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