After looking at my calendar and the weather forecast, I declared a Work-Life Balance Emergency and went home early enough to take a 31-mile ride through Arlington, Lexington, Bedford, Concord, and Carlisle, a modified North Bridge loop, taking the Minuteman and Reformatory Branch Trail outbound, Monument Street and River Road in the middle, and Route 225 and the Minuteman for the homeward leg. The preponderance of rail trails is advantageous for a rush-hour ride. The run of dry weather we've been having neutralized the ferocious sucking mires on the Concord section of the Reformatory Branch; after tomorrow's downpours, I expect they'll be sucking ferociously again for the rest of the week.

Men Working: the Minuteman detour at Fottler Avenue, Lexington.


The Crabs From Outer Space are still depicted on Minuteman trail signs on the down-hill run from Lexington Center to Route 128; this is a reassuring sign that our precious cultural heritage is being preserved.


No men working on Wiggins Avenue, Bedford, but there's a nice cautionary sign advising us of their campaign to extirpate infiltrating roots; looks like they're about half done, and this section of the trail is perfectly ridable. The animated LED sign, btw, relies on human persistence of vision to convey a whole message; its refresh rate doesn't couple well with my phone's imaging sensor. There is an infinite number of cyclists in Bedford, apparently.


The Bedford section of the Reformatory Branch Trail; Bedford keeps threatening to pave it; this inspires mixed emotions...


A passing glance at the Great Meadows National Wildlife Reservation from the Concord section of the Reformatory Branch Trail.


There'll be a change in the weather...


A little agritourism to go with my cyclotourism...


I suspect this of being an Ent. If I were a druid, I'd probably worship it.


The sunset colors were dandy this evening.




rod