For nearly 60 years, CRW ride leaders have created well over 1,000 club routes all over New England. Starting this season, we will be highlighting some of the “best of the best” routes in the new CRW Classics Series. Familiar to long time club members, some routes have been running annually since 2010 and others less frequently.

For each Classics ride, be on the lookout for a short feature on the Route Developer and/or Ride Leader and what it is about their ride that makes it special to the club in WheelPeople, Chain Link, and all our Social Media. With beautiful roads, multiple speed and distance options including a welcoming 10-12 mph pace, these routes offer something for everyone in CRW, new and long-time members alike. Please join us as we celebrate what our Club has to offer in its long history of riding.

We hope you will choose these Classic routes and find out exactly why they are such enduring Club rides. Explore new territory, scenic views, and the best snack stops all while riding with great people the way you like to ride.

Some of the exciting routes that we’ve planned so far include:

Hills Are Our Friends – Lindy King – April 19

Brake for Beavers – Harold Hatch (Route Developer Bob Zogg) – June 1

Blue Moon – Barry and Linda Nelson – July 6

Northern Lighthouses – Nina Siegel (Route Developer Sandy Gray) – September 7

Bagels and a Witch – Melinda Lyon – October 26

Check out the CRW Ride Calendar and choose your next ride – which will become your Classic?

If you would like to have one of your routes featured as a CRW Classic please reach out to either Nina (ninasiegel7@gmail.com) or Harold (haroldhatch@yahoo.com).

Let’s Ride!

#Slack

What: Trans-New Hampshire Bike Ride for the Muscular Dystrophy Association

When: June 20-22

Where: Beecher Falls, VT to Concord NH

Event information: https://transnhbikeride.org/

Get free registration for the Bikes Not Bombs Bike-a-Thon until March 31.

Date: Sunday, June 8

Location: Stony Brook Field, Jamaica Plan

Event information: https://bikesnotbombs.org/bike-a-thon

Discount code: RIDEWITHUS

Hello Fellow Adventure Seeking Cyclists,

I am planning a cross-country trek across the US (and part of Canada ON) beginning Aug 1 from La Push WA and hope to end in Marblehead MA by Sep 30. While it is a northern tier route it is not the ACA version as I have custom-created this version as a safe and relatively flat and short version from coast to coast. I have utilized rail trails where convenient, which constitute about a 1/3 of the distance. States we will cross include WA, MT, ND, MN, WI, MI, ON, NY, VT, NH, MA. The total distance is ~3500 miles and the total vertical is under 100K feet and my legs are already thanking me for that!

Right now, I have one one coast-to-coast companion who lives in Seattle, that I have known since grad school. We plan to average about 75 miles per riding day with some days off as necessary and we plan to mainly camp. We won’t ride in rain if we can avoid it. A few others have already expressed interest in joining a part. I am wondering if any of you are interested in joining in this adventure in whole or in part. While joining for a section in the middle has some logistics issues since I don't know the exact day I will be somewhere - I will work on some strategies and keep you posted. 

For now, I just wanted to give you all a heads up. If you are interested to learn more or better yet want to join please contact me at peterjsousounis@gmail.com.

#slack

Join the Bike Connector for our 3rd annual fundraiser.

Bikes range in price from $50 and up; most are priced between $100 - $300. All proceeds benefit our programs in Lowell and the surrounding communities (see www.bikeconnector.org for more info).

The event is held in our shop at 47 Lee St in downtown Lowell. Note: we do not have a storefront; we are located in the basement of 47 Lee Street, next to the St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Look for our sign!

Hours are:

March 20th - Thursday 10am to 8pm

March 21st - Friday - 10am to 4pm

March 22nd - Saturday - 10am to 4pm

We have a wide variety of bikes - single speeds, road bikes, hybrids, mountain bikes, comfort bikes, vintage 10 speeds, and children's bikes. There are many to choose from - all sizes, many frame colors and brands.

We also have some "one of" bikes - a folding bike, a tandem, a couple of recumbents and an eBike.

Event Name: Science of Cycling, Part 3: Fueling Your Ride

When: Thursday, March 20th, at 7:00 PM EST

Where: Conte’s Bike Shop 1684 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA

Description: Do you have questions about optimal fueling strategies for that big event you are training for? Curious about how diet effects your performance on the bike? Or perhaps how food can help avoid overtraining and illness? Or simply wonder what happens to that pack of Haribo you just ate on the bike?

Laura Moretti specializes in sports nutrition (among other areas) and frequently works with athletes to address Relative Energy Deficiency in sport (REDs), Female Athlete Triad, Gastrointestinal Issues, Fatigue, Stress Fractures, Anemia/nutrient deficiencies, Post-Operative Recovery/Return to Sport, Muscle/Strength Building, Youth Athletes, Food Allergies, Weight/Body Composition Optimization.

Registration directly with Contes required.

*Info directly from https://www.rodmanforkids.org/ride-for-kids/

WHAT TO KNOW:
Save the Date: Saturday, May 17, 2025
Adult Participation Options: 25 and 50-mile routes, virtual participation
Ride for Kids Jr. Options:
● Tiny Obstacle Course (Ages 4-7): A fun, enclosed course featuring ramps,
cones, and bubbles—perfect for little riders!
✔️ Ride as many times as they’d like
✔️ Bikes & trikes welcome (with or without training wheels)
✔️ Location: 38 Neponset Ave., Foxboro, MA (next to the Ride BBQ)
✔️ Check-in: 11:30 AM | Ride starts: 1:00 PM | Course closes: 2:00 PM
✔️ Capacity: 150 riders
● Mini Ride (Ages 8-12*): A fully supervised 1-mile loop on private Schneider
Electric roadways—ride up to 5 times!
✔️ Safe, no public roads or traffic
✔️ Always within sight of trained volunteers
✔️ Location: 38 Neponset Ave., Foxboro, MA
✔️ Check-in: 11:30 AM | Ride starts: 12:30 PM | Route closes: 1:30 PM
✔️ Capacity: 150 riders
*Older participants welcome if they need an accessible option

CRW Member Linda Nelson has shared the following for Weston Residents:

The Town of Weston is developing a Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan to guide investments in walking and biking. The first public meeting to gather community feedback will be on Wednesday, March 19th in the Weston Community Center Great Room from 7-9 pm. 

Wednesday, March 5, 2025
6:00 - 8:00 PM (6 PM Unveiling; 7 PM Talk)
Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation
154 Moody St, Waltham

Registration required.

Kittie Knox was a young biracial cyclist in the 1890s who fought against race-based limitations in America’s post-Reconstruction reaction against Black advancement. During her cycling career (1893 – 1899), she became a well-known century (100-mile) rider, protested the League of American Wheelmen’s color bar in 1895, and refused to conform to conventions about fast riding and wearing a long skirt while cycling. For decades after her untimely death, Knox’s groundbreaking story was virtually unknown outside of the world of cycling. Scholar and writer Larry Finison has worked to bring her remarkable life back to a wider audience and will speak about Kittie Knox in the context of the late 19th century cycling craze.

The Charles River Museum has long had a display of turn of the century bicycles to represent the Waltham Manufacturing Company of Charles Metz. Metz innovated and built bicycles, motorcycles, and cars, all under the Orient brand name. Alongside Major Taylor, Kittie Knox will have a prominent representation in our gallery as a pioneering figure in the early days of cycling history and having appeared here in Waltham at the Waltham Cycling Track in its heyday.

Event Name: Science of Cycling, Part 2: Strength, Mobility, and Bike Fit for Injury Prevention

When: Thursday, February 27, at 7:00 PM EST

Round table discussion between experts in Sports Medicine, Physical Therapy, and Bike Fit to discuss the most common cycling related injuries, where they happen, why they happen, and how prevent and treat them.

Conte's Bike Shop | Lexington - Conte's Bike Shop | Since 1957

1684 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA

Advance registration required. Contact Contes directly to register.