Don't be a Sap

Welcome to Spring everyone!  The sap is running and we are approaching Maine Maple Sunday.  If the weather is cooperative we will have a ride Saturday in the backwoods of Chesterville, with a special maple syrup tasting at the ride leader's house.  We are not under any specific COVID restrictions, but it is a good idea to keep up with distancing and staying home if you are feeling sick.  Hope you can join us!

Saturday, March 26 - CHESTERVILLE

"John & Karen's Sugar Shack" - a sweet syrup-sampling ride from Chesterville to Farmington Falls.

START: 11:00 am at the junction of Egypt Pond Road and Main Street (about a mile from the junction of Egypt Pond Road and Tower Road).  As you turn onto Main Street (unpaved) there is a small parking area next to a small green dumpster; additional parking roadside. Signs say No Trespassing except with permission - John says we have his permission.

DISTANCE: 23.5 miles.

TERRAIN: flat to hilly; sandy road conditions call for caution on descents.

HIGHLIGHTS: a postride gathering at the ride leader's house for sap boiling and sugar sampling on Maine Maple Sunday weekend.

LEADER: John Lanoue, john.lanoue@avid.com.

LINK TO ROUTE MAP: https://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=7642740

Spring is Here!

 Happy Spring! We have had some tantalizing previews of Spring lately, and hopefully more to come! We are looking forward to getting in a ride for Maine Maple Sunday on Saturday in Chesterville - details coming shortly!

Ride Sunday in Vassalboro CANCELLED

It will probably come as no surprise to anyone (anyone looking out a window about now) that Winter is not quite over yet, and the potential KVBC ride tomorrow, Sunday March 13 in Vassalboro is cancelled.  We may attempt to redo the ride some other time.  We do have a ride tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 26 in Chesterville on the Maine Maple Sunday weekend, and hopefully we will see you then! 

Another March Birthday

 It's time to kick off the KVBC's 20th season!  We've long wanted to have a short ride in Vassalboro to celebrate the birth of Charles E. Pratt on March 13, 1845, a prominent, influential cyclist and son of a Quaker minister in East Vassalboro. More on Pratt here: POSTED ROADS: Happy Birthday, Charles E. Pratt!  Keeping an eye on the forecast for Sunday, it looks to be clear but quite cold and breezy, and there may be some residual snow from the storm on Saturday, any combination of which might lead to a last-minute cancellation.  But we will keep our fingers crossed and perhaps we will luck out.  Don't forget to turn your clocks ahead an hour, as we will be on Daylight Savings Time on Sunday.  Stay warm!

Sunday, March 13 - VASSALBORO

"Pratt's Birthday Ride" - a ride around Vassalboro to celebrate the birthday of Charles E. Pratt, an early cycling visionary and "Father of the League of American Wheelmen."

START: 11:00 am (Daylight Savings Time) at the Vassalboro Town Office Building, 682 Main Street (Rt. 32) in Vassalboro.

DISTANCE: 16 miles.

TERRAIN: flat to rolling

HIGHLIGHTS: a pre-Spring ride along some fine back roads in Vassalboro.

LEADER: Jim Merrick, hjmerrick@gmail.com, 293-3784

LINK to ROUTE MAP: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38733279

March is the New April

 Here are the KVBC Pre-Season Rides in March! Our cycling forefather, Charles E. Pratt's 177th birthday is March 13, and we will try to have a short ride in Vassalboro (his birthplace). The Maine Maple Sunday ride has been relocated to Saturday in Chesterville to better experience maple syrup making and sampling. Sweet! These early rides may be cancelled due to poor road conditions or hypothermic riding conditions (wet weather in sub 50 degree temperatures), and we will attempt to get word out well before the 11:00am ride starts. But if the roads are clear and dry you are welcome to join us!

KVBC 2022 Ride Calendar

 

Here is the 2022 KVBC Ride Calendar!  Welcome to our twentieth year of riding together!  As always, many thanks to our volunteer ride leaders who bear all the honors for putting this calendar of rides together!  We have a lot of traditional rides lined up, as well as some newer routes.  Of course, if you haven't ridden with us before, or haven't been out with the club recently due to the pandemic (and we'd love to see you again) many of these rides may be new to you.  We hope you can join us!  Our first scheduled ride, weather permitting, is less than two weeks away!

Kennebec Valley Bicycle Club 2022 Ride Calendar

March 13, Sunday: Vassalboro, “Pratt’s Birthday Ride” – Jim Merrick

March 26, Sunday: Oakland, “Maine Maple Sidney” – Jim Merrick

 

April 10, Sunday: Winslow, “Big G’s and Bare Knees” – Jeanine Libby

April 23, Saturday: Turner, “Wake Up the Earth Ride” – Jim Merrick

April 30 or May 1: TBA

 

May 7, Saturday: Waterville, “The Colby Loop” – Duncan Tate

May 8, Sunday: Vassalboro, “China Surprise” – Jeanine Libby

May 14, Saturday: Belgrade Lakes, “KVBC 20^th Anniversary Ride” – Jim Merrick

May 21, Saturday: Chesterville, “Tour de Chesterville” – John Lanoue

May 29, Sunday: Vassalboro, “Velo Vassalboro” – David Lipman

 

June 4 or 5: TBA

June 11, Saturday: Jefferson, “Lupine the Lake” – Bryan & Holly Griffin

June 19, Sunday: Mount Vernon, “Eleven Ponds” – Jim Merrick

June 25, Saturday: Readfield, “Maranacook Meander” – Lydia Leimbach

 

July 3, Sunday: Sidney, “Independence Day Ride” – TBA

July 10, Sunday: Winslow, “Winsome Winslow” – Tom Michaud

July 17, Sunday: Damariscotta, “Drafting to Damariscotta” – David Lipman

July 23, Saturday: Kents Hill, “Kents Hill Roundabout” – David Chiappetta

July 30, Saturday: Palermo, “Beyond the Pale” – Paul Mitnik

 

August 6, Saturday: Gardiner, “Biking to Bowdoinham” – Joe Renda

August 7, Sunday: Smithfield, “Looping the Lakes” – Larry Childs

August 13, Saturday: Oakland, “Barreling Through Oakland” – Tammy Jones

August 20, Saturday: Whitefield, “Tour de Whitefield” – Bryan & Holly Griffin

August 27, Saturday: Augusta, “Endless Summer (Haven)” – Cynthia Snow

 

September 3, Saturday: China, “O Albion” – Duncan Tate

September 11, Sunday: Wayne, “Which Way to Wayne?” – Fritz & Susan Onion

September 17, Saturday: Richmond, “Wheeling to Wiscasset” – David Lipman

September 25, Sunday: Madison/Norridgewock, “Wire Bridge Ride” – Denise Crowell & Brian Bowker

 

October 1, Saturday: Livermore Falls, “Boothby’s Apple Ride” – John Lanoue

October 8, Saturday: Pittston, “Benedictine Pathways” – Joe Renda

October 16, Sunday: Waterville, “Somerset Sortie” – David Chiappetta

October 22, Saturday: Farmington, “Ups and Downs of Industry” – Jim Merrick

October 30, Sunday: Wayne, “Wicked Wayne” – Jim Merrick

 Happy Valentine's Day!