Monday Night's Rides

Ok...let's try this again!

we've had to cancel our last 2 Monday rides due to the weather, so I'm going to re-post the info from last week as we will be trying for a third week in a row to tackle these routes.

ROUTES!

And just like the last two weeks, it's supposed to rain! UGH! Hopefully it'll hold off, but keep your eyes peeled to the WEATHER and if we need to cancel, we'll do it by 4PM.

See everyone tomorrow night! (hopefully)

-Scott

CEC CENTURY - Recap!

Hey there all our CEC friends!

What a weekend we've had. And what an amazing Century we did on Saturday.

I want to start by thanking everyone that came out to ride, support, or help out in any way. We couldn't have had such a great time without all of you.

Well, even though we were competing with another ride (Grand Fundo), we still had 12 of CEC's best come out for this amazing journey. Some of which were heading out on their first century, and even a couple people that hadn't ridden over 55 miles...ever!

Needless to say, the weather was perfect as we departed the East Longmeadow shop at 8Am. Our journey took us out through East Longmeadow, Wilbraham, and into Ludlow. We pedaled down some of the most scenic roads as we went toward Belchertown and working our way up the western side of Quabbin(202). When we finally turned off 202, we battled the steepest climb of the day (climbing into Shutesbury center). Thankfully it was the last real climb as well.

But what goes up must come down and we got to ride one of the best descents in the area.

At the bottom of that descent, we worked our way over to the Hadley shop for our mid-way stop. And after resting & recovering for about 20ish minutes, we went back on the road to finish the ride.

Having gotten all of the climbing out of the way, it would be smooth sailing as we crossed the Connecticut River into Northampton & Easthampton heading south to the 190 bridge in Connecticut.

After we crossed back over the river, it was only 8 miles to the shop to end this epic journey.

When we rolled into the shop, our MVP of the day, Mike, ended his day at 103 miles at a 17.7mph average. Mike's longest ride before Saturday was 48 miles! Mike seriously earned rider of the day & maybe even the season! Nice job, Mike! Hope you are rested and ready to head out for the next ride!

Here's the recap of the ride:

Thanks again to everyone!!! All of you are what make this club so great!!!! See you all on Monday for our ride!

-Scott

CEC CENTURY - This Saturday

DON'T FORGET!!!!

It's going to be a blast!!!

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE DETAILS!

Tonight's MTB ride: Earls/Bachelor

Morning Everyone!

For tonight's mountain bike ride, we are going to be heading up to Hadley, MA to ride a combination of Earl's trails and the Bachelor St. trails.

I am not going to be able to make it, but Jeff Landry will be leading the group out.

Here's where we are meeting: BAY RD. TENNIS CLUB

View Larger Map

Please plan on meeting up at 5:30ish as we are going to be rolling into the woods at 6PM sharp! We are riding rain or shine, so we'll see you all at the meeting spot!

-Scott

WOMEN SPECIFIC: NO RAIN FOR TOMORROW!!!

Hello Ladies! I can hardly believe it, but there is NO RAIN predicted for tomorrow!!! I can't tell you how excited I am that we'll be able to head out tomorrow without question.

I know we took last week off, but I wanted to plan a route this week that had a little bit of a hill in it, and by "a little bit" I mean, well, nothing crazy, but it is going to be super fun. Hills - fun - what? Yes, fun! I hope you're all up for it because it would be great to see you all out there and climb together. The route mileage is slightly less than what we've been doing lately, but we can add more once we head back into MA from CT if we want. Please check out the route here. Honestly, don't be intimidated. It will be so great to continue to meet new challenges together and celebrate on that glorious downhill.

Those of you that check the blog daily have seen the posts about the CEC Century. Scott, our amazing-can't say enough about how amazing he is - club president, has an incredible ride planned for everyone. I'm going to be working at the EL shop that day, so I won't be able to join you all on the ride, but I look forward to celebrating with you afterwards at the cookout. I will be working all week at the shop so come in and ask questions, and gear up with tubes, maybe even a new club jersey, and lots of yummy snacks.

I look forward to catching up with all of you tomorrow!

jen

Well hello there Comp Edgers....let me start by congratulating Cadel, Andy, Frank and the rest of those amazing cyclists for their wonderfully entertaining and exciting Tour efforts. I have to admit that up until this year I've been a some what casual fan. But for what ever reason this year was addictive....and I love the the fact that first place went to the man with solid roots in the mountain bike world! The sights, the sounds, the energy that race perpetuates means only one thing....it's on the to do list....well, the to go list really. Who's in?

Next would be the fact that I'm sitting in front of this computer when I should be out riding with my friends! I'm sure you all feel the same way...two Mondays in a row, damn it!!! But I am going to get on the Mountain bike tomorrow and ride the Case/Gay City loop if anyone is interested? Going to try and get to the Line Street parking lot for 5:00. If anyone can make it email or text me so I know who to expect (jforlife3339@yahoo.com or 860-989-6552). It's a great ride which Dan Walker can attest to. As far as this Thursdays woods ride, I'm open for suggestions? Would anyone like to do something different? Last weeks Batchler/Earls ride was o.k. Great people as usual, but it was painfully hot...and a lot more biting insects than usual (or maybe it was my imagination). On a side note, Shawn, I hope your knee is healing quickly!

Lots more riding to look forward to. Hopefully not to many heat waves though. Speaking of looking forward, who's getting in on the century train for Saturday? I know I'm looking forward to it! Let's get out there and go for a great bike ride and celebrate our first 100 together as an official club. Climb into your kits (which look so awesome) and lets go show them off and bring awareness and inspiration to others! (as well as perspiration)....spread the word, bring a friend...

O.K. gang, guess I'm going to eat something and go to bed. Hope to see ya tomorrow,

Thanks for reading my post,

J E F F

dang it, mother nature!!!!!

sorry, friends! Mother nature reared her ugly head for a second Monday in a row. Good thing we still have the CENTURY on Saturday! Hope to see you all then!

Tonight's Rides!

well...since we got rained out last week, we're going to use those routes for tonight's rides.

ROUTES!

And just like last week, it's supposed to rain! UGH! Hopefully it'll hold off, but keep your eyes peeled to the WEATHER and if we need to cancel, we'll do it by 4PM.

And don't forget that we have our first official CEC CENTURY ride this coming Saturday. It's going to be awesome and a ride that you won't want to miss.

See everyone tonight!!!!

-Scott

Tonight's going to be a HOT one!!!

Hi Everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend & got to enjoy some time in the saddle.

First things first...Tonight is going to be hot...REAL HOT! The weather is looking like it is going to be near 90 and humid. On top of the heat, it looks like we have a 60% chance of rain. Keep your eyes peeled to the WEATHER and if there is any question weather or not the ride is cancelled, please email us or call the East Longmeadow shop.

For tonight's routes, we've got the A Group heading south through Somers and into Ellington. From there we will be taking Crystal Lake Rd. and climbing into the Crystal Lake area. We'll be taking Rt. 30 to Old Springfield Rd. then climbing up, out and back home from there. As always, the A group is a drop style ride, so please make sure that you know the route. If you would like a cue sheet prior to leaving, just let me know as I will have plenty.

The B Group will be leaving the shop along the same path as the A Group, but will be turning off at Moody Rd., connecting to 192 and heading south and looping around toward Ellington, then heading north and back home.

As usual, both routes are posted on the ROUTES page. Check them out, keep your eyes on the WEATHER and hopefully we'll see everyone tonight!

-Scott

...oh yeah... Don't forget that we have the official CEC Century coming up on Saturday, July 30th! That's right, 100 miles of fun with your all your CEC Club friends! It's going to be awesome, and not something to miss!!!

Women Specific Road Ride - Recap and July 13th Ride

Hello Ladies!

I hope everyone is having a great week so far, and is gearing up for tomorrow night's ride. We missed seeing some of the new faces we saw two weeks ago on last week's ride, but we still had a great time. It was a very hot night with the chance of a heavy thunderstorm that fortunately we didn't see until we were on our way home (thanks mother nature!). We completed the night with our longest ride this season of 27.4 miles (awesome!) with an average moving speed of 14.9 mph (super awesome!). Thanks Kristina, Cheryl and Kayla for coming out! You can check out the ride details here.

For tomorrow night's ride we'll be doing a little direction reversal with some new roads that we've yet to explore. We'll be heading south into CT, and then make our way east rounding back up into EL and a bit of Hampden. You can check out the route here. The route mapped out is 26.26 miles, and we'll determine the pace on the group. It has been extremely warm and humid lately, so please drink lots of water tomorrow, and remember to bring 2 full bottles of water and/or one with electrolyte replacement if you can for the ride. There is a great selection of electrolyte replacement tablets and energy supplement gels and blocks in the shop to try out on the ride. Some new things to highlight are the Clif Crunch Chocolate Chip Granola Bars and Honey Stinger Berry Banana Energy Bars. It might be a perfect night to have a Clif Shot Block in Margarita flavor --- maybe one of these nights we could grab real margaritas! Or ice cream or really anything cold for that matter (Can you tell I'm sitting in a very hot house writing this post?).

Just a little housekeeping, we'll have to cancel our ride for July 20th (next Wednesday) and August 3rd (3 weeks from tomorrow) as I'll be out of town. I will greatly miss you all, but feel free to ride one of our earlier rides you can find on the blog with perhaps a new friend from the rides, or encourage someone you know that has yet to get out on their bike to join you. You're still welcome to park at the shop if that is convenient.

Anyone out there that has yet to join us for a ride, please come out and ride with us! It has been such a joy riding with a group of ladies, and having the chance to encourage each other in new accomplishments like first rides with clipless pedals and completing their longest ride ever. If you are worried about the pace, I can't stress enough that it is a no drop ride and we welcome female riders of all levels. We will always regroup and always enjoy being on our bikes no matter the distance or speed.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, and I will see you all for a ride very soon! Stay cool!

jen

RIDE RECAPS!

Wow! What an awesome night we had last night on the rides! I posted the recaps on the RIDE RECAPS page if you want to check them out.

The weather was awesome & even though it was hot, it wasn't unbearable. But, at least there was no rain!

Both groups left the shop together and worked their ways through East Longmeadow, Longmeadow and Enfield and over the 190 bridge. That's where the two groups split.

The B Group ended up doing 36 miles at an average pace of 17.5 mph! Awesome job crew! It's seriously great to see the B Group riding so consistently strong this year!

The A Group was a little bit of a different story. Last night's pace was blisteringly fast! As soon as we crossed the river, we started to pick up the pace...23...26..31. We ended up dropping a few people during that pace line & lost a few more along the way. We had a couple flats, etc. But overall, everyone had a great time and got to put the hammer down a little.

That does bring me to a quick point. Since the A Group is a "drop"style ride, it is everyone's responsibility to make sure that they are fully aware of the route before they leave the shop with the group. I will make sure that there are cue sheets available for all routes, but you need to let me know if you need one. We just want everyone to have a fun & safe ride.

And finally, last night we were unfortunately unable to ride with one of our favorite CEC Ambassadors, Dan Walker. Here's why:


For those of you who don't know...Dan has gotten insanely strong on his bike. Well, prior to the ride last night, Dan's legs went "head to head" with his chain ring & guess what...his legs won! We missed you out there Dan...you're an animal!!!!

It was great to see everyone last night & we'll see you all again soon. THANKS!!!

-Scott

Yesterday's RECAP & tonight's plan o' attack!

For those of you that didn't make it to yesterday's EPIC club ride, all I can say is that you missed out! We had a great time rolling north towards Quabbin and looping all the way into Stafford and back for a total of 80 miles.

I want to give a big shout out to one of our newest club members, Bill, for completing yesterday's ride. Up until yesterday, Bill's longest ride was 50 miles. Even though he was a little nervous about the length, pace, hills...but he KILLED it!!! Seriously awesome job, Bill!

We ended the ride at exactly 80 miles, with an average moving pace of 17mph and we managed to climb 3200 feet. Not too shabby! The RECAP is posted in the RIDE RECAP page.

As a head's up, this was our last long club ride before the CEC Century that will happen the last Saturday of this month. This will be a ride that you WON'T want to miss.

For tonight's routes, we're diggin' into the archives for a ride that we did last year. It's a fun, relatively flat route heading over the river(and through the woods). I've posted the routes on the ROUTES page.

Check them out & we'll see you all tonight!

-Scott

Tomorrow's CEC Club Ride - 80 Miles of FUN!

Morning Everyone!

I've posted the route for tomorrow's 80 mile ride on the ROUTES page.

The route consists of rolling hills, long flats, a couple of short steeper climbs and a few descents. It's a mixed bag of everything, so it should be a great time! Please make sure that you preview the route before tomorrow and make yourself aware of what is in store.

We will be meeting at the East Longmeadow shop around 8AM & we will roll out no later than 8:30.

We will be leaving before the shop opens, so make sure that you have everything you need before you show up in the morning. Please make sure that you have enough food, water, tubes, co2s, and anything else that you need for a long epic ride! We will also be planning on stopping at a gas station about mid way through the ride to refill waters, etc, so bring a few dollars.

Hope to see you all there in the morning!
-Scott

Women Specific: Recap and Tonight's Ride

Hello Ladies!

Happy Wednesday! I've been so excited to post about the ride we had last week. There were 10 woman! 10! I can't tell you how awesome it was (it is!) to have this opportunity to meet women in the area that love to ride bikes. Thank you ladies for coming out! We rode about 25 miles and kept a great pace, catching up on hills and intersections when needed. Check out some of the pictures taken before our ride. Thanks, Gary!

the crew


Jen (me) and Kayla sporting the new kits!

On our way!

Tonight it is going to be a hot one, so if you are coming out to ride please make sure to bring plenty to drink and maybe a snack. You can check out the route here, and please keep an eye on the weather because we might have a thunderstorm rolling in around 6pm. We'll be sure to let you know if we cancel, so stay tuned as we get closer to ride time.

Hope to see you all tonight!

jen

HAPPY 4th of July!

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all having a great 4th of July weekend thus far. We just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday weekend and let you all know what is coming up this week:

1. The normal Monday night ride is canceled due to the holiday. Have a great 4th & enjoy the day off!

2. Wednesday night's women's ride and Hadley ride are still on as usual! Jenn and team have been doing an awesome job running the women's rides and every week, they get more and more ladies to ride! However, our Hadley rides need a little support. I know that this is the first year that we are running rides from the Hadley shop, but we have consistently only had about 5-8 people! All you East Longmeadow regulars...if you can make it up for at least a few rides, it would be great!!

3. This Thursday, we will be riding Earl's trails in Hadley. We'll meet at the Bay Rd. Tennis Club and roll into the woods no later than 6PM. Hope to see you all there!

4. And finally, this weekend, we have a nice LONG ride leaving from the East Longmeadow shop. We will be riding about 80 miles. We'll be meeting at the shop around 8AM and roll out of the parking lot no later than 8:30. It'll be a fun one & it's our last long ride before we head out on our CEC Club CENTURY ride on July 30th (this will be a ride that you won't ant to miss).

Have a great night, awesome day tomorrow & we'll see you all on Wednesday!

-Scott