Bike Swap this Saturday 10/24 at AS220!!

Hi all,

Just spreading the word about the upcoming swap in downtown Providence. Bring down all your old MTB, road and ‘cross stuff and walk away with a few bucks to buy new parts! Or, just swing by and check out all the great deals!

From the Craigslist posting:

The bike swap is here again and its time to get down to AS220 and swap/buy/upgrade all of the items on your bike list! Bikes / Parts / Accessories are all available at the swap. If you’ve never been to a bike swap think of it as a yard sale for bike stuff. And, if you have been to one, you know that it’s a lot of fun to come down, have an esspresso, and hang out with a bunch of bike folks.

So here's the scoop:

Address is 115 Empire St in lovely Providence, RI.
October 24
12- 4pm (vendors please show up at 11 am)
Admission : Free
Vending: Free

NEMBA FEST 2009!

This past Sunday saw the latest iteration of NEMBA Fest. This year New Hampshire's Bear Brook State Forest was chosen to host the annual celebration of advocacy and trail riding. With everything from fast and flowy singletrack to white knuckle technical descents the park had something for everyone. The demo and expo area showcased bikes and product from GT, Kona, Moots, WTB, Sinister, Fox, Trek, Highland Mountain Bike Park and a host of others. The scene was reminiscent of a mini Interbike East with folks test riding bikes and checking out products from all the great NEMBA supporters.

Mike Iafrate and I headed up and met up with Providence Bicycle alumni Adam St. Germaine and his buddy Matt. We planned to ride the long loop and make it back in time for some pulled pork sandwiches and post ride libations. The long loop was reportedly 20 miles and featured plenty of technical riding mixed with long flowing singletrack sections. The aforementioned plan seemed more than feasible, but not too surprisingly we managed to mess this up by missing some key arrows and wound up back at the start less than an hour later. Now, don't get me wrong, Adam is wicked fast and all but even he couldn't drag us all through a 20 mile trail ride in under an hour. So, we decided to redo the "long" loop ( the one that we now thought was really short) and we rode way too fast until we found the missed arrows. An hour or so later it slowly dawned on us that the ride was actually as long as advertised and that we might have missed the food. The good news is we didn't stay out so long that we missed the beer, though Frate did pass off one of the worst brews in recent memory to one unlucky soul...

Pics below, click for larger images:

Frate on his way down the sketchy staircase:



Adam in the woods:



Beertime!



Matt eating super healthy snacks and enjoying a recovery drink:



The worst beer ever:

Twilight Rides Wrap Up Next Week(?)

With sunlight is getting scarce, our 6:00 PM Wednesday rides have dwindled to 90 minutes, still a fun aerobic midweek pick-me-up among a pleasant group. We never had to do same route twice in 14 weeks, but, because different individuals showed this week, repeated previous week's innovative "Parks Tour", which took in many landscaped areas and treed spots throughout sister cities Pawtucket and Providence. We passed this sign (left) and saw an elephant!

These were rides with an agenda: a) Get people coming into shop and out riding for the health of it, b) tour great but overlooked scenery, c) visit wide range of skill-building venues to build confidence on broken pavement, long and short climbs, speedy descents, trafficy stretches, and twisty rollers. No one got hurt or lost on these fully guided tours despite rolling in after dark without lights, since returns were always planned under street lights. We did have a slight incident early on when a newbie tried to declip both feet at once at a STOP sign. Expected worse. Have fallen a dozen times myself. Happens. Chalk it up to the learning curve.

One of the great things about leaving directly from a shop is the availability of service before ride. We had not one flat or mechanical breakdown in more than 75 individual trips. Thanks to all the 14 riders who joined us and/or repeated at varying frequencies. Riding together dispels fears and urges participation. 

If you're interested in convening for a final run, just show up before 6:00 next Wednesday. Don't forget the free (donations accepted) Gloria Gemma Foundation Ride on the following Tuesday.

Update: We'll do a trial run of Sunday rides on October 18th and October 25th at 9:30 AM from our front lot on Branch Avenue (plenty of nearby parking). These 3-hour beginner road riding sessions will cover beautiful areas North and West during prime foliage season. If enough show up, we'll continue through the Fall. Hill climbing will be practiced. Dress accordingly. Email for further info.

Lincoln Woods 'Cross #2 - September 19th

To make up for the last rained out training race Providence Bicycle and the US Open of Cycling Foundation are hosting another woods 'cross event on Saturday September 19th! 9:00 AM is the start time with an hour or so of suffering at your own pace. This is an excellent course to hone your bike handling skills and work on your run ups.

The course features a bunch of really fun windy singletrack, a ripping descent and two nasty run-ups. There are no barriers because we feel that the MRC and NBX guys have that covered in spades. There is one lonely downed log roughly at regulation height. Feel free to practice your dismounts and remounts there or just ride around it. This is a super fun course, and if you are a local it's worth learning the route to use for your own practice sessions. Everyone agrees that while the run up is long it can only make you fitter. If you're looking for a different kind of cross training event this is it.

The focus of our ride is on bike handling and run-ups. For some inspiration we looked to the old timers and realized that those of us in this day and age really can't complain about a few rocks, logs and a smattering of roots.

By the way, this course is extremely singlespeed friendly because when you aren't riding you're slogging up hill on foot. The trail sections are flat, fast and flow really well.

Cost: $10 with proceeds going to the US Open Cycling Foundation

Things to bring:

Your bike, a helmet, some fluids, $10 and a positive attitude and a racing license*.

* Please note that all participants must have either an annual USA Cycling license
or purchase a one day license for $5.

Directions:

Take Route 146 to the Twin River Road Exit. From 146 N take a left at the end of the ramp (opposite from 146 S) and drive into Lincoln Woods State Park.

At the kiosk take a right and park in the big double lots roughly 2/10ths of a mile up on the left.

Get on your bike and take a right out of the lot, pass the kiosk on your left and proceed carefully past the gate and take the first left. Be careful to watch for oncoming traffic. Follow the road to its end and the registration tent will be on the right. Shortly before 9:00 AM we'll head into the woods and meet at the start/ finish area.

P.S. Big thanks to RI NEMBA, Lincoln Woods, Providence Bicycle, USA Cycling, Dick Durishin and the US Open Cycling Foundation, Mike Iafrate, Mike Ferraro and Leo Corrigan for helping to make this happen!

Any questions feel free to email me at mtbdee@hotmail.com or call the shop at 401 331 6610.

Happy trails,
Brendan

Bike-a-thon Feeds Homeless, Helps Kids with Cancer, and Makes News

Honorable Mayor David Ciciline (Fig. 2, center) officially proclaimed August 30, 2009 as Providence's Ride 'Round Rhody Day. LIFEcycle cofounders Jake and Dani Brier (Fig. 4) received the document just before leading a group of 49 riders on an "executive" half century I designed and mapped for them. Media coverage included NBC's 11:00 News and on-line press.


< Figure 2: Mayor in Attendance

Registration (Fig. 3) at the parking lot below North Main Street may have seemed intimidating, but traffic was mostly avoided on select side streets on a westward beeline. Besides, a bit of history is associated with the start; once there was a velodrome nearby where Major Taylor routinely raced.


Figure 3:
Friends & parents
lend support
to cause.

There were only 2 challenging hills, although the first half climbed steadily into Chepachet, where volunteers set up the first rest stop next to Town Hall. Glocester officials were as cooperative as they are proud of the pristine condition they keep their road surfaces, which makes it such a pleasure to ride there despite our mile long ascent of Douglas Hook. Figure 1 shows the last rider struggling up North Smithfield's Iron Mine Hill, the final challenge, which I took while sagging and sweeping ride, before descending to Blackstone River and easy miles back. Iron Mine peaks high enough to watch hawks circle in its updrafts.

Besides these crucial contributions, Providence Bicycle also supported ride by a) promoting it in store, on their website, and via email, which increased participation, b) sending Master Technician Chris Fortin to avert bike problems, so well there were no breakdowns on route, and c) shouldering some of the many costs involved with staging a charity ride.

It was Providence Bicycle's pleasure to join in a community of 22 organizations, 41 individuals, and 49 riders who together raised $8,072, 100% of which goes directly to the Comprehensive Cancer Centers at The Miriam, Rhode Island, and Newport hospitals and the pediatric oncology department at Hasbro Children's Hospital. Dani and Jake themselves raised $2,139, Team ReMARCable collectively $1,155, Terry Quinn $671, while riders individually averaged $165; seventeen met or exceeded the $250 goal, but all were appreciated, especially one septuagenarian who presented himself with a blank check.

Figure 4:
LIFEcycle's
Briers >

Providence Sponsors:
Brier & Brier (insurance)
Chace Ruttenberg & Freedman (attorneys)
Creative Impressions, Inc.
East Side Prescription Center First Aid Supplies
Hope Street Shops including Blaze, Pizzico, Hope Street Pizza, Kreatelier and Three Sisters
Johnson & Wales University Alumni
Lefkowitz, Garfinkel, Champi & DeRienzo
North Main Radiation Oncology
Providence Bicycle
Piccerelli Gilstein & Co.
Refunds Now

Elsewhere Sponsors:
Carlise Brothers Bakery of Cranston
Katherine Coster
Neil Benharris
New Harvest Coffee Roasters of Pawtucket
Camp Jori of Wakefield
Rhode Island Medical Imaging of Cranston & Providence
Rhode Island Rehabilitation Center
Stacey's Pita Chips
Tomaselli's Pizza of Cranston
Willow Tree
Young Associates

Participating Cycling Teams: CR&F, Donnellys, Fanny Pack, LGCD, LIFEcycle, Lifespan, PG&Co, ReMARCable

< Figure 5: Happy Miles.

My apologies to the few who missed some tricky turns through city, but I did steer them back on course and watch over until they were clear 5.5 hours later. Never saw so many people with big smiles (Fig. 5) on their faces throughout. As we broke down and stowed the chairs, sound equipment, tables, and tents, the question arose, "What to do with left over drinks and food," abundantly bestowed. Everything perishable went to feed the homeless in Camp Runamuck II, the so-called "tent city" in East Providence.

LIFEcycle, a tax deductible 501(c)3 nonprofit, accepts donations anytime. Anything received before September 15th will be rolled into this year's contribution for cancer research.

Road Rolling Rocks!

When it didn't rain and thunder, it turned steamy. But we didn't let it stop us from exploring state's entire NE quadrant by bike. Each week our happy group grows closer to critical mass, but we've only got a month of daylight left. By the end of September, we'll be running with lights or not at all, so join us while you can: 6:00 PM Wednesdays until about 8:00.

Yesterday we escaped city heat and tight traffic right away, hit a welcome stretch of new pavement, and made a beeline through Limerock with its farm vista to historic Manville on the only direct route available. Returning along bikeway was cool, naturally air conditioned, next to the mighty Blackstone. Then meandered in loops to take in Saylesville backroads and boardwalk. Missed a turn in twilight at a mismarked corner, which added 3 unintentional miles, so rolled back under street lights. Never quite know which way we'll go, because we vary route spontaneously depending upon conditions, how group feels, and time alloted. It's all part of the adventure which brings riders back from week to week.