otg 

I'm planning on riding in the Midnight Marathon Sunday. Don't know if the pictures will come out, but I'll try.

rholland1951

Have a great ride! It's wonderful to see a positive new tradition spring up, the way this one has over the last few years.

rod

agmetal

I'll be doing the Midnight Marathon, too....anyone else joining the RCB group for the outbound ride this evening?

Jim from Boston

Congrtulations. Jim, on that distance so early in the year. That is to say, by my cycling year, which begins in April, waxes until September. and then wanes again until April. With a lot if determination, I won't be doing even 70 miles until July.

BTW FWIW, I read your strory as just another adventure in MetroBoston Land, C&V Division; I ride in the Road Bike Brigade.

jimmuller 

Thank you!

I can go with that. (It's just that all my bikes are C&V as appropriate for this C&V rider. )

otg 

I've got some (not very good) pictures from the Midnight Marathon. I only have the start and the finish, I didn't get anything from during the ride.
At the train station in Hopkinton

At the finish line in Boston


My best guess is that there were around 1000 bikes in the ride. It was kind of chilly, but I'd do this again next year. Riding into Boston at about 2 AM, nice moon over the city, plenty of good people around, a nice time. I rode this with my son, and we spent the day yesterday at the Marathon. First time for me, it was really a great weekend.

jimmuller 

otg, that sounds like fun!

I rode my commute again today, Waltham to the northern side of Woburn. It was a nice cool morning and a moist summery though not overly warm afternoon run. I saw more bike commuters today than I have been seeing.

Did anybody besides me notice the traffic today? Yesterday it was light but a fair number of drivers seemed not to know where they were going. Today it seemed frenetic as if everyone were trying to make up for their day off yesterday. Plus the increasingly overcast sky always makes people antsy. Between the traffic and the headwind, a summer phenomenon I can look forward to with increasing frequency, the ride wasn't as pleasant as it might have been.

rholland1951

Took the LHT out at dusk for a 10-mile evening ride on the Minuteman, up to Lexington Center and back. Although the weather radar suggested I'd get away with it before the rains came, in fact I got the treat of riding through a gentle Spring shower several times, and enjoyed it thoroughly. The smell of rain and the distinct songs of four or five species of frogs made the whole thing downright vernal. A toad went hopping across the trail, reminiscent of the old Frogger game. A pair of howling cats charged out of the Mal's Night & Day Towing yard directly across my path; whether this was combat or courtship I couldn't say, it's hard to tell with cats. Noisy, in either case.

rod

jimmuller 

Today's commute was the first time I've ridden this sweet machine since last summer. Yesterday's commute was on the Bianchi, very conventional.

After two days of fierce winds today was lovely.

jimmuller 

Yesterday a bunch of us from the C&V forum did parts of the CCRT, MetroBoston Cape Cod Division. It was cold and ultimately wet but fun.

L to R: jonwvara, Alex, Clive, me, ed., ScottRyder, Top506






After a committed morning I got out for about 30 miles on this guy, believed to be a '74 Champion Team repainted to look like an '84.

rholland1951

I've got the too-busy-to-live disease these days, but did manage to get out for a quick ride up to Lexington Center and back at the end of the day. The world looked freshly washed, and in fact I got a bit washed myself, by a few showers that were bringing up the rear for this weekend's weather. Lovely ride, made me think of the old classical elements, earth, water, air, fire, especially when I saw a puddle catch the sky.






The Spring culvert migration is in progress in Lexington...


rod

Bishbike

Spent last week in Chicago. Got some miles in courtesy of Chicago's Divvy bike-share program. Wonderful way to see the city.

I guess that this would make this a "Metro Midwest" ride report.





Along Lake Michigan...






"The Bean"...


Water Tower and Hancock Tower...




.
Saw this old Colnago locked up on Michigan Ave...

jimmuller 

Wow. How could anyone put one of those rooster-tail fender thingies on a Colnago? (Or on any bike, for that matter.)

Nice trip!

jimmuller 

From my commute today. Crossing 128 on Mishawum Rd.

Bishbike

Jim, I could not agree more.

Bishbike

Nice to be back home. Got out to Carlisle yesterday, and Concord today.

Bishbike

Jim, I love your taste in bikes. How are the tubulars treating you?

Dave

jimmuller 

Thank you! (What bike was I on when we bumped into each other at Wheelworks? Or what color was it? I don't remember.)

As for the tubulars, I've ridden them any real distance twice, once to work and that run to Bedford. Two trips, one flat. But I do like how they ride.

Jim from Boston

I’ve had a chronic case of TBTLD all winter. I set weekly mileage goals for myself, at a minimum of 80 miles per week during November through mid April. I was actually glad to note that I had achieved even just about 25% of my goal this year. On Monday I brought out the carbon fiber bike for the first ride this year, and it was exhilarating. I have decided to embark on my Annual 10-Week Century Training Program, increasing my weekly mileage from 100 to 190.

Worklife is still intense, and I'm frequently staying overnight to save on commuting time and getting an early (4:30 AM) start, but losing the morning commute bicycle miles. So I decided to carve out some late afternoon time to go for a ride. It's not pristine early AM time, but will suffice. Maybe after my first long Saturday ride, having thus committed to the program, I'll start posting my progress, with pictures, to keep motivated. A fellow Fifty-Plus subscriber, Dudelsack, did similar on a Fifty-Plus thread:

His program was on an indoor trainer, and he posted photos of his computer read-outs.

My goals are two proposed Sixth Annual Bikeforum Fifty-Plus Rides in July, to be held in conjunction with the One Helluva Ride including to Hell, MI [and back] in Michigan on July 12, and the Mass Bike Summer Century and Fun Fest here in Metro Boston on July 26.

So yesterday (Tuesday) I went out for a 6 PM ride on the CF bke, but got a flat at mile 4, and by the time I got it fixed, I returned to work near sunset in a beginning rain after 7 miles (12 miles was the quota). So I have no spare tire, an important and time-consuming meeting this afternoon, an urgent project, and it’s going to rain today. I don’t bring the CF out in rain. In fact, I probably wouln’t bring it out on streets as wet as depicted by Rod.

BTW, IMO I’m not a workaholic, mostly a perfectionist, with a lot of demanding work to do.

jimmuller 

JimFB wrote: Jim, keep us posted on your progress, if for no other reason than that it may help keep you on-point. Your commuting has always been an inspiration for me. BTW, we are still hoping to do the July 26 ride on the tandem if real life doesn't get in the way.

Dudelsack's note reads like he's a computer geek. FTP, TCTP (sounds almost likeTCP/IP), computer printouts? But "...which will allow precise calculation of..."? Surely a good engineer understands that there is nothing precise about a bike on the road! You rides it and you gets to where you are going when you gets there!

Jim from Boston

Hey Jmmll,

Thanks for your gracious reply. I think public humiliation for failure will be an effective motivator. I have been doing this training plan since 2006. In 2011 as I recall, I was regularly posting my weekend rides to this thread, but not so much with pictures. That was the year work took off, and I fell behind in my posting. I’ll not commit though until I do my first long, 40 mile, ride. I hope to bring back tales and pictures of the mysterious non-occidental Metroverse.

I did admire Dudelsack’s commitment to his program of indoor training, and that furthered my resolve. I much prefer to ride outdoors, and it’s most time-effective to do so as a commute. I heartily agree with your highlighted quote, and I always capitalize “The Road,” not so much as a geographic entity, but a mystical life force / matrix on which I travel.

Bishbike

Jim, you were on the Motobecane, and I think that was the evening you had gotten the flat.

jimmuller 

I'm hoping to do a longish ride tomorrow, Saturday May 3. Anyone want to join me? I'd like to do at least 80 miles, perhaps even a century if the route and timing work out, but I'm not wed to either figure. I'll probably start from my home in Waltham and go through Waverley Square, into Lexington, then take the MM to Bedford. I've done a route to Pepperell several times now and would like to extend it to, say, Shirley, maybe turn south from there to do a big loop back to the Carlisle/Concord area. Haven't worked out all the details yet. Someone could meet up with me anywhere along the way. I can clip along reasonably well but I'm not a speed demon and will be on one of my vintage speed bikes, probably either the Motobecane or the Masi.

Haven't picked a time yet. If I'm lucky I'll get started by 8:30 or 9. Yeah, right! On a Saturday???

jimmuller 

Anyone want to do the NBW's Flattest Century in the East in September? We've really liked the few of their rides that we've been on before. (We did the 54 mile part of the Plymouth Century a year or so ago. Nice ride except for the climb up from the Westport River near the end!) Longest ride we've ever done on the tandem is 72 and we're getting a late start on the season due to Sharon's arm. But by September we hope to be ready. Then again, the start time is intimidating!

otg 

Hey Jim, that sounds interesting, and it is pretty much right in my backyard. Never done a century, but I'd like to give it a try.