All Conditions Ride 2018

All Conditions 2018

• Location: Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA
• Ride Type:  Mixed Terrain
• Date & Time: Saturday, 17 February 2018 - Departures begin at 9:30am AND NOW SUNDAY, too
• Distance: It depends!
  • If the temperature is above freezing, we have 3 route options with the shortest being 2.5 hours in length to the longest being around 6 hours
  • If the temperature is below freezing, we have 3 route options with the shortest being 90 minutes in length to the longest being around 3 hours
•  Price:  Free, RSVP required

This ride includes the best of winter no matter the weather. This is the third year for All Conditions. We have no idea what to expect from the weather and conditions, which means it's worth being ready for anything!

• Riding mixed terrain
• Riding in unpredictable conditions
• Riding urban and exurban trails and back roads and aalleys

Of course we won't know the weather and trail conditions until a few days prior to the ride. That's part of the fun of winter riding.

You get to look forward to a very unique ride and special time riding bikes with others who are into a winter adventure. The route is warm-cafe friendly. If you dress appropriately, there shouldn't be any suffering with the cold, but only fun times and a very different perspective on winter by the end of the day.

• Urban-ish routes.  We're staying near civilization so we're never too far from a cafe with warm drinks available.  So, regardless of the temperature, we won't freeze.  We guarantee a fun route in any weather.
• VERY Special offers to help you enjoy this ride AND be ready for Spring!
  • Did you know Honey makes a titanium Fat Bike that doubles as a 27.5 plus mountain bike?! This is THE bike for winter and perfect for spring, summer, fall mountain biking. If you order a Honey Converter by January 31, you'll be riding YOUR new bike for this All Conditions ride! 
  • One of the things that makes the Converter special is that all you have to do is swap wheelsets to make it a whole different bike! We're offering 1/2 off the second wheelset to make this bike the OBVIOUS choice for your all-year trail and fat biking fun. This is the light-weight mountain bike of your dreams, and it's a fat bike that you never have to worry about when you're riding in the winter or anytime of year. The Converter is possibly the most fun bike on the market. 
• Since spring time is around the corner, treat yourself to Cafe du Cycliste apparel! Buy a full kit at retail price: short-sleeve spring jersey, any bib shorts we sell, jacket (think spring showers for may flowers), and base layer. We will gift you a 30-drink punch card (over a $120 value) to remind you that you have more reasons to ride than excuses not to this spring! 

Contest to win a Grand Prize of Wolvhammer Boots!

That's right, we're also holding a contest to give you a chance to win an awesome pair of Winter Cycling Wolvhammer boots or Wolvhammer Red Wing Edition boots and a wool 45NRTH cap. You may participate in this contest by filling in your guess for the amount of snow on the ground at 7:30am the first morning of All Conditions and the high temperature of the day. The earliest-submitted submission who is closest to the amount of snow and high temperature is the Grand Prize winner! You may participate in the RSVP form, at the bottom of this page.

How we're determining the snow and high temperature for the day:

- We're measuring pristine snow from 3 locations at Upper Vine Brook and averaging the three to get the number of millimeters of snow.

- We're using Dark Sky to tell us what the high temperature of the day is.

Ride Details

• We are setting off groups starting at 9:30am Saturday, February 17. Each group has an RSC Super Domestique leading so you won't get lost.
• We have *JUST ADDED* a new set of rides for 9:30am Sunday, February 18, since there will be snow on the ground Sunday morning.
• The routes will be finalized just prior to the ride since the weather dictates where we will ride. 
• Distance Options: The weather will play a role in the final routes.
•  Everyone who RSVPs for the ride will receive further details, routes, and exact start times for the various speed groups via email the evening before the ride. RSVPs are REQUIRED to participate and receive all of the ride information. There is no charge for this ride. It will be a day and ride to remember! 

Please RSVP now so you can start getting excited and ready! 

Burning Snowflake Road Ride Series 2018

• Location: Ride Headquarters in Sherborn, MA

• Ride Type: Road paved

• Time & Date: March 24, rollout at 11am

• Distance: Varying distances & routes

• Price: Free

PLEASE RSVP so we know to expect you! 

Description: The Burning Snowflake series of road rides get you riding nice roads with others at a time of year when you might not otherwise be on the bike. The routes include all paved roads and as many back-roads and quiet areas as possible. Routes will vary and there will be different paces offered.

One of the special features of the Burning Snowflake Series is food! We serve fresh food prior to the ride and again after the ride returns. Please let us know in an RSVP if you have dietary restrictions prior to 5pm on Friday. 

Schedule

Saturday, March 24. Route is 46 miles south. This is a great route with many good stretches of road without too many turns. There are potholes and some rough pavement, but also some silky smooth new pavement to enjoy. This is an improved version of the route as it now avoids Franklin Center. 

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26922003

Groups offered: 

- 17-18mph average pace

- 16mph average pace

Not happening March 24 is the Burning Snowflake mixed terrain ride due to snowy and unrideable trails. 

Saturday, March 24 - Rollout is at 11am. Show up between 10am and 10:45am for pre-ride food!

Ride Notes: We have a designated Ride Headquarters ride leaders leading the ride, pointing out turns, keeping the pace to what's advertised. There is a food stop at a grocery store at mile 30 for water refills and snacks, bathroom stop if needed by anyone.  

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

Estimated time: 2.5-3 hours, note there is one stop to refill water bottles and grab food if necessary at mile 30. 

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:  

• Road conditions the day of the ride will dictate. 25c-32c slick tires likely appropriate.

• Clipless pedals and shoes. These are important elements of bike control when riding with a group.

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

• If it's wet on the road or raining, please put a rear fender on your bike to keep the person behind you happy.

• Wondering if we're riding? Check out our Twitter feed, shown in the right-hand column on our home page, for the very latest news.

• 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.

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 the ride starts.

Burning Snowflake Mixed Terrain Ride Series 2018

• Location: Ride Headquarters in Sherborn, MA

• Ride Type: Mixed Terrain

• Time & Date: Starting January 13, every other Saturday January-March, varying roll-out times.

• Distance: Varying distances & routes chosen are weather-dependent

• Price: Free

March 24 UPDATE: We will be riding all PAVED ROADS and not trails due to warm temps and soft, snowy/messy, hard-to-ride trails. The road route is 46 miles in length. 

See complete details on the Road Ride page.

Description: The Burning Snowflake series of rides take cyclists all over the trails of Sherborn and far beyond. The routes include paved roads to trails, dirt roads, grassy areas, and other places off the beaten path. Depending upon the week and weather & trail conditions, the distance and paces offered will vary so there are a lot of great riding options. 

One of the special features of the Burning Snowflake Series is food! We serve hot food prior to the ride and again after the ride returns. Each ride we have something a little different. We accommodate dietary restrictions. 

Schedule

Note route distance options, pace information and further details will be posted soon for each of the rides in the series. 

DONE - Saturday, January 27 - Rolllout is at 12pm. Show up between 11am and 11:45am for pre-ride food!

DONE - Saturday, January 27: the Burning Snowflake ROAD ride

DONE - Saturday, February 10 - Rollout is at 12pm. Show up between 11am and 11:45am for pre-ride food!

DONE - Saturday, February 24 - Rollout is at 11:45am. Show up between 11am and 11:30am for pre-ride food! We are merging this ride with the Burning Snowflake ROAD ride

DONE - Saturday, March 10 - We are offering a normal 36-mile ROAD RIDE.  We're POSTPONING the Burning Snowflake series and running it next Saturday, March 17 instead. For this ride, fenders are required. The rollout is at 11am, we have a ride leader for a 16-17mph ride pace. 

Saturday, March 24: the Burning Snowflake ROAD ride

Route:  See the road ride page for route and details of the ride. 

Ride Notes: We have a designated Ride Headquarters ride leader leading the ride and pointing out turns. 

Last Minute Information: Watch our Twitter feed shown on the right side of our home page for last-minute updates, weather cancellations or other changes. 

Estimated time: 2-4 hours typically, varies depending on route length, amount of trails versus roads, weather and trail conditions. 

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 riding? Keep reading. If conditions aren't conducive to riding, we'll substitute in an indoor activity such as a bike maintenance clinic or informative talk on a relevant cycling subject.

  • 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; 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.

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 the ride starts.

Overtime Century #1

• Location: Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA
• Ride Type:  Road Ride
• Date & Time: Saturday, 13 May 2017 - Depart at 8:30am
• Distance: ~100 miles  
• Price:  Free

Description:  The Overtime Century Series is comprised of one century ride each month beginning in May, culminating in the Formidable ride in October.  The average pace is 16-17 mph for one group, typically 18-20mph for a second group. If we have more participation, we'll break up into more groups with ~10 people per group. 

Dates of future Overtime Century Rides:
- June 10 - OT Century #2 - ~110 miles
- July 15 - OT Century #3 - ~120 miles
- August 19 - OT Century #4 - ~130 miles
- September 16 - OT Century #5 - ~140 miles
Formidable Ride by Overland Base Camp: October 14
 

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

Route:  Approximately 100 miles. Destination: Hollis, NH. Route will be emailed to all who RSVP (see bottom of this page). 

Ride Notes:  There are plenty of stops built into this ride. Mile 22 - Spring Brook Farm Country Store Littleton MA, Mile 41 - Old Brick Store Townsend MA, Mile 60 - Restroom at Hollis Library, Mile 61 - Lunch at Lull Farm, Mile 88 -  Java Room Chelmsford MA. There are some rough sections of road and there is a possibility of a small amount of dirt road/construction work.

Estimated time:  About 5 to 7 hours depending on the time of year, the weather, and pace of the group.

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.

RSVP So We Know to Expect You!

Overtime Century #2

• Location: Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA
• Ride Type:  Road Ride
• Date & Time: Saturday, 10 June 2017 - Depart at 8:30am
• Distance: ~110 miles, destination: Mt Wachusett
• Price:  Free

Description:  The Overtime Century Series is comprised of one century ride each month beginning in May, culminating in the Formidable ride in October.  The average pace is 16-17 mph for one group, typically 18-19mph for a second group. If we have more participation, we'll break up into more groups with ~10 people per group & possibly form a faster group if there's interest.

Dates of future Overtime Century Rides:
- July 15 - OT Century #3 - ~120 miles
- August 19 - OT Century #4 - ~130 miles
- September 16 - OT Century #5 - ~140 miles
Formidable Ride by Overland Base Camp: October 14

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

Route:  Approximately 110 miles. Destination: Mt Wachusett. The route will be emailed to all who RSVP.

Ride Notes:  The route goes to Mt Wachusett. It's not necessary to climb to the top if you'd prefer to rest your legs. This is a paved route with multiple stops for food/water. After the Mt Wachusett stop/water break, the next stop is a relaxing and tasty stop at Bolton Orchard. We send the full route and complete rest stop information to all who RSVP, at the bottom of this page. For safety reasons, we need all who come on the ride to RSVP.

Estimated time:  About 5 to 7 hours depending on the weather, and pace of the group, amount of time at rest stops, and if there are mechanicals.

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.

Please RSVP here before Friday, June 9 at 10am to join in this ride!

Overtime Century #3

• Location: Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA
• Ride Type:  Road Ride
• Date & Time: Saturday, 15 July 2017 - Depart at 8:30am
• Distance: ~120 miles  
• Price:  Free

Description:  The Overtime Century Series is comprised of one century ride each month beginning in May, culminating in the Formidable ride in October.  The average pace is 16-17 mph for one group, typically 18-20mph for a second group. If we have more participation, we'll break up into more groups with ~10 people per group. 

Dates of future Overtime Century Rides:
- August 19 - OT Century #4 - ~130 miles
- September 16 - OT Century #5 - ~140 miles
Formidable Ride by Overland Base Camp: October 14

Please RSVP early, so we can create more ride groups and ride speeds appropriate for the number of expected riders. Thank you!

We'll email you the day before the ride with complete details.

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

Route:  Approximately 120 miles. Destination: North Shore. Route will be emailed to all who RSVP the day prior to the ride.

Ride Notes:  We will update the ride notes nearer to the time of the ride. We do our best to keep riders on paved roads and out of construction zones.

Estimated time:  About 5 to 7 hours depending on the time of year, the weather, and pace of the group.

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.

Full Moon Over Sherborn 2018

• Location: Ride Headquarters in Sherborn, MA

• Ride Type: Mixed Terrain

• Time & Date: Departs Every Full Moon, varying start times

• Distance: ~15 miles, approximately 90 minutes of riding

• 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:

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; 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.

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 the ride starts.

Overtime Century #4

• Location: Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA
• Ride Type:  Road Ride
• Date & Time: Saturday, 19 August 2017 - Depart at 7am, RSC opens at 6:40am
• Distance: ~130 miles  
• Price:  Free

Description:  The Overtime Century Series is comprised of one century ride each month beginning in May, culminating in the Formidable ride in October.  The average pace is 16 mph  for one group, the second group is an 18 mph average. If we have more participation, we'll break up into more groups with ~10 people per group. 

Date of the last Overtime Century Ride:  September 16 - OT Century #5 ~140 miles

Formidable Ride by Overland Base Camp: October 14

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

Route:  Approximately 130 miles. Destination: Purgatory Chasm. The route will be emailed to all who RSVP.

Ride Notes:  This ride is headed to Purgatory Chasm. We will update the ride notes by Friday evening, after we've done our final route vetting. We do our best to keep riders on paved roads and out of construction zones.

The Cafe is opening at 6:40am for riders to 

Estimated time:  About 7 to 9 hours depending on the weather, pace of the group, and stop time for breaks.

Last Minute Information:  We will email all who RSVP with any last-minute information necessary, along with the route and further details about the ride. 

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.

Overtime Century #5

• Location: Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA
• Ride Type:  Road Ride
• Date & Time: Saturday, 16 September 2017 - Depart at 7am
• Distance: ~140 miles AND a 110 mile version!
• Price:  Free

Description:  The Overtime Century Series is comprised of one century ride each month beginning in May, culminating in the Formidable ride in October.  The average rolling pace is ~17 mph for one group. If we have more participation, we'll break up into more groups with ~10 people per group.

This is the LAST Overtime Century before the Formidable Ride on October 14! Be sure to register for the Formidable Ride by Overland Base Camp now. It's an awesome day in the saddle and you get road and mixed terrain route options. Now that you've done a lot of centuries this summer, you're ready for Formidable!

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

Route:  Approximately 140 miles. Seperately, we have a 110 mile version of the ride that is also running. Destination: Mt Wachusett and beyond. Route and complete details will be emailed to all who RSVP the evening before the ride.

Ride Notes:  We will email ride notes to all who RSVP. We do our best to keep riders on paved roads and out of construction zones. PLEASE come on this ride well prepared. You should be prepared with supplies for at least two flats, and have a way to get home if you have a ride-stopping mechanical.

Estimated time:  About 8-10 hours depending on the weather, and pace of the group.

Last Minute Information:  We will email all participants with last-minute ride information. 

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.