mr_bill

deCordova is a special place.

BTW, Fish Car and Fish Bike are indeed by the same artist, Bill Turville.

If you ever want to see Fish Car in the, uh, flesh, it's 150 meters (as the crow flies) off the Minuteman.

Heading outbound on the Minuteman, exit left at Ed Burns Arena Skating Rink onto Ryder St.

Slalom through the craters past Lalicata Landcape, and take the left off of Ryder before Forest Street.

You'll see the old mill buildings (Mirak Industrial Park) ahead of you, and you'll ride through the parking lot along the Mill Brook, take a right over the smallest bridge over Mill Brook, under the mill "tunnel" then two lefts - it's parked along side the red-sided building.

-mr. bill

jimmuller 

Been riding Metro Boston, Downeast division. We rode the tandem around Acadia's Park Loop Road and then a bunch on the carriage roads. 35.5 miles total. A delightful day even if it did involve some really really really steep hills.





Today I rode the Grandis up Cadillac and Sharon hiked the south ridge trail. We met at the top for lunch.
Sharon said the blue and blue was very very blue.

rholland1951

My mad season at work--six months long--ended yesterday in a sleep-deprived frenzy. Today I took the day off, and went for a 20-mile ride out to Depot Park and back, devoid of ambition, pleasantly spinning. The peaceful season starts today.


rod

rholland1951

Took the Monster Trucker (Surly Trucker DeLuxe wearing 52 mm Compass Rat Trap Pass Extralights) out for a sunset ride before a late dinner. Those fat, supple tires, while highly effective on dirt, rocks, roots, and gravel, are a hoot on pavement, and I was cranking along at a good clip. Got my money's worth from the sunset.










rod

sherbornpeddler

Lazy ride home yesterday afternoon from Boston. I stayed on trails as much as possible once I got out to the Charles River all the way to Waltham and Auburndale. I rode past the Riverside T stop and noodled on back roads including a wrong turn on the wrong Center/Centre St but was rewarded with a chance to ride on the Bay Colony past the Needham Town Forest up to the active line 400ft before High Rock St. It is great now and will be greater as it grows. Another noodle to Dover then home to Sherborn. I guess because I was more concerned about backroads than direction I seemed to cruise at an even, slow, pleasurable pace.

rholland1951

Had a hilly 29 mile ride on the Monster Trucker on a warm Saturday afternoon, starting with a climb up Belmont Hill on Concord Ave., then rolling over hills in Lexington, Waltham, Lincoln, and Concord as well, 2935' of climbing and several whizzy descents, including two all-in descents on grooved pavement on Concord Ave. in Lexington, dropping a couple of roadies by a quarter mile in the process (that was the 52mm tires, of course). All this hilly stuff is training for a ride in Vermont, later in the month.


The aforementioned tires.


rod

sherbornpeddler

Gosh I like reading your Acadia posts. Some things never change like Cadillac Mountain and your visits there and your sense of adventure. Am I correct you added a "really" to the hills? Thank you again.

jimmuller 

Thank you! Yes, I did add a really this time. The hills are steeper than they were last September.


[I see that the server holding my pics has decided my http pages don't exist. They do that every so often. So I moved the pics and edited the post to give the new URL. I'm gonna' have to do something about that. )

mr_bill

From Saturday....

Accidentally rode alongside the Special Olympics Massachusetts 2016 Law Enforcement Cruiser Convoy from Charlesbank/Nonantum to Harvard Stadium. Here's a few minutes excerpt:


I happened to be in the neighborhood (granted, on a Saturday morning), but here's how I do it (California St from 5th Ave to Watertown St, taking the pork-chop):


It looks quieter than it was on Saturday. There were four cars behind the Mini while we waited at the light. There are no turns on that side of the pork-chop to California from *either* direction on Watertown, so the only possible traffic coming the other way is from the 20 Watertown St driveway. The only downside is waiting to cross Galen.


-mr. bill

JohnHuth

Yes, that's another option there. I suppose my only nervousness is that California is narrower than Watertown and for some reason people drive faster. Once you make the left off California onto the crossing, my route is the same.

Crossing Galen has its own headaches, but I definitely think that some variation on that path or my path is an easier way to get to the bike path. Thanks posting that.

rumrunn6

nice handlebar mount. vid is not jittery. I should try my cam there. ever try it on your helmet?

rholland1951

After playing tag with a couple of 77 buses in Arlington Center...

... I loitered on the Minuteman on the Nordavinden this evening, more often passed than passing, amidst the lush greenery of Summer, energetic clouds stacking up heat and moisture for later use; I got the bike back to the garage before that came down.




rod

Ghazmh

I too was out last night. As I was waiting for a red light to turn green entering my neighborhood I felt a few fat drops of rain. It started to pour shortly after entering the cool comforts of my garage. I think I have found my summer evening sweet-spot route for after work rides. 30 wasn't long enough but 50 was too much. I carved out a nice 44 mile route that seems to be striking the right balance.

Cheers

jimmuller 

I was out yesterday but not at night. Just commuting. Also Monday. Yesterday being the first Tuesday of June, the Lexington Farmers' Market was in session. Now I know I can find something interesting to eat if I'm partway home and get hungry. At least on Tuesday.

rumrunn6

until you get nailed by a thunder/lighting storm :-)

Ghazmh

been there. Getting caught in a hailstorm, now that's dreadfulness on a bigger scale.

rholland1951

The storms blew elsewhere, so I took the LHT out for a cool and breezy spin on the Minuteman before dinner.


rod

rumrunn6

ouch

rholland1951

Up to Lexington and back on the Nordavinden, a cool evening with a rowdy breeze that seemed to have ambitions to be a headwind from every direction. Was pressed for time and kept a good pace, but did take a photo of two trail users, a guy on a hybrid and a squirrely squirrel crossing the road in pursuit of the chicken.


rod

jimmuller 

'Twas breezy today, wazzunit? Me 'n the Masi had fun coming home.

mr_bill

Yesterday crack o' dawn ride out to transcendentalist country and back - we are getting ready for Bike MS: Cape Cod Getaway, so every extra 50k helps.



-mr. bill

jimmuller 

mr_b, nice pic!

jimmuller 

Yesterday the weatherpeople were predicting showers possible Sunday evening but a nice Saturday. This morning they were predicting showers possible later today. So we took the tandem out for a spin ahead of it all. When we stopped for an early lunch at Fern's in Carlisle I pulled out my new smarffone to check the weather again. Yow! Big area of green surrounding yellow surrounding red and about to gobble up Carlisle. So we finished up lunch and headed east as quickly as we could back to the car in Bedford.

We happened to pass Rod Holland. (Hi, Rod!) Didn't recognize him until we passed. Nice bike. Is that your NokiaVideo or whatever it is called? For the short time we had to notice it it looked really versatile and very nicely put together.

rholland1951

That was a pleasant surprise! And quick: here's a picture of you and Sharon receding towards the Eastern horizon on 225. Y'all were moving right along...


The bike is a Surly Trucker DeLuxe, a 26" LHT variant with S and S couplers that Surly used to sell as a frameset, built up with a congenial set of components. I'm running 52mm Compass Bicycles Rat Trap Pass Extra Light tires that add to the fun, especially on dirt and gravel. Here's a photo, taken earlier on the same ride, on the Reformatory Branch Trail.


I was on a quick ride of one of the variants of the North Bridge loop, 32 miles, hoping to beat the rain home, but got spritzed by a more or less pleasant drizzle from Bedford back to Arlington. When I arrived, Arlington Porchfest was in full swing.






Such rain as we had didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the roving audience members, or of the musicians. Dandy!

rod

mr_bill

Saturday

Metro Pedal Power-ing through Harvard Square:


Trying out the GeoOrbital wheel (and also miniPenny, not pictured):


New crosswalks at Cambridge City Hall:



Sunday

One of the many hills, this one at Mass Audubon Habitat:


-mr. bill