sherbornpeddler

Ditto but 20 miles through Sherborn, Millis and Norfolk. Smaller potholes and more twigs and tree debris than salt and sand. I've done so little outdoor riding this year it felt odd yesterday. I wonder if drivers need to be re-aclimated to bicycle traffic?

rumrunn6

I wonder if Concord uses less to begin with, so the cleanup is easier. I haven't noticed any street cleaners yet tho

rumrunn6

undoubtedly, so thanks for taking care of that! :-)

Jim from Boston

About two weeks ago around dusk on a misty, rainy/wintry mix evening, I drove from Norwood to Milford via Rte 109, to include my oft-ridden, nice-weather areas of Westwood, Medfield and Millis all the way to Milford. All along the route I recalled various checkpoints, reminisced about past rides, and planned new ones.

This driver looks forward to re-acclimating to cycling.

berner

This week my car was in the shop overnight. The next day I rode the bike 13 miles to pick it up. It was a wet day although it did not actually rain. Roads were littered with sand, gravel, tree branches and probably animal parts and it all stuck well to the frame and drive train. As I got to the auto dealership, shifting had deteriorated badly. I began cleaning the bike after returning home and finished up the following day, doing a through job of it, top to bottom and front to back. I actually bought fenders to try and mount even though the bike is not meant to have them but I will nevertheless try. I really need a rainy day bike but don't have room for another. I need to begin prowling around for an oldie but goodie bike.

Ghazmh

What a great riding day! I'm happy to say that the shoulder along 117 in Weston is relatively free of excessive sand and debris. The mile stretch near the retirement home still resembles a bombed runway but with careful navigation I'll keep on riding my rain-road bike. Monte the mountain bike is no longer the go-to bike this year. I rode my 30 (actually 32) mile loop in the mid morning went home so I could get my daughter to a birthday party and rode my 20 (actually 22) mile loop in the late afternoon. It was sunny and crisp and the songbirds reminded me that spring is almost here. If this Wednesday is as nice as they predict I may just be "under the weather" enough to call in sick and ride.

jimmuller 

I took the Grandis out for 40.1 miles today. A very pleasant day it was too.




A bit of green is starting to show in the Hutchins Farm fields. Winter rye or a food crop, I wonder. Early for a crop.

rumrunn6

Jim, what is that saddle? it looks like leather but has a very slim profile

jimmuller 

That is a Velo-Orange Model 6, I believe. I got it in a trade from another BF member who had picked it up at a swap meet, so I can't swear to what the model designation was when it was bought. I believe it is modeled after the Brooks Swallow though it could be the Swift. The Brooks website doesn't give enough detail for me to be sure. I find it reasonably comfortable. It is somewhat narrow but that doesn't bother me (I spent decades riding the Norex from my UO8, and that was sort of narrow too). It is quite hard however, having less than 100 miles under its skin.

rumrunn6

ah!

jdotconnor

i meant to post this a while ago but had not taken the time to type it out.

Feb 27th I went for a ride and joined the Ride Studio Cafe's "Conjure Series" ride that was scheduled for a 42 mile ride. It was posted to be a relaxed pace ride at 14-18 mph if I remember correctly. I had both one of my worst days on the bike and a great time which still confuses me.

Short Version:
Underdressed, out of shape, got dropped on a no drop ride(my fault-NOT ORGANIZERS), cramped, met some cool people, limped home in shame.

Long version:
I was running late the Saturday morning due to playing baby sitter for my 14 month old. I assumed my wife was off but she had an 8:15-8:45 work call. I planned on riding from Medford to the start in Lexington by the 9am roll out. I left at 9am and intercepted the first group in Somerville. Being from a much warmer climate, AZ, I am not equipped with the proper clothing that the mid 20 weather demanded. This would not help my situation to come. I rode with them for 2-3 miles when I dropped off the back up a gradual (not long, nor steep) hill. After another mile or so I pulled over just to check directions when the 2nd group came up. I tagged with them a mere 1/4 mile to a common rest point at a road side convenience store. Members of the first group mentioned to each other that I was there as I rolled into the parking lot. At this point my upper body was fine. My hands, in full finger but more spring/fall temp gloves, were very cold but not too bad. My bare legs were cool but surprisingly not too bad. At this point my left foot was already slightly numb. My right was cold. I'm assuming this is because my left foot rarely un clips from the pedal. I rolled out with the 2nd group figuring if I dropped off the back there was a final third group I could roll in with. Little did I know I needed about 5 groups. I didn't last long on the 2nd group as we came into some rollers. Every upslope I could tell I bit off more then I could chew. I was out of shape, ill prepared clothing wise and in a bit I would realize I was short on certain nutrition. My first rescuer I will admit I forgot your name. He had an accent was Southern European (Italian?). He encouraged me and kept giving little pieces of advice but I was just having a bad day. Next came Eugene. Asian gentleman that was also very supportive. Later we would talk a bit over coffee at RSC. we had been passed by the 3rd group by this point and caught up with them back in Somerville. This is where I got passed onto Erin. The other two "babysitters" were great but Erin was awesome. She rode tempo,slow as it was, with me until we got to a hill and then waited for me at the top. I cramped twice on one hill. It was ugly. I will say my one joking complaint: she said one more ascent 3 times and one more turn just as many. Lol. When we got to RSC there were about a dozen riders left. They had a pre ride breakfast for the group so I tried telling myself that's why many had left. Much to my embarrassment and amusement a couple people clapped as I walked in with Erin. I had a coffee and a snack as well as talking to a few people. After about 30 mins I rode the 8 miles back home in Medford cramping 3 times, once in downtown Medford. After a warm shower my foot was still numb and slightly dis colored but by that night it was fine and my wife was telling me to "stop whining about it or cut it off".

It was a great ride and I will probably do it alone to try and get my legs under me again. Hopefully with a little bit more riding I will be able to maintain with the group. When I was in Charlotte and I could hang with an avg 18mph group with 2500 feet climbing over 35 miles so I know I have it in me. Just need to find it.

randomgear

Glad to here you ended up OK. Being underdressed for cold weather can make one hypothermic; I should know, I did it to myself once this winter, luckily on a very short ride near my house.

rumrunn6

18mph avrg? sounds like you are normally a strong rider. but yeah February in this neck of the woods is a pain in the b*tt (& elsewhere) for sure

what does "bare legs" mean exactly?

Jim from Boston

@ jdotconnor, as a newcomer to Massachusetts (and @rr6), you may want to know about this local festivity.

jdotconnor

Bare legs as in I was in the same thing from the waist down that I may wear on a 115* AZ day. Bad idea.

rumrunn6

it's not the mistakes we make in life that define us, it's what we do when we discover them. (you have my permission to use this w/ credits) :-) AKA - DUDE WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?

rumrunn6

... & tank tops ... love the short time period between when the co-eds come home from college & before they start their summer jobs. it's a timely gift to us old timers. no offense ladies, you're beautiful & we only acknowledge it

jimmuller 

Today was definitely a warm one. Great for today's commute, probably not so great environmentally. No fleece in today's wardrobe. With the sun setting later I've been riding the "higher-end" bikes with sew-up tires instead of the nice Bianchi with the hub dynamo for light. Monday and Tuesday was the Gazelle. Today was this sweet ride:

rholland1951

Was moved by this excellent weather to put the Rawland Nordavinden back on the road this evening for the first time since the salt monsters turned up sometime in December. After 2 or 3 months of lumbering around on the old GT to the crackle of carbide studs, the Rawland's sport touring geometry, lively frame, low trail handling, and light, supple 32 mm tires were a welcome change.

Plenty of cyclists out tonight, cutting along, some a little clueless about how to position their headlights. Little bands of teenage boys were out on foot, working on their swaggers, a rowdy harbinger of Spring.


The Nixonian sodium lights in the TJ's and Walgreen's parking lot gilded the normally-blue Rawland when I stopped to take its picture.


rod

Ghazmh

Wednesday was great. I was under the weather and went to see doctor dayoff. He prescribed me miles, lots of them, 62.5 to be exact. It was the inaugural 2016 ride with my beloved R3 with a brand new set of Boyd carbon clinchers. darn it felt good......

..

jimmuller 

I rode to work again, got very wet riding home.

Jim from Boston

That was on Thursday.

On Friday I had to go from Norwood to a personal meeting at 11:30 AM near the Sherwood Plaza on Rte 9 in Natick. I had my pristine carbon fiber bike at work, which I don’t ride in the rain (to keep the drive train clean – that’s what the beater bike is for). All Thursday and into Friday AM I was monitoring the Weather Channel, like preceding a space shot, which promised the rain to end about 8 AM on Friday, allowing time for the road surface to become at least “acceptably damp.” I planned on a 9:30 AM departure to allow enough time to ride 16 miles, and arrive comfortably, even if a flat tire occurred.

Since I have been curtailed by work for my early AM commute, this was a particularly welcome ride. My route, probably well-known by @sbp, and a familiar one to me, was Rte 109 in Westwood, Walpole St in Dover to Springdale to Pleasant Street; Union St to 135 in Natick. Normally I would continue to Spreen St on 135, but I had studied the map and noted the calmer, residential Pond St was parallel so I took that, another enjoyable find on a previously oft-ridden route.

The weather looked good as I left Norwood, but about three miles out, I ran into threatening clouds and got some drizzle. I resigned myself to getting wet, but the faint drizzle only lasted about 10 minutes. A singular memory of this ride was cruising through Dover, and not seeing a single cyclist. On a usual Saturday I encounter one, two, or a paceline about every quarter mile.

Since it still was a workday, my wife who drove to the meeting from Boston, accompanied me as I drove us and the bike back to Norwood via the route I took. When we entered commercial Natick from residential Pond St, it was such a surprise she asked me, ”Where are we?.” Most of the drive though was through pleasant exurbia in Natick and Dover.

rumrunn6

Dover is a pretty town, haven't been in years but I imagine there's lovely riding down there

Jim from Boston

I have called Dover a “cycling mecca.” In my ”Cyclist’s Guide to the Metroverse (Metro Boston)” I described Dover, in comparison to another splendid sector,

Jim from Boston

Just last week, I posted to this thread on the Fifty-Plus Forum, ”What is your average miles per week (or hours) for us old guys...”

So I think I may be able to HTFU enough to accomplish my optimal mileage. For example this week (#1), instead of 20-30 miles, I will have done about 60 miles, but I consider this week a preparation/reorientation for better things to come.

For my amusement I’m thinking about posting my weekly results on this thread. I figure public pride (or humiliation) here is an additional motivator.