Dedication of the Alfred J. Lima Quequechan River Rail trail

It was a beautiful, picture perfect morning for the dedication of the Alfred J. Lima Quequechan River Rail trail.  There were several speakers, but the person who lit the flame to get this great project on track was the center of attention. Tons of well deserved praise for Al Lima!!!

For additional information please visit the Healthy City page with several photos and description.  Link to Healthy City page

Bike Challenge Celebration Ride

Reminder!!   Hope to see as many riders as possible.   Reminder - if you have a Bike Fall River shirt - wear it to this event!!  It is incredible that a city that had virtually no bicycle culture just a few years ago can come in 4th in the state of Massachusetts!

This Saturday there will be a brief award ceremony at the Dartmouth YMCA Fall Family Festival at 11:00am

Come join Bike Fall River as we ride a 16 mile route from Fall River to Dartmouth to cheer on the award winners from all of the Southcoast Bikeway and of course our own fellow teammates that will be receiving recognition. Our group will ride in from the West while another group will ride in from the East. The ride is all on road.

Bike Fall River did a great job in this across the state challenge. 6 Bike Fall River riders topped 1,000 miles of riding this summer, they are:   Robin Thorpe, George Banville, Rick Schwartz, Brian Pearson, Karen Pearson and Mark Falcon.  GREAT JOB Riders!!

In addition, by community, Fall River came in fourth in points.   The Southcoast Bikeway Alliance had 3 cities in the top five by points:

Fairhaven,  Mattapoisett,  Lowell,  Fall River,   Boston -  Yes!!  Fall River had more points than Boston!!

Here are the ride details:

Meetup - Saturday - September 19, 2015 - 9:00am at the parking lot across from the Meditech Building on Martine Street (Route 6)
We will leave at 9:15am - The route will be Route 6, take a right onto Sanford Road, left onto Route 177, right onto Old County Rd in Westport, bear left and stay on Old County Road (turns into Old Westport Road) and pass by UMass Dartmouth, right onto Chase Road, left onto Russell Mills Road, and a right onto Gulf Road.

Make sure to wear your Bike Fall River shirt on the ride!!  Helmets are required.  Two of our members will be receiving awards - Robin Thorpe and Rick Schwartz.

Hope to see you there!!

Two great rides scheduled for this coming Saturday and Sunday - July 18th and 19th.

We have 2 great rides scheduled for this coming Saturday and Sunday - July 18th and 19th.  One is a bike ride to a yoga class and the other is to a beautiful Mansion and gardens museum. For the museum ride we will need to know who plans to go on the ride.

Here are the details for the two rides:  

Back by popular demand! Bike ride and Yoga class. (Weather Permitting)

Saturday – July 18, 2015 – Start Time for Ride 7:30am – Yoga Class starts at 8:30am - We will be riding at 12 to 14 miles per hour.

Meet up place – Parking lot across the street from Meditech which is located at 101 Martine Street (Route 6)

The Yoga class is given by Jeff Costa who is an internationally recognized fitness and lifestyle consultant and a leading creative force in the industry. The payment for the Yoga class is by donations and the class is located at Partners Village in Westport. The ride to the class is all on-road and is 10 miles with a 20 mile round trip. Those not taking part in the class will continue to ride to Westport Point and back for refreshments at Village Partners. Make sure to roll up your yoga mat and bring it along.

For further information about Jeff Costa go to his webpage:   http://jeffcostafitness.com/studio-classes/yoga/

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Blithewold Mansion Museum Ride (Weather Permitting)

Sunday – July 19, 2015 – Start time of ride is 9:30am – Museum opens at 10am

Meet up place – Take 103 toward Warren – after Del’s Lemonade take left and park along the left. Ride will be along the bike path and on-road. Approximately 8 miles to the museum. (We have made arrangements for parking our bikes in their carriage house.

The Blithewold Mansion and garden is located in Bristol R.I. Ranked by Yankee Magazine as one of the five best public gardens in New England, Blithewold, formerly home to the Van Wickle family, is a 45-room English-style manor mansion filled with family heirlooms, framed by a series of lovely gardens and arboretum on Narragansett Bay.

*** Important *** We need to give a count to the museum staff – Please contact Bike Fall River at btrekman (at) comcast [dot] net by no later than Wednesday, 7/15/2015. Admission is $11 for AAA members, $12 regular price. (we are working on a group discount of $8 per-person but it would have to be in the form of one payment, more details to come on this)  For further information about Blithewold go to this webpage:   http://www.blithewold.org/

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 The great folks at Bike Fall River have started putting together a ride schedule.
It is still in its infancy but it is now available on the right-hand side of this page.

Alfred J. Lima Quequechan River Rail Trail Update

Bike Fall River member, Tom Lapointe, took some great video of the construction of the Alfred J. Lima Quequechan River Rail Trail.  Not only is the video taken by him on ground level, but he also sent a drone aloft and took some great aerial shots from above! 

Thanks Tom for the video. We look forward to future updates.

Bike Fall River demonstrates SRTA Bus bike racks.

Two members of Bike Fall River recently demonstrated how to use the bike racks located on the front of a SRTA Bus.  

Thank you Paul DeVillers and Robin Thorpe.

Bike Fall River Announces two rides for July 11th weekend

Bike Fall River Announces 2 rides for the weekend. Both rides weather permitting

Saturday - Ride Around the Taunton River

Saturday, July 11, 2015 - Meet at 7:45am at the Park N Ride in Somerset off of County Street near the Rockland Trust Bank. Ride will start at 8:00am    This ride is for experienced road cyclists. The distance is approximately 23 to 25 miles and riders will encounter several hilly roads. Know your limitations.

The group will ride north along the scenic Somerset shoreline onto Dighton and then cross over the Taunton River into Berkley. From Berkley the group will head south into Freetown, Fall River and then over the Veterans Memorial Bridge back into Somerset.

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Sunday - East Bay Bike Path and Colt State Park (Great Ride For Beginners!!!)

Sunday, July 12, 2015 - Meet at 7:45am at the parking lot along the East Bay Bike Path in Warren. Take 103 from Somerset to Warren, take first left after Dels Lemonade stand and park along the left. Ride starts at 8:00am.  The East Bay Bike path and the paths in Colt State Park are level with very small inclines. This ride will be at a leisurely pace and will take in the beautiful scenery at Colt State Park. The ride is approximately 10 to 12 miles. When the ride is over riders can opt for a longer ride by heading north on the East Bay Bike path. 

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Helmets are highly recommended for both rides and make sure to bring enough water and a snack.

Pictures from recent Fall River History Ride

Bike Fall River had a beautiful day for their history ride through Fall River.   Our host, David Jennings of the Lafayette/Durfee House, talked about the Marquis de Lafayette, Prince Henry, the Quequechan River, the mills, the owners and the workers, the Battle of Fall River, etc etc.   The attached pictures will show you where the group stopped to hear about various historical information.

A special thank you to Fall River Police Department (FRPD) Officers Saraiva and Ruggiero for assisting the group with traffic.  A great example of the fine men and women from the FRPD!

 Pic 1:     Dave Jennings at the statue of Lafayette in Lafayette Park - he talked about the history of Lafayette and also the French neighborhood in the area.

Pic 2:  Dave Jennings explaining about the Portuguese ships known as Caravels at the Prince Henry Statue.

Pic 3: Across from City Hall - Dave talking about the Battle of Fall River. 

 Pic 4: Dave providing some additional history at Lafayette / Durfee House on Cherry Street.

History Bike Ride

Great news for our History Bike Ride, there is a good chance that a couple of members of the FRPD Bike Patrol will join us on our ride tomorrow to assist with the ride!!!

Bike Fall River will be conducting a History Bike ride through Fall River this Saturday.

Fall River Historian David Jennings will talk about several topics relating to the history of Fall River. The cyclists will ride to a number of sites in the city and Mr. Jennings will regale the group with a colorful account on several topics including the Marquis de Lafayette, The Battle of Fall River and the history of the Quequechan River. Mr. Jennings is the President of the Lafayette - Durfee House located on Cherry Street and has been giving history lectures for many years. Here are the details:

Fall River History Bike Ride

Saturday, June 20, 2015

8:45am meet at Bristol Community College Parking lot – north end of lot on Elsbree Street

Ride will start at 9:00am – Route will take the riders to the following areas:

Eastern Avenue (Lafayette Statue & Prince Henry Statue) down Pleasant Street to Britland Park (Quequechan River) to Bedford Street – South Main Street (Gromada Plaza) North Main Street – Cherry Street (Lafayette-Durfee House) – Ride back to our cars.

The ride will be all on-road and is perfect for beginners. Helmets will be required for this ride. Make sure to bring your questions about Fall River! Experienced Bike Fall River members will assist the non-experienced riders. Rules of the road will be covered prior to the start of the ride.