9/11 Saturday Ride

After a great ride last Sunday, we will stretch things out a bit more this week with a jaunt up toward Brunswick (MapMyRide route). For those interested in a shorter loop that is more in line with the normal Saturday ride, there are several options, so we will work something out as the ride develops.

As for our plans on 9/18, we would like to get some feedback on the idea of starting at 7:30. With an 86 mile ride that includes over 6000' of climbing scheduled (MapMyRide route), starting early seems to make a lot of sense. Please drop me an email or leave a comment if you are either for or against a slightly earlier start. Also, before I get a deluge of responses that there is less than 3000' of climbing according to MapMyRide, you should be aware that MapMyRide significantly underestimates the elevation gain.

Fall is obviously a great time of year to bike around here, and there are a bunch of rides in the coming weeks in addition to the Dempsey Challenge and the Cadillac Challenge Century on October 3. Two local options worth considering are the Lighthouse Ride this weekend and the Loon Echo Hike n' Bike Trek next weekend.

9/4 Saturday Ride

- UPDATE -

Ride Moved to SUNDAY at 8:00am this Week

Thank you for all the responses. It was nearly unanimous that we move this week's ride to Sunday morning, so we will leave the shop on Sunday at 8:00am for the planned longer route through Cumberland, Falmouth and Yarmouth (MapMyRide route).

In the event that the weather moves through faster than expected and things dry out by Saturday morning, I will probably head to the shop since we are not sure how many people actually follow the blog. So, if it isn't raining steadily tomorrow morning and people show up at the shop to ride, I'm happy to do something relatively flat and easy in the 25-30 mile range (probably the Monday night loop going counterclockwise).

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First, thanks to Eric for stepping up and leading the ride last week. All reports were that it was a great ride.

The story for this week is Earl. According to the NOAA forecast, we are looking at a chance of showers and 15mph winds for Saturday. However, the weather.com projected track looks to have the storm somewhere right off our coast, which could potentially mean some seriously heavy rain and winds. Not that anyone would be likely to show up, but we are not going to have the ride in the midst of a tropical storm.

Ordinarily, we would head out in light rain and light winds and if there was no lightening anywhere in the area. However, since we have a fairly long ride planned for this weekend (MapMyRide route) and since this week's ride is part of a progression intended to help people prepare for the Dempsey or the Cadillac century rides, I am open to discussing the option of moving the ride to Sunday morning.

Please drop me an email and let me know if you would prefer to ride on Sunday. Not surprisingly, these pleas for input often go ignored, but please take the 10 seconds to drop me your thoughts. Since people need to know what we are doing, we will make the decision no later than Friday at 7:00 pm. Please check back here after then for an update.

As for the rest of the longer training rides, we will stick with the original plan:

• 9/11 - Brunswick loop (66 miles)
• 9/18 - Raymond Hill from Portland (86 miles)
• 9/25 - Old Orchard Beach (52 miles)

8/28 Saturday Ride

We're looking for a brave soul to lead the normal ride this week. So, if you're interested, please let me know.

For the longer ride this week, Eric has agreed to lead the group on a route out to Pineland (MapMyRide route).

I didn't get much feedback on the proposed plan for getting ready for the two century rides the first weekend in October, so we'll go forward with the following plan:

• 9/4 - Gray loop (55 miles)
• 9/11 - Brunswick loop (66 miles)
• 9/18 - Raymond Hill from Portland (86 miles)
• 9/25 - Old Orchard Beach (52 miles)

Please drop me an email with any comments, questions or complaints.

8/21 Saturday Ride

This week we make another attempt at heading out in a bit of a new direction and tackling the Mitchell Hill route (MapMyRide route). It's supposed to be a gorgeous morning, so we will plan on having a slightly longer version of the ride that will include a trip down to Prout's neck and around Shore Rd. for those that want to add a few extra miles (MapMyRide route).

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

8/14 Saturday Ride

It looks like another great week for riding. This week the normal route is going to head over through Falmouth (MapMyRide route) and for those of you interested in putting on a few extra miles, we are also going to have a longer ride that will head up toward Gray and over to Yarmouth (MapMyRide route).

If you have any questions about the ride, drop me an email.

8/7 Saturday Ride

This week we will head back through Falmouth and Cumberland (MapMyRide route). There is no formal longer ride this week, but if some people are interested, there are options to branch out on a longer ride by including Dutton Hill, Sligo Rd. etc.

I have been giving some thought to the prospect of putting together a series of longer Saturday rides geared to help prepare people for one of the century rides in early October. The plan is still very much in flux, but I would like to get people's feedback on the following schedule for September's longer routes:

• 9/4 - Gray loop (55 miles)
• 9/11 - Brunswick loop (66 miles)
• 9/18 - Raymond Hill from Portland (86 miles)
• 9/25 - Old Orchard Beach (52 miles)

Please drop me an email with any comments, questions or complaints.

7/31 Saturday Ride

This week we will head out in a bit of a new direction and tackle the Mitchell Hill route (MapMyRide route). It's supposed to be a gorgeous morning, so we will plan on having a slightly longer version of the ride that will include a trip down to Prout's neck and around Shore Rd. for those that want to add a few extra miles (MapMyRide route).

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

UPDATE

We wound up changing the route at the last minute. For those of you that use the blog to keep track of ride options in the area, we went over to Cumberland, headed up toward Gray, hopped over toward Pineland and then headed back into Portland (MapMyRide route).

7/24 Saturday Ride

This week we are going to head out toward Freeport (MapMyRide route). Depending on how the group feels, we may offer the option to split the group when we hit S. Freeport Rd, with those looking for a longer ride heading up toward Brunswick.

If you have any questions about the ride, please feel free to email me.

7/17 Saturday Ride

After a few weeks off, we will head back over toward Falmouth this week and take a jaunt up Mountain Rd. From there, I think we will head over to Cumberland and possibly even Yarmouth (MapMyRide route), but depending on the interest of the group we may make things a bit longer or shorter.

As we move toward August, there has been some suggestion of starting another series of training rides for the folks interested in riding either the Dempsey or the Cadillac challenge. But, we would really like your input on whether there would be interest in a more structured series of rides, so PLEASE, drop me an email or post some comments on whether you would be interested and if so, which event you would like to tackle.

7/10 Saturday Ride

The weather looks a bit questionable for this Saturday. If it's a little wet, we'll plan to head out. But, if there's thunder or lightening in the area, we'll call things off.

If the weather cooperates and we get to head out, we'll be doing a new route with a bunch of familiar sections through Falmouth and Cumberland (MapMyRide route). After a few weeks of generally flat rides, this route adds some hills back into the routine.

If you are new to the ride or have any questions, please feel free to email me.

7/3 Saturday Ride

This week the Saturday ride will continue the rolling rides of the past few weeks, with a trip out through Cumberland and Yarmouth (MapMyRide route).

6/26 Saturday Ride

This week we will be heading over to Cape Elizabeth to head around the Prout's Neck loop (MapMyRide route).

6/19 Saturday Ride

Rob has graciously agreed to take the lead this weekend and will be following the familiar route up Mountain Rd and over to Cumberland (MapMyRide route).

6/12 Saturday Ride

After last week's complete washout, it looks like this Saturday morning could be about the only reliable window for a dry ride this weekend. We'll be attempting a slight variation of some common routes this week as we tour Falmouth, Cumberland and a bit of Yarmouth (MapMyRide route).

Also, we are looking for comments/feedback on this spring's attempt to train people for the Memorial Day ride. If there is enough interest, we are considering creating a similar training schedule that would help people prepare for either the Cadillac Challenge or the Dempsey Challenge—both century rides taking place on October 3.

Finally, we are looking for some backup leaders for the Saturday ride. Please drop us an email if you are willing and able to help us out on occasion.

6/5 Saturday Ride

Congratulations to all who successfully completed the Memorial Day ride. It was a great day and a great event.

This week the weather looks to be heading downhill fast for our Saturday ride. We are still planning to head out unless it is really raining, but we are going to hold off on picking a route until Saturday morning.

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