Metro Boston: Good ride today?

[mtalinm]

did the maximum heart rate exhaustion test this evening. Boy am I winded

[Bishbike]

In and out to Concord today from Waverly Square in Belmont. God I love this weather.

[jimmuller]

About 10 miles on the Bianchi through Watertown into Cambridge.

[mtalinm]

off the bike for at least a few weeks with a rotator cuff. grr

[rholland1951]

off the bike for at least a few weeks with a rotator cuff. grr

Yikes! Wishing you a speedy recovery.

rod

[rholland1951]

Took a ride to Depot Park, Bedford towards the end of the day, low 40s to start, mid 30s at the finish. Rode the wind as much as the bike. Outbound, it was a headwind on average, with gusts that had me down on the drops. Inbound, it was a helpful tailwind, mostly, but at all times it reserved the right to become a cross-wind without warning. Mostly noticed sounds today, wind singing or roaring in the tree tops, augmented by the headwind's rushing in the ears--conspicuous by its absence with a tailwind--not to mention every wind-chime on every porch within ear-shot, the sharp snap of flags, and the crackle and crunch of wind-blown leaves and small branches under my front wheel. Stopped to help another cyclist shift a medium-sized tree off the path, one of a small number of windfalls today, all of which seem to have been dealt with by Minuteman trail users.

rod

[jimmuller]

Metro Boston, Cape Code Division:

My sweetie and I did 50.9 miles on the tandem today. Full length and back of the Cape Code Rail Trail and part of the Old Colony Rail Trail. Temps in the high 30's, low 40's, ending at 41F. Got hit by a snow squall at the end. VERRRRRRY WINDYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

[jimmuller]

We got on the tandem again for 24.25 miles. Concord, Lincoln, Weston, Weyland, Sudbury, back through Lincoln to Concord. Temps in the upper 30's. Not as windy as yesterday but at one point crossing open farmland we had trouble maintain speed in a 42/28 gear combination on a flat road.

One lovely thing about biking is you discover things you'd never see in a car. Today we found this historical site in Sudbury, the remains of a garrison against an uprising by Native Americans against the settlers. The site marker says this was the site of a successful defense against a 3-day siege by King Phillip, April 1676. Lovely cedar trees too.

[rholland1951]

Sunset ride to Depot Park, Bedford. Cold, calm, clear afternoon and evening, luminous sunset, Great Meadows gently glowing. Night fell by the time I reached the Buddliner, the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter in eye-catching, if transient, conjunction in the Western sky. Heard a Great Horned Owl pair call at Bedford St, Lexington, coming and going; look out, you rodents.

rod

[cmolway]

After the arrival of peanut #2 last Tuesday, I was off the bike for almost a week. A mention of windy riding with gusts up to 50mph winds on Saturday did not sit well with the wife which left Sunday as the first opportunity to get back on the road. Cold and with what felt like a near constant head-wind. But is was sunny I was back on my bike. My standard ~30mile loop with an extra climb tossed in for good luck.

Sunday Strava loop

[rholland1951]

After the arrival of peanut #2 last Tuesday, I was off the bike for almost a week...
Sunday Strava loop

Peanut #2? Sounds like congratulations are in order!

rod

[bikinggrrrl]

After the arrival of peanut #2 last Tuesday, I was off the bike for almost a week.

Congrats!
You might be riding with Peanut #1 in the trailer a lot more for a while.

[ZIPP2001]

Hey Congrats Cmolway !

I was able to get in a 20 mile ride after work today. It looks like we could be getting some white stuff soon, so it might be back to the gym for a few days.

[rholland1951]

Pleasant evening ride on the Minuteman tonight, turned around at Revere Street due to construction barricades (nothing like heavy equipment parked across the path to say "CLOSED" without ambiguity), 13 miles in all. Rumor has it Winter returns tomorrow, an opportunity to take the much-neglected Winter Bike out and lumber around for a day or two.

rod

[mtalinm]

http://massbike.org/calendar/berkshi...cle-tour-2012/ might be fun, if you can take a few days off work

[Jim from Boston]

http://massbike.org/calendar/berkshi...cle-tour-2012/ might be fun, if you can take a few days off work

I saw that recently, because I've been looking for information about the Mass Bike Summer Century & Family Ride this year. If I may spin off...

For the past three years there has been an Annual Fifty-Plus Bike Forum Ride informally organized around a major club ride as suggested by a subscriber in that region, and I attended the last two. In 2009 was Colorado, 2010 was in Watkins Glen NY and 2011 was in Chelsea, MI. I was thinking of suggesting the Mass Bike Summer Ride for 2012. Already a ride is being touted in Nashville, TN in early June, too far for me, but additional venues are welcome.

So before I can make a proposal for far-flung participants to come to Massachusetts, I need to know the date, still in the planning stages, and this post is a preliminary heads-up. One concern I have though, is that the previous rides were in rural, i.e. non-metropolitan areas, and Metro Boston can be expensive especially in the summer. Most of the previous participants chose to camp, and a few went to inexpensive, but nice motels. Does anyone know of similar accomodations, especially campgrounds, in the vicinity of the Mass Bike Century, most likely starting around Lexington, and probably extending towards the west? Also, are there other locally sponsored and supported combined rides of varying distances this summer?

Thanks for any advice.

[rholland1951]

10-mile night ride on the Minuteman, Lexington Center and back. 30degF, 95% relative humidity, enough icy/snowy/slushy patches to make me glad I took the Winter bike with the studded Nokians, enough standing water in puddles to make me glad of the fenders. Snow on the ground and low clouds overhead created a giant cavity of pearly light. Pedaled along listening to the tires' song, with variations according to the speed and surface.

rod

[mtalinm]

Jim, I haven't heard anything on the century ride ... it was very well attended last year, so I imagine they'll do it again. I certainly look forward to doing it again, albeit this time with the correct bottom bracket :-)

[GeezerPete]

Still an icy snow cover after the recent storm out out our way in Phillipston near the Quabbin. Took a bracing ride on the mountain bike around the hilly roads of our town. Looking forward to a great year!

[jimmuller]

We took that tandem out to Concord for a cold/wet ride today. But then we saw the road conditions. Salt, salt, everywhere. And the roads wet to boot. We went home rather than subject our '82 Peugeot to that kind of electrolyte abuse.

[cmolway]

Jim, I haven't heard anything on the century ride ... it was very well attended last year, so I imagine they'll do it again. I certainly look forward to doing it again, albeit this time with the correct bottom bracket :-)

I just hope the road conditions are better this year. After the first 30 miles I started calling it "The Mass Pothole Century". The next 70 miles lived up to the new name.

[Jim from Boston]

...For the past three years there has been an Annual Fifty-Plus Bike Forum Ride informally organized around a major club ride as suggested by a subscriber in that region, and I attended the last two..

So before I can make a proposal for far-flung participants to come to Massachusetts [for the MassBike Summer Century & Family Ride], I need to know the date, still in the planning stages, and this post is a preliminary heads-up. One concern I have though, is that the previous rides were in rural, i.e. non-metropolitan areas, and Metro Boston can be expensive especially in the summer. Most of the previous participants chose to camp, and a few went to inexpensive, but nice motels. Does anyone know of similar accomodations, especially campgrounds, in the vicinity of the Mass Bike Century, most likely starting around Lexington, and probably extending towards the west? Also, are there other locally sponsored and supported combined rides of varying distances this summer?

Thanks for any advice.

I just hope the road conditions are better this year. After the first 30 miles I started calling it "The Mass Pothole Century". The next 70 miles lived up to the new name.

Thanks for that tip. Once the date and route(s) are announced, I would like to hear from other cyclists about road conditions. I probably won't get out to the western suburbs beyond Rte 128 to see for myself until late April at the earliest.

[jimmuller]

I just hope the road conditions are better this year. After the first 30 miles I started calling it "The Mass Pothole Century". The next 70 miles lived up to the new name.

If you won't ride so fast, the bumps wouldn't seem so hard when you hit them.

[himespau]

Anyone know if they're doing the Boston Marathon ride again this year (I assume so, just am sort of out of the loop so haven't heard anything about it)?

[Jim from Boston]

Anyone know if they're doing the Boston Marathon ride again this year (I assume so, just am sort of out of the loop so haven't heard anything about it)?

I posted this in 2009, and this may be a link, though I was blocked from it at work. I rode with the group up until Newton on my commute on Patriot's Day in 2010 or '11.

I just got a flyer that advertises “Hal’s 24th Annual Boston Marathon Day Ride,” starting at 6:00 AM from the front steps of the Greater Boston Central YMCA at 316 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA. According to the flyer, they then ride to the starting point in Copley Square. It’s a 52 mile roundtrip ride along the Marathon Route. FREE, but you must sign an agreement form that can be downloaded on the website. For more details see:

http://fitnessfoundry.net/ and click on Workshops, Events…, or contact:

juliosalado@fitnessfoundry.net

I have ridden through Hopkinton and it’s a nice area, a sleepy little town, so it would be really cool to see what it looks like on Marathon Day. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it. (Also posted on Road Cycling Forum)