Ride Type: Mixed Terrain Ride, few paved roads, 90% dirt
Location: Start and end in Concord Center, Concord, MA
Date & Time: 7pm rollout Tuesday, December 14
Distance: ~14 miles
Price: Free, but in the spirit of the holidays, please bring a new toy or monetary donation for the toy drive - we’re matching your gift! See complete details below.
RSVPs: Required, see bottom of page for RSVP form
Details of the Special Aspects of this Ride:
This is a very fun mixed terrain ride, and it’s also an opportunity for us to share holiday cheer while on bikes together during the holiday season.
Toy Drive: In the spirit of the holidays, we want to help fill toy boxes for kids who will otherwise be without this holiday season. This ride benefits ABCD (Action for Boston Community Development). Please bring a new toy that is appropriate for children ages 0-12 and does not mimic weapons or violence. No time to shop? Please bring money to help them do good work for people and children.
With the space we have in the red HQ van, we have plenty of space for larger toys if you have a bigger toy(s) in mind!
Ride Headquarters is Matching Your Gift: We are writing a check to ABCD to match the value of the toys gifted as well as monetary donations. So you will give twice by contributing to this toy drive!
Buy Gravdal Studded Tires: For every set of 45NRTH Gravdal 700x38mm studded tires you purchase (either the tubeless or non-tubeless version), we’ll donate and additional $20 to ABCD. Stay safe riding on ice this winter and feel especially good about your purchase!
If you want to contribute but can’t attend the ride, no problem! Please email us and we’ll be sure to cross paths with you to get your toy donation or if you want to contribute money, you may do that via filling this out: https://www.rideheadquarters.com/payment & we’ll match your gift.
DEADLINE: All toys and monetary donations must be received by the end of the day December 14 since ABCD needs to receive the toys and money by December 15. We will visit them on the 15th to deliver the goodies.
Ride Details: This mixed-terrain night ride takes cyclists all over Concord and surrounding towns. The route includes paved roads, trails, dirt roads, grassy areas, and other places off the beaten path.
The ride departs at 7:00 pm with various speed groups. We have a designated RHQ Super Domestique leading the last group to depart which will be rolling at a moderate pace. If you have ridden mixed terrain before and can average 16mph on a paved road ride, you should be fine with the pace of this ride. We typically have at least two groups - one spicier and peppier ahead of the Super Domestique-led group. We’ll split into more groups if we have a large turnout and we’ll also split up by bike type/tire sizes.
We don’t have a sweep rider for this ride so only participate if you’re confident in your skill level and fitness.
Parking: We email everyone by 8pm the evening before the ride with logistics details, where to park, where to meet up, and the route. Parking is free and ample in Concord Center.
Route: The weather and trail conditions dictate the route. We do not ride on soft trails ever; we have rain trail-friendly routes prepared and lots of plan Bs.
Estimated time: ~2-2.5 hours depending on your speed group. This route is a little shorter than some of our mixed terrain routes, but it’s very full of trails so the average will be slower than a usual mixed terrain ride.
Ride Notes: We discuss these with you prior to rollout. Note that a mixed terrain ride is a little rougher than a “gravel” ride. You’ll be riding over some roots and rocks, though very little in this ride can be considered technical in nature. The trails we’re on are very well maintained so there won’t be much on/off the bike.
Last Minute Information: We email all participants with any critical late-breaking news.
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.
Since this is a night ride, be certain to bring both front and rear lights with batteries expected to last at least 2.5 hours. The colder it is, the shorter your batteries will last in all of your devices.
Leave your fenders at home, there are so many twigs and leaves on the trails, fenders only serve to collect these in ways that can break them, your spokes, derailleurs, etc.
Per our usual recommendations, be sure to have everything you need in case of a minor mechanical including flat fixing and chain fixing tools and supplies, including a rear derailleur hanger if your bike uses one. Also have a plan if your bike or body decide to stop working mid-ride.
Ride your fattest tire bike. 32mm tires are the minimum. Bigger tires roll better over things you can’t see and are more fun on rougher terrain. It’s fat bike season anyway so there will be a number of fat bikes on this ride. Gravel bikes are perfectly acceptable and will have plenty of fun if this is your fattest tire bike.
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 Tuned Bike: Be sure your bike is in safe working order, have it 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.
Ride with high enough tire pressure to prevent pinch flatting and burping your tires. We recommend about 80% to 90% of maximum rated tire pressure to begin. 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.
Flat tires and burped tires are especially problematic when it’s cold. We ride on the coldest days. Our ride leader(s) can’t help with mechanicals when it’s so cold, we risk freezing our sensitive extremities.
Waiver: Ride Headquarters requires a signed waiver before your first ride. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride.
How do we decide if we’re having the ride?
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 must have studded tires in order to ride with us.
Cold: It doesn’t matter what the temperature is, we ride. The coldest ride we’ve hosted started at 5 degrees. It was a blast!