rholland1951

Friday, I realized the LHT needed a little more attention, and rode it out to Battle Road Bikes.


The Sam Hillborne was ready to roll home, and so it did.


I haven't mastered the art of riding two bikes at once--though I've seen it done--so I returned to the shop in my car to collect the GT Karakoram. So everything is in its place.

rod

harrier6

"Ghost riding" a second bike isn't too hard... unless you need to turn, swerve, or stop for any reason

rholland1951

That sums it up, for sure.

Welcome to the thread!

rod

bike_tom

I took that very ride this afternoon, but in the opposite direction. The MM was clean, dry, and salt free. I saw a few fancy bikes that probably don't normally come out in January.
It wasn't very cold, but it was very windy. The wind was mostly out of the west, so it took more effort than expected riding outbound, up the modest incline from Arlington to Lexington. The Lexington Visitor Center was a popular spot, and the outside restrooms were open.

Depot Park was certainly busy for a mid-winter day:



I considered checking out the Reformatory Trail but left that for another day.

Turning back the headwind was now a tailwind, which made for a fast ride home.

I rode the Checkpoint, which was a real treat as I hadn't had it out in awhile:



Tom

rumrunn6

I got out too. 47 degrees wasn't too bad but it was windy so it felt like the 30s. cpl years ago Spy Pond was frozen hard & ppl were skating & ice fishing. today just some broken, wind blown surface ice, at the edges

rumrunn6

ha! we probably passed each other. did you see a slow old guy w/ an orange sweatshirt?

bike_tom

I do recall somebody with an orange sweatshirt!

Speaking of slow, I felt like I was slower than usual today. A lot of hotshots passed me.

jsilvia

Also got in 25 miles today on my Trek Crossrip, It was a Windy very slow ride in Fairhaven . Riding early on Sunday before the wind picks up.

rholland1951

Saturday afternoon I took the Ocean Air Cycles Rambler and rode East.


Up hill, down dale, into the teeth of the gale, in traffic. This was my hills-and-traffic drill through Arlington, Medford, Malden, Melrose, and Stoneham. I think of it as the paved portion of the Fells; it's a convenient way to get my recommended allowance of hill climbing and descending, not to mention traffic dodging.. Temperatures started in the mid-40s, but dropped a bit when the sun set. The road surface was often a trifle 3D, but the supple, 38mm Soma C-Line tires and the bike's steel frame and low-trail geometry helped with that.

As per usual on this route, I spent most of my time cranking away, and didn't take so many pictures. But I did have time to pull out my phone and photograph this Melrose multi-modal transportation moment at the Wyoming crossing for the MBTA Commuter Rail.


rod

rumrunn6

great GIFs. love that we see the car GPS blinking at the train crossing. how weird

rumrunn6

fwiw - the restroom doors at the Lexington visitors' center can be a little deceiving. the green "vacant" sign may be displayed but if you try to use the door handle to open the door, it doesn't budge. thinking they were closed, I almost left but did try the next door. discovered that you need to push the door open & the handle is irrelevant. anyway, there ya go

bike_tom

I had the same experience when those bathrooms first opened.

If you look closely, you will see there is a small (easy to miss) sign at each door that says something like "Push to open, don't turn the handle". They added those up after several months, presumably because everyone was having the same problem. The handle that doesn't do anything is a good example of bad affordance.

EVlove

I got in on the 50s-in-late-January fun today with a bit of a rambling (and pictorially undocumented) workout ride just after lunch. I picked the Classique and headed to Chelmsford center to explore conditions on the BFRT, but it very quickly became clear that there were too many icy spots left, particular since it's currently on 23mm Michelin Dynamics. Poor foresight on my part but I just wanted to get some miles in on this still fairly new to me bike.

The trail plan abandoned, I headed out on Route 4 south towards Billerica. Traffic was light and for the most part I was able to pick my line around potholes and puddles. Deciding to turn left onto Mill Road, I was now more or less committed to a sizable counterclockwise loop into Billerica and Lowell. I enjoyed the near-effortless action of the 600 Arabesque friction shifters, while remaining acutely aware of the near-effect-less action of the 600 Arabesque sidepull brakes. An empty office parking lot (Zoll Corp., makers of emergency defibrillators) beckoned to be explored, just to give my legs, and the security cameras, something to do. Oops, this is not Aunt Wilma's house!

On I went, parallel to Route 3 and then crossing it on a brief stretch of 129 that I would never venture near on a weekday. I turned north onto quiet Brick Kiln Road, past the local UPS hub, and rode on past the Lowell cemeteries, then west under the Lowell Connector and back homewards on Chelmsford Street (110), again roads that I would normally avoid. I didn't think the Lowell end of the BFRT would be any more ridable, so I stayed on 110 until Dalton Road, which is more or less a straight shot home. Worked out to 13.9 miles and 600 feet.

rumrunn6

that is one stubborn trail. was gonna peak at it this morning on my way to work, in anticipation of a night right after work today. I guess I'll use the MM again, instead

EVlove

On more seasonable tires and without the Sunday afternoon crowd all getting their walks in before the NFL games, I would probably have pressed on. That section has to be one of the very last stretches to thaw, heavily shaded as it is. I may find time later today to change tires and try again.

rumrunn6

or ride a lower section?
peaked at it this morning, the lower ends were looking very clear like South Acton, but up by Chelmsford still impressive icy bits

EVlove

Yeah I could park at NARA and go south but that feels like chickening out and/or my wife may hand me a grocery list while I'm going anyway

EVlove

Well, a work assignment just materialized that nixed any ride plans for today. Weather trend is cold to "are you kidding me?" cold for the rest of the week so there goes that...

bike_tom

This morning I checked out the Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown, and Belmont paths radiating from Alewife. Nothing really new to report.

Saw this sad Trek 1100 near Alewife:



It was intact except for the wheels. Made me wonder why the owner didn't just carry the frame home on whatever alternate transportation they arranged upon finding it like that, rather than wait for further stripping. Maybe just happened?

Saw lots of geese at Spy Pond on my way back:




I can't blame them for being confused about where they should be at this time of year. As I was riding, I kept thinking what a nice late March day it was...
Of course, the coming weekend's weather will average things out.

Tom

autonomy

That's been there for at least 3 weeks, I saw it twice on my Wednesday commute and I skipped last week. It's an odd sight indeed, and I think your theory about the owner finding it wheelless is correct - it seems to be locked up too low for it to have had wheels, doesn't seem like the lock placement would work.
Sad, someone other there would be very happy to buy new wheels for this bike and take it riding/touring.

rumrunn6

decided on the BFRT because it's just easier. was able to start before dark

conditions were variable

mostly nice and dry

there was company



some sections required boots on the ground

some recent storm damage

mostly I was all alone

rholland1951

I love the way a ride transforms when night falls.

rod

rumrunn6

spooky cozy

EVlove

^^That would freak me out. I never ride at night anymore. This goes back so far that I honestly don't even know how much better lights have become. It's irrelevant really as my main worry out here is wildlife. In my 20+ years over here in New England, and untold thousands of miles of dog walks, I have literally come across every mammal except a moose, and I mean close enough that at cycling speeds a collision would have been hard to avoid. Yes, including coyotes, bobcats and black bears. No thanks.

rholland1951

Bobcats and black bears, not yet, but I've encountered the rest of them. Coyote encounters have been interesting, but benign; I understand that isn't always the case. "Share the road" takes on a new meaning when those critters are considered...

rod