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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 18133909)
BTW, I have posted a proposal for a Fifty-Plus Boston Bicycle weekend on September 12, of the Tour de Streets to benefit Liveable Streets (to pass through Waltham) and my post of three days duration has received no replies, and a measly 131 views. :(
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Originally Posted by jimmuller
(Post 18133131)
...Come out to lovely Cape Cod and ride! Oct 10, departing around 10AM (we always intend to gather at 9:39 and we never do)...Some pics from previous CCRT rides.
October 2014, the start http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/CC...AtTheStart.jpg
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 18113629)
Here in Massachusetts I celebrate Leg Season.
Originally Posted by rholland1951
(Post 18073899)
...Summer for the time being, and the more prized for it.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-g...813_192844.jpg
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 18074176)
I celebrate the nice weather part of the year as a self-proclaimed "Leg Season," when short pants are the usual dress. It starts on the first Sunday in May with the Annual Walk for Hunger, and ends on Columbus Day with the Annual Tufts 10 K Road Race, both attracting thousands of participants. :innocent:
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 16970740)
...it occurred to me that in the pictures of you and Sharon, you are both similarly dressed in matching long black pants and gray tops like tunics. I was thinking that they vaguely resembled the uniforms on the original Star Trek. Did you ever think about getting some Star Trek insignia to add some extra panache?
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=475095 |
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 18136037)
Or is this the way they usually dress on your planet? :innocent:
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Originally Posted by jimmuller
(Post 18136258)
Most of the inhabitants of our planet have six legs and three body segments. They dress in an exoskeleton. Fortunately they are pretty small and generally don't get in our way. Except for the old joke - How can you tell a happy cyclist?
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 18136476)
So how can you tell a happy cyclist?
Oh, since this is the Good Ride thread...yes, I did. I rode the Centurion to work and back. Got called into a phone meeting at 4 which didn't end until 5:30. By the time I started for home the sky was dim and gray. Time to start thinking about lights. Tomorrow I will ride the Peugeot. The last time I rode the Peugeot was several months ago in the rain, and then I forgot about it. As I started prep'ing it for tomorrow I realized that was a mistake. It took me an hour to brush all the mud and dust off it. |
Same commute, different bike. Lovely weather even with the slight headwind this morning.
http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Co...O8Commute1.jpg http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Co...O8Commute2.jpg |
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We were in RI today and rode part of the East Bay Bike Path this afternoon. There was a good amount of happy traffic including flocks of little kids and couples of teenagers. We stopped for Dels on the way down and grazed on grapes on the way back. Beautiful weather.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=475349http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=475350 |
Today we had spectacular weather in New England, temps starting cool and getting up to maybe 75F, humidity off the charts low, clear blue sky. One cyclist who pulled up beside us as at a stoplight said it was going to snow tomorrow. I told him Don't say that!
We did 62.1 miles on the tandem. Not quite a metric. Had to conserve energy as we are going to be riding with a friend tomorrow. :D First stop, Walden Pond: http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Ri...WaldenPond.jpg As usual we stopped at Fern's General Store for lunch. Nary a bicycle in sight when we arrived. Twenty minutes later a zillion bikes showed up, including two other tandems. We had a nice conversation with one of the teams. Then I recognized someone I used to work with 8 or 9 years ago so we spent time discussing those old days. A very pleasant interlude in the middle of a long day on the bike. http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Ri...2015/Ferns.jpg Of course on the return we passed by Hutchins Organic Farm so we had to stop, now didn't we? http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Ri...rganicFarm.jpg And of course my sweetie just had to load up the panniers with peppers, zucchini, various greens, even potatoes: http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Ri...ackingItIn.jpg Finally, continuing the sequence of interesting signs in metro northwest: http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Ri...5/WhichWay.jpg |
Theme(?) ride.
Welcome back! But be careful out there. http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...psnfnvkxtr.jpg http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...psmtf5jbym.jpg http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...ps8ez73uzt.jpg -mr. bill |
After yesterday's near-metric on the tandem we did another near-metric today. We met a friend in N Andover who led us on a wild ride north to the left bank of the Merrimac River, then down along the river until we crossed over into Newburyport. I was a great 61.5 miles, except for the half-dozen hill segments with max slopes over 10%, one even hitting 12%! I had to walk the bike up that one. I told him if we had too many more of those I wasn't going to make 50 miles (which is what I thought we going to do). The return was refreshingly flat by comparison!
Lunch stop in Newburyport: http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Ri...ewburyport.jpg A short break in Ipswich: http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Ri...ownIpswich.jpg We rode by an ice cream stand with a big sign that read "Judge Berman, free ice cream for life". |
Spent the better part of Labor Day weekend at the Thomas Point Beach bluegrass festival, in Brunswick, Maine.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...904_234413.jpg Took the LHT along. Played hooky on Friday, and rode E through Brunswick, West Bath, and Bath, 26 miles with 2539' of climbing. Clamming at low tide, Thomas Point Beach (one man's beach is another man's mud flat). https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r...904_094547.jpg Lots of little curlicues in Maine's fractal coastline, makes for some interesting routes. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U...904_134512.jpg An old burying ground, Adams Road, Brunswick. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4...904_134658.jpg An airshow was in progress the whole time I was in the area, and various airplanes and their contrails turned up during the ride, sometimes with dramatic effect. Lots of folks were looking up. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7...904_141137.jpg The thing about air shows is that they have a tendency to follow you around, loudly, for miles. Every now and then I'd stop to gawk and try to take a picture, like this charmingly anachronistic formation of a P-51 and an F-22 (if the P-51 shoots down the F-22, I want my $273,000,000 dollars back). https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D...904_142323.jpg Followed back roads in West Bath, lots of hills and some wise old barns, one uniquely decorated (those fenders look like they provide great coverage). https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t...904_144007.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3...904_152211.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f...904_154052.jpg The donkey is skeptical of the intentions of bearded men on bicycles. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K...904_151621.jpg To be continued... rod |
Yesterday - Law of conservation of tarmac confirmed.
For every meter of this: http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...psihpanawl.jpg There will be a meter of this: http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...psn0zk62fs.jpg -mr. bill |
Originally Posted by mr_bill
(Post 18149058)
Yesterday - Law of conservation of tarmac confirmed.
For every meter of this:… There will be a meter of this:… -mr. bill I enjoy your urban photos, but I sure would like to know where they are from. On another note, I just discovered that on the Settings tab – Suscribed Threads with New Posts, if you put your cursor over the the number of replies for a thread, your number of posts on that thread pops up. There are 4,911 replies to the Metro Boston thread, and I have 313 posts, last 09-03-15. Coincidentally, 313 was my area code growing up, and I even remember my letter prefix (LA for Lakeview7-5375). |
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 18149120)
-mr.bill,
I enjoy your urban photos, but I sure would like to know where they are from. -mr. bill |
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 18149120)
-I enjoy your urban photos, but I sure would like to know where they are from.
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Continued.
Made my way through the hills and dales of West Bath, passing up a couple of intriguing dead-end route options, including the perhaps-aptly-named Mountain Road and a numbered fire road. Road repairs gave me a little dollop of mixed-terrain riding, as it was. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...904_153730.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9...904_153833.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6...904_153913.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F...904_154109.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K...904_154657.jpg The Blue Angels put in an appearance, one of the Wonders of the Age. And loud. A Canadian bass player at the festival shared with us the intelligence that in some dialects, "blue angel" refers to a lit fart. That seemed fitting, all things considered. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t...904_155017.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...904_155200.jpg Meanwhile, the wildflowers glowed in the Late Summer sun... https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...904_155206.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k...904_160433.jpg To be continued... |
Continued.
I crossed another town line from West Bath to Bath, and proceeded N on High Street, past water and lovely gardens. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z...904_161610.jpg The map says this is Winnegance Creek. Kinda big for a creek; compare and contrast to the Shawsheen River... https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T...904_161936.jpg The Mainiacs know some things that the M*******s don't. Here's one. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1...904_162037.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L...904_162208.jpg The Kennebec River: not a creek. Made me wonder how cyclists cross it? Bicycle/pedestrian accomodations on the Route 1 bridge (what are the odds)? Hitchhike across in a pickup truck? Ride upstream to where it becomes a little baby river? https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R...904_162709.jpg Looking upstream on the Kennebec River to the Bath Iron Works, with a massive floating dry dock and a modern, stealthy surface combatant in view. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U...904_162738.jpg Monumental sculpture "The Wyoming", a riverside homage to shipbuilding. This is a working river, with a working shipyard and a working town. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b...904_164019.jpg The Bath Iron Works: when they say "heavy industry", this is the sort of thing they mean. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P...904_164926.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k...904_164619.jpg Hello, Sailor! https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v...904_165523.jpg Some of the steepest hills of the ride were encountered on the back streets of Bath, climbing out of the river valley. The return route was much shorter than the outbound route: we don't need no stinkin' fractals when it's dinnertime. I found the Thomas Point Beach encampment to be much the same as when I left it. rod |
Wow! That looks like one amazing bike ride!!
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Always fun to explore.
rod |
Took another ride from Thomas Point Beach on Saturday. The festival encampment had its own charms, of course. A little boy asked me if my Take-a-Look mirror was Google Glass; I explained to him about Old Technology, and approaching trucks.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z...906_143322.jpg Last year, I had ridden from TPB S down Maine 24 to the end, at Bayley's Island. This time I explored a couple of by-ways in that direction, Prince's Point, in Brunswick, and the village of Cundy's Harbor, in Harpswell, for a total of 23 miles with 2110' of climbing up the hills, and a maximum speed of 35 mph rolling down the hills. Rolled down Maine 24, making use of the mostly-usable shoulder, and thinking that the whizzing of the passing cars and trucks compared favorably to the shriek and roar of the passing F/A-18s: the air show was still in progress. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3...905_144222.jpg Prince's Point, Brunswick: I don't think this was Roger Goodell's mailbox. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N...905_145547.jpg Indian's Rest, Harpswell: a story goes with it. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t...905_152603.jpg The Blue Angels wake the dead at the Cundy's Harbor cemetary: that could be the frame story of a pretty good zombie flick... https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M...905_154712.jpg Cundy's Harbor itself is a New England gem. Returned with Ellen the next day for a lobster roll. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t...905_161439.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p...905_161444.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h...905_161815.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G...905_162514.jpg Made it back to TPB in time to hear Doyle Lawson. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...905_192538.jpg rod |
So, we drove home from Maine on Sunday. On the afternoon of Labor Day itself, I spent more time than I would have anticipated swapping tires on the Surly Trucker DeLuxe, removing the Compass 26" x 1.75" (44mm, more or less) tires that have been on the bike for the 1378 miles since it was built, and replacing them with a new set of Compass Rat Trap Pass Extralights, marked 26" x 2.3" on the casing. These tires only recently became available, and I wasn't entirely sure they'd fit, but I'd been looking forward to them, and this hot, muggy Labor Day afternoon had a bit of the feel of Christmas morning.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d...907_144713.jpg First I had to get the old tires off. I had gotten used to bare-handed flat fixing with the Barlow Pass tires on the Alex Adventurer rims of my LHT, but these 26" x 1.75" tires were made of sterner stuff, and I had to resort to tire tools, after spending entirely too much time coming to this realization. Made me wonder whether I ever changed a flat with those tires... maybe not... Anyhow, then the process of putting the Rat Traps on the Sun Rhyno Lite rims began. Turns out that the Rat Traps are one of several new Compass tires that are sold as "tubeless ready"; in practice, this means that their bead has a somewhat thicker, rectangular cross section: tough stuff. The sidewalls are splendidly supple, but the bead is not wimpy. Nevertheless, I proceeded to try to massage the tires onto the rims, gently but firmly, then a little less gently and a little more firmly, until the moment came when I realized I had gently but firmly peeled the epidermis off the pad of my left index finger. Oops. This led me back to tire tools, including a tire jack I bought by mistake a couple of years ago, and had never used. It came in handy... https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1...907_153146.jpg Between the jack, and a pair of metal Origin 8 tire levers, I did manage to get the Rat Traps mounted. From time to time in the process, a section of bead would snap into place on the rim with an audible !POP! https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z...907_170039.jpg I inflated them to 50 PSI to seat them, then deflated and reinflated to 30 PSI front, 35 PSI rear, and put them on the bike. The front went on nicely. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L...907_172622.jpg The rear was a little trickier, but ultimately fit as well. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r...907_192340.jpg One of the things I was skeptical of was how the Rat Traps would mesh with the Planet Bike Cascadia ATB fenders I run on this bike. The fit was a little snug, but I think the clearance is adequate. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t...907_172628.jpg On the 27.5mm Sun Rhyno Lite rims, the initial width of the Rat Traps, at 30 PSI, was 51.52mm. They'll probably spread a little, but I don't anticipate trouble. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w...907_172809.jpg By the time all that was done, the sun had set, and I took the newly-shod bike for an evening ride to Lexington Center and back, floating along over pavement rough and smooth, pneumatic suspension to burn. For their size, these tires seem quick. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...907_193130.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8...907_193617.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U...907_201953.jpg rod |
Took the Trucker DeLuxe with the 52mm Compass Rat Trap Pass Extralight tires out on the Minuteman after work on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. One of these days, I should take them off the pavement, but I ride when I can, and most often these days, that means in the dark. Between the new pair of shoes on this bike, and the Rawland Nordavinden that's really still in the shake-down stage, I am overwhelmed with bicycle novelty. Now to ride 'em.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P...907_202619.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O...908_195913.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K...908_203040.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X...909_190609.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s...909_192132.jpg I'm getting the feel of this bike with the new tires. So far, so good, I think, but the Rat Traps are tall enough to change the overall geometry compared to the low-profile 1.75s that they replaced. Buy new tires, get a new bike... rod |
Originally Posted by rholland1951
(Post 18154272)
...... Buy new tires, get a new bike...
rod I wonder if seasons influence non-insect, non-exoskeleton minorities? I didn't reach the same level of new bike-ness but I did admire the smoothing effect of switching from a very knobby 50 psi mountain bike tire to a 26 x 1.25, no-tread, 90 PSI tire. We just returned from three days of riding on Martha's Vineyard. I decided my mountain bike had the carrying capacity and gearing for a heavy load of luggage but didn't look forward to miles of knobby tread vibration. I dug out a 10+ year old tire and tube and installed it about 11PM Saturday night before we left Sunday morning. Sunday morning rolling off the ferry didn't feel like a new bike but I did admire the smooth ride. |
I'm not sure I'd know what a new bike feels like. All my bikes are old. But they do feel different from each other. I rode the Centurion to work today.
I kept getting the Patriots radio broadcast in my handlebar. |
I woke up this morning with the phrase "Monster Trucker" on my lips, and have applied it to the Surly Trucker DeLuxe equipped with 52mm Compass Rat Trap Pass Extralight tires, or Rat Traps, for short. Compare and contrast the Rat Traps on the Monster Trucker on the left, versus the 38mm Compass Barlow Pass tires on the LHT on the right:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f...911_114539.jpg Took the aforementioned Monster Trucker out for 15 miles on the Minuteman this evening, setting a good pace and dodging unlit, half-lit, and double-lit fellow trail users as necessary. Paused briefly to watch the AHS football team tangle with the kids from Franklin; not exactly the Pats versus the Squealers, but the weather was better. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T...911_191854.jpg On the way back in the dark, heard a series of concussions that turned out to be the Arlington Town Day fireworks. Got a picture of the fading embers of the grand finale, looking like a distant house fire. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f...911_201013.jpg Beat it home before the revelers' traffic complicated things. rod |
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