Pomological Explorations

We had a crisp, Fall day for our ride from Mount Vernon on Saturday. We got to ride over lots of fresh new pavement, particularly along Ridge Road over the Chesterville Esker, so we could thoroughly enjoy the scenery. This Saturday we will have our first ride of Fall, returning to the Monmouth Apple Festival in the heart of Maine apple country. Hope you can join us! Saturday, September 26th - READFIELD "Monmouth a la Mode" - a tour through Readfield and Winthrop to the Monmouth Apple Festival. START: 9:00 AM at the Readfield Elementary School, 84 South Road, Readfield. DISTANCE: 29 or 39 Miles. TERRAIN: Rolling, with a few stiff hills. The long ride includes approx. 1/2 mile of gravel. HIGHLIGHTS: Back roads beside rolling orchards, lakeside summer camps, small hidden hamlets... and the Monmouth Apple Festival: a great little small town festival devoted to celebrating all things pomological in one of Maine’s classic apple towns. The festival features lots of hot, baked apple pies and other apple treats, yard sales and open houses, fun and games, and self-guided tours of the Monmouth Historical Society’s many unique museum buildings and shops. LEADER: Jim Merrick, hjmerrick@gmail.com. LINK to ROUTE MAP (long): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47864393 LINK to ROUTE MAP (short): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47866439 For more information about the Kennebec Valley Bicycle Club, contact Jim Merrick at hjmerrick@gmail.com, and check out the KVBC blog, Posted Roads, at http://postedroads.blogspot.com.

The Joys of New Pavement

We had a beautiful ride around Wayne last Saturday under bright blue skies, a fine late summer - early fall day which saw a large turnout. The roads were in fine shape, some with new pavement, and we were welcomed (with a KVBC sign no less!) at Tubby's Ice Cream shop in Wayne at the ride's end. Many thanks to Fritz and Susan for another fine ride!. This Saturday we will gather in Mount Vernon Village for a ride out to Fayette, Chesterville, and Farmington Falls. Please note the parking instructions below. Hope to see you Saturday! Saturday, September 19: MOUNT VERNON "Eleven Ponds (More or Less)" - a tour past many lakes and ponds in Mount Vernon, Fayette, Chesterville, Vienna and Farmington Falls START: 9:00 am at the village park on Main St. in Mount Vernon next to Scapes Cafe. Parking available in the public lot behind the Vernon Valley Lodge on the corner of Main St. & Rt. 41, and also along Main St. down along the town beach and public boat landing on the lakeside. Please avoid parking next to the post office and other businesses in town. DISTANCE(S): 14 or 29.5 miles TERRAIN: Moderate to Hilly. HIGHLIGHTS: little-traveled scenic roads, many recently paved, including a fine stretch along the Chesterville Esker, with a potential post-ride stop at the cafe in Mount Vernon LEADER: Jim Merrick, hjmerrick@gmail.com. LINK to ROUTE MAP: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31445825

Wayne's World

We had a bit of a mixed bag with the weather on last Saturday's ride from Palermo. Bands of scattered showers and drizzle in the morning left some wet roads and some dark, overcast skies, but we did see some glimpses of sun and we stayed relatively dry. And the hilltop scenery could not be beat! Thanks again to Paul for a great ride. This Saturday we will explore around Wayne along some great back roads that will offer some gravel options - plus there's an option to stop for ice cream near the ride's end! Hope you can join us! Saturday, September 12th - WAYNE "Which Way to Wayne?" - an early Fall tour from Wayne to Fayette, Livermore, Leeds, and Winthrop. START: 9 am at the Wayne Elementary School, 48 Pond Road, Wayne. DISTANCE: 37 or 25 miles. TERRAIN: flat to moderately hilly; with some optional routes with some gravel riding. HIGHLIGHTS: scenic back roads with some great views and an optional stop at Tubby's Ice Cream in Wayne LEADERS: Fritz & Susan Onion, fritzonion@gmail.com LINK to ROUTE MAP: https://www.strava.com/routes/4011324; https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44458216 LINK to ROUTE MAP with Gravel Options: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/57039171

Hillier than Thou

We had a splendid turnout for the KVBC ride Sunday from Gardiner to Bowdoinham. A suburb route, despite a few miles of inevitable road construction, and it was great to see the newly reopened store at the midpoint in Bowdoinham again. Many thanks to Joe for leading us! We also had a few members show up and do the ride on Saturday due to some confusion as to the date of the ride start. My apologies, and I will try to be clearer in the future. We all wish Jim Linker a speedy recovery from his crash on Saturday. This coming Saturday we will meet at the Palermo Town Office for a challenging ride over and around the hills of China and Palermo. Please join us - on Saturday - for our first club ride in September! Saturday, September 5 - PALERMO "China and Palermo Hills" - a challenging tour over scenic vistas in Palermo, Albion, and South China START: 9:00 am at the Palermo Town Office, 45 North Palermo Road DISTANCE: 28 miles TERRAIN: Hilly HIGHLIGHTS: many scenic vistas and some challenging back roads LEADER: Paul Mitnik, pjmejm@gmail.com LINK TO ROUTE MAP: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/509663173 , https://ridewithgps.com/routes/56951557

September Rides

Here is the KVBC lineup for September! Please note that the schedule is subject to change. Also note that the 10th Annual "Share the Road with Carol" event in Windsor (not a KVBC event) requires a separate registration: https://www.bikereg.com/76827. Lots of great local riding in September - even if you have a weird eBike.

Give my Regards to Gardiner

We had a great turnout for the KVBC ride in Readfield on Saturday. The weather was far more cooperative than when we first scheduled the ride in May, although it did cloud up as the ride progressed. Many thanks to David for revisiting his ride and working out a new route! This Sunday we will meet in Gardiner for one of our favorite rides down to Bowdoinham and back. Hope you can join us as we close out the month of August! Sunday, August 30th - GARDINER "Biking to Bowdoinham" - a tour of the southern Kennebec Valley through Gardiner, Richmond and Bowdoinham. START: 9:00 AM, at the Laura Richards School, Rt. 201 in Gardiner, 1.5 miles south of the junction of Rt. 201 and Rt.s 126/9 (the junction near the A-1 Diner). The school is a modern brick building with a "spiked ball" sculpture, on the west side of Rt. 201, on the left past the Gardiner Armory (just as you enter the "thickly settled" area). Park in the lot on the north side of the school. DISTANCE: 40 miles. TERRAIN: Moderately hilly. HIGHLIGHTS: quiet back roads along streams and farmland south & west of Gardiner. LEADERS: Joe Renda, geologyjoe@gmail.com LINK to ROUTE MAP: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36860175

Don't Forsake the Lakes

There was more spectacular weather in store as we headed out to Belfast for the KVBC ride last Saturday. We explored a lot new roads (for us) and took in some great scenery, including a nice run along the Belfast Rail Trail. Many thanks to David for scoping out a new route and leading us! This Saturday we will return to Readfield to take up a revised route that was washed out earlier in the season, with much better weather forecast this time. We hope you can join us! Saturday, August 22 - READFIELD "The Winthrop Lakes" - a tour around some of the major lakes in Readfield and Winthrop. START: 9:00 am at the Maranacook School Superintendent's Parking Lot, 45 Millard Harrison Drive off of Rt. 17 in Readfield, across from the town beach. DISTANCE: 32 miles TERRAIN: moderate with a few hills HIGHLIGHTS: some pleasant back roads around the lakes district with lots of scenic, rural views. LEADER: David Chiappetta, davidchiappetta5@gmail.com LINK TO ROUTE MAP: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/500107843; https://ridewithgps.com/routes/56746308