New England Randonneurs

After the candy has been safely distributed, NER plans to close out 2025 with one last ride and a members meeting / Party. More information here. The route is rolling 83 miles leaving from just north of Medford Square. With 3800′ of climbing it will keep you warm. This is a free event but a current RUSA Membership is required. If you aren’t a RUSA member, joining now will keep your membership active for all 2026.

The Members Meeting is at 3pm. These are short open forums for members to discuss any topic of their choosing. Normally we just continue chatting about the past season and rides scheduled for 2026.

We have three upcoming events for the mountain goats among you: this weekend’s 300k in Northern Vermont, the brand-new Emmets & Newts 8k600k, and September’s Reach For The Sky 200k from Cambridge out to Mount Wachusett.

First up, the VT Rail Trails and Jay Peak 300k updates the Northeast Kingdom 300k with some newly opened rail trails and a new start location. Starting in Morrisville, and about 2/5 dirt, this updated route is a little less hilly than the original, but just as pretty. The ride will run with extra time alloted due to the dirt component, and has about 11500 feet of climbing, for a challenging but fun day on the bike.

Following that up, the Emmets & Newts 8k600k offers a fairly new ACP event type: a 600k with 8000 meters of climbing. Roger has designed a route that offers gorgeous NH and VT mountain vistas, a little dirt here and there, some of the same lovely new rail trails as on the 300k, a fully supported hotel overnight control, and a new challenge to succeed at. (It’s also part of the new version of the ACP 10000 award, for those chasing that particular trinket.)

Finally, the Reach for the Sky 200k offers a classic challenge, brevet-style: ride out from the Boston area to Mount Wachusett, climb it, and ride back. The route has been adapted from the Reach for the Sky permanent as well as incorporating some of the Redemption Rock perm and some other NER favorite roads, and will leave from Thorndike Park near Alewife station. (Registration and details aren’t quite up yet, but will be soon!)

Join NER in Vermont for a classic challenge on July 19th: the 6 gaps. Final course checks had been completed — the registration page is here. This is NER’s most challenging ride of the year in terms of average elevation gain.