rholland1951

Stole Saturday afternoon for a 25-mile loop through Carlisle (Maple Street/N. Road/Curve Street/Acton Street/West Street), Concord (Pope Road, Barret's Mill Road, Monument Street) and back through Carlisle (River Road, Skelton St), starting from my house in E. Arlington and using the Minuteman Trail to get out to the greenery. 45 miles in all, in the last (and not the worst) of the real heat, drinking enough water to stay ahead of any problems. Nice ride, long enough to be useful and pretty enough to be interesting, but mostly shady and a known route of finite length; didn't seem like a day to go exploring.

rod

boston_ant

Hi, I'm new to BF and biking for that matter. I live in the Brookline area and have only been commuting the short trip to the Brighton/Newton line everyday. I dismount from my flat bar road bike feeling only partially fulfilled and wanting more. I plan to ride over to the Charles River sometime this week and see how far I can go. Will be back with stories.

Jim from Boston

Good to hear, and keep us informed. I live in Kenmore Square and commute to Norwood, 14 miles straight, but lengthen the distance in the nice weather, including long rides on Saturdays, then take the train home. This thread is a nice place for cyclists of all abilities to journal their rides around metro Boston.

Jim from Boston

Hi mtalinm,

I'm sorry to hear about your crash, and I hope you're recovering. Since you had x-rays on your shoulder, were you taken to the hospital, I presume, from the site; or did you go on your own? You mentioned in a subsequent post, “yeah, it lost pressure and slid out from under me on the turn. might be worse for us big guys.” Did the tire come off the rim, or did the intact wheel itself slide out?

Thanks for posting and keep us informed of your progress; vicarious experience is almost as effective as the real thing to learn the lesson. A few years ago I fell while trying to ride a flat tire. I was about a quarter-mile from the train station and needed to ride in order to get there in time. I think I did ride over a metal rail that took me down. I cracked my helmet, but no injury, so I kept riding and made it. On the rare occasions I don't have a helmet, that awful cracking, grinding sound of head hitting the pavement resounds in my mind.

I have learned to abandon all hope of maintaining air in the tire once I sense that squishy feeling. My last flat tire, about a month ago, was on my mountain bike on the way to work in Norwood, on Route 1A at Gay St. (mtalinm and I ride similar routes in opposite directions). I was about 3 miles from work, but changing the rear tire on the mountain bike is such a chore that I just called for a cab.

Jim (he of whom we speak)

Jim from Boston

On Saturday, I made special preparations to handle the heat for my anticipated 64 mile ride from Kenmore Square to Norwood. I planned to ride out to Acton, then down Route 27 and cut over to Norwood. Usually I bring flavored seltzer water to drink as I find that more refreshing, but that morning I also brought a bottle of tap water to pour over me and refill as necessary. I also thought about consulting the commuter rail schedule in case I had to scrub the ride when way out west, though I forgot to do so.

I left about 6 AM and the temperature was pretty pleasant. I went out Memorial Drive in Cambridge to Fresh Pond Parkway and then out Concord Ave. to Waltham. Concord Ave. right out from Belmont Center is probably the steepest grade I encounter in the Boston area. As I approached it, I recalled my last ride there about two years ago, and how the downhill side had a terrible pavement; I even posted about it to this thread. Fortunately it was well paved, and a thrilling, but not scary rush downhill.

As I rode through Belmont, I noted the western skies looked pleasantly overcast. I then picked up Trapelo Road and noted the western skies looked ominously overcast. As I crossed Route 128, I saw lightning and raindrops started to fall. I took shelter for about half an hour in an office park, but no storm materialized.

I went to Concord via Walden Pond and then the rain started and I began to get chilly. I passed by the Concord train station thinking about taking the train home, but I had missed the first one by about 20 minutes and the next wasn't for two hours. I stayed under shelter at the train station for about an hour as the thunderstorm slowly passed. I had anticipated a busy day at work, so despite messy wet streets and the attendant road grime on my clean, pristine bike, I rode to Norwood via Rte 126, then Rte 20 to a pleasant route on Rice to Oak Street into Natick that I had discovered earlier this season. From Natick I took Route 135 into Needham and then on to Norwood. The mileage for that segment was about 46. Later that afternoon as the heat returned, I rode home over the usual 14 miles for a grand total of about 60 miles. Close enough.

jimmuller 

Way to improvise. My non-commute rides are almost always characterized by spur-of-the-moment turns.


Due to a pressing task at the office I've been asked to come in every day this week with no working from home. So I made the tri-modal trek again today. The run in this morning was cool, overcast, and a bit humid but quite pleasant. Traffic was light too.

The afternoon was a bit more, shall we say, stressful. I started watching the radar map about 3:00 because that's when Intellicast's hourly prediction said T-storms were due. The map showed a line of strong storms coming in but moving slowly and still out in western Mass, stretching back into NY state. Tracking the storm's position through the radar loop suggested it might reach A'boro by 6:00. I figured if I left the office by 4:45 I could easily make it to the station before the storm, then just hide out under cover till the train arrived.

I actually hit the road about 4:53 with the sky mostly clear. The run along the river was great but so tree'd over that I couldn't see the sky. When I finally climbed up the east bank of the river in Cumberland the sky over my left shoulder looked ominous but still a ways off. Tufts of low-hanging cloud dangled from the main cloud mass. Hmm, I thought, I'd better make some speed, try to stay ahead of this. By the time I hit the Mass/RI line the ominousness had spread overhead. But still no rain fell.

I pedaled harder, straining for a shot at the yellow jersey. Or maybe just a dry jersey. I pulled into the deserted station at 5:45 with the sky black and gray. Made a quick phone call to my sweetie so she wouldn't worry. While we were talking the first cracks of thunder split the sky.

Now the question was whether to stay under the station's canopy which offered better protection from rain and lightning, or to head out to the covered elevated platform which was more exposed to possible wind and surrounded by metal poles and cables and railings and electric towers. I waited under the station canopy until about 6:00 when, sure enough, it started raining. Then I moved over to the raised platform before the rain got too hard, and waited for the worst.

The worst never came. A few more cyclists and passengers came, a steady rain came, but no winds blew. Thunder and lightning rattled the windows a few more times but nothing struck nearby. The rain settled into a steady soaking and we all waited. The train was 15 minutes late.

It was a good day.

mtalinm

back to commuting less than a week after my crash. last time was 2 weeks off the bike.

28 miles on the day. felt fine for the most part, though my shoulders ache a bit in the drops. legs were a bit out of practice too after a week

still debating whether to ride the MassBike century this Saturday ... might be a bit early to attempt that. anyone else going?

jimmuller 

Gotta' get back on the horse sometime. Glad you weren't seriously hurt.

Can't. Our band is playing a show (Free!) in Gardner, MA Saturday night. Wish I could though.

Addition:
I did the commute thing again today. What a spectacular day it was! Today's adventure is merely that in the middle of my afternoon run toward A'boro, train, and home I got waaaay hungry. Had to stop by the roadside and eat the banana and almonds I was carrying. When I got to A'boro I bought some fig newtons and ate some of them too.

Never had that happen like that before. But then, this week I've ridden the commute three days in a row after doing nearly 58 miles on Sunday. Normally I go in every other day. Tonight I'm tired and tomorrow will be interesting...

mtalinm

Some weeks back a few people talked about meeting up at the "bike Fridays" event at City Hall Plaza.

The next one is tomorrow, July 29, so I thought I would check if anyone besides me is planning on it.

I think I will be riding my souped-up folding bike, so you can all have a good chuckle :-)

buzzman

After spending most of the summer way west of Metro Boston (Berkshires) I am now way east of Metro Boston and living and working in Wellfleet for a while. Really different bike riding. In the Berkshires every ride began and ended with either a steep decline or a killer uphill. Here on the Cape I'm able to do a nice 23 mile loop tonight in just over an hour ( 1:09) - something that would be near to impossible for me to accomplish in the Berkshires.

Gorgeous weather and a ride that was a combination of beautiful scenic roads and bike path.

cmolway

missed the post about bike friday meetup. I was at Govt Center at 7:30am this morning putting a dent into Boloco's stock of "truckstop" burritos (blue kit, white supersix).

Shout out goes to the guy at the bikeworks tent who tuned up my bike and went the extra mile of lubing the shift cables for me.

Anyone planning on riding the massbike century tomorrow morning? I am riding with a fast-ish group (we are planning on a 20mph ave pace) but are always welcome to swelling the ranks of the paceline.

jimmuller 

Today is Friday. I'm at the office but the bike is in the car. (Today is a company cook-out and I can't carry my guitar on the bike.) But I did do the commute yesterday. Didn't hit the wall like the day before. Did have to rush the PM ride, got a late start due to having to finish a work task. Traffic was nervous yesterday. Weekend anticipation, perhaps?

mtalinm

I didn't get there until 8:30 this morning and the burritos were gone, rats. but I had a similarly good experience with the WheelWorks mechanic.

i hadn't preregistered for the MB century because I wasn't sure whether I would have recovered from last week's crash. but my road rash is pretty much gone, and the shoulder only hurts a bit now, so I may give it a try after all. but I won't be on the folder, or in the fast-ish group :-)

godshammgod

No ride today as I'm battling a bit of an illness.

But, I have this lovely ride planned for tomorrow: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/580537

Playing group leader for 2 workers who are riding the PMC, another friend who's back riding after a long hiatus and one of my frequent riding buddies.

I'm looking forward to the relaxed pace and working on my tan. I can do slower rides as long as we're steady. I hate stopping and waiting constantly. It's a good test of discipline to see if I can pull for 4+ hours at a nice steady 16-18mph on the flats.

mtalinm

enjoyed the MassBike Summer Century today. dropped cmolway and his paceline even before hitting the Lexington city limits, finishing in 4:56 (4:42 moving time). not a personal best but pretty good considering I was pedaling with only one leg.

haha. let's just say I eventually finished the 105-mile course and leave it at that :-)

buzzman

Great post!

Congrats on whatever time you finished the century.

So jealous. Wish I were there to do the course along with you. Short ride to work today and to a barbecue tonight for me. Tomorrow a longer ride will be in order.

rholland1951

Set out for North Bridge from E. Arlington after a week of business travel and no riding. Had an unpatchable flat after 6 miles, and the replacement tube wouldn't take air. After a week of engineering on-site that had gone unnaturally well, this was Murphy's Revenge. Nice weather for it, though.

;-)

rod

mtalinm

these people have lost their mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEKc6...=youtu.be&hd=1

why do otherwise-rational cyclists insist on pissing off large numbers of motorists? to "rage against the machine"?

I am speechless at this sort of idiocy

jimmuller 

Me too.

cmolway

Yeah yesterday's century was memorable. Crashed when a rider in my group neglected to point out a deep pothole in the road at mile 25. I ended up dropping the group and riding it mostly solo to avoid any more mishaps. Ended averaging only 19mph on the course. Seeing I was bloodied and had trouble pulling up on my handlebars I think I did pretty well.

The route was replete with bad roads. The only consistently decent stretches of good asphalt was in NH. Not exactly the best way to highlight cycling in Massachusetts. They should have called it the "Mass Bike Pothole Century".

Planning on spending the day icing my shoulder.

bikinggrrrl

Nice 40 mile spin on same old ground with tandem and carrier in tow on Saturday. Beautiful weather (even for flatting, Rod). Passed quite a few of the MassBike peoples who all seemed to be enjoying the day as well. Came home to a hummingbird stuck in the garage and had to set out for Operation Rescue before pedaling (on the Mommy Bike) to the playground for a few hours.

I am forever grateful that my nearly-3 year old can (still) nap for 1.5 hours and then play happily for an undetermined amount of time afterwards in the bike trailer. It not only makes riding possible but guilt-free as well.

jimmuller 

Craig, sorry to hear of your crash. That's one reason I don't like riding in crowds (something I haven't done much). I don't trust myself, let alone everyone else to do the right thing all the time.

Bkg, good to hear you got out!

Bike content: I didn't ride. We had to play a show. But during the first set I spotted a woman ride up on a vintage Raleigh Gran Sport. I spoke to her during he break, she said it was a '75. It still had the original Stronglight crank and randonneur handlebar but newer derailleurs. They made the GS in two colors, white/Lagoon Blue and the opposite scheme, Lagoon Blue/white. White was more common. Hers was the white variety, mine is blue.

mtalinm

ouch! very sorry to hear that. were you in the group with the green kit? I left at 7:30 but only saw a couple of pacelines, figured one of those might be you.

I'm not sure there are many roads without potholes unless you 1) stay on heavily trafficked streets 2) stick to wealthy towns like Dover.

hope your shoulder feels better.

sherbornpeddler

What great riders you are! It is good to hear about all the big rides, great commuting and Bike Boston progress. Your routes are fantastic and your dedication and grit even more impressive.

You and the weather are inspiring. I've been getting in a few weekend rides; yesterday noodling around local roads and a great brunch ride with #3 to Bob's in Millis. Our return ride included his first bicycle visit to the Bullard Farm cow tunnel. Just a fine day.

Early this morning I rode with an old friend who led me on a new route. We rode from Holliston west out to Whitehall Reservoir, turned NE at Woodville, E to Cordaville, SE through Hopkinton State Park, Ashland and back to Holliston. The weather was so nice any ride was a pleasure but this route introduced to me a number of new swooping, shaded quiet roads.

I wish you all smooth roads and safe riding.

cmolway

my group rolled out a little before 7 to avoid the crowds.