by Mary Stewart | June 11, 2025 | The Bedford Citizen

 

In late June, paddler Chester “Ozzy” Osborne will embark on a challenge to paddle all 86 navigable miles of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord (SuAsCo) river system—in just 48 hours.

 

The challenge is sponsored and organized by OARS, a non-profit organization founded in 1986, that aims to “protect, improve, and preserve” the SuAsCo watershed.

 

Osborne’s journey will begin in his hometown of Maynard on the morning of Saturday, June 21, and is expected to end around 2PM on Sunday, June 22 at the Bedford Boat Launch located at 285–305 Carlisle Road in Bedford.

 

OARS’s 86 Miles Club Challenge “is both a celebration and a call to action,” according to Sarah Kwan, Director of Communications and Development at OARS. The challenge was launched this spring to encourage people to “explore and enjoy” the local rivers, OARS Executive Director Matt Brown explained. 

 

Running between May and October, the challenge is open to all regardless of experience level.

 

OARS features weekly recommended maps for traversing the SuAsCo system, with varying distance and difficulty ratings, so most are expected to take their time on the challenge, exploring the river system over several weeks or months.

 

But Osborne stepped up to the challenge difficulty rating in his own way.

 

After hearing about OARS’ challenge, he “decided to go big,” Brown said. Osborne plans to complete the journey over the course of a mere two days.

 

As a longtime fan of adventure and exploration, Osborne tries to tackle a personal challenge project each year that tests his endurance.

 

He picks a challenge that scared him in some way, and values the full investment required to attempt and complete his projects.

 

Osborne calls himself “very lucky” to have gotten to go on many hiking and backpacking challenge adventures in the past, but those longer trips are less logistically practical for his current schedule. He reluctantly declined a recent invitation for “big grand adventures” for a sub-Arctic canoe expedition since the time commitment was too steep.

 

Balancing his full-time work as a state government employee while spending quality time with his family means he isn’t often left with much leeway for time-intensive trips.

 

His solution is 24 to 48-hour “micro-adventures” that measure up to his endurance and adventure aspirations but add another level of challenge: an intense time crunch.

 

These challenges have included riding his bike for 24 hours and paddling a river from beginning to end, as well as family-friendly hikes, canoe rides, and bike trips with his wife, daughters, and dog.

 

“You can be a busy human being and still do hard things and make time for adventure,” he says.

 

This spring, he was hoping to paddle between Concord, New Hampshire, and Concord, Massachusetts.

 

But when he heard about the OARS 86 Miles Club Challenge, he immediately knew it would be the perfect “micro-adventure” for 2025.

 

By adapting OARS’s roadmap to satisfy his drive for adventure by completing it in “a day or two,” Osborne hopes not just to achieve personal fulfillment, but to “draw attention to the project and amplify it.”

 

He knows the challenge that he’s in for. This isn’t his first brush with endurance paddling at whirlwind speeds. Recently, he paddled along the Assabet River from his house in Maynard all the way to where it meets the Atlantic Ocean.

 

That’s 62 miles in just 2 days.

 

He calls the experience a profoundly meaningful one that allowed him to connect with the local rivers and reflect on what they mean to the broader ecosystem, his community, and himself.

 

The trip let him not just see, but “really experience” the watershed in new ways, one of the missions of the OARS organization.

 

Osborne’s paddling route from the river to the ocean followed the path that rain takes. This made him acutely aware of the gravity of pollution and waste runoff. And got him thinking about rivers as a transportation medium for humans, wildlife, and non-living systems.

 

He’s fascinated by “how our land is tied together in a way that we don’t often think about.” For example, it’s no coincidence that a majority of New England towns are sited alongside rivers.

 

The Concord River, which flows nearly three miles through Bedford is rich in history, serving as a fishing source for Native Americans, the location of the start of the American Revolution at Old North Bridge, an early transportation and power generation source, and an inspiration for Henry David Thoreau.

 

Local waterways, particularly the SuAsCo system, are a “great resource in our backyard” that Osborne and countless others use weekly, if not daily. He urges community members to become more intentionally aware of their relationship with local rivers and wildlife.

 

“Sitting in a boat for two days lets you think about this,” he joked in a phone interview.

 

The impressiveness of the challenge cannot be understated.

 

Osborne explained that flatwater paddling is more or less analogous to running, in terms of level of effort and time spent. Which makes the 86-mile journey comparable to nearly three full back-to-back marathons completed in less than two days.

 

But Osborne remains humble, explaining how “this isn’t about me, this is about the challenge.”

 

In addition to the challenge and raising awareness, Osborne aims to raise $1,986 for OARS’s mission through fundraising efforts, a total that references and celebrates the year OARS was founded.

 

Osborne’s OARS challenge will begin around 8AM on Saturday, June 21 with carrying his kayak through downtown Maynard and walking along the historic Assabet corridor in order to bypass an unnavigable section of the river. He’ll stop along the way to highlight some of OARS advocacy and action efforts.

 

At 3PM on Saturday, Osborne plans to reach the Talbot Mills Dam in North Billerica.

 

OARS Executive Director Brown will be onsite to discuss what he identifies as “one of Massachusetts’ most significant upcoming dam removals.” The Talbot Mills Dam is in line to be removed as part of the execution of OARS’s “larger vision for a free-flowing SuAsCo river system.” Brown says the Talbot Mills Dam removal, aiming to begin in 2026, is “the most significant ecological restoration project in the state of Massachusetts.”

 

The aging dam is currently a threat to river health, according to Brown: it blocks fish passage, creates safety hazards for paddlers, and contributes to the spread of invasive species and poor water quality.

 

From Talbot Mills Dam, Osborne will continue on and pause at the Carol Getchell Trail in Framingham around 10AM on Sunday, where OARS is involved in the Carol Getchell Trail improvement project.

 

The project, supported by the City of Framingham and the National Parks Foundation will install boardwalks and riverside platforms to enhance the Carol Getchell Trail. OARS will contribute interpretive signage about local wildlife and historical community landmarks.

 

“It’s a great example of how river restoration goes hand-in-hand with education, access, and community connection,” explains Brown.

 

From Framingham, Osborne’s challenge will culminate right here in Bedford.

 

He will finish out his route at the Bedford Boat Launch on the Concord River, aiming to reach Bedford between 2 and 3PM on Sunday. OARS representatives will be there to celebrate. 

 

Brown looks forwards to this “moving conclusion to a powerful weekend challenge.”

 

Bedford residents are encouraged to take the opportunity to engage and become a steward of the local river system in Bedford and neighboring towns by exploring recreation, conservation, and educational opportunities, and by joining OARS efforts through participation in events like the OARS’s 86 Miles Club Challenge, volunteering, or by making a donation. 

 

To donate to Osborne’s challenge and follow along with his journey go to: justgiving.com/page/chester-osborne-86-in-48.

 

Additionally, you can visit oars3rivers.org to learn more about OARS’s mission and how local citizens can get involved with projects.

 

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