Come Ride With Us!
We are a cycling club based out of the Parkway Community YMCA in West Roxbury, Ma., aimed towards all levels of cyclists. Our goal is to organize rides for the purpose of enjoyment, fitness and joining our community together. Our commitment is to host events that brings friends, neighbors and families together to share the love and benefits of cycling through education, teamwork and camaraderie.Our rides offer a variety of paces for the leisure cyclist to congregate, the novice cyclists to gain education and the more speed oriented cyclist to maintain. During the warm weather we have 4 to 7 rides weekly and up to 2 rides per week in colder weather. Most rides begin and end in West Roxbury or Roslindale however there are also occasional field trips to ride with other cycling groups as well as to explore beyond our neighboring towns. You will ride amongst your best friends, greatest teachers and best cheerleaders.Join us. You are most welcome.
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Membership
Come join the Parkway Cycling club and enjoy:
✅ Regularly scheduled rides for various skill levels
✅ Weekly Newsletter during riding season
✅ Discount on Parkway YMCA Membership fee as well as merchandise discounts at select local bike shops.
✅ Access to PCC Ride With GPS
✅ Enjoyment of meeting and riding with new friends
Become A Member
Easy to Join! $25 per person or $40 for Families**
Non-Members are Welcome on Rides with a Signed Waiver
Become A Member
Easy to Join! $25 per person or $40 for Families**
Non-Members are Welcome on Rides with a Signed Waiver
**PCC does not want cost to be a barrier to any rider. If you would like to become a member, but cost is an issue, please contact us.
Safety
The fun and enjoyment of cycling starts with safety. We all share the responsibility to ride cautiously and courteously for our own safety and the safety of others.So PLEASE, whether seasoned or new to cycling, be sure to take the time to review this section, ask questions, and even make suggested additions to the guidance below. Thank you!
Cycling Essentials:
• Helmets are MANDATORY for all riders on all rides. NO HELMET, NO RIDE.• Wear bright colored clothing - especially the jersey for best visibility.• Always carry a form of Identification, money, and your phone. All of these items will aid in emergency situations and will reconnect you to the group or alternative help when needed.• Bike Mirror (either attached to your helmet or handlebars), recommended but not mandatory.• Bike Gloves. While they are not mandatory, they not only give your hands some comfort as you hold the handlebars, but they also keep your hands from slipping and protect your hands if you should fall.• Sunglasses or glasses. They block the sun as well as provide protection for your eyes from debris.• Lights. Lights help with visibility in daylight and of course evening/night riding. A white front light and rear red light are highly recommended and are required in Massachusetts after dark. Most lights have a variety of settings such as high and low flashing or still setting that you can change based on your preference or where you are riding (i.e., bike path, busy street, etc.). You can also add a light to the back of your helmet to further enhance visibility. We suggest you keep your rear red light on at all times while riding.
Basic Repair Items to Have with You
• Spare tube/tubes in case of a flat
• Tools to fix a flat (pump, tire levers)
• Small tool kit for other adjustments
Visual and Verbal skills save lives
• We obey the same traffic rules as motor vehicles.• You are required to stop at all red lights and stop signs.• Pedestrians get the right of way.• No headphones or music as you need to be aware of the traffic.• Remember that your hand signals are for your fellow group riders and cars.• Drivers react poorly to indecisiveness. Be bold and confident with your hand signals. Make eye contact with drivers whenever possible!• Use hand signals when you are turning but if on an unsafe surface, keep both hands on the bars and verbally state your intent.
• Point out road hazards as you are riding for the people behind you.• Be aware of car blinkers indicating they are turning, but don’t trust that lack of a signal means they’re not turning.• Take the lane when you are riding at the same speed as traffic.• If road is extremely narrow and unsafe for car to pass, we suggest taking the lane and when you get back in single file and cars start to pass, thank them with a quick wave.• Don’t stop in a car’s blind spot and be aware of surroundings, people in cars may open doors, cars from side streets may not see you.• At dusk assert a pack formation to assist a better visual for drivers to avoid.• Give yourself enough distance from the bicycle in front of you so you can see the conditions of the road you are about to ride over, and have room if the rider ahead of you stops unexpectedly.• When waiting for the group, please pull off to the side of the road, ideally NOT right at an intersection• PLEASE STOP if you ride off the pavement and lift your bicycle back on. We have had too many close calls where the pavement was higher than the off-road dirt and riders might slide. Sooner or later, this may happen to you so heed the warning and stay safe.
Verbal Warnings
• Riders are grateful for decisive verbal cues. Be confident and be firm with your verbal warnings.• Pass other riders ONLY on the left and announce, “ON YOUR LEFT”.• If you are riding two abreast and you need to get back into a single file, point and announce your intention “COMING IN”.• Vehicles coming up from the rear, you announce “CAR BACK”, correspondingly, for vehicles heading towards you in a tight situation, you announce “CAR UP”.
This is necessary only if fellow riders need to be doing something different than what they’re doing (e.g. if they’re riding two abreast and need to single up, or if someone is riding in the middle of the road and doesn’t seem to see the car that is approaching).• If stopping suddenly, announce “STOPPING".
Events
PCC Newsletters
Current Newsletter
Previous Newsletters
Newsletter Archive
Newsletters older than the current year are available by going to our Google Docs archive.
Events Calendar
Stay updated with our latest events and important dates.
Contact
We'd love to hear from you so please reach out directly with any questions or comments you have.
Email us
Write to us
Parkway Cycling Club
c/o Parkway YMCA
1972 Centre Street
West Roxbury, MA 02132
(Note: Your note in an envelope addressed as above, can also be dropped off at the front desk at the Parkway Y.)
Affiliates
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Parking & Directions
Rides that start at Parkway YMCA (1972 Centre St. West Roxbury)
We assemble at the second lower parking lot, near the bike rack. We wait at the edge, not blocking traffic in the lot.If driving to the ride, we encourage you not to park in the YMCA lot - it’s often filled, and you’ll likely be gone for several hours. Instead, here are some nearby on-street choices:
Along Lagrange or Bellevue Streets, east of Centre. Red pin is where we meet. If you park on Lagrange, you can ride through the park on the indicated path, and connect to the parking lot. If you park on Bellevue, you’ll need to either carry your bike down a long flight of stairs, or ride down Maxfield or Landseer to Lagrange and then through the park.The legal areas are highlighted in yellow. Note that on Lagrange the stretch abutting the park is posted two-hour, and on Bellevue, the section along the wall above the park is posted “no parking any time”.
Rides that start at Adams Park (4225 Washington Street, Roslindale)
We usually assemble in the park (see pin). However on Saturdays from June through November, during the Farmers Market, we meet in front of the Library (4246 Washington, at the corner of Poplar and Washington).
If you’re driving to the ride, you can park in the yellow-indicated blocks (note that other blocks closer to the MBTA station are Resident Only). The Municipal Lot (17 Taft Hill Terrace) is posted for 2 hour parking from 8-6 on weekdays, but is ok at other times.The MBTA lot costs $4 for all day and is also a close-by option. Note that the surrounding neighborhoods, for example, east of Washington Street (e.g. Florence and Hawthorne) also have street parking, but take note of any posted restrictions.
Public Transportation
The Parkway Y is on the 35, 36 and 37 MBTA bus routes from Forest Hills and is about a quarter mile from both the Highland and West Roxbury commuter rail stops (Needham Line).Adams park is close to the Roslindale Village commuter rail stop (Needham Line) and is also on the 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 50, and 51 routes from Forest Hills.Subways, except the Green Line, take bikes except during rush hours, and all buses have bike racks for two bikes on the front. The Commuter Rail allows bikes in opposite the direction of commuting during rush hours (i.e. out of town in the morning; into town in the afternoons / evenings) and allows bikes at other times as well as all day on the weekend. It should be noted that conductors do have the right to refuse access to bikes if there are “too many” on any given train.