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!

Hot Dogs and Toasted Buns

Last Saturday we traveled down a sandy dirt road on no map to Ken's house, taking our cue from a beautiful summer day - and the promise of hot dogs later - to ride over some of the hill country in Wings Mills, Belgrade, Manchester, and Augusta.


The day was clear, but would turn hot, and some of the hills were long. But we had little traffic and good company.





















We could hardly grouse about the sun and the heat, for the ride had nearly been rained out in previous years. Ken's hot dogs remained one of the club's best secrets. But no longer - not after last Saturday.




















Our thanks to the Louises for the great ride and their hospitality - and for the perfect setting to chill out after a sweet ride. See you next year? Hot Dog!

A reminder - the KVBC ride scheduled for Sunday, August 21st, in ALNA has been POSTPONED and we will be meeting in SMITHFIELD at the fire station at 9:00 am instead. See you then!

Alna is OFF - Smithfield is ON

Due to unforeseen family commitments, our scheduled ride this Sunday in Alna will be POSTPONED and rescheduled for another date.

Instead, we will be meeting in Smithfield for a great double loop around North and East Ponds with some great lakeside runs, followed by a nifty ice cream stop. Hope you can join us!

Sunday, August 21st - SMITHFIELD

"Route 8 Figure 8" - a scenic tour through Smithfield, Belgrade, Rome, and Mercer.

START: 9:00 AM, at the new Smithfield Fire Station on Rt. 8 in Smithfield, about a quarter-mile north of the junction of Rt. 8 and Rt. 137.

DISTANCE: 15 and 28 miles.

TERRAIN: moderate to moderately hilly.

HIGHLIGHTS: many scenic lake views and back roads, and an ice cream stop.

LEADER: Jim Merrick.

You Are What You Eat

I'm told that there was a great ride last week in Wayne, with such classic cycling views as rolling past fields of sunflowers just 20 miles outside of Paris (well, Paris, Maine, anyway), and some culinary quandaries involving lobster rolls vs. Tubby's ice cream. Decisions, decisions.

No need for decisions this Saturday, because Ken is leading us on a ride exploring the "other side" of the Belgrade Stream in Mount Vernon, followed by a hot dog roast at his house overlooking the water.

We have openings in the KVBC ride calendar for leaders in September and October. If you can lead a ride, contact Jim at hjmerrick@gmail.com. Fall is coming - more great riding ahead!

Saturday, August 13th - WING'S MILLS (Mount Vernon)

"Hot Dog! - The Hot Dog Ride" (not because we'll ride like one but because we will want one) - a tour through Mount Vernon, Belgrade, North Augusta, and Manchester

START: 9:00 AM at 49 Marble Point Rd., Mount Vernon

Directions to Start:

From Augusta, take #27 North to Belgrade and turn left onto #135 (Christy's store and blinking light)
Go 3 miles and right onto Wings Mill Rd; go 2.5 miles and right onto Marble Point Rd. which is just
after crossing Belgrade Stream; it is a hard pack dirt road and we are the log home on the right)

From Mount Vernon, Readfield: Take North Rd to Wings Mills Rd and go about 3 miles to Marble Point Rd;
just after passing Bartlett Rd on the right, turn left onto Marble Point

Delorme Maine Atlas Map 12; A-4. Just west and across the stream from the intersection of Dunn Rd and
Wings Mill Rd. (Marble Point is not listed by name on the map).
DISTANCE: 29 miles
TERRAIN: Moderate with some hills
HIGHLIGHTS: Views of Belgrade Stream, Hamilton Pond, Stuart Pond, Messalonskee Lake, Doctor Pond, Silver Lake, Gould Pond, with a Hot Dog cookout lunch following the ride - swimming available also.
LEADER: Ken Louis.

Somewhere Outside of Paris

Last Saturday, Ray & Jane Giglio led the KVBC ride from Wayne through Leeds and North Monmouth on the "Tour de Lacs." The group rolled past some classic cycling vistas, including fields of sunflowers some 20 miles outside of Paris (Me.).

Ray reports:

"Beside Jane and I, we had three other riders for the Tour de Lacs ride on 8/6: George Luckhurst, plus Claudette Purington and her husband Tom Keyes. Perfect day - the ride was 29 miles. It was our anniversary (23rd) so I took Jane out to eat at a benefit lobster roll dinner at the Cary Memorial Library in Wayne, after a swim and change of clothes at the Androscoggin Yacht Club. Hey, she had her choice of there or at Tubby's. Unfortunately, Claudette and Tom, and George, had other places to go to."

Unfortunately, some of us (including this would-be blogger) had to miss it. Many thanks to Ray & Jane for stepping up and leading such a memorable ride.

Whatever you do, don't miss next week's ride in Wings Mills, where Ken will reprise his Hot Dog Ride! See you then!