rholland1951

This afternoon, between the rains, I took the LHT out on the Minuteman to enjoy riding in temperatures in the mid-50s. The wetlands appear to be getting wet again.


Spent much of the rest of the afternoon at Battle Road Bikes, working with them on a couple of Winter projects.

Weather's changing again, we must be in Boston.

rod

rumrunn6

had a road trip out of state yesterday & have to work today. around 8am in CT the roads were littered w/ wrecked 18 wheelers & route 84 was completely shut down on the eastbound side in 2 separate places about 10 miles apart
this used to be an 18 wheeler



they were pulling the smoking rig apart so they could haul it off


lots of other cars & trucks off the road on both sides. the freezing rain in central CT early yesterday must have been unexpected & the roads weren't treated

rholland1951

Yikes! That's more than the usual CT unpleasantness!

rod

EVlove

^Scary stuff

Just dropping in briefly to pat myself on the back for today's ride. The day seemed agreeable enough when I set out, at 2:30 or so, and except for my thumbs and toes when going downhill, I was warm enough. Meandered to the BFRT at I-495 and pretty much didn't stop until I was at NARA Park. Very few other trail users, I believe it's some kind of important gameday in the local rugby variant? Some dog walkers, a few families, and only one other adult on a bike.

Furthest point from home and, naturally, now the wind really picked up and even carried the occasional snowflake. My fingers were barely nimble enough to text my whereabouts to my wife, so no pics today. Nothing to be done but start cranking, get low, narrow and aero, and leave the trail in South Chelmsford because that cuts short by almost a mile, at the expense of an extra hill to climb and descend.

A hot shower and a cup of even hotter chocolate soon set me to rights again but I did wonder why this seemed like a good idea at the time 19.3 miles and 615 feet climbed.

rumrunn6

it was cold today! I had to work (indoors thankfully)
& yes, it's football playoff season. keep an eye out for the Super Bowl soon

Ghazmh

MCRT ON Saturday;



MCRT on Monday;

rumrunn6

awesome, thats New England for ya! road bike one day, fat bike just a cpl days later. well played, Sir

EVlove

There wasn't much daylight left when I got a chance to head out today but I wasn't going to let a 50 degree spell in mid-January go by. My favorite pump was AWOL (still is, and I know for sure I last used it in the basement to change some tires), which delayed departure, but what the hay, second best was going to be good enough for 7 miles. That's all it was, my default quick loop, just so I could bring you this magnum opus of suburban documentary photography:



And also so I could claim that I rode in shorts, tights, and fingerless gloves on January 17 with snow on the ground:


Leaving the under-helmet cap at home was a little too optimistic, however, my ears were cold. Please forgive the grubby and loose bar wrap, this should be the off-season after all, when those things normally get rectified.

I never even touched my water bottle but the bike needed a good rinse. Given the forecast, we may not have riding weather again until... this weekend! LOL

rholland1951

Monday I indulged in my other Winter sport, snow shoveling. Tuesday afternoon I took the GT Karakoram, in its ice bike persona, fenders, studded Nokians and all, out for a ride on the Minuteman. There were only a couple of small, very wet slush patches, so the carbide studs mostly just added their jolly crackle to the mix. But it was fun to play at Winter riding, regardless.




Paid my respects to the time-traveling ghost bike.


The wonderfully put together backyard rink awaits only sufficient cold to be back in business. It now sports the flag of Ukraine.


I started out just a little too early to make this a sunset ride. But the colors, somewhat subtle, appeared in my rearview mirror as I was wrapping up the ride, and followed me home.




rod

rumrunn6

thank you for sharing. I'm expecting our metro-west rail trails will be clear as well

EVlove

Not much to report but near as I can tell, and care, I broke 100 total miles for the year today with a simple grocery run on the Zizzo. Which is not something I do very often, as I don't like the hassle of securing a bike at the store, and our car pretty much runs on solar energy for short trips (5kW system on the roof and a plug-in hybrid). Some day I'd like to have a Brompton. No locking, just folds small enough to go anywhere, including in shopping cart mode. The Zizzo is very nice for a sub-$500 bike but it can't do that. 4.6 miles, 350 feet.

rumrunn6

45 degrees, quiet & dry, out my way

bike_tom

For various reasons I didn't take advantage of the mild weather the last couple of days, but I did get out this afternoon just before the rain. The weather folks were saying it would be dry till about 3pm, so I headed out to Lexington on the Minuteman after lunch. It was about 41' and very little wind, so quite comfortable if appropriately dressed. I had a very pleasant ride and got home about 45 minutes before the rain arrived at my house.

Arlington Great Meadows:



The ice on Peeper's pond is completely gone, making it more inviting for the ducks that are still around:



I keep wondering when winter will really arrive. It is looking like the current storm is going to end with about an inch of wet snow, some as the last one.

Tom

rholland1951

A call Wednesday afternoon from Pete at Battle Road Bikes had me stopping by the shop late Thursday morning to have a look at the cockpit setup on the Nobilette project bike.


All the cockpit components, especially the handlebars and brake levers, were in their places, as was the saddle, after Pete performed a final adjustment from previous measurements. I rolled out on a 3-mile test ride on the Minuteman.


That went very well indeed. This Nobilette frame and fork were designed, back in the early 90s, for building go-fasts, with a Columbus TSX tubeset and a lean, quick geometry, and they're still going fast with this build 30 years later. Yippee! Pacenti rims, White Industries hubs, Sugino triple crank, IRD front derailluer, Deore XT rear derailleur and a 9-speed casette, Nitto 177 handlebars (Noodles), Shimano brake levers, Paul Cross Levers, Paul Racer Medium brakes (with Moon Unit straddle cable carriers), Suntour Power Ratchet bar-end shifters (it's a friction-shift build), MKS Lambda pedals, 26mm Rene Herse Cayuse Pass Extralight tires, WTB SST saddle, Campagnolo Super Record headset (a gift from Tyler Oulton), Crane Suzue bell... did I forget anything? Anyhow, an eclectic build kit of parts that should likely work well together on this bike.

After giving Pete a good report on the test ride, I went to see the dentist while Pete wrapped the bars and finalized the build. I suspect he had more fun than I did. I returned for the bike and drove home with it in the beginnings of the rain. I put the bike up on a repair stand, wiped it down, and started to marshal the last few bits of the build (headlights, taillights, saddlebag, pump, lock, bottle cages).


No fenders on this bike, so it's destined to be a fair-weather ride. One more reason to look forward to fair weather.

This bike build represents the final step in drawing down my bike tinkering backlog, in partnership with the excellent mechanics at Battle Road Bikes. Thanks, folks!

rod

rumrunn6

in the western suburbs, the light users are more agreeable. not like the panic stricken on the MM. no one freaking out flashing their lights or shouting things. no need to go minimal w/ your lighting, just don't look directly at anyone. live & let live

bike_tom

One of these days, we are going to arrive at that bench at the same moment...

How many rear cogs do you have on that bike? (can't quite make it out from the drive side pictures)

rholland1951

I know!

It's set up 3×9. I find that works well with friction shifting.

rod

rumrunn6

was nice to see I wasn't the only crazy one today

bike_tom

Terrific picture - the lead rider looks like she is having a great time!

rumrunn6

riding conditions 4pm Thursday. 1st # is temp, 2nd # is "feels like"

EVlove

Perhaps but with up to 4 inches of snow between now and then, and 32 mph gusts, I'm taking a pass...

rumrunn6

yeah maybe I was being a bit too optimistic. today would have been nice day if one could find something to ride on. I'm guessing they've been plowing the Minuteman. the BFRT is hopeless once the snow falls (w/ rare exceptions)

flurries right now, out by me, but I'm working from home so I'm not free until 4pm. maybe I should take the studded hybrid out to Bedford ...

rholland1951

The snow is slow to arrive. Perhaps the rain will be, too. Sporting propositions are attractive, but betting against Ma Nature is fraught with peril.

rod

rholland1951

Wary of ice in spite of the thaw conditions, I rode the GT, with its studded Nokians, to an appointment Thursday afternoon at Battle Road Bikes.


Finding the Minuteman wet, but ice-free, I left the GT at the shop and rode the Surly Long Haul Trucker back home.


In between times, I worked with Jim on a fitting and prototyping task, which may bear fruit in the Spring.

rod

rumrunn6

haha that's great. I love riding 1 bike to the shop & another home!
fwiw - the BFRT still has long stretches of hard frozen footprints. lot's of long dry stretches too. it gets worse the further North one goes. I drive parallel to it when I car commute so I get to glance at it, at all the road crossings. it's rideable, if necessary, but doesn't look pleasant. since my weekend road trip got postponed, I think a cold, winter roll, on the MM, Bedford to Spry Pond, Arlington, on the road bike, is in order for tomorrow