MassBike Quick Release 7/12/07

Meet Our New Membership Coordinator: Dorothy Fennell

As the new Membership Coordinator for MassBike, Dorothy comes to the organization with a background in Transportation Planning and Public Involvement. Her interest in cycling advocacy stems from her greater interest in Regional Transportation Planning and Sustainability. Dorothy is eager to dive into her new position as a liaison between the organization and our members, and looks forward to aiding the organization in spreading the good cycling Word!

When she is not working for MassBike – or any of her other transit related positions – Dorothy spends her time volunteering, tooling around town on her trusty commuter bicycle with its beloved basket, and spending as much time outdoors as possible.

Pre-register for the MassBike Festival & Pie Race

Registration for MassBike's 5th Annual Bike Festival & Pie Race is now OPEN, with early bird pricing until 8/18!

The festivities take place at Verrill Farm in Concord, MA, on August 25.

What’s in store? Rides from 6-62 miles, including the Lost Lake Metric Century, the Ice Cream Headache IV, the Canoeing Ride; of course, our one-of-a-kind Pie Race, with categories for serious racers and casual riders; a bike expo, a BBQ, and more!

All proceeds benefit better bicycling in Massachusetts.

Join MassBike for a day of late summer fun. From serious cyclists to families to pie-loving weekend warriors, there’s something for everyone and fun rides (and pies!) to suit all tastes.

We are so psyched!

Click here for more details and pre-registration.

Get Local & Get Things Done – Bike Committee Workshop: July 21

Are you interested in forming a Bike Committee in your town? Already on one? If you are want to improve bicycling conditions right where you live, MassBike wants to help!

This workshop will be held in Boston on Saturday, July 21, from 10am-2pm. We’re bringing together experienced bike advocates and those looking to begin advocating in their towns, to swap stories, strategies, best practices, and encouragement. This is part of an ongoing effort to help more committees get started and increase communication among existing committees.

Bicycle committees represent the interests of the local bicycling community, and can act as a resource to help cities and towns make better decisions about bicycling. They’re one of the most important forms of cycling advocacy, local people working on local issues, interacting directly with municipalities, providing visibility for bicycling, helping improve local bicycling infrastructure, and encouraging people to ride their bikes around town.

If you’re interested in forming a bike committee and thinking about attending, PLEASE PRE-REGISTER ASAP! The deadline is Sunday.

Registration is free, but limited to 50, with attendance capped at two people per bike committee. To register, or for other information on forming a bike committee in your town, email Nadav@massbike.org or call 617-542-2453.

If you can’t make this event or would like us to schedule one in another part of the state, let us know, and we’ll see what we can do later in the year.

Cycling Skills Classes in Waltham

MassBike offers a series of Bicycling Skills classes to help cyclists learn to ride more safely and effectively. These 2-part courses are designed for adults who want to get back into bicycling, improve cycling skills, learn to ride confidently in traffic, and/or participate in a large-scale benefit ride.

There are two sets up classes coming up, with more being scheduled right now:

Basic Bicycling Skills (2-part class), August 2 & 4, Waltham

Basic Bicycling Skills (2-part class), September 13 & 15, Waltham

For full course descriptions and future updates, click here.

MassBike Spins Rides: Riders’ Choice!

Restaurant Tour (a MassBike Spins Ride): Sunday, July 22

MassBike and Urban AdvenTours present the annual Restaurant Ride, a 2.5-hour tour around the Boston Metro area featuring four surprise restaurant stops with a small taste from each location.

The cost is $10, and includes food. The tour leaves at 3pm from Landry's Bicycles at 890 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston. Advance registration is required. Book early, as the limit is 25.

Bikes may also be rented through Urban AdvenTours for this tour. For all questions, please contact Urban AdvenTours at 617-233-7595. Helmets required.

To register, go to http://www.zerve.com/AdvenTours and sign up for the Boston Restaurant Bicycle Tour.

Deer Island Ride (a MassBike Spins Ride): Sunday, July 22

This leisurely 30-miler will take riders along the Boston HarborWalk through some of Boston’s less-explored waterfront neighborhoods. Experience beautiful views of the Boston Harbor and Harbor Islands as you bike out to East Boston and Deer Island, with a stop for swimming at Constitution Beach on the way back. Ride starts in the Castle Island parking lot in South Boston at 10am.

For details, cue sheet, etc., click here.

Boston’s 2nd Annual Tour de Farms Bike Tour (a MassBike Spins Ride): August 11

Please join Farm Aid and Boston area cycling and farming organizations for the 2nd annual Tour de Farms bike tour.

The Tour de Farms will showcase innovative urban farms and food projects that are strengthening Boston's local and sustainable food system. Riders will visit an urban farm in Roxbury, a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm and greenhouse in Dorchester, a new community farm in the Blue Hills Reservation and Boston’s oldest commercial farm. Riders will sample fresh, locally grown food, learn of the benefits of local agriculture and how they can actively support these efforts. The ride will go through the neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, Brookline, Mattapan, Milton and the beautiful Blue Hills Reservation.

The Tour de Farms is a free event and all are welcome. New this year, the tour will offer a shorter option of approximately 15 miles of mainly flat terrain. The longer of the two loops, approximately 25 miles, includes some moderate hills. The ride will start and finish at Boston’s Franklin Park, beginning at 9:00am and concluding by 1:00pm.

Pre-registration is required. For more information about the Tour de Farms and to pre-register, contact Mark Smith at Farm Aid, 617-354-2922, or via email to mark@farmaid.org.

Mass BikePike Tour: August 16-19

Massachusetts has it all, and the goal of this annual multi-day ride across the state is to celebrate cycling in the Commonwealth. Join us for all the excitement as we explore Massachusetts, coasting through the beautiful countryside of rolling fields, majestic woods, and picturesque towns. This year, our trip begins in Concord, home to Walden Pond, Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, and the Shot Heard 'Round The World, and ends as we parade down Main Street in the bustling town of Northampton, a center of the region's thriving crafts and music scene. Proceeds from the Mass BikePike Tour benefit MassBike!

The ride is limited to 75 cyclists, so register today!

For more info on registration, the route, ride planning, etc., click here.

Other Upcoming Rides & Events

Pedro’s Festival: July 13-15

PedrosFest is a three-day multi-event festival, for bike riders of all ages and abilities, from July 13-15 in Hancock, MA.

Featuring hundreds of miles of trails, downhilling at Jiminy Peak, a freeride park, and road rides.

The Luna Chix - Alison Dunlap, Roz Puleo, Stephanie Goodell and Anne Noga - will be there, as well as Trek VW pro rider Sue Haywood, with trials demos by Jeff Lenosky.

Don’t miss the Clif Bar Activities Arena, bicycle artwork for kids, a Trek Tour de France Lounge, Ride-In movies, skills clinics & seminars, bands from Gibson Guitars, beer garden, gourmet food, a huge new bike expo and demo bikes, night rides, kids’ rides, women’s rides, and more! Not to mention camping with hot showers.

For more details, including registration, go to http://www.pedrosfest.com/2007/index.cfm.

Redbones’ Tour de France Bike Breakfasts: 7/17 & 7/25

Stage 9 - Tues, 7/17 & Stage 16 - Wed, 7/25

Breakfast starts at 9:00 am, costs $7.00 and includes eggs, bacon, toast, granola, yogurt, fruit, juice, coffee & more. Of course, TVs will be tuned to the Tour and both days are Mountain Stages!

Organize a ride or ride in solo, free bicycle valet parking will be available - as always!

For more details, go to http://www.redbones.com/newsevents.html.

Bike to the Sea/REI Trail Building Day: July 21

Help Bike to the Sea build the first 1,000 feet of the Northern Strand Community Trail!

Bike to the Sea has teamed up with REI of Reading, Massachusetts to sponsor a trail building day on July 21 at 9:00 am at the new Thomas Rossetti Park on Tremont Street in Everett.

This first 1,000 feet will link Everett’s new Thomas Rossetti Park with the new Seven Acre Park and the new Madeline English School. This linkage will create an area of over 10 acres of outdoor space in one of Boston’s most built out suburbs directly adjacent to the Malden River and the River’s Edge project.

The Northern Strand Community Trail is a nine-mile recreational trail that, when complete, will connect the city of Lynn with the cities of Saugus, Revere, Malden, Everett and Boston and the bike paths on the Mystic and Charles River.

The trail building day will take place July 21 at 9:00 am at the new Thomas Rossetti Park on Tremont Street in Everett. Lunch will be provided at 12 noon. Bring gloves, sturdy shoes and a good attitude. Rain or shine, extreme weather events excepted. Check our web site and email list for updates. Visit our new Google map for a satellite image and directions.

Catch MassBike at the George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor: July 29

Barney's Bicycle and the Seven Hills Wheelmen present: the sixth annual George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor, an uphill time trial!

Sunday, July 29, 2007, 10:00 a.m.
Main & George Streets in downtown Worcester, MA.

See how fast you can pedal up one of Worcester's steepest hills, a 500-foot quad-buster where "the Worcester Whirlwind," 1899 world cycling champion Major Taylor, used to train. The average grade is 18 percent.

Open to ages 12 and up.
Entry fee $15.
Helmets required.
One rider at a time against the clock.
Register online HERE.
Race-day registration: 8:30-9:45 a.m.
First rider starts at 10:00 sharp.

Medals will be awarded in various age categories for males and females, plus a tandem category.

Proceeds benefit the Major Taylor Association, Inc., which is building a statue of Taylor at the Worcester Public Library in Salem Square -- the city's first monument to an African-American.

Enter the raffle to win a 24-speed Giant OCR3 road bike from Barney's, or a custom, limited-edition Major Taylor cycling jersey, or other cool stuff. Prize list and raffle tickets HERE.

You can order raffle tickets online or by mail: $5 per chance, or three for $12, or six for $20. Or get them at Barney's Bicycle, 165 Chandler St., Worcester. Prize drawing will be approximately 1:00 p.m. July 29, at the conclusion of the George Street Bike Challenge. You do NOT have to be present to win.

Last chance to buy a Major Taylor cycling jersey ($79) HERE.

More information, including last year's results, go to http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/events/georgestreet07.shtml.

Upcoming Charity Partner Rides

Granite State Quest: July 14

The mission of the Granite State Quest is to raise funds to conquer childhood cancer. Partnering with the Massachusetts General Hospital, the funds raised by The Granite State Quest will be specifically directed towards pediatric cancer research developed and initiated by the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Unit of the Mass General Hospital for Children. The MGH team has world-renowned experience in treating leukemia, lymphomas and brain tumors. In its fifth year, the Granite State Quest is a one-day one hundred-mile or fifty-mile bicycle ride throughout southern New Hampshire. Our commitment is to make the Granite State Quest an annual event, thus providing the opportunity for individuals and families to directly participate in the quest to conquer cancer.

For registration and more info, go to http://www.granitestatequest.org/.

Cycle for Shelter: July 22

The 19th annual Cycle for Shelter will take place on Sunday, July 22, 2007 at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, MA. The ride benefits Emmaus Inc. of Haverhill, MA, a non-profit organization that has been providing shelter, services, and affordable housing to homeless men, women, and children since 1985.

Cycle for Shelter has been ranked one of the top rides in the United States by Bicycling Magazine. Cyclists can ride 27, 62, or 100 miles along fully supported, quiet, scenic routes. The day is planned by cyclists for cyclists.

The registration fee is $50 plus $100.00 minimum fundraising. There are awards for top fundraisers and prizes for participants. Cycle for Shelter has become a popular “first” century or metric century ride for newer cyclists, whilst still offering many challenges for more experienced cyclists. The well-marked routes are sprinkled with checkpoints and roving support vehicles and covered by radio communications.

A delicious barbeque, complimentary massages, foot treatments, and shower facilities await cyclists at the finish on the scenic Haverhill campus of Northern Essex Community College.

Emmaus is widely recognized as a model for providing long-term solutions to the problems of homelessness and 90 cents of every dollar raised goes directly to the programs. This year, as well as helping sustain our 13 existing programs, the funds raised by Cycle for Shelter will help Emmaus build a 20-unit apartment building for elders.

Cycle for Shelter: Cycle to raise awareness of the lack of affordable housing, cycle to provide long-term solutions to homelessness, cycle to make a difference in your community!

Learn more about Emmaus and register to ride at www.emmausinc.org

Tri-State Trek: July 20-22

The Tri-State Trek takes cyclists on a three-day 270-mile bicycle ride from Boston to NY, across some of the most beautiful and challenging terrain in the Northeast, to end ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. Join us for our fifth annual TST by riding, volunteering, or just cheering. We need more cow bell!

This ride reaches out to all demographics. Trek Riders are moms from Colorado and New York businessmen. Bike messengers from Boston ride with college students from New Jersey. Our youngest rider ever was 17; our oldest is 61. Some riders will pass within a few miles of their houses on the ride; others will come from as far as California and Washington!

We understand that not everyone can join us for a 270-mile ride. Riders who would like to be a part of this event, but cannot make the full weekend commitment can join us for our Day One or Day Three. But the link that all TST cyclists share is that we understand that we have the power to affect change.

For registration and more info, go to http://www.tristatetrek.com/.

ALA Autumn Escape Bike Trek: September 14-16

Join the 23rd annual Autumn Escape Bike Trek, presented by the American Lung Association of Massachusetts.

Over 300 cyclists will take part in this fun, 3-day, 160-mile "at your own pace" tour along Cape Cod, MA. There is also a 2-day, 105-mile option available. The rides start in Plymouth and ride to Sandwich and then Brewster. Here, riders can participate in a cyclocross clinic and will enjoy a lobster dinner and the annual Autumn Escape Bike Trek ceremonies, sure to bring lots of laughs and great memories and maybe even a few tears. The ride concludes in Provincetown.

We provide SAG support, hands on medical support, luggage and bike transportation and police details. We also provide air-conditioned transportation back to both starting points. Join the Autumn Escape Bike Trek and ride for someone who cannot. Ride for someone affected by lung disease such as COPD, lung cancer, or asthma. Or just ride for yourself and enjoy the beautiful scenery while making some new friends.

The registration fee for the 3-day ride is $75.
The registration fee for the 2-day ride is $55.
The fundraising minimum for both is $500.

For more registration and more information, go to http://www.mrsnv.com/evt/home.jsp?id=1500.

6th Annual Foundation Fifty-Five Charity Bicycle Ride: September 16

The Dick Melloni Youth Foundation (DMYF) kicks off the fall season with its annual Foundation Fifty-Five Charity Bicycle Ride to be held on Sunday, September 16, 2007.

The ride begins at the quaint Onset Harbor Pier in Onset, MA and proceeds through 55-mi of Upper Cape Cod’s most beautiful cycling and ending with festivities that include therapeutic massage, prizes, and a grand all-you-can eat pizza party . Ample parking, clearly marked routes, maps, sag wagons, mobile tech support and first aid are provided. Rest stops have food, water and rest rooms.

Registration is $40 plus $250 in minimum fundraising contributions. All participants registered prior to August 1, 2007 that meet the minimum fundraising requirements receive a professional quality cycling jersey with cool sublimated graphics unique to this year’s event and a totebag filled with useful and fun bicycling items. Late registrations are accepted, however, at that time jerseys are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

You can register online at www.BikeReg.com or www.Active.com.

The proceeds from this fundraising event will directly support established DMYF programs for youth, including the “Lids-4-Kids” bicycling helmet safety program, the DMYF Child Literacy Program, and our “CARBS” (Children Always Ride Buckled Safely) Program to promote child car seat safety.

For more info, go to http://dmyf.org/_wsn/page6.html.

Visit Our New Online Store!

We’re pleased to announce the grand opening of the MassBike Online Store! Now you can join or renew your membership, make a donation, register for events and classes, and purchase MassBike merchandise all in one convenient place. Or you can browse online and call us or mail in your order.

Join or renew your membership

Make a donation

Register for a Bicycling Skills Class

Register for an event (including the MassBike Festival & Pie Race)

Browse MassBike merchandise

We hope you’ll agree that the store is a great addition to our online services, and we’ll be adding new features in the near future. If you have any questions or comments about the store, please call us at 617-542-2453 or email store@massbike.org.

NOTE: The new online store replaces Active.com for all MassBike transactions.