Saturday Morning Redline Road Ride

• Location: Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA

• Ride Type: Road Ride

• Date & Time: Every Saturday morning at 8:20am, starting in late April.

• Distance: ~61 Miles

• Price: Free

Image credit: Strava

Description:  This is a fast road ride and only for experienced road cyclists only. There are two groups: the first group rolls at 8:20am and is called the Breakaway Group. It's a drop group and everyone can ride as fast/hard as each person wants to go within the constraint of road riding laws. Be sure to have a Garmin with the route loaded if you choose to join this group. 

8:25am - This is the second group. This group will maintain a 19-20mph average. This a very fast pace, but no one in this group should be out to drop anyone else or attack the others in the group. However, if you can't maintain the pace or if you have a mechanical, the group won't wait on you; it'll be your responsibility to find your way back. 

We will add more groups as the season progresses. We try to limit the group size to 10 for safety reasons. 

The Studio opens at 8am on Saturdays - feel free to refill your water bottle, use the facilities, and get something from the Cafe.  

Proper Bike for this ride:  23-28c road slick tires, clipless pedals, drop handlebars; no aero bars. 

Route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/12762378

Ride Notes:  There is a food/water/bathroom stop at mile 38. 

Estimated time:  3-3.5 hours

Last Minute Information:  Watch Ride Studio Cafe's Twitter feed for last-minute updates, weather cancellations or other changes. 

Contact Information:  Email - connect@ridestudiocafe.com, Phone - (339) 970-0187

Riding Rules, What to Bring, How Our Rides are Different:  All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules. 

Waiver:  RSC requires a signed waiver before your first ride. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride. If you filled out a paper waiver, please fill it out online, too. It's much easier for us to access your emergency contact info if it's in electronic form! 

Full Moon Over Sherborn 2017

• Location: Ride Headquarters in Sherborn, MA
• Ride Type:  Mixed Terrain
• Time & Date: Departs Every Full Moon, varying start times
• Distance: ~15 miles  
• Price:  Free

Description: The Full Moon ride takes cyclists all over the trails of Sherborn and beyond. The route includes paved roads to trails, dirt roads, grassy areas, and other places off the beaten path.

The calendar of Full Moon rides and start times is: 

**IMPORTANT** November 4 Note: Prior to the Full Moon ride is a Winter Riding Clinic. Come early to participate in the clinic, join in the raffle (over $1,000 worth of winter goodies), then we're rolling out at 6:45!

Route:  The route is available to attendees the evening of the ride at Ride Headquarters.

Ride Notes: We have a designated Ride Headquarters Super Domestique leading the ride and pointing out turns. We don’t have a sweep rider for this ride so only participate if you’re confident in your skill level and fitness – or know your way back. 

Last Minute Information: Watch our Twitter feed for last-minute updates, weather cancellations or other changes. 

Estimated time: ~1.5 hours

Contact Information: Email - connect@rideheadquarters.com, Phone - 508-975-4678

Riding Rules, What to Bring, How Our Rides are Different: All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules.

Waiver: Ride Headquarters requires a signed waiver before your first ride. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride. 

Proper Bike for this ride:  

• 32c knobby tires minimum.  Wider tires are nice, too. Tire choice depends on your riding skill set.
• Clipless pedals and shoes.  These are important elements of bike control.  If you ride with platform pedals you’re likely to be over your head in some of the more technical parts of the ride.
• A bike that’s in safe working order.  We don’t stop for preventable mechanical issues.
• Higher tire pressure than you’d ride on a cyclocross ride.  We recommend about 80% to 90% of maximum rated tire pressure, for two reasons:

• First, 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.

• Second, on average, about 30% of the ride is on pavement; having slightly higher pressure makes the road sections go by faster.

• We do not recommend fenders since sticks and twigs can get caught in them.

•  How do we decide if we’re having the Full Moon ride?
• Thunder storms:  If there’s a 33% or greater chance of a thunder storm at the ride start time, we don’t ride.  It is not safe to get caught out in a thunder storm.
• Rain or sleet:  There are a few variants of this.  We don’t ride sensitive trails when they’re wet; this can cause damage that’s not repairable.  Fortunately, we have some rain-friendly routes that don’t damage sensitive trails.
  • If it’s raining at the start of the ride we probably cancel the ride.  If it’s only threatening rain, we ride.
  • If it’s misting or drizzling at the start of the ride, with less than 50% chance of rain in the coming hour, we ride.
  • If it’s been raining a lot for a couple days, but not raining the night before, we ride.  Our rain-friendly routes avoid sensitive trails.  Of course, every few years there’s such a bad storm that we won’t ride on a Saturday; we take the force majeure very seriously.
• Snowing:  We ride;  it is so much fun to ride during a snow storm.
• Snow on the ground:  We ride.  It doesn’t matter if there’s 1 inch or four feet, we ride. We recommend studded tires or fat bikes for these kinds of conditions.  The only exclusion to snow riding is when there is a state of emergency and we’ve been asked to stay off the road.
• Icy conditions:  We ride.  For this you have to have studded tires in order to ride with us.
• Cold:  It doesn’t matter what the temperature is, we ride.
• Ride leader:  A couple times a year we might not have a designated ride leader.  It’s not fair for us to send you out without someone to help guide.  Of course, if you want to ride without a ride leader, you are more than welcome to!

If you'd like us to do any work on your bike prior to the ride, please email us the day before so we're ready to do the work as soon as you come in; we want you to be ready to roll before 9am.

New England Randonneurs' Season Kickoff Party

• Location: Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA
• Event Type:  Social Gathering
• Date & Time:  Thursday, 6 April 2017 -- doors open at 7:00 pm
• Reason for Gathering:  The Season Kickoff Party is when the NER riders get ready for the best season yet.  All are welcome to the party to talk bikes, have a beer, and some good food.
• Price:  Free

Description:  We're getting together with the New England Randonneurs to talk bikes, long rides, food, and more bikes.  Everyone is welcome to come by and enjoy a beer and some food.  You can also get your 2017 NER membership.    

Stay tuned for more information.

Last Minute Information: Watch Ride Studio Cafe's Twitter feed for last-minute updates, weather cancellations or other changes. 

Questions?  Email the New England Randonneurs.

The NoFlake Ride - April 15

NoFlake Ride - April 15

• Location: Ride Headquarters in Sherborn, MA
• Ride Type:  Road Ride
• Time & Date: Saturday, 15 April 2017. Rolling out at 9:00am. Breakfast begins at 8:00am and ends at 8:45am. Food is also served upon your return. 
• Distance: ~62 miles - paved road
• Price:  Free

RSVP Now!

Description: This is a 100% paved ride.

Note: we'd mentioned that we would offer a mixed-terrain option if the trails were dry enough, and some trails are a bit too soft still to ride, so we aren't taking chances.

It's spring and this is a great opportunity to get back on the road, meet other road riders, and enjoy good time in the saddle! 

Route:  The route is available to attendees via .tcx and .gpx files the morning of the ride at Ride Headquarters; we'll help load your Garmin. All RSVPers will receive the route via email Friday evening before the ride. 

Ride Notes: We have Ride Headquarters Super Domestiques leading the ride and pointing out turns. There will be two speed groups: 15-16mph average and 17-18mph average.  

If you and your self-organized team or group would like to roll together, let us know and we'll give you a separate roll-out time. 

Estimated time: A little less than 2 hours for the 30-mile ride, 3 hours for the 45-mile ride. 

Last Minute Information: Watch Ride Headquarter's Twitter feed for last-minute updates, weather cancellations or other changes. We will also email all who RSVP with last-minute details. 

Contact Information: Email - connect@rideheadquarters.com, Phone - 508-975-4678

Riding Rules, What to Bring, How Our Rides are Different: All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules.

Waiver: Ride Headquarters requires a signed waiver. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride. 

Proper Bike for this ride:  

• Road bike with 23-28c tires. Weather conditions will change the ideal bike type. 
• Clipless pedals and shoes.  These are important elements of bike control. 
• A bike that’s in safe working order.  
• Fenders if it's wet on the road.
• No aerobars. 

If you'd like us to do any work on your bike prior to the ride, please email us the day before so we're ready to do the work as soon as you come in; we want you to be ready to roll before

Ride Incentives

Get your butt out and ride with us!  We’ll make it worth your time. 

o Special Offer:  Ride HQ special offer for participants of this ride only:  you'll receive a voucher at the ride that is appropriate for road riding at this time of year! 

o Burning Snowflake Credit Voucher:  You’ll get two credits for the Burning Snowflake Ride.  

o Food:  Full breakfast and lunch with hot foods and hot drinks - caffeinated and non.

o Learn and connect: New roads, and new riding friends:  We hope you’ll discover new roads on one of the routes we’re offering.  We promise you’ll meet unfamiliar riders, too.

o Get a jump on the season.  Be the envy of your cycling friends when you’ve already got some good miles in this early in the year!

SunFlake Ride - April 8

• Location: Ride Headquarters in Sherborn, MA
• Ride Type:  Road Ride
• Time & Date: Saturday, 8 April 2017. Rolling out at 9:30am. Breakfast begins at 8:15am and ends at 9:15am. Food is also served upon your return. 
• Distance: 30 miles & 45 miles paved roads
• Price:  Free

Description: This is a 100% paved ride. There are 30-mile and a 45-mile route options and various speeds. It's spring and this is a great opportunity to get back on the road, meet other road riders, and enjoy good time in the saddle! 

Route:  The routes are available to attendees via .tcx and .gpx files the morning of the ride at Ride Headquarters; we'll help load your Garmin. All RSVPers will receive the routes via email Friday before the ride. 

Ride Notes: We have Ride Headquarters Super Domestiques leading the ride and pointing out turns. There will be two speed groups: 15-16mph average and 17-18mph average. 

If you and your self-organized team or group would like to roll together, let us know and we'll give you a separate roll-out time. 

Estimated time: A little less than 2 hours for the 30-mile ride, 3 hours for the 45-mile ride. 

Please RSVP Now!

Last Minute Information: Watch Ride Headquarter's Twitter feed for last-minute updates, weather cancellations or other changes. We will also email all who RSVP with last-minute details. 

Contact Information: Email - connect@rideheadquarters.com, Phone - 508-975-4678

Riding Rules, What to Bring, How Our Rides are Different: All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules.

Waiver: Ride Headquarters requires a signed waiver. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride. 

Proper Bike for this ride:  

• Road bike with 23-28c tires. Weather conditions will change the ideal bike type. 
• Clipless pedals and shoes.  These are important elements of bike control. 
• A bike that’s in safe working order.  
• Fenders if it's wet on the road.
• No aerobars. 

If you'd like us to do any work on your bike prior to the ride, please email us the day before so we're ready to do the work as soon as you come in; we want you to be ready to roll before

Ride Incentives

Get your butt out and ride with us!  We’ll make it worth your time. 

o Special Offer:  Ride HQ special offer for participants of this ride only:  you'll receive a voucher at the ride that is appropriate for road riding at this time of year! 

o Burning Snowflake Credit Voucher:  You’ll get one or two credits for the Burning Snowflake Ride – depending on which route you do.  You’ll get a lot more credits depending on the weather conditions.  See above for details about the value of credits and how to rack them up fast.

o Food:  Full breakfast and lunch with hot foods and hot drinks - caffeinated and non.

o Learn and connect: New roads, and new riding friends:  We hope you’ll discover new roads on one of the routes we’re offering.  We promise you’ll meet unfamiliar riders, too.

o Get a jump on the season.  Be the envy of your cycling friends when you’ve already got some good miles in this early in the year!

Spring Classics Series 2017

• Location: Each stage has various start locations
• Ride Type:  Road Ride Series
• Time & Date: Starts March 17, 2017 and runs for 6 weeks, ends with a series wrap-up party on April 28
• Distance: Various, depending upon the stage's requirements  
• Price:  Free

Description: Starting this March, Ride Headquarters is hosting the Spring Classics Series, an event designed to inspire and challenge. Prizes totaling over $7,000 in value will be given out to participants!

Route:  Each stage involves something different. The first, fifth, and sixth stages are routes of your choosing. We provide the route for the other stages. 

Ride Notes: This challenge is meant to be fun while testing yourself. Each stage has a time period during which it may be ridden. Riding with others is allowed and encouraged. Further ride rules are posted on the Spring Classics Ride Page.

Last Minute Information: We will email all registered participants any last-minute updates. 

Estimated time: Each stage is different, see the details of this series on the Spring Classics Page.

Contact Information: Email - connect@ridestudiocafe.com, Phone - 413-461-7433

Waiver: Ride Headquarters requires a signed waiver. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride. 

Proper Bike for this series:  23-28c road slick tires, clipless pedals, drop handlebars, no aerobars.

Rescheduled Snowflake Century Ride 2017

• Location: Ride Headquarters in Sherborn, MA
• Ride Type:  Road Ride
• Time & Date: Sunday, 23 April 2017. Rolling out at 8:30am. This corresponds with the last day and last stage of the Spring Classics Series.
• Distance: ~100 miles road
• Price:  Free

Description: This is a 100% paved century. 

Route:  The route is available to attendees via .tcx and .gpx files the morning of the ride at Ride Headquarters; we'll help load your Garmin. All RSVPers will receive the routes via email Friday. 

Ride Notes: We have Ride Headquarters Super Domestiques leading the ride and pointing out turns. There will be two speed groups: 15-16mph average and 17-18mph average. 

Estimated time: 6-8 hours for the century. 

RSVP Now! 

Last Minute Information: Watch Ride Headquarter's Twitter feed for last-minute updates, weather cancellations or other changes. We will also email all who RSVP with last-minute details. 

Contact Information: Email - connect@rideheadquarters.com, Phone - 508-975-4678

Riding Rules, What to Bring, How Our Rides are Different: All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules.

Waiver: Ride Headquarters requires a signed waiver. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride. 

Proper Bike for this ride:  

• Road bike with 23-28c tires. Weather conditions will change the ideal bike type. 
• Clipless pedals and shoes.  These are important elements of bike control. 
• A bike that’s in safe working order.  
• Fenders if it's wet on the road.
• No aerobars. 

If you'd like us to do any work on your bike prior to the ride, please email us the day before so we're ready to do the work as soon as you come in; we want you to be ready to roll before 8:30am.

Saturday Morning Mixed Terrain

• Location: Various starting locations

• Ride Type:  Mixed Terrain

• Dates: See below!

• Time: Departs at 9:00am

• Distance: ~25 miles  

• Price:  Free

Description: The Saturday Morning 9am Mixed terrain ride takes cyclists all over via trails, dirt roads, paths, and paved back roads. The ride follows paved roads to trails, dirt roads, grassy areas, and other places off the beaten path. 

Pace: All riders should be ready for a moderate pace. Moderate is defined as comfortable for riders who can maintain a 16mph road pace when on a road bike on the road and who have some level of comfort on dirt and trails.

We usually split the group into two with the first group going out keeping a slightly spicier pace than the second or third groups. The last group rolling out has an official Super Domestique to control the pace and pick up any riders who drop off the first group(s).

Route:  The route is emailed to participants 8pm the night before the ride. All riders are expected to have it loaded on their GPS units.

Ride Notes: Emailed with Route. Be ready for riding some rocks and roots, though it’s a non-technical route. A mixed terrain ride isn’t as smooth as a gravel ride which features dirt roads.

Last Minute Information: Watch our Twitter feed for last-minute updates, weather cancellations or other changes. 

Estimated time: ~3 - 4 hours

Contact Information: Email - connect@rideheadquarters.com, Phone - 413-461-7433

Riding Rules, What to Bring, How Our Rides are Different: All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules.

Waiver: Ride Headquarters requires a signed waiver before your first ride. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride. 

Proper Bike for this ride:  

• 32c knobby tires minimum.  Wider tires are nice, too. Tire choice depends on your riding skill set.

• Clipless pedals and shoes.  These are important elements of bike control.  If you ride with platform pedals you’re likely to be over your head in some of the more technical parts of the ride. 2-bolt cleats/mountain bike pedals are much more appropriate than road pedals/cleats.

• A bike that’s in safe working order.  We don’t stop for preventable mechanical issues.

• Higher tire pressure than you’d ride on a cyclocross ride.  We recommend about 80% to 90% of maximum rated tire pressure, for two reasons:

• First, 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.

• Second, on average, about 30% of the ride is on pavement; having slightly higher pressure makes the road sections go by faster.

• We do not recommend fenders since sticks and twigs can get caught in them.

• How do we decide if we’re having the mixed-terrain ride?

• Thunder storms:  If there’s a 33% or greater chance of a thunder storm at 9am, we don’t ride.  It is not safe to get caught out in a thunder storm.

• Rain or sleet:  There are a few variants of this.  We don’t ride sensitive trails when they’re wet; this can cause damage that’s not repairable.  Fortunately, we have some rain-friendly routes that don’t damage sensitive trails.

  • If it’s raining at 9am we cancel the ride.  If it’s only threatening rain, we ride.

  • If it’s misting or drizzling at 9am, with less than 50% chance of rain in the coming hour, we ride.

  • If it’s been raining a lot for a couple days, but not raining the night before, we ride.  Our rain-friendly routes avoid sensitive trails.  Of course, every few years there’s such a bad storm that we won’t ride on a Saturday; we take the force majeure very seriously.

• Snowing:  We ride;  it is so much fun to ride during a snow storm.

• Snow on the ground:  We ride.  It doesn’t matter if there’s 1 inch or four feet, we ride. We recommend studded tires or fat bikes for these kinds of conditions.  The only exclusion to snow riding is when there is a state of emergency and we’ve been asked to stay off the road.

• Icy conditions:  We ride.  For this you have to have studded tires in order to ride with us.

• Cold:  It doesn’t matter what the temperature is, we ride.

• Ride leader:  While we’re coming out of COVID, so at times we may not have a ride leader. Everyone is expected to watch out for each other and come with the route so you won’t get lost.

If you'd like us to do any work on your bike prior to the ride, please email us the day before so we're ready to do the work as soon as you show up; we want you to be ready to roll before 9am.

Saturday Horizon Chasers 2017

• Location:  Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA
• Ride Type:  Road Ride
• Date & Time:  Every Saturday at 8:45 am.  Ridden from April 29 through the end of October 2017.
• Distance:  ~55-80 Miles; varies with the season and weather
• Price:  Free

Description:  The Horizon Chasers is the Studio's longest weekly ride.  The average pace is 16-17 mph depending on the time of year and the weather.  We're riding for endurance, not speed.  It's a steady pace with a food stop about midway on the ride. If enough people show, we can split into two groups with a faster (17-18mph) pace for the first group. 

Proper Bike for this ride:  23-28c road slick tires, clipless pedals, drop handlebars; no aero bars. 

Route for Saturday, October 28: It's the last Horizon Chasers ride and the last weekend for Great Brook Ice Cream before they close. This route stops first at the Honey Pot Orchards, to enjoy seasonally-pleasing foods. Ride these 70 miles to enjoy all of these culinary delights and this LAST Horizon Chasers ride until spring 2018! Route is new: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26420279

Ride Notes:  All paved. Food stop is at mile 30.5 at the Harvard General Store. 

The Saturday Horizon Chasers ride is superseded by the Overtime Century Series Rides on weeks these are happening. The dates of these are: May 13, June 10, July 15, August 19, September 16, Formidable: October 14.

Estimated time:  About 4 to 6 hours depending on the time or year and the weather.

Last Minute Information:  Watch Ride Studio Cafe's Twitter feed for last-minute updates, weather cancellations or other changes. 

Contact Information:  Email - connect@ridestudiocafe.com, Phone - (339) 970-0187

Riding Rules, What to Bring, How Our Rides are Different:  All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules. 

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