Maine Maple Sidney

The weather forecast this week is for more spring thaw, and it is looking good for Maine Maple Sunday this weekend!  We will hope to get out before we enter full Mud Season with an early ride from Oakland to the Bacon Maple Farm in Sidney.  The ride season is shaping up nicely, although we still have some open dates in the calendar, so if you have a ride you'd like to lead, let Jim know.  Many thanks to all of our ride leaders who have volunteered to lead rides!  We could not do it without you!  Hope everyone can join us on Sunday, and on the warmer days ahead!

Sunday, March 24 - OAKLAND

"Maine Maple Sidney" - a sweet, spring ride from Oakland to Sidney.

START: 10:00 am at the Oakland Post Office at the corner of Water Street (Rt.11) and East School Street.

DISTANCE: about 20 miles.

TERRAIN: moderate with some hills.

HIGHLIGHTS: fine back roads with lakeside views and a stop at a Maple Sugar shack on Maine Maple Sunday..

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

LINK to ROUTE MAP: https://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6813910

For more information on the Kennebec Valley Bicycle Club, contact Jim at 293-3784, hjmerrick@gmail.com, find us on Facebook, or check out our blog at http://postedroads.blogspot.com.

Preliminary KVBC 2019 Ride Calendar

Biking on the Frozen Swan Boat Pond, Boston Public Garden, circa 1940s (Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection)

With the first day of Spring just a week away, it looks like there is finally some melting in progress, so we may yet have some rides to come in 2019!  Here is a very preliminary ride calendar, with a number of dates to be confirmed and others to be filled in.  We have a couple of interesting new rides in the works, and we may even mix in a few gravel rides in among our regular road rides for a change of pace.  Our first ride is tentatively scheduled for March 24 - Maine Maple Sunday - about a week and half away, depending on conditions.  Our thanks to all of the ride leaders who have volunteered rides, and to those who are still scheduling theirs.  Please send me your ride info when you have it! Think Spring!

KVBC Ride Calendar 2019 Preliminary

March 24 – Sunday, OAKLAND: Maine Maple Sidney (Jim Merrick)

April 20 – Saturday, BELGRADE: Wake Up the Earth Ride (Jim Floyd)

May 11 – Saturday, READFIELD: Maranacook Meander (Lydia Leimbach)

May 26 – Sunday, JAY: May in Jay (Jim Merrick)

June 1 – Saturday, VASSALBORO: Velo Vassalboro (David Lipman)

June 9 – Sunday, NORRIDGEWOCK: Over the Colby Loop (Brian Bowker & Denise Crowell)

June 22 or 23 – (TBD, WAYNE?): Property Pedal Tour (Jean-Luc Theriault and Jim Floyd)

July 6 – Saturday, SIDNEY: Independence Day Ride (Jim Putman)

July 13 – Saturday, DAMARISCOTTA: Drafting through Damariscotta (David Lipman)

July 28 – Sunday: GARDINER: Biking to Bowdoinham (Joe Renda)

August 3 – Saturday, RICHMOND: Wheeling to Wiscasset (David Lipman)

August 17 – Saturday, KENTS HILL: (TBD)

August 25 – Sunday, LINCOLNVILLE: Out through the Cellar Door (Tammy Jones)

August 31 – Saturday, SMITHFIELD: Looping the Lakes (Larry Childs)

September 21 – Saturday, LIVERMORE: Boothby’s Orchard Ride (John Lanoue)

September 28 – Saturday, WINTHROP: Monmouth a la Mode (Jim Merrick)

October 13 – Sunday, CHESTERVILLE: Three Peaks and a Pontoon (John Lanoue)

October 19 – Saturday, EAST WINTHROP: Bicycle Repairman (Brian Bowker and Denise Crowell)

October 20 – Sunday, WATERVILLE: (Camille Chamberland)

October 27 – Sunday, WAYNE: Wicked Wayne (Jim Merrick)

KVBC Ride Planning Meeting Postponed Again

The Winter weather is not being kind or cooperative, and with another storm heading in on Thursday and a number of people saying they cannot make the scheduled meeting that night, we are once again postponing the KVBC Ride Planning Meeting.  Our meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 27, at the same time and place, 6:00 pm, Miller Library Room 208, at Colby College.  Sorry for the shifting of dates - let's hope that "third time's the charm" and hopefully we'll see you on Wednesday the 27th.  Meanwhile here is a very tentative, preliminary ride calendar of 2019 events, from what we know (or think we know):

2019 Potential Rides and Other Club’s Events

March 23/24: Maine Maple Sunday, Oakland/Sidney

April 14: BCM Bike Swap, Portland

April 21: Wake Up the Earth Ride, Belgrade (tentative)

May 11: Maranacook Meander, Readfield (tentative)

June 1: Velo Vassalboro, Vassalboro (tentative)

June 8: Millinocket 100, Millinocket

June 9: Colby Loop, Norridgewock

June 14-16: TREK Across Maine

June 15: Jefferson Jaunt, Jefferson (tentative)

June 22/23: Property Pedal Tour (joint ride with Kennebec Land Trust)

June 29/30: Greenville Bike and Boat

July 6: Independence Ride, Sidney

July 13: Drafting Through Damariscotta, Damariscotta (tentative)

July 20: Tour de Whitefield, Whitefield (tentative)

August 10: Which Way to Wayne?, Wayne (tentative)

August 10/11: Bike MS

September 7: Maine Lighthouse Ride

September 8: Pedal Penobscot

September 7-14: Bike Maine

September 14/15: Boothby’s Apple Ride, Livermore Falls (tentative)

September 20-22: Seacoast Century

September 28: Share the Road with Carol, Windsor (tentative)

September 28/29: Dempsey Challenge

October 6: Cadillac Challenge

October 12: Three Peaks and a Pontoon, Chesterville

October 19: Bicycle Repairman (TBD)

October 27: Wicked Wayne, Wayne

KVBC Ride Planning Meeting Postponed to Thursday Feb. 21

Due to the forecast of snow, sleet, and what-have-you on this Wednesday, we have decided to postpone our Ride Planning Meeting until the following week.  The meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday, Feb. 21, at 6:00pm - same location: Colby College, Miller Library, Room 208.  My apologies for any inconvenience, but travel on this Wednesday does not look good, and there may be parking restrictions due to snow removal.  So we will meet the following Thursday when the room is available again.  Once again, if you cannot make the rescheduled meeting but would like to lead a ride, please let me know the particulars and I'll work it into the calendar.  And if you would like to participate in the meeting remotely, let me know and I'll set up the conference call. Also, if you might be interested in a new KVBC jersey, let me know.

KVBC Ride Planning Meeting

Spring will be upon us before you know it, so it is time to start planning our ride calendar for 2019!  Our annual Kennebec Valley Bicycle Club Ride Planning Meeting is scheduled for  Wednesday, February 13 at 6 pm.  We will meet in Waterville, at Colby College, Miller Library, Room 208 (also known as the second floor conference room, if you are asking for directions at the main desk). Directions: http://libguides.colby.edu/c.php?g=98548&p=638088.  The best parking will be in the Roberts Lot, near the Colby Art Museum.  If you cannot make the meeting in person but would like to take part via a conference call, let me know before the meeting and I will send you the phone number and opt in code.  And if you would prefer to just send me your ride information - date, start location and start time, distance, and any features of note (ice cream, pastry shops, etc.) - I'll be happy to take it down.  All are welcome at the meeting, and we will likely order pizza to help with the planning.  Hope to see you Wednesday!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! May you have fair winds, good roads, and great company! [Image: after "Focus" by Will Geddes (2108)]

Just Dandy

The other day I was reading a year-end compilation of significant anniversaries, and the author mentioned the invention of the Draisine in 1818. Can't let the year go by with our two-wheeled forerunner unheralded, even though some might argue that it was actually invented in 1817 and only officially patented in February 1818. And some would argue that it's not a bicycle at all, as happened at a bicycle history conference in Boston I attended years ago, with some of the speakers focusing instead on who "invented" the bicycle in the 1860s. Until in the midst of this argument one of the panelists quietly disagreed, saying simply that he had a Draisine, and that when all was said and done, when he rode it he felt like he was riding a bicycle. Not one to scoff at 200-year-old technology, if it's "just like riding a bicycle," that's good enough for me.