miss kenton

Jim,
Thanks for posting this well written ride report! It looks like you had great weather for the ride. I am sorry we weren't able to join in this year. Your photos brought back fond memories of our ride on the Minuteman path, but I see, like the other 50+ rides in which I've participated, it wasn't without its challenges!

Jim from Boston

Hey Miss Kenton,

So nice to hear from a fellow traveler on two of the previous Annual Rides, Finger Lakes in 2010 and Boston last year. I just edited my post preceding yours with a further reminiscence about last year's ride. I’m sure you remember rtool (and his Ohio compatriots) from the Finger Lakes.

I hope you recall the Charles River Bike Path, NARA Park, and the dinners at Legal Seafood and Villa Francesca from last year, as well as the Ride itself.

Bishbike

Took the Mooney out for a 62 mile ride in he hills on Tuesday night. Made a side trip int the deCordova sculpture park.













Out at Hutchins Field...

Bishbike

Jim M and JFB, sorry I missed you guys on Saturday. Some other time...

Bishbike

Quick blast from waverly Sq. to Conncord and back this morning. Nice to ride on freshly paved road!!!!!!! No more dodging potholes.

rholland1951

Bish, can you simply ride into the DeCordova campus these days and groove on the sculpture park? Or do you have to pay a troll?

rod

Bishbike

No trolls involved, just ride on in and groove.

jimmuller 

I'm sitting in my office after a commute in which fortunately was uneventful. It had the nervous potential to be eventful several times. I don't know, maybe it's the weather, a warm, humid day and on a Friday no less.

I was waiting patiently for the traffic light to cross Trapelo in Waverley Sq, with cars coming out of the Star Market parking lots on a green light. On my left one lane inbound on Trapelo held stopped traffic waiting at their red. Some guy dressed in business clothes driving a big SUV came through the inbound right lane apparently having not seen his red light nor noticed that everyone else going that way was waiting. He nearly T-boned a car coming out of the lot. Fortunately his target hit the brakes and he noticed and swerved quickly enough to miss. I yelled as he went by. He pulled over and stopped for a few seconds, realized his mistake (I hope), and then after seeing no further ramifications continued on his way. I kind of hope his pulse is still at 180.

Fast-forward into Lexington. This time it was another cyclo-commuter. We were westbound on Lowell St approaching the Maple St light, I was trailing. The light turned green and we continued, only he slowed and pulled up onto the sidewalk to enter the intersection from its access ramp. I stayed in the street and kept moving with the traffic. By the time he was ready to re-enter the roadway I had pulled even with him, and I called out "Passing on your left!" It made no difference. He pulled out into the road on my right as a car was passing close on my left. Fortunately the car braked for me and I pulled away safely. When I got the chance I called back "Did you not hear me call out?" Silence. No answer, no apology, no "Oops." At the Woburn St light I turned right and he continued straight. It's the first time I've encountered a cyclist who was both deaf and blind, but that explains why he felt justified using the wheelchair ramps on the sidewalks. (Jerk. If you're going to ride a bicycle take the earbuds out of your ears, open your eyes, turn on your brain, and become engaged in the world around you. Or maybe that's too much to ask.)

The rest of the ride was less hazardous but I saw at least half a dozen other blatant driver errors, running red lights, poor timing judgment, discourtesy, and of course the obnoxious extended horn blasting at the Market Basket.

Of all that the only personal threat to my safety was by the cyclist. However I am now safely at work.

rholland1951

Yikes, Jim! We're living in the Era of Smart Phones & Dumb Humans, it seems...

rod

Jim from Boston

I have a few Cardinal Rules for (urban) cycling:

Make yourself as visible as possible, and assume no one sees you.

Like a gum, treat every parked car like it is loaded with an occupant ready to exit, on either side.

No matter how lightly traveled or well-paved the Road, a vehicle is likely to pass you on the left as you encounter an obstacle on the right (My rationale for rearview mirrors).

If you cannot directly see the Road surface (due to a reflecting puddle, a pile of leaves, or whatever), a pothole may lurk.

FWIW.

jimmuller 

All quite sensible. FWIW, my godfather was an avid cyclist. He was in his 70's riding his bike when someone door'ed him and killed him. In the old days you could see if someone was in a parked car, but once big head restraints became ubiquitous (more or less required) that became impossible.

My ride home was serene but fast. Traffic was light. Maybe the incoming rain made everybody decide they weren't going to the beach tomorrow after all. Or maybe they all left work early. I had checked the weather radar and rode fast to outrun the incoming. Left work at 4:45, made the 16.3 miles in 1hr on the nose, which included some stoplights.

Accuweather's Minutecast always reminds us of the Star Trek episode The Corbomite Maneuver.

"Rain will commence in twenty five of your earth minutes."

That's pretty good incentive to keep pedaling.

DBrim

I connected a few previously ridden segments into a big circle around the North Shore today. Across the 1A bridge from Salem into Beverly, then a few new miles on 1A and 97, then 97 through Wenham into Topsfield center. Then, I circled back down on the Topsfield Linear Common and Danvers Rail Trail, all the way to the trailhead in Peabody. After that, the Independence Greenway, Lowell St and Boston St through the center of Peabody and back into Salem. After all was said and done, I rode a hair over 25 miles, just about the longest I've done in a single shot. Legs were still feeling okay at the end, too.

jimmuller 

Today's weather prediction was ambiguous. We hoped to take the tandem out for a few hours real early before the rain and regular Sunday traffic started. Instead it rained (sort of) during the early morning so we didn't get out until 11. Still got in 34 miles. Moving avg speed 13.7, a new high for us. Stopped for some pics in Concord Center, classic New England style.

First Parish, built four times, the 4th version being:


On the font lawn is this bell:


Inscription on the bell reads Cast by G H Holbrook, Medway, Mass, 1826:

rholland1951

Pretty country! How did you like the Independence Greenway? How did you get from that to Salem?

rod

bikemore 

I got out with my SO. She isn't used to hills so we did the 5 mile loop around Great Brook Park (well she allowed that I could do the loop a second time ). Anyway the day turned out to be a great day for biking. Although it was such an odd day weather-wise that I am sure in matter quite a bit on where you were.

DBrim

I only was on it for about a mile, where it parallels Lowell Street. I've been on that section before, it's nice, paved, smooth, low traffic. Not a destination, but nice that it's there. In order to get back to Salem for there, I took the lower section of Lowell St past where it crosses 128, then stayed on that street as it changes names through downtown Peabody (Lowell St to Main St to Boston St). It eventually becomes Rt 107 for a few blocks immediately after crossing into Salem before the road's terminus on Essex St. The road was pretty highly trafficked and relatively high speed until it hits the center of Peabody, but most of the time there's a healthy breakdown lane to ride in.

As long as we're vaguely on the subject of 107 in Salem, I would recommend against riding it towards Lynn, for what it's worth.

DBrim

Here's a map, with my location of residence conveniently cut off.

mr_bill

From Sunday morning, in the middle of a 37 mile early morning ride in the drizzle around the Cape, I heard some cheering off in the distance. Followed the cheering to across the street from Cape Code Sea Camps, where the campers (with homemade whale hats), lined Old Kings Highway (6A) in Brewster and cheered and cheered and cheered and cheered. Cowbells, Whistles, Clappers, even a few Vuvuzelas.

The smiles on the riders faces? Priceless.

(And, something completely different, across the pond, sheep. No, this is *NOT* me. Someone else who rides with a camera on who also got lucky and caught a magic moment.)

-mr. bill

Jim from Boston

That’s an unfortunate story as are all cycling mortalities on these Forums. Besides my sympathies, and “there for the grace of God go I,” hopefully we learn from these events. My cycling door rule was partly prompted by two people I know being doored. My pothole rule was from a personal experience, as well as a newspaper article about a local cyclist fatality that I posted to A&S. For me, a rule converts the admonition into a routine behavior.

One of the best outlooks on the dangers of cycling IMO is this quote, initially in reference to cold-weather riding, ”When does Hardcore become Stupid”:

One other “tip” (not necessarily a rule), one of the best I learned on Bikeforums, from buzzman, is that when anticipating the movement of motor vehicle, don’t look at the hood or front end, look at the front tires.

jimmuller 

I've ridden into the office yesterday and today, that's two days out of two so far. Rode the Bianchi yesterday because of the threat of rain, but it didn't rain. Rode the Masi today, and it was nice. No flat tires!

Got a later start after a dentist appointment today, so it was well after rush hour. I think people drive even crazier later in the mroning than they do at rush hour. Light traffic, nutsy drivers. On the way home a woman pulled out in front of me from my left at an intersection I was going through. About halfway across the road she saw me and hit the brakes. Of course I'd hit them hard too so I would not have hit her, or her me. As I rode past her front bumper I saw her on her cell phone blabbing away. I yelled "Hang up the phone!" but I think she was so intent on her conversation that she didn't even notice me at that point. She just kept looking around and blabbing. At least she was stopped, and blocking the road for the people behind me.

But it was a nice day for a ride!

rholland1951

With luck Google will relieve her of the driving function soon, so she can concentrate on her phone.

rod

sherbornpeddler

JimM, I'm glad you are okay. Buzzman is right. I trust wheels, not the beasties directing them.

I suffered a non-bike related setback and my doc, who is passionate about getting active people back being active, said he sticks to single track off road riding because his roads are too dangerous. Having seen such huge improvement in cyclists, motor drivers and street design and being an optimist on continued progress, I'm, well, optimistic. Driverless cars really do seem another big opportunity for improvement. Being a traditionalist and stick in the mud I am not going for driverless bicycling.

I have tried using ear buds to listen to Google map directions and found them 20% helpful and wound up turning it off and packing the whole thing away. I think we are safe as far as I can see.

rholland1951

SBP, I expect you're right about driverless bicycles... although I believe we each have a list of folks we'd nominate for one... Perhaps that's what those spin trainers should be properly understood as being.

The "setback" reference deflected the uh-oh meter. Hope all is well, or gets that way pronto.

...

Had my first ride in over a week Wednesday evening, the customary 10 miles on the Minuteman to Lexington Center and back. As sometimes happens after some downtime, the legs were eager, the pace was quick. The egg still depends from its branch.

rod

sherbornpeddler

Rod,
I'm looking forward to mimicking your return from downtime; in my case 2.5 weeks. Eager legs and quick pace sound very pleasant. A cycling buddy suggested a party at the end of my return from downtime ride. He does like parties and would call for one to celebrate a successful inner tube patch but still, I'm honored. I have to think of the right ride.

rholland1951

An occasion for a party, indeed!

Another quick 10 miles after work, playing tag with the thunderheads. They thundered a little, and sprinkled a little, but kept the bulk of their water and fire to themselves, well-behaved dragons.


rod