"A Beautiful Day on the Blackstone River Bikeway"
Captured at the Martin Street bridge in Lincoln, RI.
In This Issue:
  • National Bike Month
  • National Photography Month
  • Storm Drain Awareness Month
  • In the News!
  • National Park Week Recap
  • GearHeads Junior Ranger Program

We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter and that you stay connected with us on social media.
Find our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube channel links at the bottom.
Hop On! May is National Bike Month!
"From the Back Seat to the Front Seat!"
Pictured above (left photo in rear) is Suzanne Buchanan behind her sister as a young girl getting her first ride on a bicycle. On the right, in the front seat, is Suzanne today as BHC's Volunteer Coordinator riding on a tandem adaptive bicycle with VIP Marjorie Turner Hollman during last year's adaptive cycling series with All Out Adventures.

While National Bike Month is still in place for the month of May, the status of the Volunteers-In-Parks program and the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Bikeway Ambassadors remains on hold due to COVID-19. We will announce plans for summer programming once some social distancing guidance is released after the quarantine periods in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

(Note that in 2020, Bike to Work Week will be September 21–27, with Bike to Work Day on Tuesday, September 22).

Meanwhile, send us your "then and now pictures" and your biking adventures to share during Bike Month. Send to Suzanne at Volunteer@BlackstoneHeritageCorridor.org.
Barry and Renee Hauck out enjoying the Blackstone River Greenway during COVID-19. Barry is a BHC Bikeway Ambassador and Renee is a volunteer with program support.
Due to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements, the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Bikeway Ambassadors volunteer program is on hold, as is the "Rides of Discovery" guided bike ride series.

Stay tuned for future announcements if conditions allow the return of safe programming.

Meanwhile, enjoy biking on your own and don't forget your bicycle ABC's (see below).
Blackstone River Bikeway in Rhode Island is Under Construction
Repairs to a portion of Blackstone River Bikeway started in early April and some sections may experience daytime closures. Learn more about that here .

The pictures below were submitted by John Newell who took a long walk last weekend starting at Pratt Dam mile marker 8.5 where he said they were putting boards on trees, trimming or cutting them down, marking pavement, etc . He said from the Martin Street Bridge heading north to Manville Dam mile marker 14.5 is where the newly tarred areas are . He added that the tree roots are really evident around mile marker 11.5.
Please Support our Bikeway Map Advertisers
During this time of COVID-19, bicycle shops are considered an essential business and are operating with curbside drop off and pick up. Please call ahead for instruction. Click on each ad to be directed to their website.
Don't Forget Your Bicycle ABC's
Bike Month Guest Column
REFLECTIONS OF CYCLING IN THE PYRENEES
(and how it relates to current events)

By Mark Dennen, Blackstone Heritage Corridor Bikeway Ambassador
Unlike many of you, I find myself still going to work in the morning, but like many of you, nights and weekends are at home. Some of us clean, some reflect and some do both. I came across my old bicycle panniers (saddle packs) and thought about the Pyrenees and the lesson it taught me, and I thought I would share.

In college, I took a couple of semesters of Spanish. My teacher told us about a small country way up in the mountains between Spain and France called Andorra. This place is so remote that 1000 years of wars in Europe passed this place by and it remains an independent country with its own language. I said to myself I wanted to see this fairy tale kingdom someday.

Someday came when I graduated and got a job with paid vacations. I decided I wanted to do a cross country bike ride from Span to Switzerland with the highlight being Andorra. I had never done a cross country ride, had never been abroad, didn’t have anyone to go with, didn’t know anyone there and no means of communication (this was before the internet or cell phones). I dealt with this as a 26 year old does- “I will fly over to Spain and figure it out when I get there.” After all I was in good shape, had a compass and knew Andorra was a few hundred miles due north.
Let me explain Spain’s geography. There is a beautiful Mediterranean Coast (Costa del Sol) that is popular with tourists, including bikers. The center other than Madrid and Zaragoza is a high desert (meseta) sprinkled with mountains and mostly isolated villages (see first photo). So people would meet this lone biker on his way to France and they would ask me how I was riding to the coast and I would say no I am going through Andorra. Their eyes would bulge and they would tell me in Spanish that it is not possible for cross country biking because it is too high. I would slowly ride away with my 35 pounds of camping gear, etc., and heard at least. 1 person say “el gringo es muy loco!” At a campground I had dinner with a Portuguese couple I met who used to live in Fall River. They told me the next day’s ride would take me to a fork, if I turned right, I would go through a difficult ride but if I sent left, I would go through Andorra and they might find my body on the road because Andorra would chew me up. I got to the fork, and went left.

Andorra was a beautiful, amazing, rugged country. I loved camping in the mountains and noticed on the map, I had 1 more mountain range and then it was all downhill from the French boarder. The ride lived up to its reputation and I huffed and puffed and my legs ached.  But I said I am almost there and pushed to make it to the top of the ridge.
I turned the corner, and expected to see the French border, but instead, I looked up and saw a 35 km (20 mile) climb that went up in the sky for miles (see second photo). When you bike fully loaded, that 35 pounds of gear (tent, food, water, tools, clothes) feels like and anchor, and I would peddle a little ways and have to stop. Eventually I found it was not helpful to look up, instead I would pick a point about 50 feet ahead, peddle or push to there, collapse down on the road, look at the scenery, drink water and then pick another point 50 feet up the road and go again.
When I got to the French border at the top (see last photo), I couldn’t see the French countryside because I looked down at a cloud bank that didn’t make it over the mountains.  I coasted for a full 30 km without peddling!

This brings me to the COVID-19 crisis. We feel isolated, we don’t know when this will end, and even our parents haven’t been through anything like this. In the meantime all of our other problems still weigh us down.

What I learned then, and try to remember now, is that when you are alone, doing an impossible task, carrying a heavy weight and you can’ t see the end in sight, the way to get through it is to just go another 50 feet. Before you know it, we will be on the other side of the climb!
Get Clicking -- May is National Photography Month
Happy National Photography Month! What a great opportunity to celebrate the volunteers of the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Photography Ambassadors who work behind the scenes to capture the beauty and history of the Blackstone River Valley.

We welcome and give thanks to Bob Evans (pictured above), our new "team leader" for the Photography Ambassadors. Not only is Bob a talented photographer, certified drone pilot, and a BHC Calendar Contest winner, he has been instrumental in teaching us new technology and is leading us into the future by helping to bring our programming to the virtual world.

Stay tuned as we work with Bob to help you continue to explore the Blackstone River Valley during this time of social distancing.
Follow us on Instagram!

@bhc_inc

In celebration of National Photography Month, our Instagram page will feature pictures taken by our BHC Photography Ambassadors at locations throughout the Blackstone River Valley. Start following us today so that you don't miss out on this special virtual tour!

If you're an Instagram user, be sure to tag us in your photos!
Go Find a Picture for the 2021 Calendar Photo Contest!
During this "down time" through COVID-19, consider going through your photos looking for "Historical Landmarks & Artifacts" in the Blackstone River Valley for the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Calendar Photo Contest.

Explore our website for ideas of places to visit to capture new photos. See link below for details and submit them electronically.

Got questions? Reach out to Bonnie at BCombs@BlackstoneHeritageCorridor.org.
May Is Storm Drain Awareness Month
Due to COVID-19, many community cleanups were canceled or postponed, which is leaving a lot of litter on roadways and is destined to reach storm drains.

To help prevent litter from getting in the drains, which lead to our local waterways, here is something you can do to help. Keep an eye on storm drains near your house. If you notice litter, grab a pair of rubber gloves and using a shovel or a rake or litter grabbers, carefully remove the debris and sweep it into a trash bag. Look along roadsides for any other small debris, like nips, that could easily wash down after a rainstorm. It is best to wear bright colored clothing and watch for traffic. Place the trash bag in a barrel and carefully remove gloves and wash your hands.

If you do decide to "Adopt a Storm Drain" in May, let us know and share pictures with us. If you post to social media, please use the hashtag #BHCTrashResponsibly. Thank you!

Picture colored by Carly McKay from Uxbridge, MA, from the Dwayne the Storm Drain coloring book.
Meet Dwayne the Storm Drain!
Looking to teach children about storm drains? Enter Dwayne the Storm Drain, an award-winning coloring and activity book from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.

Dwayne the Storm Drain introduces readers to storm sewer systems. Lessons include how to identify storm drains, how they work, and how they affect the environment.

Learn more here .
In the News!
Harvard Magazine Showcases the Blackstone River Valley
Historic Threads

By the time the talented and shrewd Samuel Slater arrived in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in 1790, the race to mechanize was on. Groups of carpenters and mechanics, funded by businessmen, were urgently trying to move beyond hand- and animal-power -to ...

Read more
harvardmagazine.com
National Park Week Recap
Since our last newsletter, we finished celebrating National Park Week and we produced a number of videos which we shared on social media. Here they are for viewing pleasure. You can also find them in our growing Library on our YouTube channel : Blackstone Heritage Corridor. Be sure to "subscribe" to our YouTube page so you don't miss out!
Kids! Earn Your Blackstone River Valley Junior Ranger Badge!
Explore, Discover, Protect, and GO!
Junior Rangers in the Blackstone River Valley are called GearHeads.

GearHead (n.): a kid, powered by the Gears in their brain; who explores nature, discovers history, protects the environment, and goes on adventures through the Blackstone River Valley.

Click through the GearHeads website and claim your Junior Ranger status today!
Submit a completed activity and we'll send you a Junior Ranger badge!

"Volunteers! We've Got You Covered!"
In light of COVID-19 and the CDC supporting the wearing of cloth facial coverings , BHC Volunteer Coordinator Suzanne Buchanan has been busy stitching cloth face masks during the office shutdown. VIP Jill Winski is joining the mask sewing effort for BHC's volunteers. If you'd like to help, reach out to Suzanne at SBuchanan@BlackstoneHeritageCorridor.org .

While the volunteer program is still in suspension, the masks will be available for those who feel more comfortable once restrictions are lifted.
From all of us at BHC, we wish you well and look forward to seeing you soon!