4/12 Saturday Ride

The weather looks to be as fine as we've had so far, so let's get out there. I was thinking of a variation of this ride Ride Map, perhaps going up our old friend Mountain Road, instead of down, when we're not sure they've cleared the sand yet. We should rise from 40 to 50 degrees during the ride, so bring layers yo can peel. See you at 8:00!

4/6 SUNDAY Ride

Well, it's April. In some parts of the country that means warm temps and sunny skies. If only Maine were so predictable. Tomorrow looks to be wet and a bit chilly, while Sunday looks to be much nicer, although still on the chilly side.

Given the forecast and the fact that this is the first ride of the season, we are going to move the ride to Sunday morning. Moving to Sunday means that we have some overlap with the Sunday Randonneur ride that leaves from the shop, but we figure we'll just embrace our Sunday friends and plan to leave the shop at the same time they do — 8:30 am.

Bron is planning to lead the familiar and relatively short loop around Tuttle and Greely (Ride Route). We're not sure where the Sunday ride is planning to go, but it will likely provide an alternative to our planned route.

Welcome to the 2014 season!

Season Start - April 5?

Thanks for the feedback on the upcoming year. If anyone else has additional comments, please let us know.

When should we start riding? The weather doesn't look to be too good in the foreseeable future, and Bron and I are pretty tied up for the rest of the month, so we are tentatively thinking of starting April 5.

If there are nice days between now and you would like to get a group together, feel free to use the comments here or drop me an email asking me to post something.

Soliciting Input for the 2014 Saturday Rides

It's almost daylight savings time, which means spring can't be far behind. As we slip slowly toward warmer weather (I think), we're looking for your thoughts on the Saturday ride as we try to shape the ride for the 2014 season.

Some of the areas we would love you to weigh in on are:

• Additional leaders:

If you are interested and willing in acting as a leader please let us.

• Ride Routes:

We're exploring the idea of creating a set of standard routes (3-5) to help simplify the job of leading and to add a little more predictability to the ride. Variability has been the hallmark of the ride over the past few years, and we see no reason to move away from that entirely. But we would like feedback on the idea of paring back our ride variability.

• A/B Groups:

Along the line of the consistent routes, we are curious whether there is any interest in creating A/B splits. Making this a reality would require some additional leaders.

Training Goals:

In most years we stretch the rides to add length and prepare for various events, such as Memorial Day. Is there still interest in this?

• General Suggestions:

If you have any other suggestions concerning the ride, please let us know.

Given that winter does't appear likely to release its grip on us for a few more weeks, we were also thinking that it might be fun for us to meet over breakfast some Saturday morning this month if people are interested. March 15 seemed to be one option that is likely not going to be a good riding day. If you have any idea for a place to meet up, let us know.

As always, you can use the comments section of this post to respond or send us an email.

11/30 Saturday Ride

Sorry so late folks... Sean and I got our signals crossed. But one thing is sure: it won't be 19* at 8:00 tomorrow, and we won't get past 25* until after 10:00; I'm guessing no one thinks that sounds like a better idea than enjoying hot coffee in a warm home (or just rolling over).

It looks like we have come to an unceremonious close to the SMR for 2013, but I look forward to seeing everyone at the Year End Party on December 13th. Enjoy the holiday weekend and be sure to have a look here if we have an unseasonably warm Saturday in the next few months... I'm sure we'd all love a nice spin with friends!

11/15 Saturday Ride

Sorry for the late post but hell, yeah, we're riding!

I kinda have a hankering for a westerly route, but will agree with the decision of the majority. If you have a favorite route (and, let's face it, this might be one of the last good days), bring it with you and let's enjoy the day! See you at 8:00.

11/9 Saturday Ride

It seems my broken finger can finally tolerate the road bike again, so I'll be riding tomorrow! It looks be a chilly start, so I'm a little conflicted: if we go to the coast (perhaps Prout's Neck?) we'll stay in the sun but catch the wind. If we go inland (Highland Cliff) we can hide from the wind but lose the sun. Maybe something in the middle.. perhaps Greely and Sligo? I am open to suggestions, so post them here or bring them with you. See you at 8:00!

11/2 Saturday Ride

It looks like things will be a bit warmer tomorrow despite the late sunrise and we have two ride options to choose from.

The first option is the annual Cranksgiving event, which starts at 9:30 in Woodfords and is a "race" to buy supplies for a good cause. There is no entry fee, just the cost of your list of goods. At the end, everything gets donated to a local food bank.

The second option will a less altruistic ride leaving the shop at 8:30 and heading out to do the Freeport loop (Ride route). It looks like temps will be about 50, but we'll start 30 minutes later than usual given the late sunrise.

10/26 Saturday Ride

These last few weeks before daylight savings time switches don't leave a lot of time for the sun to warm things up. With the possibility of frost tonight and a bit of a breeze in the morning, we are not going to plan on riding this week. Hopefully it will be a bit warmer next week.

If you want to head out despite the chill in the air, don't be afraid to use the comments section to drum up some riding buddies.

10/19 Saturday Ride

Sorry for the late post, but the ride will be heading out in the morning at 8:00, as usual. Since both Sean and I are unavailable, Eric will be your host. He's thinking anout following the Monday Night route unless he hears something better in the morning. Have a great ride!

10/4 Saturday Ride

First, let's mention a little detail about the Cadillac Century: the government shutdown has closed the park and forced an alteration of the route. It's 73 miles now, but it's still a beautiful ride!

For those of you not riding the Cadillac, how about a 34-mile spin out to the fairgrounds and then over to Mast? I'm afraid neither Sean nor I will be in town for this, so have a great ride!

9/28 Saturday Ride

Sorry for the late post; I think Sean and I got our signals crossed. I admit I'm a little worn out, so I wanted to offer a course that would give us a lot of distance options, on familiar ground, and away from the Not Dead Yet ride going on at Pinelands. We're going to point our wheels towards Brunswick and see where we end up. There's the typical Freeport distance (35), the Brunswick (45) or, with an added loop out to Rte 9, the option for 65 or more, so we can adapt the ride to whatever we're feeling. See you at 8:00.

9/21 Saturday Ride

It sounds like a bunch of people are planning on doing the Loon Echo ride this weekend. It should be great weather and it's a great ride, so make it if you can.

We will have a Saturday ride, with the route to be determined by the group. I expect there will be a longer route (50-60) and a shorter loop (35-40). We will leave the shop just after 8:00.

9/14 Saturday Ride

This week we will head out for a trip to the beach. Old Orchard Beach to be exact. The route is relatively flat, but there aren't many options to shorten things up. The longer ride will be a touch over 70 mile and will include both OOB and Prout's Neck (Ride route). The planned shorter loop will be closer to 50 miles and will head back through Westbrook (Ride route). However, depending on the group, we may go with a middle version for the shorter loop that tackles Mitchell Hill and then heads back to the shop via Highland (the way we head out).

We will plan to leave the shop at 8:00.

9/7 Saturday Ride

The Maine Lighthouse Ride and the New England Parkinson's Ride are both this weekend in the OOB/Saco area, so we are going to avoid these rides and head north toward Brunswick. The longer route will do the Flying Point/Pleasant Hill loop (Ride route). Anyone looking for something shorter can head back when we hit S. Freeport Road (Ride route).

We will plan on the usual 8:00 departure from Back Bay Bikes.