Sand is Like Snow Beach Ride, Barnstable, MA

Sand is Like Snow Beach Ride, Barnstable, MA

• Location: Barnstable, MA

• Ride Type:  Fat bike ride

• Date & Time:  10am Sunday, January 14

• Distance:  ~2.5-3ish hours of riding sandy beaches

• Price:  Free*

• * You are welcome to ride once as a non-NEER member, after this membership is required to attend

• RSVPs: Required, form is at the bottom

Details

This ride departs at 10am. We’re riding together as a group, but on the beach, everyone can ride at his/her own pace; no one will get dropped, we re-group periodically. There may be a few roads connecting trails, but most of this is beach. If you recently mounted your studded tires, that’s fine. Both non-studded and studded tire bikes will be fine since there’s little or no pavement on the route. Route details will be shared with those who RSVP.

It’ll be windier on the sand, so be sure to dress warmer than the weather forecast predicts numerically.

Schedule

We’ll be at the parking lot by 9:45am. Please be ready to roll by 9:55am.

Parking

There is free parking in a large parking lot.

Route

The route will be shared via email with all who RSVP.

Questions? We’re at connect@newenglandexpeditionriders.com. Need to reach us at the ride? Call 413-461-7433, this reaches the organizer/Super Domestique who is at the ride.

Estimated time

~2.5-3ish hours

Ride Notes

We discuss these with you prior to rollout. It’s all appropriate for 4” tires or bigger. We can’t speak to the exact quality of the sand. There is some very fine, deep sand on some of the route so fatter tires with lower pressures will do best. If you come out with narrower tires than 4” and you can’t keep up, you’ll probably have fun riding at the water line where the sand is more compact, but we won’t be able to wait for you.

Contact Information

Email - connect@rideheadquaters.com, Phone which reaches the ride leader before and during the ride: 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

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

The proper bike for this ride includes the following:

• Fat bike with 4” minimum tires.  

• A bike that’s in safe working order that is properly lubed and tuned. You’ll need to walk back to the lot if you have a mechanical situation that will hinder the forward progress of the group by more than a few minutes.

• Always bring a spare tube, air, tools for taking your wheels off your bike, a derailleur hanger and ALL of the tools you’d need to fix common mechanical situations.

• Bring warmer clothes than you think you’ll need

RIDER INFORMATION - Fire Frost First Ride! January 1, 2024

• Location: Start and end in Randolph, MA, next to the Blue Hills

• Ride Type:  Two options! Choose from one of the following:

  • Adventure Mixed Terrain ride of 25 or 40 miles (two distance options) for those who want a cool urban adventure on your gravel bike or any bike with 38mm+ tires OR

  • Ride the fun trails of the Blue Hills on your fat or mountain bike. Either way, you’ll get a route, people to ride with, a hot meal, hot drinks, a camp fire and warm cabin to hang out in after you’re done riding!

• Date & Time: Monday, January 1, 2024

• Distance: The Mixed Terrain Adventure ride is 25 and 40 miles in length, the mountain/fat Blue Hills only route offers 2-3 hours of fun riding for those who choose this option.

• All are welcome if you’ve got the basics on gear covered. We have a non-riding/road rider option too!

• Price:  $45 before December 28, $55 after that.

• $10 of your registration is a donation that goes to NEMBA for their trail work and advocacy efforts!

• Registration deadline: Friday, December 29 at 11:59pm.

• Register at BikeReg.com

Details

How better to start 2024 than with a really fun bike ride with fun people?! 

We have two options for riders so you get what you want: 

Option 1: Mixed Terrain Adventure Ride

• A mixed terrain Adventure Ride that starts next to the Blue Hills and takes riders through areas you're unlikely to have ever ridden through. This is an ALL NEW route, one no one has enjoyed before! It's an urban adventure with interesting dirt paths and back roads galore. Your GRAVEL bike is ideal for this route. Ride any bike you wish that has ~38mm tires or wider as long as you and your bike are ready for a 25 mile or 40 mile adventure. There are two distance options so pick what you wish to ride.

Option 2: Ride trails within the Blue Hills on your Mtn or Fat Bike

• Have fun on your mtb/fat bike on the fun trails of the Blue Hills! The route we have together for you keeping you within the Blue Hills is appropriate for riders with mtb/fat bikes and not too technical or crazy climbing (as can be avoided). It's a fun way to ride your bike without going too far from the heat of the fire or cabin.

Want to ride with your Friend Group?

When you register, tell us who you want to ride with if you’d like to have a separate departure/start time for you and your friends. This is fine! Or if you want to ride solo, that’s fine too. Otherwise, we’ll assemble groups to ride together based on the pace and bike type you sign up for.

Regardless of the option you choose:

After you ride, enjoy a campfire, hot food and hot drinks at a large cabin in the Blue Hills after your ride is over!

The fire and cabin will be hot and a hearty, tasty stew (along with hot drinks and biscuits) will still be served from 12:30pm on. All dietary requirements will be accommodated, please tell us in your registration what you can't/don't want to eat. 

What if you're a road rider or a non-riding partner/friend/etc? You can register too! Ride your bike on the road, then come join in the festivities at  the cabin. The idea is starting the New Year right, getting people together around a fire and getting to do the thing you enjoy doing too!!

The actual start time for each group will be determined after we see how many people are registered for each category. We can't have too many people at the cabin/fire at once, so we we'll stagger people and groups appropriately. Everyone will begin somewhere after 10am and before 11:15am.

$10 of each registration goes to NEMBA to help them do the great work they do all year! We're really fortunate to have trails created and maintained by NEMBA (if you're not yet a NEMBA member, we recommend becoming one)!

Everyone who registers will receive an email by 5pm December 31, 2023 (the night before the ride) with route information and start time information along with parking instructions and more.

What You Get

• On the Adventure Ride: Ride a new route never ridden before in an urban setting but with lots of neat dirt trails, back roads, and new areas to discover.

• A well-vetted route.

• An opportunity to ride your gravel, mtn or fat bike with plenty of dirt, cool trails on the first day of the year knowing there’s a warm cabin, hot fire, tasty food, hot drinks and friendly people all awaiting you at the end!

• The chance to share the day with your friend group, ride with a group of people we match up based on expected pace, or ride solo without feeling alone.

• A hot, hearty warm meal and treats at the end of the ride! Enjoy a warm cabin inside, enjoy a hot campfire outside! All diets are accommodated with the food offerings. Whatever you wish, enjoy the time together on your bike then enjoy the post ride togetherness and refuel with tasty, hot food and hot drinks!

• No clock: this is not a race, it’s an opportunity to enjoy riding your bike, take the time you want to out there, ride as fast or slow as you wish.

Get your Friends Together to Ride Together!

We’re offering a separate rollout time for all friend groups so you can start together and stay together. Get your friends together and when you register, tell us their names. Your start time will not be more than 30 minutes different from the start time for the category you register for unless you request a different time.

If you don’t have friends who want to do the ride, that’s fine, we will get riders of similar paces to ride together or you’re welcome to ride solo. We prefer to start solo riders nice and early so you’re seeing others throughout the day and not the last rider out there.

Start Time Requests if different from the category start time

We’re happy to accommodate anyone’s start time requests unless it looks like it’ll get you back too early or too late so please tell us your requests in your registration information. If you’re riding with a friend group and you request a specific time, we’ll assume everyone in your group is on board with this request.

Pace

If you choose to ride with a group of friends you or someone puts together, ride the pace your group prefers! We offer a start time for your group so that you can start separately and stay together.

If you’re riding solo, you’re welcome to ride the pace you want as long as you have time to complete the route before we stop serving food. If you’re wondering about your pace and timing, email us.

If you select to ride with a group of people we assemble, then you’ve told us your pace and hopefully those who we match you with are around the same pace. There’s always a risk of the group being a little faster or slower than how you want to ride so come with the route loaded and be prepared. Our rides typically attract people in this category who want to ride with others so will alter their pace to appease others in the group so as to have a pleasant group experience.

Start, Distance & Estimated Ride Time

Start times that you see when you register are all approximate. We will roll out groups of friends, groups we assemble, and solo riders separately. You'll get an email with exact rollout times 5pm Sunday evening prior to the ride.

We expect all riders to be done riding before the sun sets. We expect to be at the cabin with the fires going until 6pm.

Parking

There is a large parking lot that allows for all-day parking at no charge where we’ll be starting and ending at the Donovan school in Randolph. We’ll share exact directions with you to this lot. Should the lot fill up, there is free, all-day on-street parking in the neighborhood next to the lot.

Route & Route Notes

The routes will be emailed to all who register no later than 5pm Sunday evening prior to the ride.

Food & Water During the Ride

Our pre-ride email will include information on places to stop to refuel during the ride for those who chose the Mixed Terrain Adventure option if necessary. Bring enough food/water to get through the ride without needing to resupply.

After the Ride

We’re providing a hot, tasty stew, hot drinks and treats for after the ride at a cabin within the Blue Hills. The cabin is accessible via dirt road and easy-to-ride paths which will be detailed on your ride route.

From 12:30pm-6pm, the cabin will be warm with wood-buring stove, a campfire will be going outside, and you’re welcome to drop in if you need to warm up while out riding. There is a maximum number of riders we’re allowed to have outside the cabin at once, so we’ll stagger start times to keep everyone from showing up at the cabin at once.

What happens if the weather is terrible? The weather looks like it’ll be nice so this is probably uncessary to even think about!

There’s almost no stopping the cabin food, fires and community from happening! We’ll make a logical decision and email all who have registered if the weather presents a danger to participants to drive/ride to the cabin.

Last-Minute Information

We will email all participants with any critical late-breaking news via BikeReg.com so make sure you get communications from BikeReg!

Contact Information

Email us with questions at connect@newenglandexpeditionriders.com.

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. Registering for this ride indicates you have read and accept all of the rules. These make the ride safer and more fun for all.

Waiver

The insurance for this ride requires a signed waiver. This will be shared with all who register to sign electronically.

Proper bike & Equipment

For the Adventure Mixed Terrain Route: A gravel bike is ideal, though a mountain bike or fat bike with 38mm tires or wider is fine if you know you’ll be able to keep the pace you’re signing up for with that bike.

For the Mtn/Fat Blue Hills Route: 2.1” tires or wider.

For ALL Riders:

• Required: A GPS computer with the route loaded ahead of time

• Required: A bike that’s in safe working order that has been recently tuned and is free of creaking and squeaking.

• Required: All of the tools for typical mechanicals such as:

• Flat fix tools and at least one spare tube (yes, even if you’re running tubeless tires), air via CO2 or hand pump, multi-tool

• Nice to have: Extra chain link, chain breaker, chain pliers

• Spare derailleur hanger if your bike needs a spare

• Extra clothes and storage capacity so adding/taking off layers is easy

• Required: Cell phone and a plan to get back to your car in case your bike or body stops working - we cannot offer rides to anyone (per insurance requirements)

• Required: Two full water bottles at the start of the ride

• Front and rear lights if there is any chance you’ll be riding in the dark or in inclement conditions (so these are not required for this ride but it’s still always nice to have at least a rear blinky for safety/being visible)

• Nice to have: Extra calories in your pockets

Fire Frost First Ride! January 1, 2024

• Location: Start and end in Randolph, MA, next to the Blue Hills

• Ride Type:  Two options! Choose from one of the following:

  • Adventure Mixed Terrain ride of 25 or 40 miles (two distance options) for those who want a cool urban adventure on your gravel bike or any bike with 38mm+ tires OR

  • Ride the fun trails of the Blue Hills on your fat or mountain bike. Either way, you’ll get a route, people to ride with, a hot meal, hot drinks, a camp fire and warm cabin to hang out in after you’re done riding!

• Date & Time: Monday, January 1, 2024

• Distance: The Mixed Terrain Adventure ride is 25 and 40 miles in length, the mountain/fat Blue Hills only route offers 2-3 hours of fun riding for those who choose this option.

• All are welcome if you’ve got the basics on gear covered. We have a non-riding/road rider option too!

• Price:  $45 before December 28, $55 after that.

• $10 of your registration is a donation that goes to NEMBA for their trail work and advocacy efforts!

• Registration deadline: Friday, December 29 at 11:59pm.

• Register at BikeReg.com

Details

How better to start 2024 than with a really fun bike ride with fun people?! 

We have two options for riders so you get what you want: 

Option 1: Mixed Terrain Adventure Ride

• A mixed terrain Adventure Ride that starts next to the Blue Hills and takes riders through areas you're unlikely to have ever ridden through. This is an ALL NEW route, one no one has enjoyed before! It's an urban adventure with interesting dirt paths and back roads galore. Your GRAVEL bike is ideal for this route. Ride any bike you wish that has ~38mm tires or wider as long as you and your bike are ready for a 25 mile or 40 mile adventure. There are two distance options so pick what you wish to ride.

Option 2: Ride trails within the Blue Hills on your Mtn or Fat Bike

• Have fun on your mtb/fat bike on the fun trails of the Blue Hills! The route we have together for you keeping you within the Blue Hills is appropriate for riders with mtb/fat bikes and not too technical or crazy climbing (as can be avoided). It's a fun way to ride your bike without going too far from the heat of the fire or cabin.

Want to ride with your Friend Group?

When you register, tell us who you want to ride with if you’d like to have a separate departure/start time for you and your friends. This is fine! Or if you want to ride solo, that’s fine too. Otherwise, we’ll assemble groups to ride together based on the pace and bike type you sign up for.

Regardless of the option you choose:

After you ride, enjoy a campfire, hot food and hot drinks at a large cabin in the Blue Hills after your ride is over!

The fire and cabin will be hot and a hearty, tasty stew (along with hot drinks and biscuits) will still be served from 12:30pm on. All dietary requirements will be accommodated, please tell us in your registration what you can't/don't want to eat. 

What if you're a road rider or a non-riding partner/friend/etc? You can register too! Ride your bike on the road, then come join in the festivities at  the cabin. The idea is starting the New Year right, getting people together around a fire and getting to do the thing you enjoy doing too!!

The actual start time for each group will be determined after we see how many people are registered for each category. We can't have too many people at the cabin/fire at once, so we we'll stagger people and groups appropriately. Everyone will begin somewhere after 10am and before 11:15am.

$10 of each registration goes to NEMBA to help them do the great work they do all year! We're really fortunate to have trails created and maintained by NEMBA (if you're not yet a NEMBA member, we recommend becoming one)!

Everyone who registers will receive an email by 5pm December 31, 2023 (the night before the ride) with route information and start time information along with parking instructions and more.

What You Get

• On the Adventure Ride: Ride a new route never ridden before in an urban setting but with lots of neat dirt trails, back roads, and new areas to discover.

• A well-vetted route.

• An opportunity to ride your gravel, mtn or fat bike with plenty of dirt, cool trails on the first day of the year knowing there’s a warm cabin, hot fire, tasty food, hot drinks and friendly people all awaiting you at the end!

• The chance to share the day with your friend group, ride with a group of people we match up based on expected pace, or ride solo without feeling alone.

• A hot, hearty warm meal and treats at the end of the ride! Enjoy a warm cabin inside, enjoy a hot campfire outside! All diets are accommodated with the food offerings. Whatever you wish, enjoy the time together on your bike then enjoy the post ride togetherness and refuel with tasty, hot food and hot drinks!

• No clock: this is not a race, it’s an opportunity to enjoy riding your bike, take the time you want to out there, ride as fast or slow as you wish.

Get your Friends Together to Ride Together!

We’re offering a separate rollout time for all friend groups so you can start together and stay together. Get your friends together and when you register, tell us their names. Your start time will not be more than 30 minutes different from the start time for the category you register for unless you request a different time.

If you don’t have friends who want to do the ride, that’s fine, we will get riders of similar paces to ride together or you’re welcome to ride solo. We prefer to start solo riders nice and early so you’re seeing others throughout the day and not the last rider out there.

Start Time Requests if different from the category start time

We’re happy to accommodate anyone’s start time requests unless it looks like it’ll get you back too early or too late so please tell us your requests in your registration information. If you’re riding with a friend group and you request a specific time, we’ll assume everyone in your group is on board with this request.

Pace

If you choose to ride with a group of friends you or someone puts together, ride the pace your group prefers! We offer a start time for your group so that you can start separately and stay together.

If you’re riding solo, you’re welcome to ride the pace you want as long as you have time to complete the route before we stop serving food. If you’re wondering about your pace and timing, email us.

If you select to ride with a group of people we assemble, then you’ve told us your pace and hopefully those who we match you with are around the same pace. There’s always a risk of the group being a little faster or slower than how you want to ride so come with the route loaded and be prepared. Our rides typically attract people in this category who want to ride with others so will alter their pace to appease others in the group so as to have a pleasant group experience.

Start, Distance & Estimated Ride Time

Start times that you see when you register are all approximate. We will roll out groups of friends, groups we assemble, and solo riders separately. You'll get an email with exact rollout times 5pm Sunday evening prior to the ride.

We expect all riders to be done riding before the sun sets. We expect to be at the cabin with the fires going until 6pm.

Parking

There is a large parking lot that allows for all-day parking at no charge where we’ll be starting and ending at the Donovan school in Randolph. We’ll share exact directions with you to this lot. Should the lot fill up, there is free, all-day on-street parking in the neighborhood next to the lot.

Route & Route Notes

The routes will be emailed to all who register no later than 5pm Sunday evening prior to the ride.

Food & Water During the Ride

Our pre-ride email will include information on places to stop to refuel during the ride for those who chose the Mixed Terrain Adventure option if necessary. Bring enough food/water to get through the ride without needing to resupply.

After the Ride

We’re providing a hot, tasty stew, hot drinks and treats for after the ride at a cabin within the Blue Hills. The cabin is accessible via dirt road and easy-to-ride paths which will be detailed on your ride route.

From 12:30pm-6pm, the cabin will be warm with wood-buring stove, a campfire will be going outside, and you’re welcome to drop in if you need to warm up while out riding. There is a maximum number of riders we’re allowed to have outside the cabin at once, so we’ll stagger start times to keep everyone from showing up at the cabin at once.

What happens if the weather is terrible? The weather looks like it’ll be nice so this is probably uncessary to even think about!

There’s almost no stopping the cabin food, fires and community from happening! We’ll make a logical decision and email all who have registered if the weather presents a danger to participants to drive/ride to the cabin.

Last-Minute Information

We will email all participants with any critical late-breaking news via BikeReg.com so make sure you get communications from BikeReg!

Contact Information

Email us with questions at connect@newenglandexpeditionriders.com.

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. Registering for this ride indicates you have read and accept all of the rules. These make the ride safer and more fun for all.

Waiver

The insurance for this ride requires a signed waiver. This will be shared with all who register to sign electronically.

Proper bike & Equipment

For the Adventure Mixed Terrain Route: A gravel bike is ideal, though a mountain bike or fat bike with 38mm tires or wider is fine if you know you’ll be able to keep the pace you’re signing up for with that bike.

For the Mtn/Fat Blue Hills Route: 2.1” tires or wider.

For ALL Riders:

• Required: A GPS computer with the route loaded ahead of time

• Required: A bike that’s in safe working order that has been recently tuned and is free of creaking and squeaking.

• Required: All of the tools for typical mechanicals such as:

• Flat fix tools and at least one spare tube (yes, even if you’re running tubeless tires), air via CO2 or hand pump, multi-tool

• Nice to have: Extra chain link, chain breaker, chain pliers

• Spare derailleur hanger if your bike needs a spare

• Extra clothes and storage capacity so adding/taking off layers is easy

• Required: Cell phone and a plan to get back to your car in case your bike or body stops working - we cannot offer rides to anyone (per insurance requirements)

• Required: Two full water bottles at the start of the ride

• Front and rear lights if there is any chance you’ll be riding in the dark or in inclement conditions (so these are not required for this ride but it’s still always nice to have at least a rear blinky for safety/being visible)

• Nice to have: Extra calories in your pockets

Sunday Mixed Terrain Ride

• Location: Start and end in Arlington at the Arlington reservoir

• Ride Type:  Mixed Terrain Ride for gravel, mountain & fat bikes

• Date & Time:  Sunday, December 10, 9am start

• Distance:  16-18 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 mixed-terrain ride takes cyclists to many back roads, plenty of dirt paths and trails for a total of 16-18 miles.

The route is a mixed terrain route so any gravel bike with 40mm tires is suited for the terrain. Bikes with bigger tires are MORE than welcome and encouraged since this is the time of year for many to shift to mountain and fat bikes. We’ll split people into groups based on bikes and speeds that are likely to result if we get more than 10 people out. Otherwise, we’ll ride together at a “zone 2” conversational pace which is something like 7-8mph on the trails.

The trails should be pretty dry by Sunday so studded tires aren’t required. We encourage you to keep your eyes open for ice at this time of year.

We have a designated Super Domestique leading the last group to depart, if we split into groups.

Pace: endurance zone 2/3 for most cyclists - if you can average 15/16mph on a road bike on a paved road, you’ll be fit enough for this ride.

Distance

The ride is 16-18 miles in length.

Parking

Arlington Reservoir

210 Lowell St., Arlington, MA 02474

Route

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

Estimated Ride Time

~2-3 hours

Route Notes

We discuss these with you prior to rollout. Note that a mixed terrain ride is rougher than a “gravel” ride on the dirt sections. There are a number of boardwalks. It should be dry on these so as long as you feel comfortable riding average width boardwalks, you’ll be fine.

Last-Minute Information

We will email all participants with any critical late-breaking news.

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

• 35mm knobby tires minimum.  Wider tires are nicer! Tire choice depends on your riding skill set. We expect to see gravel bikes, mountain bikes, and fat bikes at this ride, the majority of bikes will likely be gravel bikes.

• 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. 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.

Global Fat Bike Day!! Dunes & Dirt Fat Bike Adventure Ride - 2024

• Location: Start and end in Wompatuck, MA

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

• Date & Time:  Saturday, December 7, 2024 8am start*

• Distance:  We have OPTIONS! ~40 and ~70 miles (bring lights!)*

• Price: $0 - if this is your first ride with NEER, it’s no charge, come on out! If you’ve ridden with NEER previously, please become a member, it’s required of our insurance.

• 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! There are quality beaches, sand, trails, back roads. A whole lot of everything.

* We reserve the right to shift start times based on the number of registrants and conditions for the day. Mileage options may change due to the conditions of the 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 for the stronger riders. This is not slow when you’re on a fat bike.

We are offering a “fun” pace for less fit riders or riders who are new to their fat bike. This pace is offered for the 40-mile version only considering this is still a big day in the saddle.

Distance & Estimated Ride Time

Allow 9-10 hours for this ride for the 70-mile version, 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.

The 40-mile route is a ~5.5 hour ride for stronger riders, 6.5 hours for less strong riders so still a big day at this time of year!

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 routes 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

Bring something to eat for post-ride. Since we aren’t charging, we aren’t staffing the finish of the ride.

Last-Minute Information

We will email all participants with any critical late-breaking news.

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.

Proper bike & Equipment

• 3.5” knobby tires OR BIGGER.  Wider tires are nicer! We’ll be on some beaches so mountain bikes don’t have wide enough tires for these sections. Besides, it’s Global Fat Bike Day!

• 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. Some of the beach riding may involve riding on rocks, and there are paved roads connecting the beaches and trails.

• 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.

Register to Participate in Global Fat Bike Day Massachusetts 2024 Now on BikeReg!

If you can’t make it, your registration is transferable to a friend.

Saturday Blue Hills Gravel Ride

• Location: Start and end at the Blue Hills, Milton, MA

• Ride Type:  Mixed Terrain Ride for gravel bikes or hardtail mountain bikes, fat bikes

• Date & Time:  Saturday, November 18, 9am start

• Distance options:  11 miles-21 miles, see details

• 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

• From 1pm-5pm, we’ll be hosting demo riders at the red van in the Houghton’s Pond Parking Area. Come out and say hello if you want to start your ride later in the day or if you want to go mountain bike riding or take out a demo bike! Be sure to email ahead of time if you want to demo ride so we have the right bike and equipment for you! Email: connect@rideheadquarters.com

Details

We’re riding the gravel paths and trails at the Blue Hills! We’re doing NEMBA-defined gravel trails, thus your gravel bike or wider-tired bike will be appropriate. We’re also hanging out in the parking lot until 5pm so if you want to come out to ride or take out a demo bike, there are lots of options all day long!

Pace: endurance zone 2-3 for most cyclists - if you can average 15/16mph on a road bike on a paved road for 2+ hours, you’ll be fit enough for this ride. The pace on a mixed terrain ride is much slower than a road ride so expect the ride to take ~2.5-3 hours to complete.

Distance

The ride is 11-21 miles long, do as much as you wish!

Parking

Houghton’s Pond Parking Area

Blue Hills, Milton, MA

Link to the parking lot & where to park: PIN

Route

The route and options available will be emailed to all who RSVP no later than 7pm tonight.

Estimated Ride Time

~3 hours

Route Notes

These trails are described as appropriate for gravel bikes or bigger tires per NEMBA. There is no pressure ever to ride anything you prefer to walk.

Last-Minute Information

We will email all participants with any critical late-breaking news.

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

New England Expedition Riders 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

• 35mm knobby tires minimum.  Wider tires are nicer! Ideal: 40mm or wider. We expect to see gravel bikes, hardtail mountain bikes, and fat bikes on this ride. Tire choice depends on your riding skill set. Do NOT ride road tires since you’ll be flatting out there.

• 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 on 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.  

• 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.

Global Fat Bike Day!! Dunes & Dirt Fat Bike Adventure Ride

• Location: Start and end in Wompatuck, MA

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

• Date & Time:  Saturday, December 2, 8am start

• Distance:  We have OPTIONS! ~40 and ~70 miles (bring lights!)

• 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! There are quality beaches, sand, trails, back roads. A whole lot of everything.

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 for the 70-mile version, 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.

The 40-mile route is probably a ~6 hour ride so still a big day at this time of year!

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 routes 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 some beaches so mountain bikes don’t have wide enough tires for these sections. Besides, it’s Global Fat Bike Day!

• 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.

Revere Beach Ride

Location: Revere Beach (you’ll see a lot more than just Revere Beach!)

• Ride Type:  Fat bike ride

• Date & Time:  Sunday, November 12

• Distance:  ~3ish hours of riding, 17 miles (spend extra time on the beach post official ride too, we’re parking next to it!)

• Price:  Free*

• * You are welcome to ride once as a non-NEER member, after this membership is required to attend

• RSVPs: Required, form is at the bottom

Details:  

This ride departs at 10am. We’re riding together as a group, but on the beach, everyone can ride at his/her own pace; no one will get dropped, we re-group before exiting the beach where we pick up trails and back roads. Most of the ride is on sand and dirt. It is great fun on big tires on the sand. There are roads and trails connecting the beaches so be ready for both pavement and sand.

It’ll be windier on the sand, so be sure to dress warmer than the weather forecast predicts numerically.

Schedule: We’ll be at the meeting spot by 9:45am. Please be ready to roll by 9:55am.

Parking: There is free, ample on-street parking next to the start.

Route:  The route will be shared via email with all who RSVP.

Questions? We’re at connect@rideheadquarters.com. Need to reach us at the ride? Call 413-461-7433, this is our shop number and reaches the organizer who is at the ride.

Estimated time: ~2.5ish hours

Ride Notes:  We discuss these with you prior to rollout. There will be beachy sand and paved roads to connect various sections. It’s all appropriate for 3.5” tires or bigger. We can’t speak to the exact quality of the sand for those of you who want to ride skinnier tires and we can’t recommend anything narrower than 3.5”.

Contact Information:  Email - connect@rideheadquaters.com, Phone which reaches the ride leader before and during the ride: 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.

The proper bike for this ride includes the following:

• Fat bike with 3.5” minimum tires.  

• 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.

• Always bring a spare tube, air, tools for taking your wheels off your bike, a derailleur hanger and ALL of the tools you’d need to fix common mechanical situations.

• Bring warmer clothes than you think you’ll need

Saturday Adventure Mixed Terrain Ride to Marblehead

• Location: Start and end in Winchester, MA

• Ride Type:  Adventure Mixed Terrain Ride for gravel bikes or hard tail mountain bikes who can do the distance

• Date & Time: 9am, Saturday, November 11

• Distance: 64 miles

• Price:  Free, but we’re requiring NEER membership if this is your second ride with us.

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

Details

This urban adventure mixed terrain ride takes cyclists on a beautiful journey from Winchester, MA into Marblehead, MA for a different kind of mixed terrain day! The route is on the rougher side, it’s a fun one, but anyone scared of mixed terrain should be prepared to take your time and bring friends to ride with.

Pace

We have one Super Domestique on the ride who will be riding a steady endurance pace for the distance (would translate to a 15-16mph pace if we were on paved roads so the pace will be less than this but with that kind of effort) and one person who knows the route and the area who will be riding single speed at a steady pace. The Super Domestique is likely to be riding a hardtail mountain bike.

You are welcome to ride faster than the led group(s) if you wish. You are also welcome to ride slower, but we advise bringing a friend if you’ll be behind the group for safety since it’s a really big ride.

Please mention your pace in your RSVP if you think you’ll be faster/slower than the Super Domestique and be aware that there’s a chance you will be riding solo. We prefer if slower riders want to ride solo, you let us know and choose to start earlier so that we can pass you out there somewhere during the day or intersect at the lunch stop, it makes it safer to have some overlap out there.

Start, Distance & Estimated Ride Time

Please be ready to ride at 8:55am. We’ll start the safety talk/route talk at 9am and then roll out.

We’ll meet up at the big, red van in the Winchester Parking lot.

Route is 64 miles long, we expect to be out there until ~3-4pm. It took about 6 hours last time we did this in the middle of July so it could take longer with the colder temps.

Parking

Winchester Center Station Parking - West

Link to the parking lot: https://goo.gl/maps/QEzSSvJqjAdWWeQs9

Route

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

Route Notes

Elevation gain is ~2,900 ft. according to RideWithGPS.

Expect some paved roads, at least 40% of this is dirt, trails, off-road sections. Most of the pavement is off main roads.

Food & Water During the Ride

Be sure to bring plenty of food and water, this route doesn’t have a lot of opportunities to fill up!

Water/restroom stop - At mile 19, there’s a Market Basket. It’s not pointed out on the route, but it goes right past the front door of the Market Basket.

FUN Food/water stop & Ride 1/2 Way Rest - At mile 31.9, there’s a nice ice cream parlor & next door is a market full of food options. There’s outdoor seating so it’ll be possible to have a nice stop & meal here. Bring enough food/water to get you to this stop & fill up to be able to return. With this being urban, there are a number of places to get water on the fly.

Water stop - At mile 45.3, there’s a lightning bolt on the route to remind you that a convenience store is really close if you need it. Exact address: 263 Lynnfield St., Lynn. Using Google to help you locate it is wise.

After the Ride

Bring a change of clothes so you can enjoy your drive home!

Bring something to eat, too.

Want to demo ride a bike? Talk about a new bike? Ride Headquarters has demo bikes for those who are interested in demo riding and discussing awesome, super fun new bikes. A ride like this isn’t ideal for demo riding, but we will measure your current bike and make a plan for your future demo ride. Contact Ride Headquarters at connect@rideheadquarters.com.

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 up until 10pm the night before 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

• 40mm knobby tires or wider are recommended.  Wider tires are always nice! Tire choice depends on your riding skill set. Skinnier tires are strongly discouraged since your chances of flatting go up.

• 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.

• A bike that’s in safe working order that is properly lubed and tuned. We’ll ask you to call for a ride if you have a mechanical situation that will hinder the forward progress of the group by more than a few minutes or if you haven’t come prepared. There might not be much cell reception on this route so it could be a long walk.

• 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.

  • 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, 2 x extra 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.