What we’re about
This group is for people who would like to bike on the various rail trails in northern MA and southern NH, both paved and unpaved. When mountain biking on unpaved trails, we will definitely NOT be rock hopping or stump jumping; none of that crazy stuff. We'll stick to mostly flat rail trails and parks, maintaining a moderate pace and with several water breaks along the way. We'll be offering both weekend and mid-week rides, possibly some evening rides, too.
Most of the trails we'll do are in the range of 15 - 25 miles round trip, which translates into a riding time of approximately 2 - 3 hours, depending on the length of the ride and the breaks we take along the way. Our rides are intended as social activities, rather than physical challenges or a biking competition. Participants are encouraged to bike at their own pace, whatever that may be. We'll stop and regroup from time to time, to make sure that we don't lose anybody on the trail. See our Rail Trail Resources page for links to descriptions of the trails we ride.
You can also check out the trails we ride by visiting our Virtual Bike Ride page in the group's message boards.
Upcoming events (3)
See all- Learn About the Upcoming Changes to MeetupBending Spoons, Milano, MI
As I mentioned to some of you before our last ride, there are lots of changes coming to Meetup in 2024. Have you've noticed some funky behavior with the Meetup app or on the Meetup website? Some members have reported being unable to sign up for an event, while others have had trouble seeing the attendee and/or wait lists. For many members, a pop-up window urging you to subscribe to Meetup Plus has appeared after clicking on an event's 'Attend' button. The Grand Poobah will explain what's happening and allay all fears that perhaps you, your phone, and your computer are simply going wacky.
Meetup was acquired by an Italian company called Bending Spoons earlier this year. You can read about their general plans for Meetup on the official Meetup Blog website, but I'll give you a quick rundown here. The first priority is to fix the MANY bugs in the platform that have occurred over the years as Meetup was bought and sold several times. Most of the U.S.-based programming operation is gone, and the main programming team will now be based in Europe. The new team is working to streamline the old code base while improving the overall reliability of the platform. New features will be added, too. Sounds great, right? It is for the most part, but just understand that the new Meetup owners also want to make M-O-N-E-Y. There will be a continuing push for everyone to become paying members by subscribing to Meetup+. (Be sure to click the link to read up on this!)
The Grand Poobah's take: The Meetup marketing team is spinning the Meetup+ option as some sort of upgrade, but, in reality, it's simply now charging members for the functionality that was always free in years past. So, is the free ride over for most of us? Well, yes and no. You can continue as a non-paying member, however, you will lose some of the things that you've become accustom to having. Viewing the attendee and wait lists, for example. Meetup+ members will also get priority event notifications. They'll get first dibs on events because they will hear about them before the free members. Other Meetup+ membership benefits include some custom icon nonsense, but I'll let you read about that yourself. And, last but not least, Meetup is moving to an ad-supported model on both the phone app and the website interface. In short, if you're a non-paying member, you can expect to see ads in the future. How intrusive these will be, I cannot say. If you have downloaded any free apps to your phone or used the Weather Channel on your computer, you know how this works.
Organizers will also be facing changes in 2024, starting off with a price increase at our next billing cycle (July 31). Whatever else Bending Spoons has in store for organizers, I do not know, but I can tell you this: Membership in North Shore Bicycling for Fun will continue to be free. We have a flat-rate Meetup plan, meaning that the group organizer (me) is not charged on a fee schedule based on the number or members in the group. I have not heard any rumors that this is going to change under the new ownership. Anyone who has been on Meetup for any length of time undoubtedly knows that a group's member list and the REAL list of active members are two totally different things.
Let's Talk About This
Got questions? Just want to vent? I've turned on the event chat feature, so we can all get these changes straight. Please post your questions or comments in the chat window, as it's more conducive to conversations than the general comment area on the event description page.Click the 'Attend' button for the event so I can get an idea of how many of you are now up to speed on these Meetup changes.
- Meetup Changes: What We Know So Far...Bending Spoons, Milano, MI
Lots of changes still coming to the Meetup platform -- besides higher prices and restrictions to the free members.
What's Going Away
- Event Chat. Shut down as of July 18. The promised improvements to event discussions and comments have not materialized as of yet.
- Message Boards. Gone as of July 18.
- Attendee Insights. A Meetup marketing term used to describe member age, gender, interests and joined groups. The attendee and wait lists now show this additional information -- but only if you are a Meetup+ subscriber.
What's Coming Our Way
- Advertisements on the Web. If you have not signed up for Meetup+ you will see ads when accessing Meetup from your computer. I confirmed this using a test Meetup account.
- Advertisements in the App: Confirmed for Android users. A major update is coming for the Meetup app, currently scheduled for December from what I've been able to learn.
- Price Increases for Organizers. I have been on a 6-month Meetup Organizer subscription that is billed in January and July. The annual cost, which has been $200 plus taxes for the past few years, is now being increased by $100, upping my annual outlay to $300 plus tax -- but only if I move on to a **yearly subscription**. FYI, organizers with an annual subscription are allowed 3 Meetup groups of unlimited size.
Membership in North Shore Bicycling for Fun will remain free!
The Current State of the Meetup Platform
Meetup has needed a major overhaul for some time; however, none of the platform's previous owners were willing to take on this rather formidable job. Consequently, Meetup languished over the years, becoming increasingly buggy while failing to deliver on many long-asked-for features requested by its organizers. Enter Bending Spoons and their aggressive plan to streamline the platform and rebuild Meetup from the ground up. It's a big job -- and an expensive one. With the new prices for organizers and the introduction of Meetup+, we're essentially being asked to help with the Meetup rebuild.Is Meetup+ Right for Me?
It's been a free ride for many years. While you can continue as a free Meetup user, a Meetup+ subscription may make your life easier in the long run, particularly if you're an active member in several different groups and like to participate in many events each month. Check out the blog post to learn the benefits of a Meetup+ subscription. Priority notification of events is the biggie, as is priority on the wait list. And no annoying ads. Maybe you wait and see if Bending Spoons delivers on its promises.See the photos below for a visual rundown on these changes.
Please click the Attend Button to let me know you've read this update.
