd. and Dutton Hill (MapMyRide route). I'm not going to pretend that 40 degrees, 15 mph winds and rain/drizzle ranks high on my list of enjoyable biking conditions, but if you have a jacket and are willing to brave the elements I can promise it will be an adventure.

As for the rest of the training program, we are going to try to incorporate a long ride each Saturday for the folks interested in preparing for the Memorial Day ride. The tentative plan is as follows:

• 4/24 Saturday Ride: Mountain Rd., Dutton Hill and Sligo Rd. (MapMyRide route)
• 5/1 Saturday Ride: Brunswick Loop (MapMyRide route)
• 5/8 Saturday Ride: Mountain Rd. and Mast Rd. (MapMyRide route)
• 5/15 Saturday Ride: Mountain Rd, Dutton Hill and Depot Rd. (MapMyRide route)
• 5/22 Saturday Ride: Raymond Hill loop - leaving from Cumberland (MapMyRide route)
• 5/29 Saturday Ride: Middle Rd, Tuttle and Greely (MapMyRide route)
• 5/31 MEMORIAL DAY RIDE (MapMyRide route)

Each of these longer Saturday rides (with the exception of the Raymond Hill loop on 5/29) will be an extension of a regular route that is more in-line with the traditional Saturday rides. As we have done in the past, we will all ride out together and at a designated point the folks interested in the longer ride will break off.

We would like as much feedback as possible regarding this plan so we can anticipate exactly how many people are interested and tweak the schedule if need be. So, please either leave a comment or drop me and email with your thoughts.

4/10 Saturday ride

In an attempt to switch things up a bit, this week we will be heading up Mast and down Mountain (MapMyRide route). We will leave the shop at 8:00.

4/3 Saturday Ride

After more than our share of rain, this weekend looks to be perfect riding weather. The route this week will have two options. The "standard" route will be the now familiar route up Mountain Rd, over to Cumberland and back Tuttle Rd. (MapMyRide route). However, we are also going to have a longer route that will break off in Cumberland Center and head over to Sligo Rd. in Yarmouth (MapMyRide route). Both rides will start out together and will stay together as a group until Cumberland Center. At Rte 9 in Cumberland, we will split.

We will be leaving the shop at 8:00. If you have any questions about the ride, please drop me an email.

3/27 Saturday Ride

It promises to be a bit cold to start the day on Saturday. Therefore, we will give the sun some time to do its magic with a

9:00am START FOR THIS WEEK'S RIDE.

For a route, we will head up Mountain Rd. and then wander through Falmouth for a bit (MapMyRide route).

3/20 Saturday Ride

The weather this weekend looks to be about as perfect as you could expect from March in Maine. To celebrate, we will head out on one of the old standby Mountain Rd. loops that heads over through Cumberland (MapMyRide route). We'll leave the shop at 8:00 as usual.

3/13 Saturday Ride

After a nice start to the year last week, the Saturday rides are officially back. This week we are doing a variation of the Monday night ride that will take us through Falmouth and Cumberland (MapMyRide route). It will probably be a bit chilly at 8:00, but starting early should help us beat any chance of rain.

3/6 Saturday Ride

With the forecast calling for sun and 44 degrees on Saturday, it looks like it's time to start back in on the Saturday rides. This week we will start of with a relatively short jaunt to get everyone back in the swing of things. We are considering two different routes: a 20 mile trip out Middle Rd. (MapMyRide route) or a 22 mile ride that incorporates Falmouth Rd. and Woodville (MapMyRide route). Let us know your preference by leaving a comment or sending me an email.

We will leave the shop at 8:00 as usual.

2/27 Saturday Ride

The weather looks horrible for Saturday, so we won't try to go for a ride this week. However, there seems to be some interest in getting out sooner rather than later, so to the extent that the weather cooperates, we'll start things in the next few weeks.

Saturday Rides - - It's Not Too Early, Is It?

The lack of any significant precipitation has us wondering whether it's time to start heading out on Saturday mornings. Our thinking was that provided it is above freezing at the designated start time and the roads are clear of snow/ice we would start the Saturday rides back up beginning February 27.

The plan would be to get things started with some easy trips of 20-25 miles just to get out on the roads again. If you have thoughts, please post a comment or drop me an email so we know whether there is any interest.

Movie Night - 02/04

Community Cycling Club of Portland Presents

BICYCLE DREAMS

An award winning documentary about the most insane cycling
event in the world - The 3000 mile Race Across America.


Thursday, Feb. 4th
7:00 pm social / 7:30 pm film
Zero Station
222 Anderson Street, Portland, ME

All are welcome. No charge.
Snacks and beverages encouraged. (BYOB)