This is a fantastic project. I was really sad to see it never fully freeze last winter.

I was on the trail on Saturday morning around 11 and saw a yellow Arlington DPW pickup go through. Lexington/Arlington may use a bobcat or a similar-size tracked vehicle as well. The trail is definitely rideable, but beware of ice under the snow. Lots of people still running on it, saw 2 people on XC skis as well.

Sounds like a bracing ride in the snow! No bike news here, except a little more Winter project wheel building (still untested by use, of course). Lots of snow shoveling. And a multmodal trip down to Chinatown for the Spring Festival parade.

rod

haha well the Minuteman is probably the most used year-round MUP in the state, or all of New England for that matter. I didn't use them but the Lexington Visitors' Center & the Bedford restrooms were both open. a Mass man was killed by a snow plow this morning. would "they" rather everyone using the trail go back to the roads? for some back woods hillbilly's there's no talking progress to them

me too but only saw 1 skier. starting to like this trail a lot. wutz with the old man & the walker. he never wears a hat & always looks like he's in pain ...

I sometimes wish they didn't so that I had an excuse to buy XC skis and go skiing more often since I live very close to the path and don't need to drive to get to it... but I guess I could always go to Beaver Brook or Reformatory Branch.

I can't find the numbers, but I've read somewhere that it was indeed one of the most traveled in the country. Could just be a rumor. I saw some people riding on the streets in Lexington and it did not look safe or pleasant at all with narrow roads and slush everywhere.

I saw a skier ON Mass Ave last night - not on the sidewalk, on the street!

If you're talking about the Japanese guy, he's out there pretty much every day. I applaud him, he looks really old, but still gets out. He travels pretty far for his method, I've seen him on the stretch between Mill St. Ace and I believe as far as the liquor stores. In the winter he wears these military-style quilted pants.

I also admire the one-armed guy whom I see cycling a lot. That's dedication! I hope he has easy access to bike storage, I know it can be difficult to get my bikes out of the basement and I have two arms.

I chatted w the skier I saw briefly as I rolled past him. I said "looks like skiing is pretty good". he said he "wished it was a little thicker w snow". would be nice if that city plow had an attachment to leave a few good inches, a cpl feet wide, at the edge for skiers. someone should invent that!

If you're referring to the person I think you are, he's a great old guy just trying to keep the moving parts moving. He's out on the Minuteman every day, as far as I can tell, except on the days when the condition of the surface doesn't permit it; then he takes his walker down Summer Street... IN THE STREET. He probably is in some pain, but he's on a mission. I like him, and wave whenever I see him. He's got limited English, but understands a smile and a wave, and returns them.

rod

IMHO, the community would be better served if WRKO reverted to Top-40 format. I'd take "Louie, Louie" over their mindless bloviation, any day. At least you could dance to it...

That whole body of discourse is dead to me. No upside to it. It just makes stupid people stupider.

rod

I'm sure. I can never make eye contact. just want to buy him a hat! :D

updates on Bruce Freeman Rail Trail w PANO images
(MetroWest Boston)

Panoramic Images of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail

figuring on riding the MM Sunday. if anyone is out there late Saturday or nite wud appreciate knowing if studs are required as I expect.

if not, I need to test another set of tires & fenders

needy I know, sorry :o

Is he still out there? I don't think I've seen him since the middle of last summer.

I've seen him more recently than that, though not since Winter conditions set in.

rod

Finally managed to get out th the Minuteman yesterday. The first mile East from Depot Park was rutted slush. After that it was clear all the way to Alewife. I did see the older gentleman with the walker close to Arlington Center. Today I was engaged in homeowner chores most of the day and only managed a 15 mile jaunt on the Montare to Wilsons in Lexington for weekly produce shopping.

With warm temperatures comes the melting snow around Medford, MA. With some side streets & sidewalks still a little treacherous early this AM though.

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Rode the Charles River Trail through from Daly Field to Charlestown. Herter Park was rutted ice and slush. Across the river was plowed but with huge patches of mud where someone had plowed over the grass instead of the path. Past that point the trail was in great shape. About a million folks out for a jog in Cambridge though.

For the first time since the snow last week I was able to get in some road biking. I did my usual around town errands this morning on the trusty ol studded tire equipped Montare. After realizing that my afternoon ride would be far better suited for my new road bike the decision seemed easy. I ride my 30 mile loop out to Carlisle and back via Concord. Wide shoulders the whole way. Lots of wet and sandy roads. My new Roubaix is encrusted in enough sand to pass as a sand sculpture. Sadly so is all the clothes I wore.......

After putting in a half-day at work, I spent the afternoon truing the newly-built rear wheel for the Winter project bike, making a few newbie mistakes along the way, including stripping a nipple through indelicate use of a spoke wrench (this sounds like more fun than it was), requiring the removal of the fully-tensioned spoke by cutting it with a pair of wire cutters; this resulted in the predictable high-velocity discharge of half a spoke across the room (this was more fun than it sounds), fortunately missing everything but the wall. A new spoke, new nipple, and a little 3-D puzzle solving put things right, and after the customary iterative process I now have a wheelset for the Winter build.

This left me with enough time to take a ride before dinner, so I took the LHT out as the temperature passed 40 on its way down through the 30s, and the sun set. The Arlington Unitarians' bell struck six as I waited at the Mystic Street intersection. After that came a battle-of-the-bands-equivalent, as the carillons and chimes in several other churches launched into competing musical programs as I rode West. As usual, the Baptists were in the running for first prize, sending their great old hymns shimmering in the darkness over the snow-covered AHS athletic field. I followed the Evening Star out to Lexington, and was pleased that the Pocket Devil's camera could resolve it. I followed Orion back to Arlington, and determined that the Pocket Devil thinks it's entirely black; it's only a little devil, after all, and its trickery is somewhat limited.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Zq...Q=w535-h951-no

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The trail surface was in good shape, the plows and thaw had done their work, but flows of meltwater and falling temperatures suggest that we'll have some spots of black ice by morning.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/E3...A=w535-h951-no

Audible Signal Department: I encountered an Invisible Pedestrian, coming and going, whose concession to safety was to carry on a rackety phone call on his hands-free phone: I heard him long before I saw him. This increased his safety (and mine) considerably, however regrettable his babble in an otherwise quiet evening.

rod

nice job capturing Venus? in almost every photo

I do a Carlisle loop too. popular roads for road bikes. nasty time from now 'til the street sweepers come out

what did you think? good ride? mundane? kinda cool, I think, to ride to Cambridge. with some smart navigation you can make your way to Harvard Square & or Boston proper

altho the rides I've taken from home (Stowish) to Boston like Fenway & further to castle Hill, I've used straighter more direct roads (such as 117, Route 20, North Beacon St, Brighton Ave & Comm Ave aka bus hell)

The Minuteman and I go way back to '99 when I first discovered it. Riding from Watertown to Depot Park was a fun adventure. Today I typically only ride it with the kids in the summer or during winter days when I don't feel that the roads are wide enough to ride safely. Occasionally I'll incorporate it into a few summer rides when I wish to enjoy the nostalgia and reconnect my early days of cycling.

Lots of people out on the Minuteman today. Commute will be a very slow slalom. Tomorrow will be even worse! Makes one realize that cold-weather cycling on the path is pretty good :innocent::eek:

Riding into Davis Square for brunch is great! For Harvard Square, I'd probably do this (if construction on Huron is still bad, cross over to Brattle sooner)