mtalinm

did the round trip commute today. very nice with so little traffic and a fairly stable temperature. some days it's a 20-30 degree swing, which is tough to dress for

jimmuller 

Another report from Metro Boston, Cape Division. Sharon and I rode the Cape Cod and Old Colony Rail Trails from Dennis to Chatham, around Chatham with a stop at the lighthouse, back to the rotary in Harwich (only Massachusetts would have a rotary in a bike path) where we turned north up to Orleans, then back to Dennis, 45.2 miles. It was cool and windy but not so cold as to be unpleasant. It was spectacular!

While stopped in Chatham a man came up and asked about the bike. He and his wife owned a Santana of similar vintage and they had just finished riding for the day.

mtalinm

they have a few Civia Bryant Belts at half price ($800). absolute steal for this dream commuter.

* cromoly frame
* drop bars
* belt drive & internal (8) hub
* disc brakes

I have the Trek Soho, which has the belt and hub but drum brakes / flat bar / aluminum frame. I'm half tempted to pick up the Bryant myself!

rholland1951

Lot's of stuff going on this weekend, not much time to ride. Did manage one tonight, a 10-mile quicky up to Lexington Center that started two and a half hours after sunset. The Minuteman was very dark, cool and quiet. Only saw three other bikes, maybe a dozen walkers. Peaceful ride. The air was unusually fragrant, smelling of fallen leaves and sawn logs.

rod

bikinggrrrl

Stole the husband away from work for a wee bit yesterday, put him on the tandem and we did the short Carlisle/Concord/w route. Baby sang in the trailer until he fell asleep just before we got home (isn't that always the case?). What a beautiful day. Tons of other cyclists out there, appreciating this November gift as well.
I suspect I'll be putting my single up on the trainer in the next week or two.

rholland1951

After taking yesterday's forecast 50% chance of precipitation too seriously and missing a fine (and dry) commuting day, I went for today's 30% chance, and got spit on just a little on the outbound leg. Nothing too much, though, good ride. Leaves were falling in serious numbers on the outbound leg, quite beautiful. Winter moths were out on the inbound ride in the dark, also beautiful. Both prefigure snow, but let's not talk about that. A Lexington DPW truck with a wood chipper was out, scooping up the piles of downed limbs on the side of the trail, left over from the snow that didn't wait around to be prefigured. Put some new batteries in my rear light, and had a good deal less existential dread negotiating the Running of the Bulls in the dark.

Here's a picture of my bike, dressed up for commuting, taken when I stopped on the way in to join a phone conference.


rod

jimmuller 

Nice looking bike. However I would argue vehemently about the winter moth being beautiful. It is an incredibly destructive invasive species with no natural enemy in at least this part of North America.

I got out for a birthday ride today. The mileage fell considerably short of the requisite 63 though. I had only an hour available. So I rode over to Harris and bought a computer for the tandem, then rode to the gym for some upper body weight work. This sure is conveniently warm weather.

rholland1951

I ate a couple of them. Does that count?

rod

bikinggrrrl

For all you winter riders, I salute you. I'm ready to call it quits on the open road and ready to move my bike in to the trainer. brrrrrrr

Good news, though, is that my 3 year old is (finally) starting to use his balance bike so I'm sure we'll be scooting up and down our little road as long as they aren't covered with snow and ice.

mtalinm

I can understand. What gets me is the dark and precipitation. I don't mind the cold so much - with the right gloves, boots, and clothing even sub-freezing is not too bad. Today's ride in (when the sun was out) was great, but I got honked at a bunch on the way home

rholland1951

Once again, Saturday was stuffed full of things other than bicycles. Was able to get on the bike after 4, for a sunset ride that became a twilight ride that became a ride in the dark, 20 miles on the Minuteman, E. Arlington to Depot Park and back. Not so cold as the thermometer tells it, but with a stiff breeze for emphasis. Pale sunset, relatively few people out. Headlights picked up those twin seasonal markers, fallen leaves and winter moths. The world begins to shrink at this time of year, harder to put the miles in, shorter rides, more of those in darkness.

rod

ZIPP2001

Got out for a nice rolling 45 mile ride today into Athol / Orange area. Nice stiff breeze added to the fun, lets see what weather Sunday brings.

jimmuller 

We got another CCRT ride in on the tandem, end to end and back, Dennis-Wellfleet, 22 miles each way. Sharon likes that run. We've been gaining experience on the bike, good for balance and inter-team communication. As rh1951 says, not so cold but verrrry windy, subtle pale sunset, not many people out. It was so windy we ran the way east and north mostly on the big (52T) chainring, ran the way back mostly on the middle 42T ring. Fatigue had nuthin' to do with it, I'm sure.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we meet a friend in Ipswich and do a north shore ride, one from the NSCyc.org website. Cmolway says it will be nice! Probablyh gonna' visit Plum Island, ride though some horse country, see the real world. It should be warmer but maybe windier...whooooosh...

jimmuller 

Zipp! Haven't seen your name here for a while. Hope you're enjoying the autumn.

jimmuller 

We got out on the tandem today, Ipswich to Newburyport, over to Plum Island, back to Ipswich. Only 36 miles but such miles. Windy-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y... You know it's windy when you have to drop down to the granny gear on the flat. Warm for late November. A lovely day.

rholland1951

Short work day today, was able to start riding an hour before sunset. Temperatures in the mid-30's, tried to remember what worked for that and came up with a layering that mostly did. Rode out to the end of the Minuteman and back, 20 miles, seemed like a good day to stay off the roads with their holiday migrants. It was cold, gray, and damp enough to keep the Minuteman pretty empty, but not so cold as to cause worries about black ice; a good deal, really. Exchanged Thanksgiving greetings with a colleague who was also out for a ride, and sang a cheery chorus of "I Saw the Light" to an on-coming cyclist who was tooling down the bike path in broad daylight with his H.I.D. headlamp set to KILL (just in case he runs into a hostile Klingon, I guess; hard to make any other functional case for it). Met a deer crossing the path in Bedford, just beyond Wiggins Ave., at the old farm. A household in Lexington, down in the woods near 128, seems to be heating with wood: their chimney smoke smelled pretty good as hydrocarbon pollution goes. Darkness got itself organized about 1/3 of the way home, and when I turned on the headlights, I was surprised to see that they illuminated a bit of drizzle that hadn't been otherwise noticeable. After a few minutes, some sleet joined the party; a few minutes more and the winter moths came out to play, suggesting jokes about "mixed precipitation" that didn't quite resolve to anything coherent enough to tell. At about this time, my front derailleur did tell me its one joke again (repetitious, but I guess I should be glad it doesn't have a larger repertoire), and I had to stop and sort out my chain. Pleasant pedal home in the dark after that, with a few frank snow flakes drifting down in the last few blocks. When I caught a look at my face in the bathroom mirror, I had a big old smudge of chain lube on the tip of my runny nose: the front derailleur's last laugh.

rod

bikinggrrrl

Rod, I love reading your posts. Not that I don't love everyone elses... but yours are quite poetic and amusing at times.

rholland1951

Why, thank you, ma'am!

rod

rholland1951

Thanksgiving ride to North Bridge, Concord, 33 miles round trip. Blue skies, clear light, brisk wind to start, no cars on the roads but lots of families on the Minuteman. River Road and Monument Street a pleasure as always, enhanced by the absence of auto traffic. The light really was exceptional, with vistas of the Hutchins Farm fields and the mirror-like surface of the Concord River where 225 crosses answering the unasked question, "where do landscape paintings come from?" Vivid sunset, coral and electric blue in the West, subdued pink and dark indigo in the East. Abrupt temperature drop after sunset, just the set-up for a warm kitchen, a bottle of ale, and some collaborative Thanksgiving cooking.

rod

ZIPP2001

I did my annual Worcester airport, and George street Thanksgiving day ride, 42 miles. A little chilly for my liking as the last 6 miles my toes were a little frozen. Had my wool cycling socks but forgot my booties. It's always great to get out when there aren't that many cars on the road. I'll be doing the same route tomorrow with a cycling friend of mine, and it looks as if the weather will be a little warmer.

mtalinm

20 miles in 65-degree weather today. thought I'd died and gone to California

sherbornpeddler

Today was a great day for a ride. Lots of bikers enjoying the warm weather riding off Thanksgiving feasting. I rode 37 miles in a cloverleaf route on Strawberry Hill in Dover, Pine Street to Medfield and Forest to Mill in Sherborn.

himespau 

Hey fellow bostonians, got a question for y'all. Anybody know of a place in the area to get a bike powdercoated? I have a frameset that I like, but it's not in the best of shape. I see a place called Sugarcoat, but they want $225 (plus $50 if they strip it) and that's a lot more than I can afford. Anybody know of someone who's cheaper?

jimmuller 

I rode today for 10hrs 20min. However it was on a train, not a bike. Did see a pair of bikers come through Ashland, VA while waiting for the train this morning.

rholland1951

Missed riding the previous two warm days, but had a pleasant ride today in Lincoln, Wayland, Sudbury, and Concord, an 18-mile circuit, with my grown daughter. She recently moved right into the middle of prime cycling country, and it seemed to be a good idea to show her the neighborhood, Water Row, Plympton Road, etc. Temps only in the high 40s, but the occasional climb (e.g., Goodman's Hill Rd) kept us warm enough. With all the leaves down, this year's storm damage in the Water Row area (previously reported by Kat and others) was plain to see. Good ride, wish there had been a bit more of it. If I hadn't felt schedule pressure (too much of that, lately), I would have ridden out from Arlington, rather than throwing the bike on the back of the car. But doing that beats not riding at all, hands down.

Got my ice bike back from the shop yesterday. When the time comes for that, I'll be ready.

rod