By Nina Siegel and Harold Hatch
This ride series is meant to highlight some of the “best of the best” routes that have been created by CRW Route Developers/Ride Leaders over the club’s nearly 60-year history. Familiar to long-time club members, some routes have been running annually since 2010 while others haven’t been offered recently. This season we focused on rides that featured 3 or more routes. 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.
We have featured in WheelPeople articles the Route Developer and/or Ride Leader and what it is about their ride that makes it special to the club. You’ll find notifications in Chain Link and club social media channels when the rides are posted on the Events Calendar. Please join us as we celebrate what our Club has to offer in its long history of riding.
AND NOW – OUR FOURTH CLASSIC FEATURE!
Meet Melinda Lyon
Melinda Lyon is leading Bagel and a Witch Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 10 AM out of Boxford, MA.
Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I am a local, grew up in Acton, attended Acton-Boxborough Regional High School then onto BU for a physiology degree. Robye Lahlum is from Valley City, North Dakota and we met at an AMC Pinkham Notch bike repair workshop. We eventually found our way to Boxford , where we have lived for nearly 40 years. We both commute to work, though in opposite directions.
Cycling right out our front door is our favorite way to start a ride. Long rides and lunch with friends is my fun way to ride. I found I always got stronger the longer the ride, so I realized that was my calling. I have been involved with Randonneuring since 1990 which was perfect training for Paris-Brest-Paris and I rode in six PBP’s and was Premier Randonneuse in two. I spent years with very long training days in the saddle and have been in other rides as well.
I ride differently now. I no longer do brevets or ride more than 4 or 5 hours at a time as I’ve had my share of repaired parts in recent years: ankle, knee, humerus – the usual jumble of an athletes’ life. I lead a number of rides annually both road and gravel. My weekends are typically split with 1 day as my long ride 4-5 hours on my own and the other in my garden. Our garden has expanded in the past few years and we now grow enough produce to feed ourselves for about 6 months of the year. Occasionally a friend will ask if they can scoop some bounty. My usual response is along the line of “if they didn’t work the land no bounty”. I probably couldn’t go back to all that time spent on the bike now…
How long have you been riding with CRW?
We first read about a CRW ride in The Boston Globe being run out of Winchester in 1984. Jacek Rudowski asked about our cycling credentials when we showed up! And from then on it was all about riding as many weekend rides, weekend tours, and the Tour of New England and being out all day with friends, having lunch and sometimes dinner. You called 325-BIKE to get the upcoming weekend rides outside of the newsletter back then. I created the North to New Hampshire ride which has since transformed into the current Spring Century.
What kind of rides do you enjoy the most?
I like long rides with friends, a solid pace out to enjoy lunch, a PB&J in my pannier on Littleton Common or beer and crabs at Woodman’s in Essex, have fun and then a nice ride back. Sharing interests about ‘NHF’ Not Having Fun? Stop. Get rest. Ride tomorrow. What keeps the blood pressure down better than that?
Back when I started this route – when everyone was riding from their homes and sharing their rides with everyone – it was “I have this ride and I love it. I’ll set it up”. And yes, I do like lunch so we stop for bagels on the ride usually at Abrahams in downtown Newburyport. Zumi’s in Topsfield for the short route is the cycling hangout. The route is basically the same as it was from the beginning. Some people show up in costume and its fun. The long route can be windy as it goes out onto Plum Island but it is beautiful. I ride these roads all the time so I have altered the routes as necessary to accommodate how the area has grown and some roads have changed over the years.
What makes it special so that you want to continue to lead the Bagel and a Witch?
It’s a beautiful area in my neighborhood. I love that all three distances give riders an opportunity to experience such charm and it just never gets old.
Nina adds: I found a quote of Melinda’s from an article on the Seven Cycles website, undated, which strikes me as a true picture of Melinda: “First and foremost, randonneurs are always polite; you can ride hard, but your speed remains secondary to consideration for everyone, whether it’s another rider, a course volunteer, a motorist, a citizen with no affiliation with the event, or your own safety. In races, other riders try to drop you; in randonnees, your company is a welcome part of the journey. The course itself is the daunting competitor.”
REGISTER FOR BAGEL AND A WITCH
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We hope you have enjoyed CRW's Classics Ride series in meeting and riding along again or anew with some superb CRW ride developers and ride leaders.
2025's Classics were:
It was wonderful fun. Keep seeking out your own Classic.
Let’s Ride!
Looking ahead to next season: If you would like to have one of your routes featured as a CRW Classic in the future, please reach out to Nina (ninasiegel7@gmail.com) or Harold (haroldhatch@yahoo.com).
