RIDE SCHEDULE

TUESDAY & THURSDAY night rides from Amherst (Starting April 5)
Meet at the Mill River Recreation Area off Rt. 63 in North Amherst (on right ¼ mile north of the church at the lights) at 5:15 PM Pace is 14-16 mph. Distance is between 20 - 28 miles until daylight diminishes. Ride as a group. There are NO Cue sheets.

TUESDAY & THURSDAY night rides from Greenfield (Starting April 7)
Meet at Bicycles Unlimited on High St. in Greenfield at 6:00 PM. Thursday has been attracting more people than Tuesday. Select a group based on how fast you want to go (fast group rides at >20 mph avg., intermediates are 19-20 mph avg, slow group is around 14-15 mph avg), each group has a separate leader. No cue sheets. For more info, contact Bob Perry 413-772-2700 or BikeBob@crocker .com
Thu 6/30 - Good size crowd, at least 25 in our group, plus a dozen in the slower group (they took a different and much shorter route). Flat, 42-mile ride down to Mt Warner and back, poured rain the last 2 miles. My avg speed: 21.3 mph

WEDNESDAY night rides from Southampton Bike (Starting April 6)
1. If possible, Joe is emailing out the ride so riders can get a better idea of where they will be going before hand.
2. 20+ riders is hard to control. Joe wants to break up the group into 3 riding groups starting at different times. Each group has a "group leader". They will know who's in the group and will help guide the group. No one in the group will be left behind. EACH RIDER MUST KEEP AN EYE ON THE PERSON BEHIND THEM. IF THEY LOSE SIGHT, SLOW DOWN AND HAVE THEM CATCH UP (UNLESS they say it's OK).
Group definitions and start times:
     Fast - leave at 5:25 - Newer riders. Less experienced, 15-17 mph average.
     Faster - leave at 5:30 - example, but not the rule, 2nd year Team Soho riders. Experienced, 17-18 mph average with hills.
     Fastest - leave at 5:35 - Folks who normally are in the front of the pack. Very experienced riders, 18-20 mph average with hills.
3. BE ON TIME, Bike in riding condition.
Please note: as we improve we can change groups. We want to make our rides fun and challenging.

APRIL 3 - DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS! SPRING AHEAD AND ARRIVE ON TIME.

APRIL 3 (SUN) - THE E-RIDE - East Windsor, Enfield, East Longmeadow and Ellington. 40 miles, flat (900 feet of climbing). Enjoy this spring warm-up ride through three counties in two states. Meet at 10:00 AM at Chester's Plaza on Route 140 in East Windsor. Take exit 45 off I-91 and follow Route 140 east for 1.5 miles. Bring food and drink or buy lunch at the Ellington Town Green. This is a joint FHF - Yankee Pedalers - Cyclonauts ride. Rain or wet roads cancels.
COORDINATORS: Steve and Suzanne Petke (860) 286-2776
Rained all day yesterday, more rain today, sigh... This ride was canceled

APRIL 9 (SAT) - NOTCH RIDES WITH WALT (part 1); Call Walt if you’re interested in riding. If no one calls, there’s no ride. Otherwise, he’s offering to lead a ride starting from the Notch Visitor’s Center at 9:00 AM.
COORDINATOR: Walt Chudzik (413) 586-3956

APRIL 10 (SUN) - BOOKMILL BONANZA; 25 miles, fairly flat. We'll ride to the Montague Bookmill, a place that has a bookstore, an arts & crafts store, and a café serving coffee, juices, soups, sandwiches, etc. Meet at the Mill River Recreation Area off Rt. 63 in North Amherst (on right 1/4 mile north of the church at the lights) at 1:00 PM. Bring drinking water.
COORDINATOR: Julie Miles (413) 549-0456 Cue sheet available online
Sunny, 73°, perfect riding weather! About 25 riders, a good-sized crowd, at least 3 tandems, only one flat tire (sigh).

APRIL 16 (SAT) - NOTCH RIDES WITH WALT (part 2); Call Walt if you’re interested in riding. If no one calls, there’s no ride. Otherwise, he’s offering to lead a ride starting from the Notch Visitor’s Center at 9:00 AM.
COORDINATOR: Walt Chudzik (413) 586-3956

APRIL 17 (SUN) - UP & DOWN THE RIVER & POET'S SEAT CLIMB; 25 miles, mostly flat with a 1-mile climb UP to Poet's Seat. The view will be worth the effort. Meet at 1:00 PM in the Mt. Sugarloaf parking lot in South Deerfield on Rt. 116 just across the Connecticut River from Sunderland center. Bring water & munchies for the stop at the top of Poet's Seat.
COORDINATORS: Jack & Suzanne Fitz-Gibbon (413) 527-4052 Cue sheet available online.
Wow! Here comes the warmer weather! Sunny, 79°. 17 riders (including 3 tandems) today, if we count Roger and Amber who finally caught up to us on top of Poet's Seat.

APRIL 23 (SAT) - NOTCH RIDES WITH WALT (part 3); Call Walt if you’re interested in riding. If no one calls, there’s no ride. Otherwise, he’s offering to lead a ride starting from the Notch Visitor’s Center at 9:00 AM.
COORDINATOR: Walt Chudzik (413) 586-3956

APRIL 24 (SUN) - 6th ANNUAL "NEW" BELCHERTOWN SURPRISE; 35 miles, rolling terrain. Meet at 10:00 AM at Fred & Joyce's house at 51 Brandywine Drive in Belchertown (park in driveway). Bring water and munchies to provide enough energy to get you to the lunch stop.
COORDINATORS: Fred & Joyce Morris (413) 323-4183
After raining for the last 24 hours straight, it has finally let up Sunday morning around 10:00 AM. Today's ride was canceled. I think I heard on the TV that Greenfield got 5 inches of rain. If that's right, that's a total of over 135,800 gallons of water per acre!

MAY 1 (SUN) - TOUR OF OLD DEERFIELD; 31 miles, rolling terrain. A fairly direct route to the restored Colonial Village of Old Deerfield. The Deerfield Inn has a Cafeteria. Across the street are picnic tables and public restrooms. Meet at 10:00 AM at the Robsham Visitors Center parking lot on Mass. Ave. on the U. Mass Campus in Amherst.
COORDINATORS: Charlie & Eileen Meyers (413) 527-5195
Well, yesterday, Saturday, was another washout. Leaving us with damp and cool (in the 40's) conditions for today. The ride was canceled.

MAY 8 (SUN) Mother’s Day - SHOW & GO from Mt. Sugarloaf. Meet at 10:00 AM in the Mt. Sugarloaf parking lot in South Deerfield off Rt. 116 just across the Connecticut River from Sunderland center. Those present will decide upon route and distance.
I think we're stuck in a loop. Rain on Saturday, damp and gloomy on Sunday. High's in the low 50's by noon with 15 mph winds out of the north. Anyway, Happy Mother's Day!

MAY 15 (SUN) - AROUND THE RANGE; 33 miles, rolling terrain. Ride around the Holyoke Range with a chance to see "The Seven Sisters" from both sides. The route passes by an old water-powered gristmill and scenic Mill pond. The route has some nice roller-coaster hills on the south side of the range. Meet at 10:00 AM in the Robsham Visitor's Center parking lot on Mass. Ave. on the U. Mass. Campus. To get there follow Rt. 9 to Rt. 116 North. Follow signs for the U. Mass. exit off Rt. 116. Bear right at the end of the exit ramp and you'll be on Mass. Ave. At the top of the hill, you will see a huge parking lot on the right.
COORDINATORS: Jack & Suzanne Fitz-Gibbon (413) 527-4052 Cue sheet available online.
The only precipitation on this ride was about 10 minutes of very light drizzle near the beginning, so 7 optimistic riders had a comfortable day of bicycling after all. Temps in the high 50's to low 60's. We detoured around our usual regroup stop, because the bridge was closed for repairs (Jack had scouted it out in advance and had put the detour on the cue sheets). We also detoured over to the Tailgate Deli, where we ran into Mike's old squadron having lunch: about 30 guys wearing 1-piece outfits called "flight bags"! There were no mishaps on the ride, just 1 dropped chain and a bike mirror falling off. A good ride was had by all!

MAY 22 (SUN) - SCENIC SUFFIELD; 32, 40 or 44 miles, moderate. Enjoy a rolling, rural, road ride mainly through the back roads of town. Meet at 10:00 AM at Suffield Village Shopping Center on Bridge Street just east of the junction of Routes 75 and 168 in the center of Suffield, CT. Bring food and drink as there are few stores along the route. This is a joint FHF - Yankee Pedalers - Cyclonauts ride. Be prepared for a traditionally windy day. Rain or wet roads cancels.
COORDINATORS: Steve and Suzanne Petke (860) 286-2776
Well, it's raining again, so this must be the weekend. Some fairly heavy rain came thru early this morning. Although it's stopped now, by 11:00 AM the roads still look quite wet and it's only 50°. Radar shows more showers on the way.

MAY 29 (SUN) – MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND SHOW & GO; Meet at 10:00 AM at the Mill River Recreation Area off Rt. 63 in North Amherst, on right ¼ mile north of the church at the lights. Those present will decide upon route and distance.
Well, what can I say. It's 10:30 AM right now and it's raining. Sigh...

JUNE 5 (SUN) - Katelynn's Ride; 10, 25, 50 or 100 miles. This is an annual fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund. The ride starts at Hampshire College in Amherst. Visit Katelynn's Website for details.
They raised $150,000 this year.

JUNE 5 (SUN) - RIDING THRU THE ‘FIELDS; 42 miles, gently rolling hills. We’ll ride up to NorthField for lunch at a quaint little store/deli, returning thru GreenField and DeerField. Meet at 9:30 AM at the Mt. Sugarloaf parking lot in South Deerfield off Rt. 116 just across the Connecticut River from Sunderland center.
COORDINATORS: John & Karen Gustin (413) 772-6192
The spell is broken! No rain on Saturday or Sunday, but Sunday was the hottest day of the year so far, above 90°! 13 people on today's ride, including 1 tandem. I think everyone had a good time. I was hoping the bicycle/pedestrian bridge near the French King Bridge in Northfield would be finished by now. It is almost done, but the chain-link fence is still up, so we had to go around. I'd like to thank everyone who came. Hope to see you all at the potluck this Saturday.

JUNE 11 (SAT) – 2nd ANNUAL WORLD NAKED BIKE RIDE DAY; Grassroots body-positive biketivism. For more information, check out their website.

JUNE 11 (SAT) - POTLUCK DINNER AND MEETING AT THE VINSKEY’S HOUSE
391 West Pelham Road in Shutesbury. All interested are invited to come and share in the merriment. We always have a great time.
6:00 PM --Arrive & Socialize
6:30 PM --Potluck Dinner
7:00 PM --Meeting
After dinner we'll plan the Summer Rides Schedule for July, August & September.
HOSTS: Pat & Mike Vinskey (413) 253-4260

JUNE 12 (SUN) - DON MAYNARD'S MEMORIAL GUILFORD CONNECTION; 45 miles, rolling, one significant climb at the 5-mile mark. This ride is a tribute to Don Maynard who was murdered in 1994. Come join fellow cyclists who will carry on the Guilford Connection ride in Don's memory. We'll cycle through Guilford and Vernon VT encountering a few "good" hills. Lunch will be at the Schoolhouse Grocery in Vernon, VT. Meet at 10:00 AM at Greenfield Community College Parking lot, which is off Colrain Road just north of the I-91/Rt. 2 interchange. From I-91, take Exit 26 - Follow signs for Rt. 2 West (Mohawk Trail). Colrain Road is the FIRST right.
COORDINATORS: Bob Kowaleski & Sally Peters (413) 527-4877 Cue sheet available online.
92°, hot & humid! I'm not sure how many riders we had, maybe 20, including 4 tandems. To everyone's surprise and delight, the road at the Vermont state line approaching Weatherhead Hollow Pond was sporting a fresh coat of blacktop. The Vermont DIRT is no more! Despite the oppressive humidity, there were no casualties. Everyone was glad to survive the ride and many people went to Friendly's afterwards.

JUNE 19 (SUN) Father’s Day - UP TO WENDELL; 45-50 miles, rolling to hilly. The title says it all. There will be a rest stop at Lake Wyola. Meet at 9:00 AM at the new Hadley Elementary School on Rt 47, north of Rt 9 in Hadley. This is a joint club ride with the Cyclonauts.
COORDINATOR: Walt Chudzik (413) 586-3956 Cue sheet available online.
Little bit of a cloudy, cool start, but this turned into a really nice day. I didn't make it to the ride. Hope it was a great one.

JUNE 26 (SUN) – PEDALING MADLY IN SOUTH HADLEY; 50 miles. Meet at 9:00 AM in the Big Y parking lot on Rt. 33 in South Hadley, about ¼ mile south of the intersection of Rtes. 202 & 33. Bring snack & water.
COORDINATORS: Steve & Ann Schwartz (413) 374-6728
This was a hot day, at least 95°. I'm not sure how many riders, most of them took off at 9:05 while Karen & I were getting ready; we never saw them again. Thankfully, Ann & a few others waited. Many people cut this ride short because of the heat, including us. It was nice to get back to the air-conditioned Big Y.

JULY 3 (SUN) - AROUND POCUMTUCK & POTLUCK PICNIC; 42 miles, fairly flat. The headquarters will be the Mill River Recreation area off Rt. 63 in North Amherst (on right ¼ mile north of the church at the lights).
- The Ride will leave PROMPTLY at 11:00 AM from the Mill River Recreation Area Parking Lot.
- The Food will be served at 3:30 PM or when the riders return.
Watch for more details in the Summer Rides Schedule.
COORDINATORS: Sally Peters & Bob Kowaleski (413) 527-4877 Cue sheet available online.
Excellent weather, about 85°, sunny & NOT humid. 20 or so riders (including 2-1/2 year old Nathan Kitson), and we gained a few more picnickers after the ride ended. No castastrophies to speak of. Several new sections of repaved road, including Cheapside! Dale took pictures of the group riding past him from several spots along the route. I hope to have a link to them in a few days.

*** CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF WEEKLY RIDES ***

SEPT 10 (SAT) - COVAC (COnnecticut VAlley Century) - Will be starting at the Hatfield Lions Club Pavilion on Billings Way, behind Breor Elementary School off Main St. in Hatfield. FHF is offering rides of 100, 75, 50, or 25 miles along the Connecticut River through Mass., Vermont and New Hampshire over rolling terrain. Pre-Registration will cost $7.50 for FHF members and $12.50 for NON members and is available ONLY on-line through Active.com (pre-registration closes Thurs, Sept. 8th at midnight). Ride day registration is $20.00. There will be NO refunds. The fee will cover map, juice, snack foods, restrooms (available every 25 miles at sag stops), and sag support. The event will be held Rain or Shine! Check-In and Ride Day Registration will start at 7:00 AM and continue until 9:00 AM at the Lions Club Pavilion.
From the South, take I-91 N to Exit 21. Go RIGHT at the end of the off ramp onto Elm St. Follow for 2.5 miles (Elm St. changes to Main St.) to Billings Way on the Left. The Pavilion is at the end of Billings Way.
COORDINATORS: Pat & Mike Vinskey (413) 253-4260

PLEASE NOTE: Helmets are REQUIRED for all FHF rides. Bring drinking water, a spare inner tube that fits your bike & snack food. Prospective club members are welcome on FHF rides.