CRW Member Jim Iannone would like club members to know about the following charity ride taking place in our area. This ride is not affiliated with CRW and is being shared on an informational basis for club members.

The 2025 New England Classic Charity Bike Tour departs Billerica, MA on July 12 and runs through  July 13 (2-Day) or July 18 (7-Day).

Routes:

• 2-Day, 150 miles, or
• 7-Day, 550 miles

Details:

• Start: 6:30 AM Check-in
• Registration Fee: $50 for 2-Day or $100 for 7-Day
• Includes: Air conditioned accommodations with real beds, breakfast Days 2-7, dinner Days 1-6, gear truck, SAG support, fully stocked rest stops, cycling jersey, and T-shirt
• Fundraising minimum: $600 for 2-Day or $3,000 for 7-Day per participant
• Support stations: About every 22 miles
• More info here: New England Classic Charity Bike Tour 
  

Register: Online Registration
Registration ends June 1. Register by May 1 to receive jersey at check-in.

Training rides:

• May 3 9:30 Lexington, MA
• May 10 8:30 AM Lexington, MA
• June 7 8:30 AM Bedford, NH
• June 21 8:30 AM Pittsfield, NH

Contact: Jim Iannone nec.biketour@gmail.com / 571-527-8091

The mission of the NEC Bike Tour is to raise funds on behalf of other IRS qualified Section 501(c)3 non-profit organizations, whose missions support research, education, and awareness aimed at curing and treating chronic diseases, such as diabetes, that affect a significant portion of the United States population.  The NEC has chosen to support the American Diabetes Association Camp Carefree in 2025. More information here:

• American Diabetes Association
• Camp Carefree

Commemorate the 250th anniversary of the rides and riders that sounded the alarm around Greater Boston and launched the American Revolution. The ride will take place on the 250th anniversary of the night Paul Revere made his famous “midnight” ride.

What: Revere Ride Re-enactment – The Revolutionary Ride

When: Friday, April 18; gather at 6:30 PM, roll out at 7 PM

Where: Christopher Columbus Park, Boston

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49508851 (may be route changes on the fly)

Details:

• Rain or shine
• This is an informal ride - no registration, fees, or support.
• No-drop ride, not a race
• Gather at Christopher Columbus Park, Boston at 6:30 PM.
• Head to the Old North Church for departure close to 7 PM when the famous lanterns will be lighted in its spire. (“One if by land …”)  
• Riders may start in Boston or join at the Kittie Knox Center in Cambridge, Somerville High School, the Medford Library, High Street, Arlington Center entrance to the Minuteman Bikeway, and the Battle Green in Lexington.
• Bring lights and appropriate layers.
• Ride in costume or whatever you like – no muskets please
• Replenishments available at Concord.  
• Last MBTA train to Somerville and North Station departs Concord at 11:45 PM. 
  

Celebrate 250 years of Massachusetts’ Revolutionary Resistance to Tyranny! RIDE FOR LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS!

This ride is not affiliated with CRW.

CRW Member Phil Posner would like club members to know about the following charity ride taking place in our area. This ride is not affiliated with CRW and is being shared on an informational basis for club members.

What: Paul Revere’s Bike Ride for the Concord Museum

When: Saturday, May 17, 2025  

Where: Concord Museum,  53 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, MA

Routes:

• 21.3 miles
• 32.4 miles

Details:

• Register here
• Start: 10:00 AM rolling start
• After-ride party: 11:30 AM
  
• Fee: $50.00 + Bike Reg fee
• Support stations:  on course mechanical support and sag.  Rest stop at Minuteman National Park HQ, Lincoln
• Includes: inaugural ride T-Shirt; food, vendors, raffles, beer, and music at 11:30 AM at the Concord Museum. See the original lantern from Paul Revere’s ride and the new special exhibition ‘Whose Revolution.’  All net proceeds from the events will support the Museum’s educational programs, making it possible for more than 14,000 school children to learn from the Museum’s unique collection and expert educators.  
• Fundraising goal: $50.00 per participant, extra donation welcome
• More information: https://concordmuseum.org/event/paul-reveres-bike-ride/ 
  
• Contact: info@concordmuseum.org or 978.369.9763

About Concord Museum: The Concord Museum presents centuries of objects from Concord and surrounding areas for everyone to experience and explore. These objects bring to life the stories of the diverse people who lived in Concord since its earliest days. Every day, Concord’s cultural, political, environmental, and literary history come alive in the museum's collections, exhibitions, and programs.

Register early to take advantage of discounted registration for the North to New Hampshire Spring Century.

Date: Sunday, May 18, 7 AM

Start location: Wakefield High School, Wakefield, MA

Highlights:

• Fully-supported

• Flat terrain perfect for early season riding

• Three route options: 100, 62, and 50 miles

• Multiple rest stops with food and drinks

• After-party

• Support from New England Classic Charity Bike Tour Inc.

RIDE LEADERS SOUGHT for all distances/paces! Ride leaders who have led or co-led rides in the past year are eligible for a discount code for FREE Century registration. Email rides-vp@crw.org to get on the roster!

RIDES are the heart and soul of CRW, and RIDE LEADERS are its backbone. 

Have you ever thought about leading a ride with CRW? Do you have questions about what is involved? We are offering Ride Leader Training on March 27th from 7:00 - 8:30 PM for anyone who wishes to learn more about what it takes to lead a club ride. Our ride leaders are at the core of what makes CRW an outstanding bike club.

There are a lot of reasons to consider leading rides.  For one, you’re the boss!  Leading rides means you get to do the kind of ride you like, including start location, pace, distance, destination, theme, social activities, etc. You can choose to lead a group at a specific pace or have people ride on their own, pick a great spot for lunch, arrange for ice cream or other treats at the finish, and find other creative ways to make your ride interesting. Leading rides is also a great way to give back to the club.  We’ve all benefited from others who are willing to organize, post to the calendar and lead rides for us, so if you’re looking for a way to give back, this is a great opportunity. Plus, leading rides is a fun way to meet and make friends in the club.

Anyone who would like to lead any ride for CRW this season (including weekend road rides, gravel, adventure, recurring, devo, etc.) is required to attend this year’s ride leader training and complete subsequent ride leader training tasks. A recording of the Zoom session will be made available. 

Oh, and did we mention that leading rides comes with benefits? You get to join century rides for free, there are great parties for ride leaders and the seasonal thank you gifts are amazing!

Please click here to join in this event. 

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.