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-   -   Metro Boston: Good ride today? (https://www.bikeforums.net/northeast/518426-metro-boston-good-ride-today.html)

rholland1951 09-30-15 08:15 PM

After this morning's deluge (anybody ride in THAT?) and this afternoon's cold front with attendant squalls, I took the LHT out on the Minuteman for a night ride, splashing through the occasional puddle, crunching sticks and popping acorns down among the carpet of newly fallen leaves. Played Drop the Pursuer on the ride out, had the trail to myself on the ride back.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...930_192415.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O...930_192413.jpg

rod

jimmuller 09-30-15 08:36 PM


Originally Posted by rholland1951 (Post 18207901)
After this morning's deluge (anybody ride in THAT?)

It wasn't just the morning. Our office in Woburn got bombarded all day. But, ah, no I did not ride today. It would have taken less time if I had though. Actually I have a cold but didn't plan to ride in the deluge anyway. I plan to ride tomorrow. I did see one cyclist this morning, brave soul.

jimmuller 10-02-15 04:52 PM

Yesterday was a reasonable bike commute but cool and overcast.

Today was chilly, damp and 49degF when I left the house this morning. Wore fleece pants, a balaclava, and full-fingered gloves for the first time this fall. For the return it was raining lightly but steadily. My rain jacket was completely skunked-striped. Traffic was light. Great fun. The Raleigh loved riding in such fine British weather. Now I have a task of an hour or two to clean it up.

rholland1951 10-03-15 07:16 PM

Fifteen miles on the Minuteman tonight: dark, cool, and windy. Rode the Monster Trucker, more like a hovercraft than anything else in my garage. The Egg has made it to its second October.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...003_185855.jpg

Noted two couples making out in the shadows by the Minuteman, approaching Lexington Center: mushy and old-fashioned adventure, Saturday night stuff.

Turned around at Bedford Street, Lexington. Signs indicate the partial closure of the Minuteman will continue into next week; guess the deluge slowed the Lexington DPW up a bit.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z...003_191607.jpg

rod

mr_bill 10-05-15 08:29 AM

Beacon Street in Somerville has seen better days.

Inbound to Inman Square - frankly, for much of the descent there's a lot worse out there.
But outbound from Inman Square - not good.

And about to be truly dreadful after snow covers the parallel cuts in the road and they open up into linear potholes. Even on a fat bike this will be dodgy.

Amazing thing though. This might well be a first. They realize that this "bicycle superhighway" is inadequate for bicycles. So they are a doing a temporary refinish in a couple of weeks pending the complete reconstruction of Beacon Street. So, extreme kudos to the City of Somerville. Well done!

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...swxmr92ox.jpeg

(BTW, I was out for a brief recommended "constitutional" while recovering from bronchitis. Sigh, put myself back a couple of days I think with the cold air.)

-mr. bill

sherbornpeddler 10-05-15 04:39 PM

3 Attachment(s)
A couple of rides the last few days had noteworthy moments.
Susan and I went out yesterday and didn't decide were we'd go until we were out and about. We stopped in Rockville, a sub section of Millis, to go for a swing. We did the same thing 29 years ago.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=480973http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=480974 Today I went for a solo 37 miler and report three things. Powisett road connecting Westwood to Dover is beautifully paved. Pine St connecting Dover to Medfield is even more beautifully paved. No matter going up or down hill you are gliding. The third report is there is one person on Powisett that I expect posts and retrieves mail using long handled tongs. A nearly 2 ft diameter tree keeled over but, thanks to a cable originally holding the telephone pole in place, stopped inches from becoming one of those criminals who attack our nation’s postal system. http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=480975 I want to believe this effectively inhibits junk mail and they'll keep it as is.

rholland1951 10-05-15 09:15 PM

15 miles on the Minuteman after work, got started a little earlier than usual and so got to enjoy the sight of some turning leaves and a dandy sunset, before turning around at Bedford Street and returning in the too-familiar dark.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J...005_175620.jpg

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rod

rholland1951 10-06-15 06:38 PM

Took the Monster Trucker out for 10 quick, dark miles on the Minuteman tonight, swimming with the lanternfish. Narrowly missed a couple of Invisible Pedestrians, made more so by the bright eyes of on-coming cyclists, canted at too high an angle. I spoke gently to the shiny folk about that.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J...006_185538.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u...006_191308.jpg

rod

jimmuller 10-06-15 08:59 PM

As on most days, I rode my commute again. Yesterday too. Took the Bianchi today because some time toward the end of yesterday's ride I broke a spoke on the Gazelle. Just one more thing to do, replace the spoke and true the wheel.

Traffic was uber-horrendous today. I have no idea why. It doesn't affect my commute too much except that I pass long lines of stopped cars.

Speaking of stopping, I stopped to grab a small bite to eat at the Lexington Farmers' Market which is held on Tuesdays. It was a good day.

rholland1951 10-07-15 07:59 PM

Sic transit gloria ovi
 
In the course of the night rides the last couple of evenings, it seemed to me that I wasn't seeing the Egg as I passed in the darkness. I was focused on making time, though, and didn't think much of it. This evening, I started the ride early enough to reach the spot in daylight, and... the Egg is gone, without a trace.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...007_183116.jpg

Perhaps it's been added to the permanent collection of the Waldorf School or the Lexington Center for the Arts. Perhaps it was carried off by the Bad Boys, although they are seldom so tidy. Or perhaps it was raptured up by its creator. In any event, it had a 14-month run, if I'm reckoning the time correctly, and survived that miserable winter. Perhaps now its anonymous sculptor will gift us with another rustic mobile. Before the Egg there was the Pyramid; maybe he or she will weave us a hypercube next.

Continued on out the Minuteman as far as Bedford Street, noting as I turned around that the signs about the construction closure are also gone; you win some, you lose some.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q...007_183520.jpg

rod

jimmuller 10-07-15 08:11 PM

I rode my commute between Waltham and north Woburn again. Had reason to be at work much earlier so I lef home almost an hour earlier than typical. Great fun doing a sunrise ride.

sherbornpeddler 10-08-15 07:12 AM


Originally Posted by rholland1951 (Post 18225781)
In the course of the night rides the last couple of evenings, it seemed to me that I wasn't seeing the Egg as I passed in the darkness. I was focused on making time, though, and didn't think much of it. This evening, I started the ride early enough to reach the spot in daylight, and... the Egg is gone, without a trace.


Perhaps it's been added to the permanent collection of the Waldorf School or the Lexington Center for the Arts. Perhaps it was carried off by the Bad Boys, although they are seldom so tidy. Or perhaps it was raptured up by its creator. In any event, it had a 14-month run, if I'm reckoning the time correctly, and survived that miserable winter. Perhaps now its anonymous sculptor will gift us with another rustic mobile. Before the Egg there was the Pyramid; maybe he or she will weave us a hypercube next.

Continued on out the Minuteman as far as Bedford Street, noting as I turned around that the signs about the construction closure are also gone; you win some, you lose some.

rod

Rod,
When you go by will you please glance over just in case you are mistaken or in case it reappears? What else will go missing? I'll go check the bump in my driveway and my tax bill. Next time I brush my teeth, I'm going to look in the mirror to see if I am there.

rholland1951 10-08-15 08:11 AM


Originally Posted by sherbornpeddler (Post 18226435)
Rod,
When you go by will you please glance over just in case you are mistaken or in case it reappears? What else will go missing? I'll go check the bump in my driveway and my tax bill. Next time I brush my teeth, I'm going to look in the mirror to see if I am there.


Originally Posted by Dorothy
People come and go so quickly here!

That's time for ya: Aum...

On the other side of the birth-death cycle, two mysterious orange bikes have appeared in Burlington, attached to street furniture on the Middlesex Turpike, but fairly clearly on display, a little like ghost bikes dressed up for Halloween. I asked Mr. Google about it and he just tried to sell me an orange bike near Burlington. I presume the story will emerge in time, but in the meantime I read the semiotic payload of these as "CAUTION! BICYCLES!", a good message to deliver to the frantic drivers on the Middlesex Turnpike...
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...006_172441.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...007_170938.jpg

rod

rholland1951 10-08-15 08:06 PM

Had a brisk ride in the dark out to Lexington Center and back tonight. Turning around at Woburn Street, I got tangled up with a couple of other cyclists, each of us with our lights ablaze, a regular Illuminati Traffic Jam. There was just enough speed delta to separate us after a few minutes, and restore the peace and decorum of the darkness, the other riders distant stars on the horizon.

rod

jimmuller 10-08-15 08:38 PM

I did not ride an orange bike today. Instead I rode a black one, like yesterday, to and from work. Very heavy traffic this week, especially today.

One thing I haven't mentioned, about a week ago, perhaps over the weekend, "they" ground the surface off Pleasant St and Main St about 1/4 on each side of Woburn Center in preparation for repaving. That stretch has been, shall we say, interesting to ride. Requires caution too in a few spots.

Tomorrow I shall ride a white bike.

mr_bill 10-08-15 09:04 PM


Originally Posted by rholland1951 (Post 18226588)
That's time for ya: Aum...

On the other side of the birth-death cycle, two mysterious orange bikes have appeared in Burlington, attached to street furniture on the Middlesex Turpike, but fairly clearly on display, a little like ghost bikes dressed up for Halloween. I asked Mr. Google about it and he just tried to sell me an orange bike near Burlington. I presume the story will emerge in time, but in the meantime I read the semiotic payload of these as "CAUTION! BICYCLES!", a good message to deliver to the frantic drivers on the Middlesex Turnpike...
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...006_172441.jpg

rod

I hate to disappoint you, but publicity gimmick.

-mr. bill

guidoStow 10-09-15 04:34 AM

There is another one on Mall Road across from the hospital entrance...

I was wondering if it was to advertise a new bike shop or something, but I was scurrying back to my office from lunch so didn't have time to look around... But an orange gym takes the fun out...


Originally Posted by rholland1951 (Post 18226588)
That's time for ya: Aum...

On the other side of the birth-death cycle, two mysterious orange bikes have appeared in Burlington, attached to street furniture on the Middlesex Turpike, but fairly clearly on display, a little like ghost bikes dressed up for Halloween. I asked Mr. Google about it and he just tried to sell me an orange bike near Burlington. I presume the story will emerge in time, but in the meantime I read the semiotic payload of these as "CAUTION! BICYCLES!", a good message to deliver to the frantic drivers on the Middlesex Turnpike...
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...006_172441.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...007_170938.jpg

rod


rholland1951 10-09-15 05:01 AM


Originally Posted by mr_bill (Post 18228827)
I hate to disappoint you, but publicity gimmick.

-mr. bill

Hmmm, yes. So Mr. Google's mercantile response wasn't so far from the mark, after all. Crosses the line between Public Art and Littering. Turns out this ploy has been tried in various other locales, and tends to generate resentment due to the inevitable conflation with Ghost Bikes. Aside from ill-will, they've apparently spawned hashtags, fines under local ordinances, and 311 calls for bulk item pick-ups. We'll see what, if anything, develops here. These things do appear to violate Burlington by-laws, if the Town cares to enforce them...

rod

mr_bill 10-09-15 10:46 AM

Just FYI - the 2015 Cambridge Bicycle Plan - "hot" off the "presses."

-mr. bill

mr_bill 10-09-15 11:59 AM

I had wondered about how this happened under the Zakim bridge in Charlestown.


"I have this theory," he adds, "if you put something up beautiful and colorful and fun, in good taste, uplifting, it will stay and everyone will love it and no one will bat an eye."
-mr. bill

rholland1951 10-09-15 07:21 PM

Evolution in Burlington:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7...009_153926.jpg

rod

jimmuller 10-09-15 07:44 PM

Well, I rode my commute today and got wet on the return home. It was great fun.

guidoStow 10-11-15 05:24 AM

1 Attachment(s)
Busy day yesterday... Did get out for a nice spin through Acton, Littleton and Harvard before heading home...

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=481992

jimmuller 10-11-15 05:50 AM

A bunch of us from the C&V forum did a spin on the CCRT yesterday, sort of MetroBoston Cape Cod Division.

http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/CC...AtTheStart.jpg

http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/CC...ndAtlantic.jpg

rholland1951 10-11-15 07:41 AM

Seems that ever since mounting the 52mm Compass Rat Trap Pass tires on my Surly Trucker DeLuxe on Labor Day, accidents of the clock, calendar, and travel have limited my time on it to short rides, mostly at night, mostly on the Minuteman, and entirely on pavement. I've been curious about how this bike-and-tire combination would handle in other settings: longer rides, climbing beyond rail-trail grades, broken pavement, roots, rocks, gravel, sand, dirt, etc. Had a few daylight hours free yesterday, and put together a 38-mile route out the Minuteman, continuing out the unpaved Reformatory Branch, then riding an on-road arc over rolling hills through Concord, Carlisle, and Billerica to connect to the Billerica end of the mostly-stone-dust Narrow Gauge Rail, following that back to Depot Park, and then on to the Minuteman and home. This little ride got me a useful gamut of surfaces, including genuinely harsh pavement encountered at speed on Route 4 and Dudley Road, and helped inform my mind and body about what the Monster Trucker is capable of, what can be depended on, a learning process that will continue as I take this bike out into the world.

I did check, as requested by SBP: the Egg is still gone, but the Giant Space Crabs are still not gone.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F...010_125655.jpg

The segment of the Minuteman, between Bedford Street, Lexington, and Wiggins Ave., Bedford, has been repaved, is open again, and is a delight to ride. HOWEVER... in this segment, there are runs of pavement that have a sharp drop-off of several inches to the surrounding dirt: hit that obliquely, especially at night, and down you go... a new failure mode for the old rail trail.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I...010_130157.jpg

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https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r...010_150956.jpg

rod


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