It's American Bicycler Day!

I hope you were able to take advantage of the delightful mild weather we have been enjoying to get out and ride your bike (I was actually out in shorts!).

For today is March 13th, the birthday of Charles Eadward Pratt, born in Vassalboro, Maine, in 1845. Pratt was an early pioneer and advocate of cycling, and wrote one of the earliest cycling guidebooks, The American Bicycler, in 1879. Pratt served as the first president of the League of American Wheelmen, and is considered by some as the Father of American Bicycling.

Not to mention that he is a native-born Mainer (I did mention it, didn't I?) and that certainly qualifies him as one of our patron saints hereabouts. Here is an 1879 photo of the man himself (courtesy of the Smithsonian) with his wheel, taken in a studio most likely prior to quick jaunt out into the countryside.

Happy Birthday, Charles E. Pratt!

The Jersey Deliberation

If you haven't already done so, you have about 24 hours to enter the Bicycle Coalition of Maine's 20th Anniversary Cycling Jersey selection contest to select their new jersey. Out of all the votes they will have a drawing for one winner of a new jersey (whichever design that will be). I suppose if you win you can always say you had that design picked out from the start. Or that it was one of your top three choices. Something like that.

Which brings up the subject of a KVBC jersey! We need some ideas and cool designs. Maybe we can have a contest to see who can design the best jersey? Or even a jersey. Then we can have our own jersey contest! So, if your tastes run from contemporary to retro to somewhere in between, grab some crayons or markers and go to it. Send in your designs and we'll take it from there!

KVBC 2012 Ride Calendar

We had a great ride planning meeting last week at the Bicycle Coalition of Maine's Augusta office. We have almost a full calendar of rides for the year, with 15 people offering to lead rides for the club, many for the first time! And with new ride leaders come new routes, so we should have a great season ahead. Many thanks to all who contributed, and to the BCM for again offering us the use of their space for the planning meeting. There are still a few open dates available, so if you have a ride in mind, speak up! Contact Jim Merrick at 293-3784 or hjmerrick@gmail.com.

Ride Regrouping, Blueberry Hill, Watson Pond Road, Rome

KENNEBEC VALLEY BICYCLE CLUB 2012 RIDE CALENDAR

FEBRUARY

2/29 – “Leap Day Ride” - Hallowell Boat Landing, Hallowell, 11 AM, 15 mi., Jim Merrick

APRIL

4/21 – “Wake Up the Earth Ride” – Kennebec Rail Trail, Augusta, 20 mi., 10 AM, Jim Floyd

4/28 – “The Wayne Way” – Wayne Elementary School, Wayne, 25 mi., 9:30 AM, Ray Giglio

MAY

5/5 – “Cinco de Mayo in Manchester” – Manchester Elementary School, Manchester, 25 mi., 9:30 AM, Jim Merrick

5/12 – “China Surprise” – Vassalboro Historical Society, East Vassalboro, 25 mi., 10 AM, Jeanine Libby

5/19 – “Windsor au Couture” – Windsor Fairgrounds, Windsor, 35 mi., 10 AM, Leanne Moll

5/26 – “Single Chainring Tour” – Lunch Pad Restaurant, Livermore, 25-30 mi., 8:30 AM, Frank Rosen

JUNE

6/2 – “Big Lakes Tour” – Tom’s Bike Boutique, East Winthrop, 25-30 mi., 9 AM, Denise Crowell

6/10 – “Eleven Ponds Ride” – Mt. Vernon Post Office, Mt. Vernon, 30 mi., 9 AM, Jim Merrick

6/16 – “Kents Hill Ramble” – Torsey Church, Kents Hill, 25-30 mi., 8:30 AM, Ray Giglio

6/23 – “Capitol Breakfast Ride” – Hussey Elementary School, Augusta, 25-30 mi., 8 AM, Connie Brown

6/30 – “Independence along the Middle Road” – James H. Bean Elementary School, Sidney, 16 or 30 mi., Jim Putnam

JULY

7/7 – open

7/15 – “Biking to Bowdoinham” – Laura Richards Elementary School, Gardiner, 40-45 mi., 9 AM, Joe Renda

7/28 – “The Wayne Refrain” – Wayne Elementary School, Wayne, 25-30 mi., 8:30 AM, Ray Giglio

AUGUST

8/4 or 8/5 – open

8/11 – “Explore the New Merrymeeting Trail Interim On-Road Route: Gardiner to Richmond and Back” – Gardiner Waterfront Park, Gardiner, 30-35 mi., 9 AM, Dave Wood

8/18 –"Ken's Hot Dog Ride" - Wings Mills, 25-20 mi., 9 AM, Ken Louis

8/25 – “Explore the New Merrymeeting Trail Interim On-Road Route: Richmond to Topsham and Back” – Richmond Waterfront Park, Richmond, 30-35 mi., 9 AM, Dave Wood

SEPTEMBER

9/1 – “Route 8 Figure 8” – Smithfield Fire Station, Smithfield, 25-30 mi., 9 AM, Larry Childs

9/9 – “Belgrade Lakes and Highlands” – Belgrade Community Center, Belgrade Lakes, 15-28-35 mi., 9 AM, Jim Merrick

9/15 – “A Cobbossee Odyssey” – Tom’s Bike Boutique, East Winthrop, 25-30 mi., 9 AM, Cynthia Snow

9/22 – “Ups and Downs of Industry” – Hannaford Plaza, Farmington, 25-30 mi., 9 AM, Larry Childs

Additional rides with dates not determined yet:

May – Kennebec River Rail Trail Ride, David Auclair

Merry Christmas and Holiday Greetings!

Best Wishes for the Holidays and the New Year to all of you from the Kennebec Valley Bicycle Club! We had a great year for cycling in 2011 (although from a non-cycling perspective, I'm really looking forward to 2012)!

Coming up in January we will plan for our annual ride planning pizza party - stay tuned for details. I am also amenable for organizing another New Year's Day Ride - perhaps along the rail trail in Hallowell, if the weather remains rather mild - although I recovering from a (non-cycling) calf injury, and may not be able to ride by then. I certainly hope to be ready for my 6th quadrennial Leap Day Ride - which will be Wednesday, Feb. 29th - more details as we get nearer to the date. These winter rides are subject to weather, but we have had pretty good luck with them in the past.

And I'm sure that when we get into March, we'll all start to look forward for the spring rides to start up again in April! Perhaps we'll get to see each other before then!

Happy New Year!

Halloween is not for Weenies

We've had some great Fall cycling weather of late, with two really nice rides in Farmington and Winthrop. Lots of sun and very little wind. The weather forecast for Sunday looks to be rather grim, but if we manage to avoid a lot of snow we will meet in Wayne for a special Halloween ride to some notable cemeteries, including the round Wing cemetery in Wayne. Last year's ride was a lot of fun! Costumes optional - even zombies must wear helmets. To get you in the mood, here's a classic Edward Gorey tale. This may be our last official ride of the year. Don't let anything scare you away!

Sunday, October 30th - WAYNE

"All Hallows Tour" - a Halloween ride featuring some historic cemeteries.

START: 10:00 AM at the Wayne Elementary School, 48 Pond Road, Wayne.

DISTANCE: 15-20 miles.

TERRAIN: moderate, creepy in spots.

HIGHLIGHTS: the Wing family cemetery, the Kents Hill orchard, perhaps a notorious historic crime scene, and other local haunts.

LEADER: Jim Merrick.

Industry in Fall

The weather last weekend was pretty nasty, but this weekend is looking a lot better with sunshine and temperatures expected in the 70s. Great riding weather for October! Please join us Saturday morning in Farmington for a pretty ride to Clearwater Pond in Allens Mills and some great ridgetop views to take advantage of the best part of the Fall Season.

Saturday, October 8th: FARMINGTON

"The Ups and Downs of Industry": a ride through the picturesque hills and hollows of Farmington, New Sharon, and Industry.

START: 10:00 A.M., at the Hannaford Plaza on Rt. 4 in Farmington, about a mile south from the junction of Rt. 4 and Rt. 27, towards Wilton. Park near the entrance to the shopping plaza.

DISTANCE: 25-30 miles.

TERRAIN: rolling to hilly - includes an optional short (1/4 mi.) section of hard-packed dirt road, which can be circumvented by adding a mile to the overall route.

HIGHLIGHTS: quiet back roads along the Sandy River, spectacular panoramic views from the ridgetops of New Sharon & Industry, Clearwater Pond at Allens Mills.

LEADER: Jim Merrick.

Pedaling to Pocassett on 9/11

Since our last ride we have had a ton of rain, lengthy power outages, and I personally have had a plague of bicycle-related mechanical problems. My in-season solution has always been to have more than one bike to fall back on, but the problems have started to mount, and now I am faced with multiple repairs. But the weekend weather forecast is too nice to let this great fall weather pass, so I'll try to come up with a working bike by Sunday when we head out to Readfield and Wayne. We will have a short loop in case some people want to head over to Vassalboro where the CMCC is sponsoring an event with time trials Sunday. Otherwise I hope to see you Sunday morning in Readfield - with a working machine!

Sunday, September 11th: READFIELD

"Pedaling to Pocasset": a sampling of the fine back roads of Readfield, Wayne, Fayette, and Kents Hill, with nice runs along Pocasset Lake and Lovejoy Pond.

START: 9:00 A.M., Readfield Center, near the junction of Rt. 17 and Rt. 41. Park in the lot behind the Readfield Post Office.

DISTANCE: 20 miles

TERRAIN: rolling with a few hills.

HIGHLIGHTS: splendid waterfall in North Wayne (a lot more impressive than it usually is this time of year), quiet roads skirting the shores of Pocasset Lake and Lovejoy Pond; possible ice cream stop in Wayne and/or the Apple Shed in Kents Hill.

LEADER: Jim Merrick.

NOTE: The Downeast Sunrise Trail ride re-scheduled for next weekend, Sept. 17-18, is still on, as far as I know, and we will have updates later in the week. The following weekend is the Common Ground Fair in Unity, where I will be working at the Stanley Museum booth again on Friday and Saturday. The Bike Coalition can also use volunteers at their bike valet parking area (our Museum booth will be right next to them this year!). If any of you are interested in pedaling to the fair, we can try to put together a ride up near Unity on the 23rd or 24th. Let me know what you think. We can also use ride leaders for the remainder of September and into October. Still some great fall riding ahead!