rholland1951

My LHT is paying a visit to Dr. Tyler at Paramount for a little elective surgery, so I took my elderly (1987) GT Karakoram for a 10-mile evening ride after work. That bike is an old flame of sorts. I don't ride it often, but generally have fun when I do, and appreciate the Surly all the more when I go back to it. Come Winter, the GT gets a pair of Nokians and does ice bike duty.

rod

welshTerrier2

Acadia is by far my favorite national park. It doesn't have the diversity of wildlife or the great glacial peaks or raging rivers of the big parks out West. In fact, the trees seem smaller and the whole scale on the island seems smaller. Still, there's nothing like those pine trees that grow right down to the ocean and the sound and the smell and the feel of those waves crashing on the rocks. The mountains are easy to climb in a few hours and provide spectacular views. And, after Labor Day, all you hear is the gentle breeze. Acadia is quiet... and peaceful... and quaint.

I've never cycled there but I sure would love too.

Thanks so much for the pics. Keep 'em coming if you have more.

rholland1951

Rode off a bad migraine this afternoon, a trick that sometimes works, 20 miles on the Minuteman on my old GT Karakoram.

On the way back, heard "The Star Spangled Banner" playing on the Hanscom AFB public address system.

rod

sherbornpeddler

Learn something new every day.
Sorry for your migraine. I never heard of riding one off. Sounds like a reboot.
Didn't know about a Karakoram; some kind of mountain bike?
Didn't think you could hear base music from the trail.

GeezerPete

Looking forward to the Charles River Wheelmen Fall Century as my first 100 mile ride at age 61.
Been putting in the miles and looking forward to it.
Any thoughts from you veterans about the course and the event?

rholland1951

Vigorous exercise works for some migraines, for some people, some of the time. It's good to try if you've gotten good and bored with more passive techniques.

The Karakoram was a mountain bike that GT introduced in 1987, the year I got mine. It was noteworthy because it was an early example of the design-in-America-manufacture-in-Taiwan paradigm that has become so familiar. It had a relatively long wheelbase for an MTB, reasonable machines, and the funky and much-maligned Biopace chainwheels; it had a reputation for being bomb-proof; also, mine was red, and appealed to my inner 6-year-old-boy. I bought mine new, at a time when GT was still a somewhat hip operation with an apparently bright future (like so many others, it degraded later), and mountain biking was still new enough and shiny enough to reek of futurity for many. At the time, I bombed around trails on it, running fat, aggressive tires, and never quite managed to break any bones. Years later, started riding again and put tires on that made less racket on the road, and sometime after that bought my touring bike (Surly LHT). Converted the GT to an ice bike two years ago, with fenders and Nokians, but put the summer tires back on while the Surly's in the shop. It's a bit of a gargoyle, but I have a soft spot in my head for it nonetheless, and enjoy riding it. Here's a photo.


I've found the Hanscom music can be heard on the Minuteman from Hartwell Ave. to Wiggins Ave., as well as from parts of Virginia Road, Hanscom Drive, and Mill Street. The trick is to be there when its playing. Being down-wind may help.

rod

telkanuru

My road bike's been at Harris for two weeks now, and I'm itching to get back on it, particularly with Hub on Wheels coming up. I have significantly less enjoyment out of my commuter, for some reason.

The ride itself was fine, though, and zipping by all the Harvard Square traffic is always a great feeling.

sherbornpeddler

GeezerPete,
I've ridden CRW centuries and found them well managed and well routed. Have fun.
I eat way too many fig newtons....every time. I ride too fast, calm down to a steady push. When I first think of water it is time to drink and first think of food it is time for.... a fig newton. If I wait, 5-10 miles later I get tired.

I tend to ride solo 30% of the time when the pace doesn't seem to fit others and 70 of the time it seems to fit others. Organized rides in general and CRW in particular tend to attract friendly, easy going people who are old pros and know other old pros, rookies that don't know anyone and the whole range in between. It is easy to have a good time.

sherbornpeddler

Volunteers are preparing for Hub on Wheels, sign planning and all kinds of logistics. Hurry up Harris!
Today I test rode the Dover Sherborn Triathlon bike route to check out pavement and make sure this Sunday's race goes well. Less than 15 mile bike section and the racers don't exactly stop and enjoy the scenery but it is nice country and practically perfect pavement.

jimmuller 

Another BF member, bikemore, asked us if we wanted to join him. The only problem is getting up so danged early!

Today's Acadia adventure was supposed to be me riding up Cadillac. But we wanted to try the tandem on the "quiet side" rt102 loop and thought traffic might be better today than tomorrow. So we started at the St Sauveur trail head and went south to Southwest Harbor. Bad move. The pavement was not in good shape though it did have a wide shoulder there. But the traffic was zeeoom like I95 zeeooom zeeooom baaaroooom at rush zeeooom hour brrooom zeeooom shheeeooomm zeeoom zeeoom zeeoooooommm, so we punted and drove over to the Park Loop Road again. Did the loop twice again. The second time is definitely harder! If I have any legs left I'm going to do Cadillac tomorrow.

Got some pics but they're still on the camera.

sherbornpeddler

Glad you zeeooomed kids are ok. It certainly sounds like you are as resolute as ever. We are looking forward to more photos.
As mentioned I never made it by bike from Winter Harbor by ferry to Acadia. Winter Harbor biking roads were not zeeooomed; not as majestic views or Bar Harbor sights but quieter and kinda friendly.

telkanuru

Biked home on a nice, cool, night, with little traffic. Love it.

Harris called today! The new fork finally came in. It'll be ready tomorrow with new headset (crushed a bearing, thanks Boston DPW), front fork (crack discovered when they went to fix the headset), stem (only available replacement fork was threadless, so new stem), front wheel bearings (it was their time), and back tyre (for something puncture resistant). I swear owning an old bike is just as bad as owning a vintage car

rholland1951

Enjoy!

jimmuller 

Did the Park Loop Road and Cadillac on the Masi. Pics are on a camera for which the required cable to take them off is at home.

Had one minor adventure. About 2/3rds of the way up I was grinding up a relentless grade when a club of 12 Corvettes came up the road. So I was hugging the shoulder pretty tight. What with the wind and my fatigue I ran off the 2in pavement dropoff at about 2mph. No big deal except that the surface there was low-cut brush with no real support, so I rolled over on my right side. Of course it offered no support for that either so I rolled further and the bike ended up top of me, with my head pointing downhill. It was a lot like my early days of x-c skiing, nothing hurt because the fall was soft but getting up wasn't so trivial!

The folks in the last Corvette saw me go over and stopped to help, which was very kind. They picked the bike off me after I'd extracted my feet from the pedals, then helped me up. Nothing bruised (except my pride) and the bike had no scars.

The run down was fun, but I took it easy. At the bottom the front rim was warm but not glowing hot.

I did notice that the wheels needed truing, so when I got to the car I spent time doing that. The spokes on both wheels had loosened up over the last 200 miles and that may have contributed to the fall, because they'd felt a little less stable than I expected.

Once the wheels were done I rode down rt3 into Bar Harbor, turned around and rode back to the car, drove off to the South Ridge trailhead to meet Sharon. So it was a good day!

Pics eventually, just not today.

sherbornpeddler

JM,
Smart to sacrifice yourself to keep the Masi up above you....I guess. Turtle roll, Corvettes and warm rims sounds pretty exciting to me.
I re-rode the race route again this morning and then noodled the neighborhood through Millis, Norfolk, Walpole and Medfield for an unexciting combined metric century. I probably won't get a ride in this weekend or next supporting bike events. I've targeted this month for my first 1000 mile month so I'll have some make up rides. We'll see.

jimmuller 

As promised, here are some pics from yesterday's tandem ride. Plus a few observations and gratuitous non-bike pics.

This has been one tiring vacation! I know from experience that when I am really, really tired I make occasional mental mistakes. Like heading off to the campground showers, stepping out 5 minutes later, and realizing I'd forgotten a towel. Duh... The point is, when we're tandeming Sharon is always begging me to do one more loop when I start heading back to the car. I argue back that fatigue can make me make a mistake. A solo bike is agile enough to recover from most errors, but a tandem is doubly susceptible. Be careful out there, folks. Don't do like I do, do like I say.

Two days ago we climbed Jordan Cliffs

to get here

Then yesterday we did the PLR twice.
From Otter Cliffs overlooking the Atlantic

while the bike rests

Then we had this picnic

Trees are starting to turn just in the last 2 days


Today's tumble wasn't serious, but in retrospect I think it was avoidable. On the other hand, that section had a strong crossing headwind, always a source of instability. I was climbing at about 6mph and watching the Corvettes when my balance started to go. I slowed enough to go off the pavement at a walking pace, but the ground just wasn't a willing partner!

The ride up Cadillac actually seemed easier than I remember, maybe because the Masi is lighter than the Raleigh. The low gearing is about the same. However as I expected my legs were very tired today. On every uphill they'd hit their limit before my lungs, which isn't typical. So even though I had plenty of energy my legs just would crank. Maybe it would be smarter to go up Cadillac first and then do the 1200ft of climbing around the PLR, ya' think?

You meet some nice people on bikes. One guy came up behind us on our second time around yesterday, said hi, asked about the bike. "Shimano derailleurs?" "Nope, Simplex." "Oh wow! I see now. Cool!" He rode with us for maybe 10 minutes, slowed to our pace uphill, said he was from western Mass. where the hills were much steeper, so this seemed easy. Then he wished us well and sped on ahead.

We hit a new top speed yesterday, a shade under 40mph.

telkanuru

Picked my bike up from Harris today! It's so pretty and shiny! Took it about 20 miles, from Newton down rt. 16, up 27, and back on 30. Managed to hit 43.5 on rt. 30, which is a new land-speed record for me, which was pretty exhilarating. All in all an amazing ride, despite pretty heavy traffic.

rholland1951

20 miles on the Minuteman this evening, out to Bedford and back. The sunset was hitting maximum color just as I reached the Lexington landfill, so it also hit maximum fragrance; now I know what a sunset smells like. Here's an image from slightly farther (and darker) along, at the electrical end of Tophet Swamp.


Rode back from Bedford in the dark, during that magic period on the Minuteman when the my-headlights-are-helpful-and-appropriate-but-your-headlights-are-glaring-and-aimed-too-high game is played. Enjoyed the Night Chorus, and managed to record a bit of it near Arlington's Great Meadows. Began to hear concussions as I crossed the Arlington line, and realized that the Town Day fireworks had started. Watched a bit of that, along with an incidental AHS football game, from the spot where the Minuteman overlooks the athletic field.


After a dozen shells or so, resumed riding down the trail, hoping to beat the traffic attendant on the end of the fireworks. The grand finale shot its noisy wad as I transited Arlington Center, so I was able to make it home to East Arlington without running afoul of nocturnal traffic jams.

rod

rholland1951

Quick ride to Bedford and back in the late afternoon, all I had time for, 20 miles. The Minuteman was crowded with amiable travelers of all sorts, many of whom were making pretty good time; most of the rest were leaving room for them to pass. A bunch of LDS kids were taking part in an organized event, titled "Temple Climb 2012", if their tee shirts are any guide, some running, some trudging. Wonder what that was about? Google doesn't seem to know.

rod

rholland1951

Sunset ride on the Minuteman to Lexington Center and back, 10 miles. Near TJs, a man ran past at good speed carrying a bouquet, Hermes with more clothes and less hat, delivering flowers. The noisy ventilator fan on a commercial building had found exactly the rhythm of "I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General". More of the bicycle commuters were dressed for the office; the Massachusetts seasonal covering of bodies is beginnig.

rod

welshTerrier2

Did one of my favorite loops today through a whole bunch of towns: Ashland, Hopkinton, Holliston, Medway, Millis, Medfield, Dover, Sherborn back to Ashland. It's a ride through some quiet country roads that includes a pair of very scenic Causeway Streets.

After a brief stop at Farm Pond in Sherborn, I was pedaling along Goulding Street when I came to a detour at Route 27 because they were paving W. Goulding St. A friendly police officer told me it was OK to use the road as long as I rode on the left side. They had those giant paving rollers running up and back on the right (i.e. the westbound) side. The road still had little streams of oil or whatever liquid they use to mix with the asphalt. After a few hundred yards, my tires started making a strange sound and they felt kind of squirrely and squishy. As if that wasn't bad enough, a line of cars started coming towards me and I was on the wrong side of the road. The other side was not passable. After 1/4 to 1/2 mile or so, I cleared the paving area.

My nice blue Gran Prix tires now had an asphalt racing stripe down the middle. I rode like this for awhile but then started getting paranoid about weight, traction and possible overheating. Can you ride with a fresh coat of asphalt on your tires? I stopped by the side of the road, spun one tire at a time and applied a twig I found to try to scrape the highways and byways of Sherborn off my tires. It helped a little. I got the real thick crusty stuff off.

The rest of the ride home was uneventful. When I arrived at my house, the rear tire had only a little asphalt on it; the front was much better but still had a dark black racing stripe. I think the asphalt will wear off with more riding.

Made it home just before the sunset. I wish we could go on double or triple daylight time for the winter.

sherbornpeddler

WT2, Sorry for your trouble! I rode those same roads (West Goulding and Woodland) several times every day since that project began and the worst I got after the new pavement was a little tackiness but no accumulation. I was detoured off several times so it sounds like your traffic was allowed too early.
On the positive side, they are now wicked smooth.

sherbornpeddler

Did my usual 37 mile loop. Some light rain. Kinda airy out.

jimmuller 

As promised (or as threatened, if you prefer). For first spin around Acadia's PLR on the Masi, and the climb up Cadillac Mountain.

For a sense of the geography, overlooking Otter Cliffs on the PLR


The Masi at rest (just like the tandem)


Another coastline pic


Halfway up Cadillac


Near the top


On the summit

sherbornpeddler

Jim,
Very, very nice.
Terrific trip and thanks for sharing.