Saturday afternoon I took the LHT and rode East.
This was the customary round of hills and traffic in Arlington, Medford, Malden, Melrose, and Stoneham, with an option on Winchester, Saugus, and Wakefield. I took the LHT, rather than the GT with the studded Nokians, in spite of an existence proof for ice found in a little frozen puddle in a shady part of my driveway.
That turned out to be a wise choice, because that was the last ice I saw, and I had a jolly time on the old Trucker with its fat, supple 44mm Compass Snoqualme Pass Extralight tires. It climbs avidly and descends with authority. Yippee!
Along the way, I took a short cut through a segment of the Northern Strand Community Path, in Malden, and encountered this Blue Bike that had apparently been, er, altered by some DIY enthusiast (read, "vandal"), and left in the middle of the trail, like a Lime Bike back before that bubble burst. I'm sure there's a story here, but I can't quite guess what it is. Is someone liberating Blue Bikes?
The cold temperatures put hill climbs, with their endothermic bonus, at a premium, and I sought them out.
Sunset found me cresting the hill on Fellsway East, feeling adequately toasty.
Night fell, and I encountered a long line of tail lights, cars stopped for a train at the West Medford crossing. I got in line and added my lumens to the common glow, then pedaled home when the traffic started to move again, while Old Lady Venus strutted on the Western horizon. Those with sharp eyes and a good display should be able to make out the linear constellation of a SpaceX Starlink satellite train, immediately above the tree, near the center of the image. I didn't notice it at the time; it's possible the new Pocket Devil's eyes are sharper than mine. That could become a theme...
rod