Saturday afternoon, the last day of the unseasonable-but-not-complained-of warmth, I took the Atlantis and rode East.
Medford: self-portrait in a convex mirror rides again.
Medford: Ken was looking for Barbie. I told him I'd seen her in East Lexington. He looked skeptical, and cracked his knuckles.
Northern Strand Community Trail, Malden: like the signs say, Coming Soon! Bike Kitchen.
This was, indeed, the more-or-less weekly hills-and-traffic drill in the towns and cities that have paved parts of the Fells Escarpment. I was curious to see how the Atlantis, with its long wheelbase, heavy touring tubeset, triple crank, and 55mm Rene Herse Antelope Hill Extralight tires (inflated to 30PSI) would handle the various hills encountered on this route. It was a slow but comfortable climber, and I often found myself shifting the front derailleur onto the smallest chainring while climbing. This long climb up Fellsway East definitely called for that.
The bike is swift and stable--and, again, comfortable--in descent. I clocked 26mph descending Fellsway East into Malden. The fat, supple tires and long steel frame do an admirable job making the least of rough pavement.
"Hills-and-traffic" often means traffic on hills. Encountered this on High Street, Medford. The Atlantis did just fine in crowds, including descending into West Medford at speed. Wheee!
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