Northeast - Metro Boston: Good ride today?

anyone know a good local wheelbuilder? I had a bad experience with one store, so I thought I'd ask here.

anyone know a good local wheelbuilder? I had a bad experience with one store, so I thought I'd ask here.

Go to Harris Cyclery, West Newton. If you want a speccific person, ask for Jim.

I'll PM you.

south street in needham? I killed a deer last year at the intersection of south st and 135! Bounced right off my minivan onto the side of the road.

This may have technically been right on the Dover/Needham line, right after the section of bridge construction heading back into Needham. I'm lucky I braked when I did. The deer were moving quite fast and blended into the scenery.

That road has bad memories for me too. A couple of years ago I was involved in a minor bike/car accident at the intersection of South and Chestnut streets. That light always makes me nervous.

anyone know a good local wheelbuilder? I had a bad experience with one store, so I thought I'd ask here.
Another alternative is Tyler, at Paramount Bicycle Repair, Ball Square, Somerville.

rod

Did I have a Jim Muller sighting today on the rail trail?

Got out for a 27 mile ride out in Greenfield today and looks like I'll be able to get in a ride Sunday after church. Can't complain with this winter weather, back to back weekend rides make for one happy bike rider. Hope all is well with my fellow mass riders.

Went buzzing off on my old GT Karakorum winter bike, had a flat after half a mile. Wasn't carrying any of the necessaries to fix that, so walked the bike home with such dignity as I could muster. Fun. Actually, watching the tire deform was interesting, but ony for a minute. Then it was just flat.

rod

Over a dozen cars parked in the Mass Ave bike lane this afternoon. "No Parking Tow Zone" signs and a painted bike lane aren't aparrently enough of a hint that the formerly metered spots aren't new free parking. A call to the city got a nice policeman to write a row of orange tickets, but drivers continued to park in the lane until they noticed the officer actively writing tickets. Honestly if people are driving around in such an unconscious and inattentive state I'm genuinely surprised there aren't more accidents.

anyone know a good local wheelbuilder? I had a bad experience with one store, so I thought I'd ask here.Go to Back Bay Bikes in Boston at Comm and Mass Aves on the southeast corner, garden level below a Danvers Bank, and ask for Alaska. Tell him Jim of the Bridgestone sent you.

Go to Back Bay Bikes in Boston at Comm and Mass Aves on the southeast corner, garden level below a Danvers Bank, and ask for Alaska. Tell him Jim of the Bridgestone sent you.

Alaska is great. Probably my favorite of the wrenches at Back Bay Bikes. I bought my Cannondale there so they get most of my service business. I did have one bad tune-up there (simple mistake with a bad outcome), but otherwise I've had good experiences. They were extremely helpful when I had a SRAM shifter break over the summer. And they're usually very up front about pricing, service costs, etc.

I did get out today for a few miles around the neighborhood. I was test-riding a new build of a Masi I'm reviving. It was great!

f'n >17F commute in this morning. My finger tips are still mad at me.

Next bike?
http://pinktentacle.com/images/11/postcard_24.jpg

Bravo to pinktentacle (http://pinktentacle.com/2011/01/cute-antique-japanese-postcards/) for this image among many others.

rod

Careful what you wish for!

McLean Monocycle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4YmVP6i4qw)

Careful what you wish for!

McLean Monocycle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4YmVP6i4qw)

You would have thought he would at least have been wearing leathers. If that had gone over on the pavement he's be picking his arms up with a spoon.

You would have thought he would at least have been wearing leathers. If that had gone over on the pavement he's be picking his arms up with a spoon.

He should have worn the green coat and the purple knickers, of course...

rod

thanks all for the wheelbuilder recommendations.

new question: what sort of shop would be willing to weld a disc tab onto my folder's fork? it is the last step to building the perfect commuter. sadly, Harris didn't want to touch it.

new question: what sort of shop would be willing to weld a disc tab onto my folder's fork? it is the last step to building the perfect commuter. sadly, Harris didn't want to touch it.
Harris isn't a frame builder so I'm not surprised. They wouldn't be equipped to do welding or brazing, I wouldn''t think. Try Belmont Wheelworks. Peter Mooney is a highly respected frame builder so they might be able to help.

great idea, thanks Jim. gives me an excuse to head up there and see the Volagi I've had my eye on...

Back to the title of this thread "Good Ride Today?" - I did get out (thought by now it was yesterday). Took the Masi out for an hour. It sure want to go fast. My other bikes don't want to go fast like that.

Back to the title of this thread "Good Ride Today?" - I did get out (thought by now it was yesterday). Took the Masi out for an hour. It sure want to go fast. My other bikes don't want to go fast like that.

Sounds frisky! Send us a picture when you get a chance.

rod

Sounds frisky! Send us a picture when you get a chance.
Here's an early pic of a test build, not a great pic. The frame was somewhat trashed when I got it.

http://users.rcn.com/jimmuller/MasiRideable.jpg

The saddle, bar and stem, and crank are original, I think. The brakes, pedals, and seatpost are not. Nor are the BB and headset, though they are least Campy NR. I gave it Mk1 Cyclone derailleurs to handle a bigger freewheel. This isn't Kansas, after all. The wheels are the ones I built for the black Bianchi, 32 spokes, NR hubs, MA40 rims, Pasela TG 25mm tires. I'll probably rebuild the wheels with Open Pro rims.

In the next few months I'll probably send it to Cyclart. Some things aren't settled yet, such as color. I'm leaning toward a medium dark metallic blue with yellow paint in the lug cutouts, a common Masi detail. But I'm open to suggestions.

Anybody got any pics I can see?

Nice! Looks fast, even in the basement.

rod

Got out yesterday for a quick 35 after work in shorts. Spring-like riding twice in one week and four times this month!

I am currently looking out the window, watching it snow. It'll be mid 40's again mid-week. I wish the weather would save the warm days for the weekends.

Took the winter bike out for a brief lunch-time ride to Lexington Center in The Snowstorm That Mostly Wasn't. Would have taken the touring bike, for a longer and faster ride, but the Town dumped an amazing amount of salt on the road last night--in preparation for the non-event--and it didn't seem clever to feed that to the newly tuned-up Surly. Lexington DPW seems to be making good progress on the drainage improvements to the Minuteman, btw.

rod

hi folks, I'm looking for a few loops where I can ride at a pretty hard pace for a couple of hours without stopping. traffic lights, stop signs, and other impediments are what I need to avoid. residential neighborhoods are not ideal.

one I've done before is around the Brookline Golf Course, which is about 4 miles. do you know of others? they are harder to find than you might think!

(btw, I live south of the city in Westwood, so loops that are north and west are less useful)

Found a little time for another little ride up to Lexington Center and back at sunset, ten chilly miles. Temperatures in the low 20s, cold enough to freeze the water bottle by the ride's end. Stiff wind out of the north, made the flag on the pole in front of the bank snap to attention. Had the pleasure of seeing some kids playing hockey on a well-executed backyard rink that I'd followed the construction of on previous rides. Surprisingly little ice on the trail, given yesterday's damp.

rod

No ride. We went x-c skiing. We'd gotten out only once earlier this year. Yesterday at Bear Notch. It was okay. Today at Jackson. It was better with more snow but mostly the snow was packed granular. Today was cold. Temp about 8F when we got off the trail. Driving home it dropped to 1F at the top of Crawford Notch, up to 2F across Bretton Woods and Twin Mt, then down to 1F again as we started down Franconia Notch. Yeah, it was cold. The 21F when we got home felt downright balmy. Did I mention that it was cold?

hi folks, I'm looking for a few loops where I can ride at a pretty hard pace for a couple of hours without stopping. traffic lights, stop signs, and other impediments are what I need to avoid. residential neighborhoods are not ideal.

one I've done before is around the Brookline Golf Course, which is about 4 miles. do you know of others? they are harder to find than you might think!

(btw, I live south of the city in Westwood, so loops that are north and west are less useful)

That IS hard. Fresh Pond has a continuous loop, but doesn't really support a fast pace. There's a nice loop through Concord and Carlisle (Monument Street, River Road, 225, Maple Street, North Road, Curve Street, 225, Acton St, West St, Pope Road, Strawberry Hill Road, Barret Mill Road, Barnes Hill Road, Liberty Street, and back to Monument Street... something like that, anyhow). It's a long loop with a few stop signs and no lights, supports a good pace and has some hills, but... it's NW of Boston...

rod

hi folks, I'm looking for a few loops where I can ride at a pretty hard pace for a couple of hours without stopping. traffic lights, stop signs, and other impediments are what I need to avoid. residential neighborhoods are not ideal.

one I've done before is around the Brookline Golf Course, which is about 4 miles. do you know of others? they are harder to find than you might think!

(btw, I live south of the city in Westwood, so loops that are north and west are less useful)

Why can't you simply ride out to the Blue Hills Reservation and do the race loop there? http://ridewithgps.com/routes/276615

ah, it came to me this morning - the Wells Ave loop in newton, where the racers go on Sundays. I'll go on a Saturday. .8 mile totally flat loop!

Why can't you simply ride out to the Blue Hills Reservation and do the race loop there? http://ridewithgps.com/routes/276615

I so want to try that ride. Maybe once around the block to get to know it. Then go all out, and see how slow/fast I could do it.

Why can't you simply ride out to the Blue Hills Reservation and do the race loop there? http://ridewithgps.com/routes/276615

I didn't know there was a race loop there. thanks very much.

and right next to my hillclimb location (Great Blue Hill), very nice!

ah, it came to me this morning - the Wells Ave loop in newton, where the racers go on Sundays. I'll go on a Saturday. .8 mile totally flat loop!

As someone who works there (and lives 5 minutes away), I will caution you to choose your times carefully. The traffic can be heavy at times, which might force you to to slow down, etc. I'm assuming you're looking for an interval loop for Mount Washington.

If you're in the area, this might be a good option: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/941921

A nice two mile road, no stops, relatively flat. It's my solid choice for shorter intervals, though you would have to stop and turn at the end.

Right you are. I'm really looking for a loop so I don't stop at all

Took an evening ride out to Depot Park, Bedford, 20 miles, said hi to the Buddliner. Temperatures in the high thirties to start, mid thirties to finish, comfy enough compared to Sunday. Rode the LHT for the first time since it came back from its tune-up. After a few weeks of toiling on the squat, heavy, warthog-like winter bike (with it's hedgehog-like winter tires), the Surly was a delight. New brake pads proved useful in an encounter with The Invisible Pedestrian: a young woman dressed in black from head to toe, pushing a baby carriage down the center of a dark stretch of the Minuteman in Arlington. No telling what she thought she was doing... maybe looking for one of the guys out for a ride without lights.

rod

With my mother-in-law in town and volunteering to pick up the 3yo from school, I was able to sneak in 35 miles after work. Temps said 40 but the high humidity made it feel pretty raw. Planning on "40 for 40" this afternoon--in shorts even!

it would be clear on Saturdays, right? that's when I'm thinking...


As someone who works there (and lives 5 minutes away), I will caution you to choose your times carefully. The traffic can be heavy at times, which might force you to to slow down, etc. I'm assuming you're looking for an interval loop for Mount Washington.

If you're in the area, this might be a good option: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/941921

A nice two mile road, no stops, relatively flat. It's my solid choice for shorter intervals, though you would have to stop and turn at the end.

so i rode to work for the first time this year. I've been recovering from an injury, and even this was probably premature, but I just got a new wheel built yesterday so I wanted to go for it.

wow it felt GREAT. I had energy all day at work instead of feeling tired. gotta do this more often.

the bike lanes on Mass Ave are terrific, too.

only bummer was some masshole on Washington St decided to throw stuff at me. I caught up ith him on a hill and he did it again. got the plate number, but there's probably no point in reporting it.

it would be clear on Saturdays, right? that's when I'm thinking...

Yeah, it's dead on Saturdays.

I've tried to do intervals there, but I just don't have the mental fortitude. I need changes in scenery. But, for a non-stop loop you really can't get a better location. Plus it's fun to work on your handling while bombing down the one slight downhill around a right hand curve. That was a fun one in my first crit there with 50+ riders...

I got out for 15.5 miles this afternoon, Waltham to Lexington and back. It was quite lovely, cool but not cold, with light traffic. The vehicle of choice was this one:

http://users.rcn.com/jimmuller/pics/Bianchi1.jpg

so i rode to work for the first time this year. I've been recovering from an injury, and even this was probably premature, but I just got a new wheel built yesterday so I wanted to go for it.

wow it felt GREAT. I had energy all day at work instead of feeling tired. gotta do this more often.

the bike lanes on Mass Ave are terrific, too.

only bummer was some masshole on Washington St decided to throw stuff at me. I caught up ith him on a hill and he did it again. got the plate number, but there's probably no point in reporting it.

You can at least call it in. The probably won't do more than talk to the guy, but if they give him a talking to that might put the fear of the law into him.

Cool, breezy, quiet evening ride from E. Arlington to Lexington Center and back. Kept to an easy pace, spinning gently to favor my right leg, which I seem to have damaged a bit, apparently by riding the winter bike too hard for too long with the seat too high, earlier in the season, and ignoring what my body was telling me about that. Did get it right eventually, though, and am now back on the LHT, which fits well and actually makes the leg feel better when I ride it. Arlington drivers seemed paticularly erratic and demonstrative tonight, lots of honking and swerving, but all of it directed at other cars, not at me. It was a bit like a Wild Kingdom episode involving a wildebeest migration, at least for the first five minutes... then, serenity.

rod

We took the tandem out for 33 miles today. Temps in the mid to low 40's. A nice day. Concord, Lexington, Bedford, Concord, Carlisle, Concord. In Lexington we had a pleasant stop at Ride Studio, then sat on a bench for a picnic. A lovely day. It's nice that the sun is getting a bit higher in the sky. That low sun back in December made seeing the road pretty difficult.

http://users.rcn.com/jimmuller/pics/Sharon_and_tandem_in_Lexington.jpg

Family obligations (including a very pleasant walk in Estabrook Woods) had me mostly enjoying today's splendid weather on two legs, rather than two wheels, but I did manage a sunset ride to Depot Park, Bedford, at the end. The sunset itself was unusual: no color at the horizon that I could discern, just a gradual loss of light, as if the sky were on a big dimmer switch installed by the IBEW. I assume this was an effect of what the Victorians would have called a "lowering sky", a low ceiling with thick clouds that moved in late in the day. Paradoxically, once night had truly fallen, these same clouds acquired a purple-orange glow from reflected street lights. Eventually, they also began to drizzle (had to rule out the competing hypothesis of incontinent flying squirrels before I believed it, though), a gentle rain that, in combination with the relatively mild temperatures and unusually active (for February) critters (barking frogs and a possible Tundra Swan call heard at Tophet Swamp, singing bugs whose identity I could only speculate about, a LARGE moth in the headlights), made this seem an awful lot more like early Spring than mid-Winter. Met some strange dogs: two little dogs dressed in clown suits, a dowdy pit bull carrying panniers, and a couple of truly nasty creatures with frantic, explicitly hostile shriek-barks in the castrati range, lunging at all comers. I responded with a baritone territory-challenge bark sequence (I learned to speak Dog my sophomore year), and this sent them into such a paroxysm of micro-canine rage that I could still hear them over a mile away. I have always assumed, perhaps unfairly, that badly-behaved animals are projections of their owners' psyches; there's somebody in Bedford I really don't want to get to know...

rod

Was able to get out and do my Greenfield ride with my friend Chris. We have been riding out of Bicycles Unlimited the last 4 Saturdays, on a 27 mile loop. I just can't believe how great this winter has been for riding. I had no miles for January and February last year, and have 380 miles so far this year.

25m around the Wells Ave loop in Newton. kept the heart rate at 160, no stops. sore quads!

oh, and btw wells is hardly "dead" on saturdays but swarming with cellphone soccer moms not looking where they're driving. probably my fault for not getting out of bed earlier

Took out the new trailer for the first time today so my little one got her first bike ride. Just around the Jamaica Pond and the other ones right there as I wanted to get her used to it. Wow, it's a very different feeling pulling a trailer. When you get going it feels like it's pushing you and uphills (even the little ones) are a lot more of a chore. Gonna be shifting a lot more. She seemed to like it, but hated the helmet and found a way to get it off. Guess I need to get it to be fitting her better so she can't get it off. I thought our trailer had a helmet compartment, but I might not have it set up quite right as it kept pushing her head forward.

We took the tandem out again today, but today we left straight from the front yard in Waltham instead of driving out to the further 'burbs. That meant navigating Waverley Square and the hill up past McLean Hospital toward Lexington. Instead of running the narrow climb past Belmont CC we went west on Concord Rd and climbed the STEEEEEEP hill past the radio towers. Oh, and did I mention that that hill is steep?

35 miles through Lexington and Bedford to Concord, around Concord center for some shoppe sight-seeing, then back home. Heard chickadees on the Minuteman, sounds of spring. (We saw no juncos in the backyard this year.) Stopped briefly at Ride Studio on the way home and the bike caught the attention of a group of roadies who pulled up as we are about to leave.

Temps in the low 40's. Very light traffic, partly because we got out early (while the temperature was still low). Got home, had lunch, then we spent the rest of the day the MFA in Boston. It was another good day.

Quick evening ride to Lexington Center on the Minuteman before dinner. Felt a little colder than the thermometer suggested, smelled like rain coming, clouds building up. Lots of company tonight, looks like more cycle commuting than normal for a February evening, but then it's an atypical February.

It's Mardi Gras, y'all. Laissez les bon temps roullez, on two wheels when possible.

rod