jimmuller 

I managed to squeeze in a 19mi ride, home to Lexington, the MM out as far as Hartwell Ave, and back. It was quite pleasant, a bit warm, but relaxing even though I hammered it on the way home.

Anyone who has ridden the MM probably knows that Lexington is a high point, it being slightly downhill toward both Arlington and Bedford. On a previous ride I had measured the elevation difference between Lexington and Bedford with my altimeter watch and came up with 180ft, pretty substantial for nominally flat terrain. So for yucks I tried something. After crossing rt4/225 westward at a nominal pace (started from scratch after waiting for traffic) I let the bike coast. It coasted all the way across rt128 and into the section where the trail flattens out with the recycling center on the left and marshland on the right. That's about 1.3 miles. I finally started pedaling again within about 200yards of Hartwell Ave. It doesn't prove anything, of course, except what we already knew.