Saturday's Ride Rescheduled One Week

Due to poor weekend weather forecast, the KVBC Wake Up the Earth Ride scheduled for this Saturday, April 20, has been rescheduled for the following Saturday, April 27, in Belgrade Lakes. In the meantime, stay dry and enjoy this Easter - Earth Day weekend, and we'll see you in a week's time!

No Biking with the Alewives Tomorrow

RIDE UPDATE: SATURDAY'S KVBC RIDE SWITCHED TO SUNDAY.

After some discussion (and forecasts of 100% rain tomorrow) we decided that we didn't want to ride with the fishes quite that much, and given that the weather on Sunday looks a lot more favorable, we have opted to change this week's ride in Clinton to SUNDAY, May 18, same time and place.  Be sure to stay tuned for any additional changes as we move into the weekend.  Thanks for your understanding, and we'll see if we can get a ride in this weekend.

Sunday, May 18th, CLINTON

"Biking with the Alewives" - a tour along the banks of the Sebasticook River to the Benton Alewife Run.

START: 9:30 AM at the Old Mill Park off of Rt.s 100 and 11 in Clinton.

DISTANCE: 25 miles.

TERRAIN: moderate, with some hills and flat sections.

HIGHLIGHTS: scenic river views and a stop at the Benton Dam to view the return of the historic alewife spring run.

LEADER: Jeanine Libby.

For more information on the Kennebec Valley Bicycle Club, contact Jim Merrick at hjmerrick@gmail.com, and check out the club's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KennebecValleyBicycleClub.

Tomorrow's Ride in Readfield Doubful

From the Sorcerer's Apprentice, Walt Disney Productions

Hi Gang - the forecast for Saturday's Ride in Readfield does not look promising (unless the promise of 100% rain can be considered promising).  If it is raining buckets tomorrow at the scheduled 9 AM ride start we probably won't ride.  If it is raining thimbles or (praise be heaven) not raining at all, we may have a short ride around to Wayne and back.  Otherwise, we'll once again hope for better weather and try to reschedule (Sunday is out due to prior commitments).  We may try to rerun one of our washouts next weekend.  Details to follow.  Stay dry!

Capital Breakfast Ride Postponed

Due to impending weather conditions (rain and thunderstorms) tomorrow's KVBC ride in Augusta (Saturday, June 25 at 8 am) will be postponed to another date. Please forward this message to anyone you know who may be planning to ride who is not on our email list. Thanks, and we will reschedule the ride for another weekend.

Roundabout Readfield

We had a rather soggy weekend that saw our scheduled joint ride last Saturday with the Central Maine Cycling Club postponed until some later date. I spent the morning at a special alumni ride with members of the Colby Cycling Team since it was my (gasp!) 35th reunion. I have to say that after riding 20 miles plus in the pouring rain with those guys, I didn't feel so special - I was definitely spotting them 35 years. I could barely stay with them on the hills, and truth be told, I suspect they were dogging it. Not that that mattered much - I don't think that if I turned the clock back 35 years I could've climbed that effortlessly then. It was fun, though. Hopefully the weather will be much nicer this Saturday when we return to Readfield for another fine ride, and yet another opportunity for me to avoid acting my age. 'Til then!

Saturday, June 12th; READFIELD

"Readfield Roundabout" - a tour in and around the scenic byways of Readfield or thereabout.

START: 9:30 AM, at the Readfield Elementary School on South Street, a half-mile from the junction of Rt. 17 and South Street at Readfield Depot. Readfield Depot, where there is a small market and a RR crossing, is about a mile south of Readfield Center.

DISTANCE: 25 to 30 miles.

TERRAIN: Rolling with a few hills.

HIGHLIGHTS: Readfield and its surrounding towns are interwoven with fine cycling roads and scenery, and this ride will scope out a good selection of both.

LEADER: Frank Rosen.

Misty Belgrade

It was misting, drizzling, and spitting enough to require intermittent wipers on the way to the ride start at Belgrade Lakes last Saturday. The weather forecast had gotten progressively worse all week, to the throw-in-the-towel point of "100 per cent chance of showers" but I packed up my bike and a stack of ride maps and headed over to the Belgrade Community Center to see if anyone would show up. As I waited there, Denise pulled into the parking lot. We discussed the weather and our route options - I mentioned that I had a piano recital to attend at 1 pm - and we had almost talked ourselves out of riding when Jim pulled in. Almost simultaneously, the misting let up, Jim confidently cited a more optimistic forecast of rain to the south of us, and we talked ourselves back into riding again. It would prove to be a good choice.


Not entirely convinced that the rain would actually hold off, we opted to set out on the 15 mile loop. The temperature and the winds were moderate, although the pavement was wet. We headed up the long hill out of Belgrade Lakes village on Rt.27. Except for the spray from an occasional passing car, the climb went well, and we warmed up quickly. We turned off onto Watson Pond Road and began the stepped climb up Blueberry Hill. For some reason it seemed steeper than usual - that wasn't part of the forecast - but soon enough, we were at the summit.



As we contemplated the descent, it started drizzling again, so we pressed on, turning onto Castle Island Road. The rollers into the Castle Island Camps were fun - and pretty in any weather. By the time we got to Fast Fred's hot dog stand it was raining too hard to stop, even though Fast Fred was open for business. We headed back down to Belgrade Lakes village past the golf course, the rain starting to come down steadier. No dilly-dallying in the village - we headed up Rt.27 straightaway, and back to the Community Center. Packing up our bikes, it started to rain in earnest. Our hunch at the start was right - the weather held up just long enough for us to get the 15 miles in, and the three of us had a great ride. I was really glad that Denise and Jim had come and "coerced" me into riding on a very misty day.