The Good News: In the interest of offering you Dunes and Dirt for this Saturday, we will be running a fat bike ride from Revere Beach in Revere, MA rolling out at 10am. It's 30km long, includes great beaches and cool, unexpected trails. There will be a few road connectors. This is a ride suited to fat bikes, the bigger tires are necessary for beach riding, which is a significant portion of the route.
Revere Beach offers free parking on a first-come basis.
Please RSVP here so we know who to expect and we'll email you the route and details by 12pm Friday. There will be no fee for this ride. Feel free to invite your friends, this is open to all!
Join us for incredibly beautiful and fun, adventure-filled cycling on the dunes, dirt, twisty trails, and back roads on the South Shore of Massachusetts! The ride begins and ends in Marshfield, MA. There are multiple distance options for you for this ride! Choose to ride your fat bike on either a 50-km route or 25-km route, or if you don’t have a fat bike, there is a 100-km route option for your gravel bike. It’s happening Saturday, November 13, 2021.
This ride is full of a variety of trails, beaches, dirt roads, smooth and rooty trails, and some paved roads as well. Most of the route is away from traffic and people. Keep reading to understand the logistics.
This is a group or solo ride, depending on how you want to ride it. You may get a group of your friends together, you may opt to ride with others who are likely of your similar cycling pace and experience, or you’re welcome to ride it alone, though you’re hardly alone when there are so many people on the same route.
We have food and hot drinks for you mid-ride. After the ride, enjoy a hot pizza straight out of a wood-fired pizza oven! All diets are accommodated throughout the ride.
Ride with New People Option
Ride with people of your riding speed, but you don’t have to know anyone prior to the ride! This is an option for you if you’d like to ride with a group, but don’t have friends riding or simply want to meet new people who are of a similar strength.
We accommodate all diets so just let us know what you require when you register and we’ll have something appropriate for you at both the mid-ride stop and end-of-ride meal.
Routes for Fat Bikes
25 Kilometer or 50 Kilometer
Proper Bike for these Routes
A fat bike with 3.5” tires or bigger. We’ll be on beaches, trails, dirt roads, and pavement. Narrower tires than this won’t make it through the sand and beach portions which are many.
Please be sure your bike is in safe working order with a properly lubed chain.
Please be sure your tires are properly inflated. Ask us if you have questions about proper inflation.
Make sure to bring all of the cold-weather gear you might need. Never a bad idea to have extra chemical hand/toe warmers just in case.
Gravel bikes: 100 Kilometer Route
Proper Bike for this Route
35mm-40mm tires are best suited for the ride, bigger is okay as long as you can ride fast enough to complete the distance with at least a 10mph average pace. Your gravel bike is the most appropriate bike for this option. Mountain bikes and flat-bar bikes are welcome. Narrower than 35mm are strongly discouraged. There is some sand and loose gravel.
Clipless pedals and shoes are encouraged. These are important elements of bike control.
A bike that’s in safe working order. Make very certain your bike comes clean, lubed, safety checked with fresh brake pads, and tires in good shape. If it's wet on the road or raining, please put a rear fender on your bike to keep you from getting wet. If you’ll be riding with others and it’ll be wet, please ride far enough apart not to spray each other. Full-time fenders are discouraged due to the leaves and things that can get stuck in them.
Details
Ride Type: back roads, both paved and dirt roads, some mix of surfaces, some beach but almost entirely rideable with little/no technical skill.
Time & Date: Saturday, November 13, 2021
Rollout times will be assigned between 9:00am and 10:00am
Longer riders are sent off first, shorter-distance riders are sent off a little later but still early
Starting Point: Marshfield, MA
Distance: your choice.
25 km for a fat bike
50 km for a fat bike
100 km for a gravel bike
What you get
A gorgeous, well-planned route: Route file for your GPS computer, parking directions/instructions.
Staffed starting location with water, portable toilets, friendly staff
Staffed food stop with water, bike food, warm drinks appropriate for the season
Route Support - mechanic on route
Peace of Mind knowing there are other riders on the same route
Substantial lunch at the end of the ride of delicious, hearty hot, just out of the wood-fired oven pizza!
Price
$65 if you register on or before November 11
Registration closes at 11:59pm on Thursday, November 11
NO day-of registrations
Refund Policy
The earlier you register, the more generous our refund policy. Logistics for the ride are not trivial and changes/cancellations cost us valuable time. We also greatly appreciate everyone who registers early!
If you register > 9 days in advance of the ride, and cancel more than 2 days before the ride starts, you’ll get credit for all but $20 applied to a future ride that we host.
If you register > 5 days in advance of the ride, and cancel more than 2 days before the ride starts, you’ll get credit for all but $30 applied to a future ride we host.
All other cancellations > 2 days in advance of the ride: You’ll get a $20 credit toward one of our future events that we host.
Cancellations within 2 days of the ride cannot be refunded or credited since food is already purchased and we’ve made financial commitments with the expectations that you’ll be joining us.
BikeReg.com offers cancellation insurance which we recommend purchasing.
If you need any alterations to your registration of any sort, please email us as early as possible: trailmix@rideheadquarters.com
Start Location
Marshfield, Massachusetts. Exact details and location information are emailed to registered riders by 12pm the day before the ride.
Estimated drive times:
About 60-80 minutes from most parts of the greater Boston area
Route Information
This is a new route! Like all of our previous routes, it’s adventure-filled, but this time we have routes specifically suited to fat bikes and a separate route appropriate for gravel bikes. You’ll ride plenty of dirt roads, trails, and what’s pavement will mostly be on quiet back roads.
Pace Options - It’s a Ride for Most Everyone to Enjoy!
When you register for this ride, we ask you for your best estimate of your average pace when you ride a 30-mile all-paved ride. We don’t expect you will know what your pace will be on this route, we’re just interested in knowing approximately where each person will be after starting out. Fat bikes won’t average more than 6-7 mph, gravel bikes should be able to keep a 10mph minimum pace.
If you choose to ride faster than you think you will on the day of the ride, that is alright. We are staffing the food stop assuming a 4-5 mph minimum pace for the fat bikes.
Be sure you’ve got the route and at least one back-up power source to charge your GPS unit and phone during the day.
This route is likely to have more cell coverage than many that we host, but still don’t plan on having it when you need it.
COVID Protocol:
We ask that all riders adhere to state guidelines (in this case it’s MA) where it comes to mask wearing and proper social distancing. We will include these in the email we send to all participants just prior to the ride since guidance is continually changing. Basically, masks are not mandatory since we’re outside the whole time.
Please simply be respectful of others since everyone has a different level of nervousness where it comes to COVID worry.
If we think you’re being unsafe, you will be asked to leave the ride. You will not be invited to return to any group rides as well. This applies for all aspects of cycling and general behavior.
Additional Guidelines and Rules:
If you’re not signed up to ride with someone(s), you may not ride with that person(s) during the ride. If you want to find new people to ride with, please register in that category.
Everyone must bring a mask that covers your nose and mouth completely for use when it’s appropriate to mask up. A mask is unlikely to be necessary, but bring one in case you need to enter a business that requires it or are in another situation where it’s good to have.
We’ll be giving everyone specific starting times, please adhere to these. This allows for proper ride organization and smooth coordination at the start, mid-ride, and at the post-ride meal. We spend a lot of time figuring out starting positions to allow for the best flow of the day.
We’ll provide you with a very tasty, hot meal to eat afterward. Bring a lawn chair, a change of warm clothes, a blanket, mittens, and a warm hat. This will make the after-ride socialization much more relaxing and fun.
There is no ride leader, even if you ride with a group; you’ll be following your GPS computer, therefore owning a GPS computer is a must with at least one back-up power source.
We will not shuttle riders anywhere, it’s your responsibility to have a plan in case your bike or legs stop working.
We’ll send a very detailed email by 12pm the day before the ride, with the route, instructions, and details so you understand logistics and exactly what to do.
Preparation
What to bring, we recommend:
Everything necessary for common mechanicals. Items include:
Gravel bikes: 2 x tubes, fat bikes: 1 x tube
Hand pump
Co2 cartridges & Co2 inflator
Tire levers
Boot/dollar bill if your tire gets ripped
Patch kit
1 pair of quick links compatible for your chain
Chain pliers
Chain breaker
Multi-tool (if your chain breaker is on your multi-tool, even better)
If your bike uses a replaceable derailleur hanger, be sure to have an extra that is compatible with your bike
Rain jacket - this works well for chilly weather too
All of the cold weather gear the weather forecast shows will be necessary
2 x 26 oz water bottles or hydration pack
Hand/toe warmers
Food/nutrition in case you need a zap of energy before the food stop
If there’s anything you need, we can sell you whatever it is remotely assuming we have it in stock, and we will bring whatever it is to you to pick up before your ride begins. Email us letting us know anything you would like to have.
Weather: We will ride rain or shine. Dangerous weather (like an electrical storm) cancels the ride or postpones the start time.
Last Minute Information: We will email everyone who registers with the latest information and details concerning parking, timing, route, etc. by 12pm the day before the ride.
Unregistered riders or riders who haven’t signed the waiver may not participate.
Waiver: Ride Headquarters requires a signed waiver before your first ride. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride.
Contact Information: Email connect@rideheadquarters.com with questions. We will email you the cell phone number of the contact person who will be present at the beginning of the ride and available during the ride.
Riding Rules, What to Bring, How Our Rides are Different: All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules. Note: ALL rules stated here on this page override any conflicting rules you see on our typical ride rules.