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Metro Boston: Good ride today?

Old 06-07-15, 05:32 PM
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Today we just rode out to Verrill Farm in Concord, picked up some veggies and strawberries, then went home. 27.0 miles, about 35lbs of stuff to eat.



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Old 06-07-15, 06:01 PM
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Originally Posted by DBrim
Life has been crazy busy lately with a bunch of business travel and the move last week. I finally got out for a bit around my new home (Medford) this weekend.

Saturday morning began with a ride to Assembly Square in Somerville to catch a movie. Just 5.5 miles round trip, but some good neighborhood exploring.


I worked across the river from Assembly Square about six years ago and it's crazy how much that place has changed. It used to be a strip mall with a lot of vacant lots in a not-so-great neighborhood. Now it's an upscale shopping area with it's own brand new T stop. It's a cool area though so I feel like I'll be making that ride fairly often.

Today was a longer ride, about 14 miles, with a main purpose of doing a "dry run" of the new commute. I added a bit of a loop along the Charles from the Lechmere Canal, across the Harvard Bridge, then back across on the Longfellow.


I was pretty happy with the results of the commute on the way there (other than a headwind, but nothing I can do about that). I got lost on the way back this time, but the path I stumbled onto was pretty viable. I already know that I'm going to hate riding through Powder House Square...
Powder House Square = rotating anarchy
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Old 06-08-15, 08:24 PM
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10 miles on the Minuteman this evening, breezy and comfortable. Lots of birdsong on the way out, some new bugsong, soothing and pervasive, on the darker ride home.


rod

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Old 06-09-15, 05:47 PM
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With the afternoon air warm, moist, and windy, and the weather radar looking ominous, I made a bet with myself that I could have a quick ride out to Lexington Center and back and be home before the rain started. Had a nice ride out, along with lots of other folks who made similar bets. We were all scurrying like chipmunks under masses of dark clouds. Including the chipmunks.


I rode past a guy playing a beautiful resophonic guitar in the little park at Bow Street, Lexington, and hoped he had the sense to bring that thing in out of the rain, preferably before the rain started. I continued West, however, having only myself and my trusty LHT to answer for. No rain yet at the turnaround, and I was starting to feel like I might just make it home dry. I started a fast descent Arlington-bound, passed Maple Street, got to Arlington's Great Meadow, and ... the rain started, of course. Not a downpour, but not a drizzle either, frank, wind-driven showers. This cooled my hot head off nicely, and reminded me how much I actually enjoy riding in a little rain on a warm day. I continued homeward; a well-prepared pedestrian raised an umbrella, a couple of cyclists sheltered under a couple of overpasses, others pulled to the side of the trail and broke out rain gear. The rest of us simply got wet, including one woman in an elegant dress riding a mixte, apparently a commuter.

Arrived home in due course, wet and happy.


That's the beauty of recreational rides: whatever happens, I asked for it.

rod
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Old 06-10-15, 04:49 AM
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What a pleasure to read and great perspective. I recall having two rides planned for two weekends in a row when the first was rescheduled to the day before the second ride. I felt good and figured I could manage both. The second ride was a classic bike ride and I prepared and test rode my 1980 Raleigh including recently acquired replacement sewup rims. It was all set.

The first ride was Free Friday and I rode up to West Natick, met a friend and we took the train to Grafton. We then biked over to Rt 122 and sailed down hill, down stream along the Blackstone River valley to Cumberland/Central Falls. We made diversions wiggles and stops including taking a tow path trail on the historic canal. We left Rt 122 in Northbridge on Quaker St and entered the trail off of Church St Ext. It started smooth then ran out of funding to the "I asked for it" un restored roots, rocks, ruts and erosion with plenty of role reversal where we carried the bikes. It was fascinating! Visited the on route museum in Uxbridge, returned to the road road at Rt16, lunched in Woonsocket and zigzagged up to S.Attlborough train station to Rt 128 station where we hitched a prearranged car ride. Great 40 mile trip. I did in my back and bailed on the Saturday ride.

I asked for it. I did get to admire the engineering marvel of the canal in the heart of the American industrial revolution and see portions of the stone canal lock that with new wooden doors would work well today. I didn't get to make the classic ride but I will be ready for next time.
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Old 06-10-15, 07:37 AM
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SBP, good to see your name here again. It has been a while.

I didn't ride to work yesterday but did Monday and again today. I am still at the office and fortunately made it here safely.

Today's commute had one incident where I wish I'd had a big rock ready to throw. Instead I settled for wishing someone damnation. I was on Lexintgon St in Woburn and came up to a landscaping truck parked on the right, a truck so wide that it took the entire shoulder and protruded into the traffic lane. Traffic was approaching from the other direction and a car was about 50yds behind me. I was moving near 20mph so I pulled into the center of the lane to pass the truck figuring that it would avoid tempting the guy behind me from trying to squeeze through. False logic. He squeezed through anyway, gave me maybe 6 to 12 inches clearance and I have no idea how close he came to the oncoming car. Then he gave me the finger as he pulled ahead.

So how many ways is this wrong? Discourteous, check. Illegal, check. Poor tradeoff of safety (my health and his driving record) against loss of perhaps half a second, check. Lack of awareness of just how much time it might really cost him or how quickly I'd be back over on the shoulder, check. Lack of awareness that when I on my bike he can pass me almost anywhere but when I'm in my car he can pass me almost nowhere, check.

But then maybe he was just a jerk. If he'd take his dangly thing off the gas pedal and use his head every so often he might understand, but probably not. I blame Howie Carr for some of this kind of behavior.

In my cooler moments these past few weeks I've been contemplating what would be the best way to encourage the state and various towns to develop public education programs. I was told that there has been a push lately to cut down on speeding. I'm not sure I see anything that would make me or anyone else change driving habits. Instead, I'd like to see frequent reminders for the general public about:

the importance of noticing everyone and everything around you while driving (which means more than just putting the cell phone down);
the meaning of a red light and a stop sign;
the actual right-of-way laws as opposed to what people actually do most of the time;
the rule about not entering an intersection until you have a way out so as not to block everyone else (I saw an atrocious example of this at Four Corners this morning - long story in itself involving many cars and even a school bus driver);
the proper approach to cyclists (e.g. don't stop in a busy street to let me cross as if I were a pedestrian - I'm not, I'm on a vehicle waiting my turn and you are holding up everyone behind you);
the real time lost or gained by your speed (e.g. at 60mph every 1mph you go faster or slow gains you only 1 sec for every minute, which means 1 sec for every mile or 1 min for every hour, which isn't much, so have some patience);
if I were driving to work instead of biking it could be one more car trying to make a left turn in front of you or go through some stop sign or around that awkward rotary, so you win when I'm biking.

Maybe that's too much to ask. I'd be happy if the state would just run a street cleaner on some of those roads.
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Old 06-10-15, 11:56 AM
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Perhaps he was using his finger to establish clearance?

rod
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Old 06-11-15, 08:59 PM
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Yesterday, picked up the Trucker DeLuxe (26" LHT with S&S couplers) from Paramount Bicycle Repair, Ball Square, Somerville. This evening, took it out on the Minuteman to see what was what: Tyler and George have cured the intermittent quacking on the power stroke, as well as the blood-curdling shriek when the rear brake was applied (safety feature: scares the bejesus out of migratory teenagers on the bike path). Both problems were fixed by the same brake adjustment. Between the de-quacking and de-shrieking, and the general mechanical goodness of a seasonal tune-up, the bike is solid, and a joy to ride. After a little fiddling with seat height, I ripped up and down the trail at a good clip, enjoying the ride. Perhaps I'll take this one for a longer ramble this weekend.

rod

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Old 06-12-15, 09:24 AM
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Quick errand to pick up dinner - rare dining alone so I was completely free to experiment (if I failed, no worries) - mussels, finocchio, leek, celery, avocado, tomatoes and fresh tarragon, and a scone.


Three having a great conversation on the way home:


Traffic jam:


(And the thick mussel soup or thin mussel chowder came out pretty damn good. Still not sure if the green is off putting or on putting.)


-mr. bill

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Old 06-12-15, 07:44 PM
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First commute to work since moving (and first in seven months) today. Pretty good! I added a few miles onto the return leg, and was rewarded by being tailgated heavily by an MBTA bus (maybe two inches between him and my back wheel) on Mass Ave between Harvard and Porter. Lovely.
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Old 06-12-15, 09:35 PM
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Took the DeLuxe out on the Minuteman this evening, 10 miles, the heat of the day just beginning to give way to the cool of the evening. The green season is fully established: the knotweed and willows were almost audibly breathing.


The Egg is hanging in there; how long has it been now? I'll have to check. Like the snow pack of a few months ago, the knotweed is rising up to consort with it.


On the return, I was cutting along smartly when a kid on a carbon fiber road bike labored to pass me, then parked himself 20 feet in front of me. This triggered my usually-well-suppressed racing reflex, and I got down in the drops, passed him, then (after a period of active pursuit), dropped him. Given that he was about half my weight and a quarter my age, I felt reasonably pleased with myself: not bad for an old fehrt on a 26" touring bike; those Chris King hubs do roll. This monkey busiess got me home quicker, too. I am enjoying this bike.


rod
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Old 06-13-15, 05:17 AM
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I had a few "drop" episodes on today's commute. In the morning I caught up to someone about my age riding a CF Specialized. (I suppose I should mention I was riding my Motobecane Champion Team, so maybe the bike comparison was even. ) We said hellos at the stoplight at Woburn's Four Corners. He jumped the light but I caught him again quickly and eventually pulled away. Score one for the vintage bike.

On the return I was handed some comeuppance by a rider taller and younger 'n me along the same stretch of road. No way I could have kept up with him. Further along after bombing down the hill past the radio towers on Concord Rd in Lexington I caught up with two more commuters. I thought at first they were friends riding together They were going slow enough that I had to pass, called out and went around. The one in back passed the other guy and tried to keep up and hung with me for a bit. By the time we got past the meadow which feeds Beaver Brook he had given up. Score for the day 2-1, advantage vintage.

IIRC, I was shut down unambiguously by at least two other riders earlier this week. But I don't remember exactly. I try to forget such events.
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Old 06-13-15, 09:12 AM
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If you ride Route 16 in Medford, please take note of this hazard alert:

Hi all,

I wanted to alert anyone who uses Rt. 16 in Medford between Winthrop
Street and the Meadow Glen Mall area that the storm grates in the
recently repaved area have been installed with slits running parallel to
the curb. This is a tremendous hazard to cyclists traversing that area.

I am in the process of working with our contacts to rectify this
situation and will post any updates or calls for action as I get more
information.

--
Bruce Kulik
Medford, MA
rod
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Old 06-13-15, 04:14 PM
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The town of Medford has also recently decided to reward my car-light lifestyle (I drive maybe 1-2x/week) by giving me a parking ticket for not moving my car (which is parked in front of my residence) for 48 hours. Lovely.

I decided to blow off some steam by going on a nice bike ride:


According to my trusty Garmin, this is 6.66 miles from my apartment.

This was my first time riding on the Minuteman. I think I built up the crowds to be worse in my mind. It really wasn't that bad. A few obstacles here and there (my favorite: inline skater holding a hockey stick perpendicular to his body) but nothing worse than I experienced on the less-renowned Marblehead Rail Trail back when I lived in Salem.

I went all the way out here and back today:


After all was said and done, I ended up with just a shade more than 25 miles, my longest ride of the year. I almost got hit by a car during mile 24 (at Powder House Square, where else?). I thought the car stopped in the middle of the rotary was letting me go. He was not. All's well that ends well, I guess.
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Old 06-13-15, 05:25 PM
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My sweetie and I went for a tandem ride today from the house in Waltham to Carlisle and back, 49.3 miles with a stop at Hutchins Farm in Concord.

On the way out we came upon what must have been a serious accident on the MM west of Arlington Center, police vehicle stopped, medical assistants helping some man lying prone in the street and seemingly in pain, medical rescue vehicle coming in, bikes strewn around and bikers and pedestrians watching. The MM can be a very dangerous place.

The rest of the ride was uneventful almost. Saw a pretty tandem at Fern's General Store. Lots of bikes out. Some sort of kids' activities going on in Bedford.

Had a bit of a technical problem with the bike not liking to stay consistently on the smaller cogs. Well, what the...? When we got home I found this:



After 6000 miles on a tandem it's time for a new chain anyway!
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Old 06-13-15, 06:45 PM
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Rode all over Somerville today looking for Squeezebox Slam, hitting so many squares, but all the action was in Davis.








Wonderful afternoon of music.

-mr. bill
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Old 06-13-15, 06:51 PM
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Originally Posted by mr_bill
Rode all over Somerville today looking for Squeezebox Slam, hitting so many squares, but all the action was in Davis.

Wonderful afternoon of music.

-mr. bill
I rode through Davis on my way to the Minuteman and was wondering what was with all of the accordions. Now I know!
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Old 06-13-15, 10:59 PM
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Today's ride, like many another, started with a bit of staring at Google Maps, and getting a peachy keen idea therefrom. Today's ride, like many another, also started a few hours later than was absolutely desirable. Here's the story...

I had some time on my hands this afternoon and evening. Could have started a bit earlier, but talked myself into various errands, etc. Where to go? I thought, Southwest, Water Row maybe. While gawking at Google Maps in Bicycling view, an unpaved path I hadn't noticed before jumped out at me: the Weston Aqueduct! My understanding was that the aqueduct system was being opened up for passive recreational use, perhaps this longish brown squiggle on Google Maps was a manifestation of that.


Nothing for it but to go find out. Since I didn't feel particularly like starting the ride by climbing Belmont Hill, I opted for a long, leafy, arcing trajectory, out the Minuteman and the Reformatory Branch Trails to Concord Center, then down Walden Street, Concord, to Route 126 past Walden Pond and on through Lincoln and Wayland, then picking up Plain Road, Wayland, East almost to the Weston line, then crossing Route 20 on a Southwest diagonal to pick up Old Connecticut Path; the Weston Aqueduct crosses that a few blocks later. Simple! Except some of the segments (e.g. Plain Road), were a bit longer than I remembered them. And I started at 5pm...

The Arlington High School athletic field had been taken over by some sort of organized merriment, with a rock'n'roll band wailing away--free, and I've heard worse for free--and a group of boys playing with a giant tire at mid-field.


Further on, I noted with pleasure that Nick Benedict is making Curious Velo's presence known on the Minuteman, with a new sign and an intriguing display of great old bikes. Everybody should go see Nick (and buy a great old bike, as good as new!).


Stopped for a quick break at Depot Park, Bedford, then had a pleasant ride on the Reformatory Branch, which was in fine shape. The folks in Concord have definitely been working on the two sucking mires, and they didn't so much as pucker today. What little mud was visible, was easily avoided. Some care must be taken to avoid the several trees growing in the middle of one section of the trail, however: bear left, or bear right, straight ahead just won't do it.


A bucolic bit of Concord:


The site of the former Walden Breezes trailer park, now getting a sewer system. Hello, developers...


A bucolic bit of Lincoln (note the position of the sun):


The Weston Aqueduct, at last! Google Maps, trust but verify.


To be continued...

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Old 06-13-15, 11:52 PM
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Continued...

This left me with a conundrum. I couldn't ride the aqueduct (not without some bolt cutters and a riding lawnmower, anyway). Sunset was going to commence in about half an hour. I could contrive to be on Water Row when that happened, but that involved going further West, and adding time on the road after dark: seemed more aesthetic than clever, and I had no particular desire to see how some of those fancy cars that had been passing me would be driven with the help of a few drinks (Saturday night and all). So, I rode East on Route 20 (never my first choice, but I sometimes do it anyway) as far as Weston Center. I stopped for a fuel and water break by an old burying ground, and admired a fine old pine that watches over the hallowed residents.




I continued through Weston Center, and picked up Conant Road, riding past the sculpture garden full of extraterrestrial manifestations at Joseph Ferguson's studio. Got scolded by a pair of red squirrels. Kept climbing and got into the Modernist architectural enclave further up the hill on Conant and Old Conant Roads. Here, sunset found me.


Reaching the end of Old Conant Road, I circumvented a corporate gate and picked up the traditional right-of-way connecting Old Conant Road with Old County Road. Every ride needs a little singletrack (the Reformatory Branch doesn't count), and this was mine today. Some of the vines WANTED me...


This brought me to Old County Road, and back to Lincoln; I crossed Winter Street (can you ride the one-way part the wrong way on a bicycle? and not get killed, I mean?) and was soon riding along the banks of the Cambridge Reservoir, beautiful in the sunset light.


Got on Trapelo Road, and had an even nicer view from the causeway.


Dropped into the granny gear on my Sugino touring triple, and winched myself up the hill and into Waltham. I crossed Route 2 on Spring Street.


Enjoyed the rolling hills of Spring Street, picked up Marrett Road and had fun with that, admired Dunback Meadow glowing faintly in the darkness, rolled down to Mass. Ave. and negotiated the Maple Street rotary without incident. Used the Maple Street ramp to roll onto the Minuteman in full dark, ringing like an old-time fire engine as I merged. How many of those old bicycle-saddle bollards are left? I can think of two...


Rode home in the darkness, didn't quite have the thing to myself, but was part of the illuminated minority. Lots of invisible pedestrians, some with invisible (but not inaudible) dogs, and, I'm sorry to have to report, several invisible cyclists as well. Some things glowed in the dark, as usual.


The AHS athletic field was positively jumping: a dj, and lots of diffuse athletic activity, along with various sorts of gaiety. I asked a Minuteman pedestrian who had paused to watch with me at the fence about what was going on, and she said it was about cancer survivors and caregivers. Found it on the Web when I got home.


All told, this one was 40 miles through Arlington, Lexington, Bedford, Concord, Lincoln, Wayland, Weston, and Waltham, with 3473' of climbing and a ~20degF temperature drop: a cooling ride on a Saturday evening.

rod

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Old 06-16-15, 06:30 PM
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14 miles on the Minuteman after work and after the warm front, with its attendant storms, blew through. The warm, humid air was like bathwater, and combined with the pervasive greenery gave a submarine aspect to the trail. The pace and energy of this ride tell me that my Summer legs are on the way back: high time!


rod

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Old 06-16-15, 06:37 PM
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Originally Posted by rholland1951
14 miles on the Minuteman after work and after warm front, with its attendant storms, blew through. The warm, humid air was like bathwater, and combined with the pervasive greenery gave a submarine aspect to the trail. The pace and energy of this ride tell me that my Summer legs are on the way back: high time!

rod
Today's commute was definitely what I would describe as "soupy." Also fraught with landmines - almost got doored in the bike lane on Cambridge St. But, I didn't, and am here to tell you about it. Stay alert, everybody.

On the plus side, the soupy conditions (plus the empty threat of storms) made the bike racks at work much easier to negotiate this morning.
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Old 06-16-15, 07:08 PM
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Originally Posted by DBrim
Today's commute was definitely what I would describe as "soupy." Also fraught with landmines - almost got doored in the bike lane on Cambridge St. But, I didn't, and am here to tell you about it. Stay alert, everybody.

On the plus side, the soupy conditions (plus the empty threat of storms) made the bike racks at work much easier to negotiate this morning.
Only in Boston can you ask this question - "Which Cambridge Street?"
Alston Cambridge Street?

-mr. bill

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Old 06-16-15, 07:22 PM
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Originally Posted by mr_bill
Only in Boston can you ask this question - "Which Cambridge Street?"
Alston Cambridge Street?

-mr. bill
Cambridge Cambridge Street!
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Old 06-16-15, 07:27 PM
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You sure it wasn't the corner of Line Street and Cambridge Street - which is in Somerville?

-mr. bill
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Old 06-17-15, 07:01 AM
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Partial closure of the Minuteman in Arlington next week

The Arlington DPW has announced it will be doing tree work in Arlington Heights next week, so the Minuteman will be closed between Bow Street, Lexington, and Mill Street, Arlington, Monday to Thursday, June 22-25, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

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