So, after managing not to ride in yesterday's frank cold and wind, I ventured out in today's somewhat less cold and merely breezy. It was still cold enough--low 40s with a 10+ mph breeze--to make experimenting with clothing worthwhile. I tried a candidate for cold-weather riding shoes, and liked what they showed me. And I tried mixing a balaclava with one of the KN95 masks that I've been using to good effect on rides; this made me look a bit like an extra in a Hieronymus Bosch painting, and I found the lower portion of the balaclava pressed part of the mask against my mouth, not what the doctor ordered, I think. A different balaclava that stays clear of the mouth area, or better still tucks under the chin, would serve. Now to see if such a one is hiding in a drawer somewhere.


So, in this modified attire I took the GT Karakoram out for a sunset ride around the Mystic Lakes, It was a peaceful day, if you didn't take exception to the cars enacting the beginning of the rush hour rituals.




Stopped briefly in the Mystic Valley Parkway breakdown lane to photograph the mouth of Mill Brook, flowing past the cemetery and into the Lower Mystic Lake.


A little farther along, stopped again to capture the sunset colors over the Lower Mystic Lake.


East Arlington: sunset over Everett Street.


Sunset over my neighbors' rooftops.


I never do this at sunrise.

rod