rholland1951

Ah, yeah. I was there for a conference, and was seeing the commuters...


rod

jimmuller 

We didn't even come close to Copenhagen today, although it sound quite pleasant.

Thursday was our 37th anniversary so we did a celebration ride today, 41.8 miles. Bedford, Concord, Walden Pond and DeCordova Museum, Concord to Carlisle and back, 2A into Lexington, back along the MM to Bedford.

Walden Pond:


At a food stop in Concord Center, a 1940 Packard:


Also in Concord, Hutchins Farm:


Spotted on the MM going by Tophet Marsh in Lexington:

deburn

I seem to have mysteriously injured my knee sitting on the couch Friday night! I have been riding a lot, but not experiencing any pain apart from some minor aches. My last ride was on Thursday. It was a bit hard effort, but nothing crazy. Right now it hurts to walk and I'm just resting.

The only thing I can guess is that I might have exacerbated an old knee injury from 2006 where I tore my ACL and meniscus. My surgeon at the time said I should be fine with physical therapy, and I have been fine till yesterday evening.

My surgeon (R. Wendell Pierce) has since moved to Vancouver and I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a surgeon in the Boston area.

I'm also looking for recommendations for a bike fitter. Thanks!

rholland1951

Jim, Sharon, 37 years is a long ride by any reckoning! Congratulations, and many happy returns.

rod

jimmuller 

Thanks, Rod.

We just finished up about 85 miles on the tandem this weekend, 43.something today and 41.something yesterday I think. (A Dogfish Head 90min IPA doesn't help with the memory.) Today's ride was with BF member photogravity who had come into town to pick up a bike. Those details didn't work out quite as planned so he borrowed my Gran Sport and we did a ride with him first, 20 miles round trip on the MM. Then he split and we went off for another 23 or so up to Carlisle by way of Concord. It was a great day.

Sharon and PG at the start. Diminutive Sharon is, um, overshadowed!


Lunch in Bedford


Fern's General Store was a hoppin' place

Bishbike

Happy Anniversary Jim & Sharon!!

Bishbike

After 3 days off of the bike due to music making, managed to get out to Concord after today's gig. Beautiful evening to be outon the bike!

sherbornpeddler

Happy Anniversary Jim and Sharon!

Jim from Boston

+10. Dittoes from Jim from Boston, and his “Sweetie,” Sharon too. Not to glom on to your celebration but this year is our 37th also (April 30). We started off with an eight-week cross country honeymoon from LA to DC.

This morning I did a 27 mile route from Kenmore Square through Wellesley and Needham into Dover and Westwood to Norwood from about 5:30 to 7:30 AM. On a two-mile stretch in Dover from about 6:15 to 6:30 AM on Centre and Walpole Sts, I saw about eight solo cyclists, and a group of about six. Over the other 25 miles I saw maybe about six cyclists in total at most.

Of note, all those Dover riders were going in the opposite direction, and all were in shorts and short sleeves, while I was in long sleeves and tights, and still chilled. I didn’t really feel warm until about 6:45 and acquired some warm sunshine.

sherbornpeddler

Saturday we rode a luxury ride with a book about Boston. We rode on the Cambridge side and stopped at a cafe at Charlesgate looking out to the Charlesgate Yacht Club and the river. The Cambridge Parkway was quiet the weather pleasant.

As we brunched under an umbrella we read from "It Happened in Boston" by Julia Boulton Clinger about the execution at the Charlestown Prison, 3/4 mile northeast of us just across the train tracks and Rts 93/1. It is much more happily occupied by the Bunker Hill Community College on New Rutherford Ave. That site is just a couple of blocks northwest of the Paul Revere Park commemorating the beginning of a famous ride 146 years earlier.

Digressing too much (but this is what happens with a couple of Boston history books and a nice lunch), we had a great view of the Longfellow Bridge reconstruction. Longfellow wrote his poem about Revere's ride to draw inspiration and attention about freedom, human rights and brave deeds in 1860 during the times of abolisionists and civil war.

In 1921 Sacco and Vanzetti, as admitted anachists during times of strong anti-Italian sentiment, were unfairly tried and convicted and held in the Charlestown Prison and put to death in 1927 despite world wide protests. Because of the Sacco and Vanzetti case, judicial reform in 1939 requires the Supreme Court to review all death penalty cases or "for any other reason that justice may require." In 1997 Governor Dukakis absolved them of guilt because they had been unfairly tried and convicted.

Packed up our book and back on our bikes we rode across the bridge past the dinosaurs and duck boats at the Museum of Science and upstream on the Paul Dudley White bike path then crossed again upstream of the Dragon Boats and back to our start. 2+ hours, 8 miles.

godshammgod

Hi folks!

It's been a while since I posted; thanks to rod for reaching out to inquire.

I've been off the bike for quite a while, since late October as I've dealt with a myriad of issues related to a herniated disc. I ended up doing a great deal of PT, as well as having two cortisone injections, and now I'm really focused on strengthening myself so it doesn't happen again. I do hope I'll be riding again soon as my back is nearly pain free, although I'll be riding much slower, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I hope the time off in the short-term will mean I'll be healthier and happier in the long-term. I didn't realize how much I loved cycling until it was taken away, albeit hopefully temporarily!

jimmuller 

Bish, SBP, and JFB, thanks! Jim, we should have congrated you too a month and half ago.

Sacco and Vanzetti, those are names I haven't heard for a few decades.

GSG, good to see you name again. Welcome back to BF and to riding again.

rholland1951

Sometimes our bodies lead us to our bikes, sometimes our bikes lead us back to our bodies, calling attention to something that needs fixing. godshammgod, best of luck with the recovery work.

rod

rholland1951

Had a pleasant 10-mile jaunt up to Lexington Center and back, enjoying the near-Summer conditions, along with many another rider/runner/skater/walker/bowser.


A bit before Peepers Pond, some crafty person has suspended a reed pyramid from a tree.


This serves as a torsion pendulum, and twists in the breeze, a sort of rustic mobile.


rod

jimmuller 

A quick thought on the MM. Do be careful. There are lots of people out there. Yesterday we came upon a skater lying face down on the pavement, apparently having had an "incident" with a kid's bike, to judge by the bike laying on its side and the folks standing around helping. She (the skater) seemed to be okay, and had plenty of help. She was smartly wearing helmet, and knee and elbow pads.

One morning on my commute (last Friday?) a bunch of emergency vehicles came flying up to the MM near Arlington Center. I was heading away west and saw nothing, so it must have been in response to something behind me.

It can be a dangerous piece of pavement.

rholland1951

Amen. Good place for a loud bell.

rod

Bishbike

Solo ride out to Harvard and back today.

Solo Ride to Harvard and Back - Belmont, MA

Nagog Hill Orchard...





Out "Mowin' the Grove"...



Outstanding in their field...




Just horsin' around...

Bishbike

Sacco and Vanzetti, sounds like a couple of lugged steel Italian framebuilders...

Jim from Boston

Hi GHG,

As you may recall we briefly encountered one another on the Road a few years ago, one of the rare other BF members I have met en route. Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I have had two serious back problems myself. In my 20’s (decades ago) I had an apparent “slipped disc,” with differing opinions about operation. It eventually went away after a couple years, but meanwhile had dramatically changed the course of my career (ultimately for the better). Weight bearing was difficult, but nonetheless cycling was fine.

In 2012, I sustained a fractured sacrum in a bike accident. Even now, weight-bearing, including prolonged sitting (on my job) is uncomfortable, yet cycling is quite tolerable. You don't report a trial of cycling, and I can't myself advise it, but I hope it turns out well. I can't, and don't want to work out by running for cardiovascular excercise, though maybe a treadmill is doable, but outdoor cycling always beckons, and can be performed for extended periods.

sherbornpeddler

GSG, Nice to hear from you.
Patience, PT and Patience are all good.
Good for Rod and good for you! Thanks for checking in.
This BF community is something special. New folks add to it and old friends are important.
See you soon.

hubcyclist

Did a 26.5 mile ride, mostly road, but part of the route took me on the minuteman from Arlington Ctr to Lexington Ctr. Didn't stop, but Lexington Ctr is really charming, will have to stop and enjoy it sometime

godshammgod

Thank you for the kind words everyone, they are encouraging! I have taken a few short rides on the bike, just spins around the block and those have felt okay. It is the prospect of a longer ride that has me a bit hesitant. Although, I will say that this time off has been good; I probably feel better than I have in a year or so. Plus, I've probably saved money that would have otherwise been spent on tires, tubes, and apparel...silver linings!

mr_bill

The Crane Suza bell has a wonderful tone and a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong sustain.
The tone isn't there with the Spurcycle bell, but the volume is and the sustain is almost as long, and it's stealth. (Yeah, it's a lot more expensive too.)




-mr. bill

rholland1951

Had another little spin up to Lexington on the Minuteman, this time mostly in the interval between sunset and dusk. Temps in the low 80s, relative humidity in the high 60s, a dress rehearsal for Summer. Kept a good pace, waved at a couple of the Minuteman evening regulars and avoided karmic entanglements with anyone else. The bell helped with that.


rod

mr_bill

Wonderful shot!

-mr. bill