Jim from Boston

Despite what one might think of Howie Carr, he has some quotable lines. One is "If the phone doesn't ring, I'll know it's [name your adversary] not taking my calls." (Obligatory Metro Boston content.)

jimmuller 

I don't know doodlysquat about Howie Carr when push comes to shove. But I'll add this quote: "If the phone don't ring, it'll be me" - George Jones, and that song goes back to when Mr. Carr was a youngster, I believe.

Obligatory bike/MetroBoston-style content: I did ride in to work today. Got a late start so traffic was lighter than typical for me. Rode through some very light rain, barely enough to show up on my jersey as sporadic drop marks. We'll be off the tandem for a while though. Yesterday my sweetie tripped, broke her arm and thumb, and is now wearing a cast. Fortunately neither break was complete and should heal up nicely. Keeping her sane isn't going to be so easy though. However I'll get to do some solo riding that isn't just to work and back.

As for that quote, the event occurred in the Prancing Pony, the inn at Bree.

otg 

Oh No, hope she's OK Jim.

jimmuller 

Thanks for the thoughts. Except for the cast and the immobility she's fine. No pain. She's just monodextrous at the time being.

I'm not sure she'll be tandeming by the CCRT ride. Most likely I'll do that on a solo bike, maybe the Masi or the Motobecane. But if she had her way we'd be out riding now despite the prescription of rest and immobility.

otg 

Good to hear, say hi for me. Just when the weather is starting to cooperate, six weeks of R & R will be no fun.

Bishbike

Friday group ride. Sorry, no pics, just tried to keep from getting dropped. Finally feeling the legs come back after an all too long winter.

Friday Group Ride - Belmont, MA

Bishbike

Sorry to hear it Jim. Hope your sweetie heals up quick so she can get back to riding and playing the "Bull Fiddle".

rholland1951

Amen. Hard for anyone to be immobile just as Spring is springing. Best wishes to her!

rod

rholland1951

What a beautiful day! Got to ride in it, 42 miles through Arlington, Belmont, Lexington, Waltham, Lincoln, Weston, Wayland, and Sudbury. The ride practically began with a hill climb: Belmont Hill on Concord Ave. I'd climbed Belmont Hill by some other approaches, but this was definitely steeper, with the worst bits in the first two stages beyond Pleasant Street; my normal hill-climbing tactic is to drop into the granny gear on my touring triple and spin up, but on this hill I was down in that gear mashing. Good wake-up call for the heart, lungs, and legs, and didn't actually seem to do me any harm. The Google MyTracks app reported this as a 35% grade; while I take that with a grain of salt as a candidate for random number status, it was a pretty stiff climb. I took this picture looking back, near a saddle-point most of the way to the summit, where I felt confident I'd regain forward motion if I stopped to shoot it. Not nearly as steep as the first two stages, but it'll do.


That climb inoculated me against the numerous other hills to follow, by being worse than any of them, but it definitely set the tone for the balance of the ride: this was a hilly one. Went zipping down Concord Ave. from the summit, dodging the occasional pothole, and went barreling along the flats, admiring the grove of Willow trees rooted in the banks of a little stream (Beaver Brook, perhaps, or some tributary) that ran along the North side of Concord Ave, then checking out the big antenna farm a little further along, complete with a yellow sign full of procedural cautions.


Enjoyed the Concord Ave. roller coaster after that, skirting the little neighborhood of Modernist houses The Architects Collaborative built around Barberry Road once upon a time, then connected to Trapelo Road via Spring Street, crossed Rte 128, and went bombing down the hill to the Cambridge Reservoir. Goodbye Waltham, hello Lincoln.


Rode South along Old County Road, enjoying the changing views of the Reservoir as they unfolded. The new 38mm Compass Bicycles tires did just fine on the little stretch of single-track that interrupts Old County Road, a good showing in their first off-road use. Soon enough this brought me to Old Conant Road, and another neighborhood of Moderinist houses, including one with a For Sale sign that is apparently moving for a bit over $1M. Nice house, all in all. Picked up Conant Road then, and was shortly in Weston. Paused to have a look at the old Mass. Central roadbed, not developed as the Wayside Rail Trail due to a bit of politics in 1997 that did the town of Weston little credit, and left a stink in many noses. It is apparently used on an informal basis, a beaten path was plainly visible; I made a mental note to come back and ride that after I get the Big Bens mounted on the GT again.


Rolling and grumbling down Conant Road, I came to the studio of the sculptor Joseph Ferguson, and had a look at some of his enormous insects on the front lawn.


It wasn't clear whether the big bugs were hungry, but I was, so I stopped at a picnic table near the Weston Town Hall to have a peanut butter sandwich and a couple of kumquats, and to enjoy the view. After that, rode through the cute little shopping district in Weston Center and went haring up Concord Road, a long but pleasant climb, with the immense and imposing Campion Center looming at the top, a Jesuit retreat house of mammoth proportions.


Picked up Sudbury Road then, which became Glezen Lane at the Wayland line (I think: seems to me I was crossing a town line every five minutes on this ride, and often the question of which town I was in, when, became something of a research topic to take up later with Mr. Google). I detoured off that to investigate a piece of Wayland conservation land that involved numerous twists and turns on back streets to reach, complex without being really interesting, marked it mentally to try for a walk, and then got back to the business at hand.

I followed a diagonal trajectory through Wayland Center, noting as I did another section of Mass Central roadbed, not yet improved but obviously already in use as a rail trail: good on the Wayland folks. I picked up Pelham Island Road, swooped along next to the Sudbury River and its associated lakes, creeks, swamps, and flood plain. Sections of this part of the route were under water during the recent floods. Most of the rest of the ride continued in sight of the Sudbury River, up Water Row and over Sherman's Bridge. The water, while still plentiful, was behaving itself, and peepers were loudly peeping in several spots. A hand-lettered sign said "Avoid Turtles", and I'm sure they'd agree.








Three buildings encountered on today's ride deserve special notice. The first is an old farmhouse on Pelham Island Road that has been modified with a glass curtain wall on the front, which is surprisingly aesthetic and presumably has some solar-energy advantage. The second is the Toaster House on Waltham Street, Wayland, simply because I've gotten into the habit of noticing it every time I see it, and did it again today; it makes me smile. The third is the Lincoln Public Library, a handsome structure in itself, it boasts both a bike rack and a public toilet, and was therefore wonderfully useful towards the end of the ride. After visiting the library, I cranked back home with no further delays, the peeping and tweeting of frogs and birds providing a continual accompaniment to the gentle squeak of my front fender lightly rubbing the front tire after a casual encounter with the Lincoln Public Library bike rack.

rod

jimmuller 

Rod, nice report! As usual, you report a whole raft of interesting things, buildings, houses, landmarks, environmental features, things that we as usual ride by and see but don't see.

About that run up Concord from Pleasant, I checked DeLorme Topo NAm. It reports a grade in the up teens, jumping point to point from 14 or 15 to 17 or 18. That high indeed. I don't think I saw a 20, but I wasn't doing a systematic search. I would certainly have to mash on that in my lowest gears.

We may try to get out today. Sharon wants to see how well she handles riding with one hand. We had a late night, played a wedding in Connectthedots last night. Might not get out until the sun comes out.

rholland1951

Thanks, Jim. Thus far I've successfully resisted the urge to do any more cycle instrumentation than simply running MyTracks on my phartphone, but sometimes it leaves me wondering... Good luck to Sharon on today's ride!

rod

Bishbike

Rod, you have inspired me to start climbing the Concord Ave climb again. I figured it is about time to start suffering up it again in preparation for some planned rides in NH and VT this summer.

Had time to get out after my gig today for an out and back to Concord. Made it home by nightfall.

rholland1951

Uh-oh!

That's a lovely photo.

rod

jimmuller 

Sharon and I didn't get out to try the tandem today, decided it might be foolish. Instead, I rode the Bianchi. Did about 55 miles, home in Waltham through Belmont, Arlington, Lexington, Bedford, Concord, Carlisle, back to Concord, Bedford, etc. I don't know exactly how far because I was tracking it with the GPS which ran out of battery juice about 10 miles from home.

Had to make a stop at Fern's just "because".


Also stopped into Great Brook Farm SF.

Bishbike

Thanks Rod, coming from you, I will take that as a compliment. Always enjoy your photos too!

Will have to make it out to Conant Rd. soon to check out the Ferguson studio. I ride out that way all the time and have somehow missed it.

One of the many reasons that cycling in this area is some of the best anywhere.

otg 

Nice slogan on the panel truck!

jimmuller 

I did my commute today. After yesterday's 55 miles the legs felt heavy. Worst problem was the wind. With the storm offshore we had wind from the NE, a direction that it rarely sees except for storms. Of course that was a headwind. On the ride home the wind had shifted. Tomorrow's weather coming in. Winds over 20mph, gusting up near 30. Of course it was a headwind. The run home took 1hr15min when it usually takes only 1hr5min.

I had to drop to the small chainring for much of the way, in spots even needing my lowest gear just to keep moving. The big hill between Woburn and Lexington was brutal. Of course I didn't have to breathe. Just open my mouth and the air comes in all by itself.

Bishbike

Windy 26 mile out and back to Concord today.

With the tailwind, I felt like Jens Voight...




With the headwind, it was like, to quote guitarist Allan Holdsworth, "Pushing the Queen mary through a sea of Mars Bars"...

Jim from Boston

Another well-known Howie Carr quote: “I did not come here to be made sport of.”

Sorry to hear about that, Jim. Though Sharon hasn't “spoken,” on this thread, she seems to be a serene companion on the tandem from your photos. My “sweetie,” is also named Sharon. We don't ride together any more, but did tour together on separate bikes, including a cross country cycling honeymoon. Now though, we go ballroom dancing, also a tandem sport.

jimmuller 

So where were all of you MetroBoston commuters this morning? If you were smart you would have been at home sipping a warm cup of coffee.

It was a barbaric commute in this morning. Strong 30deg headwind, ice, slush, and snow on the road shoulders. Lots of people chipping ice off their windshields. Traffic was light; everybody was still home chipping ice!

Much nicer ride home, still cold but with a tailwind.

rholland1951

I've often thought that morning commutes were heroic...

rod

Nickel

The wind has been intense the past few days. I thought riding this morning was fine except for the iced-over bridges in Watertown. Of course, I took my studs off last week.

Bishbike

Headed out Concord this morning. 36 degrees. The flag in Waverly Square told me that I would have a headwind most of the way out. At least the tailwind coming back was not so bad. Counted only 2 other cyclist on the road the whole ride. Hard to believe that Monday's ride was done in a short sleeve jersey.



Glad I did not put the cold weather riding gear away.

rholland1951

Rode out to Depot Park, Bedford, on the Minuteman at the end of the afternoon, temperatures falling through the low 40s, overcast, breezy, the woods still looking skeletal in the main, those few trees noticeably budding or leafing notwithstanding. Today's real promise of Spring was in the birdsong, which was wonderful: red-wing blackbirds, cardinals, mockingbirds, others. A falcon cut through the air at Tophet Swamp.


Rode home with the colors of a delicate sunset in my mirror, listening to the Night Chorus clear its throat, not up to full strength just yet, but more of the little buggy, froggy choristers are making the effort.


Back in Arlington, it develops that some nekulturny twit had smashed two bottles on the eastbound side of Broadway. I managed to miss the debris field of the first one, only to ride through bits of the second. I thought I'd gotten away with that, but a block from home my bike gently informed me that my rear tire was flat. Since I was so close, I simply walked the bike to the garage and locked it up: fixing the flat is tomorrow's project.

rod

jimmuller 

Since Sharon is off the tandem with a broken arm, I get to ride solo. With an early start I did 87.16 miles today, home in Waltham to Pepperell, and back of course. I took the Masi, which behaved itself. Strong headwinds most of the way out, and therefore tailwinds most of the way home. The ride was longer than expected because of detour in Graniteville. I was at 45.7 miles by the time I turned around in Pepperell. The only reason it ended shorter than 90 miles is because I took a different way back to Bedford, thanks to losing some time fixing a flat.

I tried to avoid most of the April 19, 1775 celebrations but I did snap this pic from a distance of the early stages of the muster of the Lexington militia. Sorry it's a cellphone pic; I forgot my camera. Yeah, I know, it's not much to look at.


Somewhere in the middle of nowhere I came upon this new housing development:


Just another adventure in C&V land, MetroBoston Division. It was a great ride.