DBrim

Thanks for the welcome!

I haven't explored much Nahant yet, but I've really enjoyed riding around Marblehead. I bought my bike at Marblehead Cycle, and they've treated me well so far. I ride the Marblehead Rail Trail at least once a week. It adds a couple miles to the commute but the hills are less steep. Surprisingly, there's less shade and the hot weather means I have skipped it lately.

I've been meaning to do 127 at some point. My range isn't quite there yet. I'm getting better, so maybe soon. Can always commuter rail back I guess.

Typical commute today. I had a small failure on the front brake (the spring on the non-cable side let go), but I figured it out on my own which made me feel good.

mr_bill

First, thanks all.

Twelve miles to the starting point for me. A day trip to Provincetown from Boston is 130-ish miles if you cut out much of the delightful parts of the ride, and even then you are banishing yourself to the sidewalk of the Sagamore Bridge. Depending on the winds, there can be quite a few tough miles on the cape too.

It really begs an overnight. I'd think less than 100 the first day puts you on the lower cape.

Then zig and zag your way to Provincetown the next day.

Take your time and eat some Welfleet oysters.

Take a swim (or two or three, in the sound, in the bay and/or in the ocean), and get off the bike and walk occasionally.

By the way, not that the sidewalk on the Bourne Bridge is that much better than the Sagamore, but it is a "bike path."

This however is the nicest way to cross the Bourne Bridge on a bicycle, by far!


-mr. bill

rholland1951

Bingo for the first phenomenon, and hurrah for the second (if not for the sore-back motivation...)!

rod

Jim from Boston

Dittoes to the welcomes. I’m a decades-long-year-round commuter from centrally located Kenmore Square to southwestern Norwood, and an occasional centurian-in-training from April to October. As a centrally-located cyclist I can explore in all directions (sectors) and I have written a “Cyclist's Guide to the Metroverse” (as in Metro Boston, "Hub of the Universe"). I describe the North Shore as:

For several years, our family has spent a couple of summer weeks in Rockport, so I have learned that area well. I have frequently cycled from Boston up there on peaceful early-morning weekends, both inland via Saugus and Peabody, as well as along the coast and then mostly via 127 from Salem. Rte 127, and 127A in Rockport is a great route. While up there I have looped Cape Ann, and ridden westward to Danvers though Essex and leafy Wenham and Hamilton. The family will be in Gloucester in August so maybe I’ll get up to Ipwich.

When we first moved to Boston, riding to Nahant on Sunday mornings was one of the first, and a favorite ride we did. At the end of Nahant is some interesting rocky coastline accesible by bike since car parking is not allowed. There were (and probably still are) some abandoned apparent World War II-era gum emplacements there (The G-word was censored. ) and a Northeastern Marine Science Center.

BTW, the MBTA Newburyport/Rockport line will allow bicycles on the train during off-peak hours, and one could “portage” their bike to desirable cycling areas.

Jim from Boston

Yesterday I experienced a novel route under the heading of jamais vu.

I did a 20 mile loop from Norwood, intending to go South on the aptly-named Pleasant St through East Walpole (though it is light-industrial in Norwood). Then West on Rte 27 to make 10 miles, then return.

I did a side trip off of the continuation of Pleasant St, intending to get back to Rte 27. When I got back onto Rte 27, it became unfamiliar as I expected to pass through Walpole Center. I couldn’t figure out what major road I was on, since I thought I knew the area pretty well. It took about two miles until I recognized some landmarks indicating I was traveling South on Washington Street. That road is well known to me, though I usually travel it Northbound.

So typical of Metroverse riding, there were no street signs to indicate what road I was on, and my sense of direction got turned around riding through winding neighborhood streets, I also accessed Washington from a side street rather than from its point of origin as I usually do.

Perhaps it was also unfamiliar because it was clogged with auto traffic in my direction. Turns out there was a Beyonce concert at Foxboro Stadium that night, To my delight there were well-paved continuous and uninterrupted sidewalks, a virtual bikepath along Washington St that allowed full speed ahead.



The steeple clock is one hour fast.

jimmuller 

Curious. That would happen in the fall quite naturally. You have to wake up at 2AM to turn the clocks back, then an hour later you have to do it again.

I've had a loss of awareness once or twice. On the century I did a month or so ago I was following roads I was slightly familiar with and expecting that I'd recognize each turn as I came to it. (I missed one and discovered a new option!) At about the 80 mile point on a road I've ridden many times I fell into a trance watching the road and realized I had no idea where I was. It was slightly disconcerting but I just told myself "Ah well, I'll recognize the next intersection when I come to it..."

rholland1951

DBrim, Bishbike, funny you should mention Lynn Shore Drive and Nahant. That's just where I rode yesterday, 42 miles through Arlington, Medford, Malden, Revere, Saugus, Lynn, and Nahant, consuming 4+ bottles of water as I went. The route was a mix of roads and trails, taking advantage of the Northern Strand Community Trail through Malden and Saugus, along with a bit of single track in Revere, and the paths along the Lynn Shore Reservation and Nahant Beach Reservation. The ride was motivated by the weather forecast: the predicted high on the North Shore coastline was ~10 degrees cooler than it was in Arlington or points West. But to get there, I had to first plunge a little deeper into the urban heat island. As usual, time constraints played a role in route selection: the original theory of the ride involved Route 127 North of Marblehead, but an emergent chore--cleaning up after a catastrophic spill of a half gallon of laundry detergent in the trunk of my car--kept me busy until after 2, so a ride to Nahant became Plan B.

Stopped for commuter rail trains in West Medford, coming and going. Turns out there's a working flagman at that crossing.


A backyard seen from Washington Street, Medford, held a fully-furnished Buddhist shrine, complete with prayer flags and a stupa. Mr. Google later advised me that this was the Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies, whose front door is on Magoun Ave.


Crossed into Malden, and picked up the Northern Strand Community Trail at the Bell Rock Cemetery, Malden's old burying ground. The Northern Strand through Malden (and Everett) is well paved, and nearly empty on that hot afternoon, so I nipped right along. The Northern Strand's Malden segment runs through commercial/industrial areas, providing a freight-train's-eye-view of the business of that city, along with occasional glimpses of such novelties as razor wire. At intervals, yellow poles set along the right-of-way remind us that we share that with a buried high-pressure gas line. If you're walking your dog here, don't let him dig.

Reached the end of the Northern Strand's Malden segment at Beach Street, and hopped on Lynn Street going North. Lynn Street, Malden, became Salem Street, Revere in short order, and just before passing under Route 1, I turned off on Blodgett Street to see how work was progressing on the Revere segment of the Northern Strand, skirting Rumney Marsh. Looked to me like Iron Horse was still in the rip-everything-up-and-sell-it-to-pay-for-the-rest stage of the project, and that the coarse gravel currently in the roadbed (not yet ripped up and sold) might just be rideable with that bike and those tires, but that it would be a hot, slow job, hotter and slower than I wanted just then. So I dodged back to Salem Street, and picked up another Revere section of the Northern Strand, where it turns inland again, a stretch of well-behaved single track that I'd ridden before.


This connected me to the Saugus section of the Northern Strand, with a crushed asphalt surface. What crushed asphalt means varies as the trail runs; early on it seems to mean hard-pack dirt with a little crushed asphalt embedded in it, later it means a crushed-asphalt layer deep enough to create a live surface. My 700C LHT shod with the Compass Barlow Pass 38mm tires inflated to 45/50 PSI did just fine, but if I were on a road bike with hard, skinny tires I think I would stay on Salem Street (and make better time, to boot). The Saugus segment of the Northern Strand has a series of varied environments, including some that provided deep shade and the first cool riding of the day, but the stand out remains the marshes surrounding the Saugus River: gorgeous, in a sun-drenched way.


Shortly thereafter, I was in Lynn. The last time I had ridden this route, I quickly strayed from the little green dots that the Google Maps bicycle view uses to commend bicycle-friendly routes; these run through the western neighborhoods of Lynn. I followed them this time, and found them bicycle friendly enough, but somewhat boring: these neighborhoods are essentially suburban in character, more like Lynnfield (not that that's a bad thing) than the gateway-city urban hubbub of the Lynn neighborhoods further to the East. They were also hilly--some of the 2608' of climbing on this trip happened here. Ok, now I know... Soon enough, I was back in the real Lynn...

When I turned onto Eastern Avenue, I was rewarded with a cool sea breeze that was blowing with some strength. Soon I reached Lynn Shore Drive, and the sea. This was cool, in two senses, at least... I rode down the concrete path paralleling Lynn Shore Drive, enjoying the whole beach scene, definitely augmented by the Lynn demographics. At times, the Lynn Shore Reservation and Nahant Beach Reservation seemed to be playing Ipanema Beach to Lynn's Rio; this whimsical analogy was reinforced by certain of the bodies and bikinis on display (but unphotographed here), a lively place. Kite surfers were much in evidence.


Continuing down the Nahant Beach path, got a picture of the wind (in the usual way), and a picture of the ethereal-blue Boston skyline, as seen from the North.


Soon enough, I reached Nahant. Theoretical physicists, a while back, were fond of talking about the 4 dimensions of conventional space-time being augmented by 6 or 7 "tightly-folded" additional dimensions. Nahant is like that: a small, hilly compass of land, with its public and private spaces folded compactly for maximal utilization, with a new vista (be it kitschy, quotidian, or sublime) around every turn. I spent more time than I had there, and still didn't begin to see the whole thing.


It was past time to leave, and I started to focus less on playing tourist and more on efficiently making time on the bike. Paused at the Lynn Shore Reservation Bath House to refill water bottles and plot a more direct return course through Lynn than the Googly one I had used on the outbound leg, then got to it, leaving the beach behind. This took me through several downtown Lynn neighborhoods, and past the Lynn Common, a lovely multi-block linear park that was hosting multiple energetic soccer games as I rode past.


I cleared the Lynn line when the sun was quite low, noting the posting on the Saugus section of the Northern Strand that it was open "from sunrise to sunset". I made tracks (sometimes literally, where the crushed asphalt was deepest).


Proceeded homeward with all deliberate speed, managing not to get a flat from any of the glass, plastic, and metal shards I noticed along the way. The temperatures inland were falling, one silver lining to the running-late cloud. While transiting the Malden section of the Northern Strand, witnessed an oddly comical confrontation between two SUVs, in which one backed the other across a parking lot and into a driveway. Words were exchanged, but both drivers remained in their vehicles, and went their separate ways without escalating to any further hostilities that would have required the several bystanders to call the cops. A tiny working model of brinksmanship...


Pedaled across Medford in the dark, enjoying the mellow feeling of riding in that city at night; don't know why it never occurs to me to do that for its own sake... Home 45 minutes late, and happy.

rod

hubcyclist

Rod, you got lucky with the Northern Strand being empty, prior to my move away from Malden it was always hopping, which made my fitness rides tough because a lot of people practice very poor trail etiquette (the usual suspects, dogs off leash, people walking in the middle of the path). I ride the minuteman on occasion (I've started just taking Mass Ave between Arlington and Lexington, much faster for me than the minuteman), and I can't help but notice the difference in etiquette between the two MUPs.

rholland1951

Agreed, I think it was the day/time (weekday afternoon) and the heat that did it. It was packed for the return ride in the cool of the evening. I've found that there's no substitute for a good, loud bell when riding MUPs (helps on the road, too).

rod

jimmuller 

Rod, nice report.

[I feel so deficient. Sometimes I just ride my bike. Most times, in fact.]

rholland1951

Feh! Writing that cut into my riding time today... ;-)

rod

sherbornpeddler

All these ride reports, observations and perspectives, including, "sometimes I just ride my bike" are awesome. JimM, your "feeling deficient" post is wicked funny and in truth you set the standard in inspirational posts and good influence on MB biking.

Rod's posts are usually top notch also but this time I lost 30 minutes or so staring at his video of the shrubbery shaking and coming to life after the tricycle went by. Do they all do that when we ride by? (I tried Buster Keaton but it always comes out Stan Laurel).

All these posts on Northern Strand, Nahant, Lynn and Rockport are timley. In a day or two I'll post my plans for a weekend luxury ride to Gloucester.


This morning's 11 mile luxury ride to the cafe in Holliston involved a croissant and a beautiful woman, both.

This afternoon a quick check of the weather inspired "go now or I'll get caught in the rain" and I was 19 miles into my loopdeloop when I bumped into Karol and Mark in the center of Dover launching another edition of their famous Dover Time Trial.
MetroBoston does have diversity!

I've not jumped in their race since 2010 and I rolled up, was welcomed like an old friend, signed in, given a starting position and took off all within 5 minutes. I maybe averaged 18 or 19 mph over the 7.7 mile course. Mark and Karol will post the actual results in a day or two.

These two guys are legends. They've been hosting the monthly TT first Wednesday, April through September for 20 years. They are friendly, avid cyclists and encourage one and all. Top caliber racers and weekend warriors with handlebar bells are equally welcomed and equally comfortable taking part. Friendly chitchat before and after and it is all free. Karol and Mark have posted a link to Cystic Fibrosis if one is so inclined to make a donation but this is clearly their labor of love for amateur bicycle racing. Another positive force/influence/shove on the character of Metro Boston cycling.

Sometimes we just ride our bikes and MetroBoston cycling bumps into us.

rholland1951

Towards the end of the afternoon, with the heat cooking away, a gusty wind blowing, and a big old line of thunderstorms to the North and West, I took a 14-mile spin on the Minuteman, turning around at Bedford Street, Lexington. This ride was mostly just to keep the moving parts moving, but also to play with all that free energy in the wind, and maybe, just maybe, to get rained on. No luck with a summer shower, but the wind was fun; too much fun for one tree at the Mill Street intersection, apparently...


I looked for the egg, and missed it the first time through. I doubled back, and found it: it's on the right-hand side as you're headed outbound, just before the gate to the footpath to Brandon Road, likewise just before Mill Brook. It's hung in such a way that it's hidden from outbound riders who are looking down the path.


The egg was jumping around in the wind, but had not yet had a great fall...


rod

rholland1951

They all do it. But if they see a mirror, they wait until we are out of sight. This requires great self-control on the part of shrubberies in busy places like the Minuteman, where they may have to hold still for hours at a time.

rod

jimmuller 

Wow, that's a very kind thing to say and I thank you. (A terrible responsibility too that I must now attempt to live up to. Even if it means ending a sentence with not one but two prepositions.)

I did ride my commute yesterday after all despite not intending too. The weather people kept pusing back the prediction of t-storms until today. I finally drove in to the office today but my legs were indeed complaining last night. Just before leaving the office at 4:50 yesterday I decided to check the radar map. Yow! Despite no predicted storms a big blotch of yellow and red menaced like a Steven Spielberg movie. Despite wanting to take it easy I hammered home into a southwesterly headwind and seemingly outran the weather as the sky grew lighter. I made home dripping wet but not because it rained.

Sometimes riding a bike throws something your way which you didn't expect and you just have to take it in stride. A few days ago Woburn was putting a finishing surface on the northbound lane of the multi-name road (Pleasant St?) between Four Corners with Woburn Center. As I approached the construction site I chose not to run the right shoulder because a big paving truck was visible in the distance. The right lane was steaming with shiny asphalt, and orange cones defined the traffic lanes: left lane for northbound, left shoulder for southbound. I had no choice but to enter the northbound traffic and take the whole lane. Once I was in there was no way out. I held my own with the cautious drivers (slightly under 20mph, I'd guess) until someone a few cars ahead had to wait to make a left turn. We all stopped for a few moments, and then the two vehicles in front of me took off. Uh-oh, I'm all alone at the head of a line of cars, hot pavement to my right and oncoming traffic to my left. I hammered as long as I could but then the road started uphill into Woburn Center. When a break in the oncoming traffic occurred just as I went by a road to the left I bailed out, crossing the oncoming lane over to the left sidewalk. I explained to the policeman there that I could sort of keep up with the traffic but not uphill! He and a road worker pointed out that the paving ended us a few hundred yards further. They offered as how I could walk across the new pavement to the other side of the street but I declined, thanked them and walked the sidewalk. A minute later I was back on the bike and pedaling to work.

antimonysarah

That intersection is less than a mile from my house; it's funny to see it as part of a trip report. It can be a mess to turn left there with the angled tracks in the middle of it and no stop signs, but cars are generally gracious about letting people across. The flagger is required so that they can not sound the train horns through the crossing, and possibly for other safety reasons -- I see them having to chastise pedestrians who try to skirt the barriers when they're down on a regular basis. That's the Lowell line going past, and the Downeaster heads through as well, though without stopping.

rholland1951

West Medford is a wonderful neighborhood, full of history and full of life. Coming from East Arlington, it's my nearest exotic destination!

rod

sherbornpeddler

39 mile loop to Diamond Hill, Cumberland RI. OMG miles of Lincoln St in Franklin are bahrootal. Underground utility lines were worked on and the road was patched and approved only because the Bumpometer broke in the first few feet.

I thought there were a few sprinkles but I think it was sap freed up by caterpillar work. I noticed the pavement was sticky under some trees.

I do appreciate the MGL Chapter 40, Section 15C (aka Massachusetts Scenic Road Act). Tree shade was made for bicyclists.

To paraphrase a wise philosopher who said, "sometimes I just ride"; in my case, "sometimes it would be better to just ride and not reach too deep to try to come up with something interesting."

jimmuller 

I've been contemplating this ever since reading it. The idea of a beautiful woman and a croissant has a definite appeal! My rides usual take place with a beautiful woman but the croissant is usually lacking. Perhaps I should remedy that ASAP.

Bishbike

Rod , this report and pictues brought back so many memories, because at different points in my life I have lived in Medford, Malden, Lynn, and Danvers, after having grown up in Gloucester.
It is like a trip down memory lane!

Bishbike

Hammered 25.2 miles out and back to Concord around 7 o'clock before it got dark. Succeded in beating Sunday's avg. speed. Still pretty hot out, but not as bad as this afternoon.

Saw a deer in the middle of Mill Street in Lincoln, but he took off into the woods before I could get my phone out of my jersey. I thought "Man, I have to get one of those cool cameras like Mr. Bill has."

Bishbike

Jim, I was walking over Shaw's yesterday and saw you riding into Waverly Square. Wanted to yell out "Yo Jim!", but missed my chance.

hubcyclist

Did 34 miles today, the first 17 loop was hot but the 2nd half was much better as the temp was dropping. The minuteman was practically a ghost town when I went on at 6:30

jimmuller 

He! I might not have heard you or paid attention. Going through Waverley Sq is an exercise in staying attached to the ground. It will be nice when they finish that construction. But next time yell anyway.

Bishbike

You aint kidding. Between the impatient drivers trying to get home, and the abysmal road conditions, you have to "Keep your eyes on the road and you hands upon the wheel" as Jim Morrison sang.

I have deemed this stretch of road "The Gauntlet".