Started out around 40-degrees, but bright sun & barely any wind - - quite pleasant actually, and a great day to be outside! So many trees in bloom: cherries, magnolias, forsythia, flowering quince, azaleas. Lovely ride, but the busy streets made for mostly single-file riding and not much ability to chat. Also some stretches with lots of potholes. Lots of turns slowed it down a bit, too, which was fine with most of us! Rest/snack/warm hands stop at Tewksbury Town Hall. Then photo stop at the dam in Billerica. One more unplanned stop was at a childs' lemonade & bake sale in Billerica. Fresh homemade pumpkin donuts hit the spot! [Gear: I started out with bike shorts +regular leggings, wool hiking sox, tshirt + arm-warmers, 2 Terry Soleil jerseys, lightweight biking jacket, thin beanie hat, fleece headband & thick Lobster gloves. When I got a bit too hot, I removed the arm-warmers and then the hat (but kept fleece headband on). Perfection! (Goal was to keep layers light because I didn't have much storage space.) Hands never got sweaty so didn't change into lighter gloves.] From Tom: "It was bright and chilly at the start in Bedford. We were 14 riders; 12 registered participants plus me leading and Joy sweeping. We meandered north and were somewhat impeded by some road construction and a slow moving trash truck making its rounds. Once we cleared that, we had smooth sailing despite sharing the road with some traffic. At the turnaround point we were joined by a 13th member. David K. had arrived late at the start and had missed our departure. Fortunately the route cues were accurate enough to enable him to find us. The return route brought us to the North Billerica Dam, which some recognized as a stopping and photo op point on a previous ride. It again served as our photo location. Thanks to a helpful passer-by, we were all able to be in the picture. The route back took us through unfamiliar neighborhoods and provided some short climbs. We came upon a small group of enterprising youngsters selling home made baked goodies at a roadside table. Quite yummy! A few more obscure roads and neighborhoods with some more ups and downs brought us to Nutting Lake and the Middlesex Turnpike. Then some more twists and hills got us to Springs Road in Bedford and the home stretch through the grounds of the Bedford Military Veterans Hospital grounds. Thanks to Joy for ably sweeping the group and to all who participated. "