Bay Colony Rail Trail, Needham

At long last the trail in Needham has arrived, and plans are underway to celebrate the milestone!

Please join us on Sunday May 1st, from 2:00 – 4:00 on the trail between Charles River Street and Fisher Street, where just after 2:00 we will hold a short ceremony and formal ribbon cutting to mark the occasion.

There will also be some food and refreshments and a booth with information about the trail. And as a special bonus, the Needham High School Rail Trail Club will host a scavenger hunt for kids under 10.

More details to come. In the meantime, feel free to get out and enjoy the trail now! More amenities will continue to be added, such as benches, signage and kiosks, but the trail itself is very accommodating right now, and already seeing a good amount of usage.

Each month Needham’s Not Your Average Joe’s restaurant selects a local cause to support, and in November that cause is our own Bay Colony Rail trail project in Needham. NYAJ’s says they chose BCRT because they “believe in its value to the community and want to contribute to its success.”

Here’s the Deal: NYAJ’s has designated Monday, November 18th as the date when they will set aside an amount equal to 15% of all purchases made by Bay Colony Rail Trail Association supporters in the Needham restaurant.

To qualify for the donation, we (the BCRT supporters) must identify ourselves to servers with Not Your Average Cause certificates.

Here is a link to the NYAJ / BCRT certificate.

Not Your Average Joe’s will write a check to BCRT for 15% of all purchases made by supporters on that date. The more Bay Colony Rail Trail Association supporters who participate, the more money they’ll donate to the cause!

So we suggest a group outing, and hope to have as many supporters as possible join us at NYAJ’s Monday the 18th at 6:00pm. If you can, call ahead to reserve a table. It would be great to fill NYAJ’s with BCRT Supporters!

The Trek 7.2 FX. Click for a full-sized view.

The good folks at Newton’s International Bicycle Center have generously provided us with a fabulous new hybrid bicycle – the Trek 7.2 FX – as a prize for our upcoming raffle contest. The bike is a beauty: as they say, it’s a great combination of road bike speed and city bike comfort. A great bike for getting around Needham AND, once we have Phase 1 completed, a perfect conveyance for the new rail trail.

The rules and details are here, but here’s the short version:

Beginning on October 1, 2013 and ending on October 31, 2013, BCRT Needham will be offering raffle tickets for $10 each, 5 tickets for $40, or 15 tickets for $100.  All proceeds will go directly to the Trailblazers Campaign. In fact, if you buy 15 tickets ($100), we’ll add you to our honor roll of donors.

The best place to get these tickets and help support the project will be:

• The Needham Business Association’s Harvest Fair and Souper Bowl on Saturday, October 5, 2013 (Town Hall area), 10 am – 3 pm
• Needham Farmers Market (First Parish Unitarian lawn, 23 Dedham Ave) on Sunday, October 6, 2013, 1-5 pm
• The next BCRT Needham Volunteer meeting, Tuesday, October 29, 7:30 at the Public Services Administration Building, 500 Dedham Ave.

You can also mail a check (23 Mackintosh Ave, Needham, MA 02492), or email us (needham@baycolonyrailtrail.org) with your desired amount, and we’ll reserve your tickets.

The MAX Bicycle Trainer

But Wait, There’s More!

For our second prize, we’ve also received a donation of a Max Racer 7 Bicycle Trainer (approximate retail value: $ 149.95) – just in time to start planning for your biking fitness regime over the winner.

And to round out the contest, we’re offering 10 Third Prizes of our distinctive light blue BCRT t-shirts.

And The Winners Are…

We’ll hold the drawing on Friday, November 1st, and will notify winners by whatever means they provide. The names of the winners will be also available on this site after November 2, 2013.

Our thanks to IBC for its generous support!