Spring Trail Mix 2023

Join us for incredibly beautiful cycling on the back roads of central Massachusetts! There are TWO distance options for you for this ride! Choose a 100-km route or 150-mile route to ride.

This ride is full of dirt roads, with nice paved roads as well. Most of the route is back roads, away from traffic and people. Keep reading to understand the logistics. This ride starts at Red Apple Farm in Phillipston, MA - so most people will need to drive to the start.

This is a group or solo ride, depending on how you want to ride it. You may get a group of your friends together, you may request to ride with others who are likely of your similar cycling pace and experience, or you’re welcome to ride it alone, though you’re hardly alone when there are so many people on the same route.

There is little to no cell coverage on many parts of the routes.

Be absolutely certain you’re up for the rules of this ride. Read this page in its entirety and visit the links, so you know exactly what’s what.

Due to insurance requirements, this ride is only open to NEER members. You may become a NEER member, so it’s not too late.

Get a Group of Friends Together to Ride!

Ride with your friends at whatever pace you and your friends like to ride. Let us know you’d like to do this when you register, we ask who is riding with who. ALSO if you’d like a different start time, let us know and it’s highly likely it’ll work out very well for all of us.

Ride with New-to-You People Option

Ride with people of your riding speed, but you don’t have to know anyone prior to the ride! This is an option for you if you’d like to ride with a group, but don’t have friends riding or simply want to meet new people who are of a similar strength. We do our best to group you together.

Ride Solo

You’re also welcome to ride solo. We prefer if you are a solo rider that you choose an earlier start time so that there are riders behind you, for the purposes of safety and everyone seeing people out there on the route.

We are glad to start you off earlier than the advertised starting times so that you’ll see others all day long, yet still get to ride solo.

Food & Drinks

We are providing plenty of water but only a few calories mid-ride. The ride fee covers staffing to support the ride and to have someone out there in the middle of the route for you.

There is a lot of great food and drinks (alcoholic and non) at Red Apple farm that you’re welcome to enjoy after the ride.

Photo courtesy of Red Apple Farm. Sunset at the farm.

See the Red Apple Farm’s Brew Barn website and Menu!

By not charging you for food, it’s your choice as to how much and where you eat post-ride. We recommend doing business at Red Apple farm. They have a huge selection of goods in their store and the Brew Barn makes tasty food. They have hosted us throughout the pandemic and have been EXTREMELY generous in sharing their farm and time with us.

The Brew Barn is open 9am-9pm. They serve breakfast at 9am so 100k riders could arrive early, eat, then ride.

150-Mile Ride Specifics

We’re offering a bag-drop service for the 150-mile riders. Bring a bag with extra food, clothes, supplies, anything you want to see mid-ride. You see the mid-ride support stop twice so you can access your stuff there. For those training for Unbound and similar long gravel rides, this is great training and prep since this is how those rides run.

There is a stop in downtown Amherst so riders can fuel up from any of the many businesses found in Amherst. There are coffee shops, sandwich shops, smoothies, and more from which to choose.

Pace for the 150 Mile Ride: We expect that you’re capable of maintaining a 10mph average if you register for this ride. 7pm is the cut off time to be back. We don’t want anyone out there past 7pm due to night fall and riding with too much fatigue.

Details

• Ride Type: Remote paved and dirt roads, some mix of surfaces, but almost entirely rideable with little/no technical skill.

• Time & Date: Saturday, May 13, 2023

  • 150 mile riders start together at 4am, faster riders may start on your own later than this

  • 100km riders start together at 10am - we’ll set off friend groups and solo riders earlier than this if you wish.

    • If you want a later departure for the 100km route, that is an option, but you’ll be on your own without people behind you unless you assemble a group of friends to ride with. We prefer you ride with others or start before the groups if you want to ride solo.

• Starting Point: Red Apple Farm - Phillipston, MA

• Distance: 100 km or 150 miles

What you get

• A gorgeous, well-planned route: Route file for your GPS computer, parking directions/instructions.

• Staffed starting & finishing location with water, toilets, friendly people and sweet farm animals

• Staffed food stop with water, your drop bag if you’re doing the 150 mile, and a few additional calories for you to enjoy

• Peace of mind knowing there are other riders on the same route.

• Option to purchase breakfast, lunch or dinner and beer or non-alcoholic drinks at the end of the ride at the farm, nice place to hang out with each other and spend the afternoon. Invite your non-riding loved ones and friends to come join you for the after-ride picnic at Red Apple!

Price

• $30

• You MUST be a NEER member (a Cat 4 NEER membership is $50 for a full year of hosted rides of all varieties, and there are lots of additional benefits to being a member) - details on joining are here). This is a requirement of insurance, otherwise, we would be unable to host this or any bike ride.

  • No day-of registrations

• NEER members at a Category 3 level receive a 25% off code for registration

• NEER members at a Category 2 level receive a 50% off code for registration

• NEER members at a Category 1 level receive a 100% off code for registration

Refund Policy

• You may transfer your registration to someone else as long as the other person is a NEER member via BikeReg up until 2 days before the event.

• We aren’t charging enough for this ride to cover the costs of administration to issue refunds for any reason.

• We do want to know if you have registered and can’t make it so we’re not out there looking for you the day of the event, this is important for the safety of the riders out there: connect@newenglandexpeditionriders.com

• If we have to cancel the ride for weather or other unforeseen reasons out of our control, we’ll offer you the option of a credit toward a future ride or a refund your registration dollars less the BikeReg fee.

Start Location

Red Apple Farm in Phillipston, Massachusetts. Exact details and location information are emailed to registered riders by 7pm the THURSDAY before the ride.

Camping Option

150 Mile Riders and anyone who might want to make this a bikepacking destination: the farm is allowing anyone who wants to stay overnight to camp or sleep in your car. There could be loud farm-maintenance operations happening in the wee hours of the morning, so be aware of that. Camping is free, we just need to know who to expect if you want to take advantage of this generous invitation by the farm to stay on their premises.

Estimated drive time

• About 60-80 minutes from most parts of the greater Boston area

Route Information

Like all of our routes, it’s adventure-filled, but also very appropriate for gravel bikes. You’ll ride plenty of dirt roads, trails, and what’s pavement will be on the quiet roads.

Expect elevation in the 75 ft. per mile range.

Neither route has recently been vetted. Bring a spirit of adventure - if a road is closed for whatever reason, you’ll need to figure out how to re-route. Both of these were in good shape last summer.

Pace Options - It’s a Ride for Most Everyone to Enjoy!

When you register for this ride, we ask you for your best estimate of your average pace when you ride a 30-mile all-paved ride. We don’t expect you will know what your pace will be on this route, we’re just interested in knowing approximately where each person will be after starting out.

We are staffing the water stop assuming a 10 mph minimum pace for the 150-mile riders. There are NO speed requirements (upper or lower) for the 100km riders since support staff has to be out there all day for the 150 mile riders anyway.

Be sure you’ve got the route and at least one back-up power source to charge your GPS unit and phone during the day. Do not plan on having cell service since there are quite a few portions of the ride with weak to no service.

Safety & Dealing with Mechanicals

Every rider is expected to follow the rules of the road at all times. This means obeying stop signs and staying to the right-hand portion of the road.

If we think you’re being unsafe, you will be asked to leave the ride. You will not be invited to return to any group rides as well. This applies for all aspects of cycling and general behavior.

We are NOT providing a roving mechanic. That means you should bring all of the tools and supplies necessary for possible mechanical situations. There are other riders out on the route and we hope people will assist each other in case of a problem.

Come out with a freshly tuned up bike, fresh sealant in your fresh tires, have electronic bikes charged fully, shifter lever batteries checked for freshness, lube those chains! Check your spare tubes to be sure they will hold air. If you’re in doubt about this, take new tubes. It’s not worth getting stuck out there.

Most mechanicals are easily avoidable by taking proper care of your equipment in advance of the ride.

There is no ride leader, even if you ride with a group; you’ll be following your GPS computer, therefore owning a GPS computer is a must with at least one back-up power source.

We will not shuttle riders anywhere, it’s your responsibility to have a plan in case your bike or legs stop working.

We’ll send a very detailed email by 7pm the Thursday before the ride, with the route, instructions, and details so you understand logistics and exactly what to do.

Preparation

What to bring, we recommend:

Everything necessary for common mechanicals. Items include:

• 2 x tubes

• Hand pump

• Co2 cartridges & Co2 inflator

• Tire levers

• Boot/dollar bill if your tire gets ripped

• Patch kit

• 1 pair of quick links compatible for your chain

• Chain pliers

• Chain breaker

• Multi-tool (if your chain breaker is on your multi-tool, even better)

• If your bike uses a replaceable derailleur hanger, be sure to have an extra that is compatible with your bike

• Rain jacket - this works well for chilly descents too

• 2 x 26 oz water bottles, more if it’s going to be hot

• Food/nutrition in case you need a zap of energy before the food stop

Proper Bike for this Ride

• 40mm tires are best suited for the ride. Err on the side of bigger, especially if you’re newer to gravel riding. Feel free to use bigger tires. Your gravel bike is the most appropriate bike for the ride. Mountain bikes and flat-bar bikes are welcome. Narrower than 28mm tires are strongly discouraged. There is some loose gravel on the roads. Narrower tires are more likely to pinch flat and are less stable than 28mm or bigger. We welcome mountain bikes, fat bikes, and any bike that you feel comfortable completing the distance on in the time frame allotted for the ride.

• Clipless pedals and shoes. These are important elements of bike control.

• A bike that’s in safe working order. Make very certain your bike comes clean, lubed, safety checked with fresh brake pads, and tires in good shape. If it's wet on the road or raining, please put a rear fender on your bike to keep you from getting wet. If you’ll be riding with others and it’ll be wet, please be nice to your co-riders and use full-coverage fenders.

Weather

We will ride rain or shine. Dangerous weather (like an electrical storm) cancels the ride or postpones the start time.

Last Minute Information

We will email everyone who registers with the latest information if last minute details change.

Unregistered riders, riders who are not members of NEER, or riders who haven’t signed the liability waiver may not participate.

If you have financial reasons to be unable to pay, please email us so we can accommodate you. We want everyone to ride who wants to ride.

Waiver

New England Expedition Riders requires a signed waiver before your first ride. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride.

Contact Information

Email connect@newenglandexpeditionriders.com with questions. We will email you the cell phone number of the contact person who will be present at the beginning of the ride and available during the ride.

Riding Rules, What to Bring, How Our Rides are Different

All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules.. Note: ALL rules stated here on this page override any conflicting rules you see on our typical ride rules.

Adventure Road Ride - 110 miles!

• Location: Start and end in Winchester Center, MA

• Ride Type:  Road ride, mostly pavement, appropriate for road bikes

• Date & Time:  Sunday, April 2, 8am start

• Distance:  110 miles

• Price:  Free; see NEER membership requirements discussed below after the first ride you do with us

• RSVPs: Required, see bottom of page for RSVP form

Details

This is a long road ride with some fun adventure built in! The ride officially starts in Winchester center, but we ride into Cambridge where we’ll stop for a coffee or a bite at Broadsheet coffee. Anyone wishing to join in on the ride here coming from Cambridge or Boston is welcome to make this your start!

We then wind our way to the North Shore, finding ourselves in unusual places, some bike paths, then really beautiful roads for a good portion of the day.

We have a designated Super Domestique leading the last group to depart which will be rolling at a ~15-16 mph endurance pace.

Only choose to do this ride if you believe you have 110 miles in your legs and if you’re not sure, just be sure you’ll be fine getting home if you need to leave early.

We’ll split the group so faster riders can ride faster together.

Distance

110 miles

Parking

Winchester Center for those who are starting in Winchester. Anyone who wishes to meet us at Broadsheet Coffee in Cambridge is welcome to do that. Parking is free and ample in Winchester on Sundays. We’ll send specific directions to all who RSVP.

Route

The route will be emailed before 7pm the evening before the ride to all participants.

All riders should load the ride on a GPS computer so everyone knows where we’re going and it makes splitting into groups easier.

Estimated Ride Time

Allow a very minimum of 7.5 hours moving + at least an hour of stopped time, likely it’ll add up to more than this

Route Notes

We’ll update this for all riders.

After the Ride

There is a lot of food and drink in Winchester Center if you want to hang out after the ride.

Last-Minute Information

We will email all participants with any critical late-breaking news if there is any. Very, very last-minute news is found on our Twitter feed (shown on the home page of this website in case you don’t have a Twitter account).

Contact Information

Email - connect@newenglandexpeditionriders.com with questions about this ride anytime 1 hour or more prior to the start of the ride.

CALL US if you need us to know anything just before the ride start or during the ride at 413-461-7433.

Don’t txt if you need an immediate response, all txt msgs go to our email that we aren’t checking if we’re in front of people at the ride or on our bikes.

Riding Rules

All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules. RSVP’ing to this ride indicates you have read and accept all of the rules. These make the ride safer and more fun for all.

Waiver

We require a signed waiver before your first ride. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride.

If this is your second or more ride with us, our insurance requires that you become a member of NEER.

Proper bike & Equipment

• Bring your road bike with whatever size tires you enjoy riding that will allow you to keep pace with the group. A gravel bike is acceptable.

• If the roads wet/messy, please mount a rear full-coverage fender. If you don’t have one, expect to ride at the back!

• Clipless pedals and shoes.  These are important elements of bike control. Since we are riding near to each other on the road, platform pedals don’t offer necessary bike control for this kind of riding.

• A bike that’s in safe working order that is properly lubed and tuned. We’ll ask you to call for a ride or take an Uber home if you have a mechanical situation that will hinder the forward progress of the group by more than a few minutes.

• Be sure you have supplies necessary for all common mechanicals including extra derailleur hangers, a multi-tool, quick chain links, tubes, CO2 or hand pump, etc. You are responsible for you and your bike.

RSVP to Participate in this Ride Now!

Please RSVP only after you’ve made sure you can attend. It is inconsiderate to RSVP prior to committing to attending since it affects the experience of the other cyclists in attendance. We understand that things come up last-minute. Be sure to email us if you can’t attend: connect@newenglandexpeditionriders.com.

Fat Bike Adventure Ride

• Location: Start and end in Wompatuck, MA

• Ride Type:  Trails, Beaches, Roads on Fat Bikes

• Date & Time:  Saturday, May 20, 8am start

• Distance:  ~70 miles

• Price:  Free; see NEER membership requirements discussed below after the first ride you do with us

• RSVPs: Required, see bottom of page for RSVP form

Details

This is a fat bike adventure ride! It’s got a little of all of the fun riding and a whole lot of adventure to look forward to. It’s a big day on the fat bike, come well prepared for a big day!

Pace

This ride is suitable for people with good fitness to push your fat tires all day long! The average pace will be ~8mph. This is not slow when you’re on a fat bike.

Start Time

7:55am - Be ready to ride!

8:00am - Safety talk starts, then everyone rolls out

Distance & Estimated Ride Time

Allow 9-10 hours for this ride, depending on your pace. We’ll break up into groups if that allows everyone to get the ride of his/her desires, but only if we have > 10 riders or people at different paces.

Parking

Parking is free and ample at the Wompatuck parking lot. Details will be shared with all who RSVP no later than 7pm the evening before the ride.

Route

The route will be emailed to all who RSVP no later than 7pm the night before the ride.

Route Notes

Expect everything on this ride! Beaches, paved roads, plenty of fun trails.

After the Ride

Anyone who wants to hang out and talk about bikes after the ride is welcome to do so. We highly recommend stopping at Whole Foods on your drive home for a quality replenishing meal!

Last-Minute Information

We will email all participants with any critical late-breaking news. Very, very last-minute news is found on our Twitter feed (shown on the home page of this website in case you don’t have a Twitter account).

Contact Information

Email - connect@newenglandexpeditionriders.com with questions about this ride anytime 1 hour or more prior to the start of the ride.

CALL US if you need us to know anything just before the ride start or during the ride at 413-461-7433.

Don’t txt if you need an immediate response, all txt msgs go to our email that we aren’t checking if we’re in front of people at the ride or on our bikes.

Riding Rules

All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules. RSVP’ing to this ride indicates you have read and accept all of the rules. These make the ride safer and more fun for all.

Waiver

NEER requires a signed waiver before your first ride. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride.

If this is your second or more ride with us, our insurance requires that you become a member of NEER.

Proper bike & Equipment

• 3.5” knobby tires OR BIGGER.  Wider tires are nicer! We’ll be on beaches so mountain bikes don’t have wide enough tires for these sections.

• Clipless pedals and shoes.  These are important elements of bike control. If you are an experienced cyclist who has used platform pedals and sticky shoes extensively, this is acceptable. Note that mountain-style pedals/cleats are significantly better than road-style. We strongly discourage road pedals/cleats on a mixed terrain ride. You can possibly get away with road pedals/cleats on a gravel (dirt road) ride, but not a mixed terrain ride.

• A bike that’s in safe working order that is properly lubed and tuned. We’ll ask you to call for a ride or take an Uber home if you have a mechanical situation that will hinder the forward progress of the group by more than a few minutes.

• High enough tire pressure to prevent pinch flatting and burping your tires.  We recommend about 80% of maximum rated tire pressure. Sometimes this is much too high, ask us if you’re not sure where to set your tire pressure. We like you to have more than enough air for these reasons:

  • We want to minimize flats on the ride; waiting for someone to change flats is not why we ride.  We typically see zero flats on our ride.  One of the primary reasons for this is due to higher than average tire pressure.

  • You can easily take it out, much harder to add it in.

• Be sure you have supplies necessary for all common mechanicals including extra derailleur hangers, a multi-tool, quick chain links, tubes, CO2 or hand pump, etc. You are responsible for you and your bike.

RSVP to Participate in this Ride Now!

Please RSVP only after you’ve made sure you can attend. It is inconsiderate to RSVP prior to committing to attending since it affects the experience of the other cyclists in attendance. We understand that things come up last-minute. Be sure to email us if you can’t attend: connect@newenglandexpeditionriders.com.