Pumped up the tires on the Ebisu All Purpose Bicycle and rode East.
Dwelled on Medford Center a bit at the beginning of the ride. There was a Seasonal Apparition...
There was a larger-than-life chess set, ready to model foreign policy (with an old boneyard in the background, for a bit of perspective)...
And there was Ebisuya Japanese Market. The Ebisu seeks out its namesake from time to time, the Lucky Fisherman. A group of Japanese people entering the market looked twice, then pointed at the bike and said, "
Hai, Ebisu!"
Went haring over the flats and hills of Arlington, Medford, Malden, Melrose, Stoneham, and Winchester; I was occasionally buffeted by a gusty wind, but encountered no rain. This route admits to lots of variation, and today I changed things up a bit on the return, crossing I-93 on the overpass between Marble Street, Stoneham, and Forest Street, Winchester. This has no ramps from the highway itself, making it especially useful to cyclists.
Forest Street connects to the aptly-named Highland Ave, Winchester. This street starts with a steep climb and ends with a steep descent; symmetry ensures that's true whether you start from Forest Street on the North end, or Main Street on the South. In between lies a pleasing series of rollers. The climb up from Forest Street ends at Winchester Hospital, convenient in the event of a coronary.
Flowering trees were in bloom along the whole length of the street.
Soon enough, I went barreling down the final hill to Main Street, Winchester.
I continued South on Main Street, which became Winthrop Street when I crossed into Medford. Turning onto Playstead Road, I paused for a moment to admire the WWI memorial at Oak Grove Cemetery. Titled "The Supreme Sacrifice", it was denounced by some as insufficiently warlike.
That done, I rode down Playstead Road to West Medford, crossed the tracks, then rode a few short blocks on Harvard Avenue to the Mystic River, crossed it, and rode home.
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