There will be two rides on Sunday, June 2, a slower one for families to the Saugus River and a 20-mile roundtrip ride to Nahant Beach.

It’s time to register for the 21^st annual Bike to the Sea Day rides.  This year’s rides are the first to follow portions of the trail that are now complete in Everett, Malden, and Saugus.

Two rides – a 14-mile family ride to the Saugus River and a 20-mile ride to Nahant Beach – will both start at the Madeline English School, 105 Woodville St.,  in Everett at 9 a.m. on Sunday, June 2, 2013. Both rides will end back at the Dockside Restaurant on Centre Street in Malden for lunch.

Participants can register online here or by filling out a registration form (see below) and sending it along with a check made out to Bike to the Sea, Inc. to 57 Hammersmith Drive, Saugus, MA 01906. Same-day registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Madeline English School, but will cost more.  This year registration fees are being waived for volunteers who help marshal the ride (see below).

Prices are as follows:

• Individuals: $15 ($20 day of ride), includes lunch and a T-shirt.
• Families: $25 ($30 day of ride), includes lunch for four and two T-shirts.
• Additional family members: $10, includes T-shirts.

Optional donations to the MassBike Coalition (suggested donation $5) and Bike to the Sea are encouraged. A $50 optional donation to Bike to the Sea comes with a commemorative bicycle bell.

The ride is open to all riders 8-years-old and up. Those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Helmets are required.

Participants won’t have to worry as much about cars this year because some of the ride will follow newly built portions of the trail. The ride out will be mostly on-road, while the ride back will use portions of the trail that are complete in Saugus and Malden.

Police will escort riders through intersections, clearing traffic. There is also a van that follows the group in case someone gets a flat, or needs help.

The annual Bike to the Sea Day Ride is a great way to help promote the construction of the Northern Community Strand Trail. The 20-mile round-trip lasts about three hours.

Volunteers Needed

Volunteers are needed to help “marshal” and “sweep” the 13 and 20 mile rides. Marshalls lead their group of riders along the route. Sweeps help ensure the back of the pack riders make the ride and call sag wagons in case of a breakdown, flat or a tired rider.

To encourage new marshals this year, Bike to the Sea is waiving the registration fee for volunteers who attend the “marshals” practice ride on Sunday, May 26th. That ride leaves at 9 am from Madeline English School in Everett.

If you’re interested, please reply to swinslow4152@gmail.com or call Steve at 781-397-6893.

To use this registration form, click on the image to make it bigger and then print it out.

You can also register online here.

The work will start at the trail on Central Street (in front of All-City Glass) and will extend up the path in both directions. Community clean-up projects are ideal for students as well as those looking for service credits. Bike to the sea will provide bags and tools, all you need to do is show up!

For more information about this event, contact Bike to the Sea at 781-397-6893.

Two rides – a 14-mile family ride to the Saugus River and a 20-mile ride to Nahant Beach – will both start at the Madeline English School, 105 Woodville St.,  in Everett at 9 a.m. on Sunday, June 2, 2013. Both rides will end back at the Dockside Restaurant on Centre Street in Malden for lunch.

Participants can register online here .  Same-day registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Madeline English School, but will cost more.

Prices are as follows:

• Individuals: $15 ($20 day of ride), includes lunch and a T-shirt.
• Families: $25 ($30 day of ride), includes lunch for four and two T-shirts.
• Additional family members: $10, includes T-shirts.

Firebrand musicians believe in using music to address social issues and urban challenges.

The Northern Strand Trail is already doing more than inspiring good health in the community. It now is inspiring chamber music.

Oliver Caplan, composer in residence for the Firebrand Concert Series, has written a composition inspired by the Bike to the Sea’s Northern Strand Trail project and dedicated to the people of Malden. The group of classically trained musicians will perform it at a concert on April 20 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 26 Washington Street, in Malden.

Tickets cost $20 at the door but can be bought online for $15.

The Firebrand Concert Series describes itself as a group of classical musicians who perform chamber music for social justice.

The trail will be closed between Medford Street in Malden and West Street in Everett. It’s estimated that the project, which began on April 1, will be complete by May 1 and that the trail will reopen then.

When completed the gardens will provide individual plots of land for Malden residents to grow food and flowers, as well as public areas to grow plants and beautify the Northern Strand Trail. The gardens will be located on the trail between Bryant and Faulkner streets in Malden’s Ward 5.

The April 1st meeting will be held between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. This year’s Earth Day clean up plans will also be discussed. Anyone interested in helping out with that or with planning, building, and maintaining the community gardens is encouraged to attend. The construction of the gardens is made possible through a partnership with the City of Malden, Bike to the Sea, and Groundwork Somerville.

For more information about upcoming events and meetings check out the Bike to the Sea Facebook page.

The annual ride to the beach in Nahant will follow portions of the trail that are complete in Everett, Malden, and sections of Saugus. Bicyclists will still have to share the roadways with cars on the Revere and Lynn portion of the ride because work on the trail hasn’t begun yet in those two cities. Work is expected to begin in Revere this summer. There is no schedule to build out the Lynn portion of the trail as city officials in Lynn have not yet approved plans.

This year’s ride will begin at 9 a.m. in Everett, rather than Malden, at the Madeline English School, 105 Woodville St.  Information about how to register for the ride will be announced soon.

The annual Bike to the Sea Day Ride promotes the construction of the Northern Community Strand Trail.  Construction so far has included ripping up railroad tracks and installing gravel, wood fencing, and road crossing signs. Usually two groups of riders take the annual ride, one at a faster clip and one for families and others who prefer to ride more slowly. The entire trip lasts about three hours.

Police usually escort riders through intersections, clearing traffic. There is also a van that follows the group in case someone gets a flat, or needs help.

Malden Mayor Gary Christenson (left) spoke at a planning session on Saturday, March 2 in Malden. At right is Bike to the Sea founder Stephen Winslow.

A variety of plans to enhance the Northern Strand Community Trail were identified at a meeting held in Malden on Saturday, March 2. The Bike to the Sea group asked the public for ideas and came up with plans to:

• Improve street crossings
• Create signs and maps to direct people to the trail
• Clean-up and beautify sections of the trail
• Build a community garden
• Install trash barrels, benches, bike racks, kiosks, business markers and historic markers along the trail.

Potential partners from municipal groups and the business community were also identified as part of several action plans that members have been assigned.

Ideas were placed on post-it notes and then placed on a map of the trail during the planning session.

Anyone who has ideas for beautifying the trail or creating programs and events around it are encouraged to attend the meeting which starts at 9 a.m and ends at 1 p.m. Refreshments will be available at 8:30 a.m.

Malden City Councillors Judith Bucci and Barbara Murphy will attend as will officers of Bike to the Sea. The purpose of the meeting is to come up with plans to improve the trail and to identify community partners that can help with those plans.

The Northern Strand Community Trail runs from Everett, through Malden, Revere, Saugus, and Lynn to Nahant Beach. The Everett, Malden and Saugus portions are complete. Work on the Revere portion of the trail is expected to begin in the spring or summer of 2013. The City of Lynn still needs to approve plans for the trail.

Check here for a map of the trail and access points.

Two feet of snow made the Northern Strand Trail, just east of Malden Square, ideal for snowshoeing on Sunday. Has anyone tried cross-country skiing yet? (Dog sled photo submitted by Tom O’Brien.)