Jim from Boston

I recently got involved in a discussion about miles as a motivator on the Long Distance Cycling Forum:

JandersUF

Today I did the Wells Ave C race... legs were tired and it was all I could do to just stay in the lead pack, I didn't have much extra energy to contest any sprints/primes. I rode to and from the race, so I got 33miles in. I compared to the other two times I did this race this year, and our avg. speed was 1 or 2mph faster. Also, this one had a lot of juniors (or 20 year old who haven't finished puberty), some riding some very nice rigs... and some who couldn't ride in a pack if their life depended on it. But I have to admit, a couple were super smooth and strong.

In the past seven days I've managed 185miles... which is a ton for me I'm about to go away for a week without a bike, so I'm trying to make sure my legs are dead so that they deserve the rest...

godshammgod

Unfortunately that tends to be the nature of that race.

I remember the race a few weeks back (I think it was the one you won) that the entire BU team showed up. And they had one particularly squirrelly woman. She kept yelling at my friend and trying to bump him off his line for no reason. Bumping is part of racing, but pushing people who have 70 pounds on you to try and get position is just foolish. The same thing actually happened to my friend on Saturday's ride. It was another young kid. Weird.

Tomorrow I have Memorial Day Hill repeats on tap in the afternoon. This little bump in Dovah has become my go to spot.

https://www.strava.com/segments/pegan-hill-618786

himespau 

Hoping the rain holds off tomorrow so I can get an early morning ride in.

mtalinm

nice early stroll through Dover this morning. set my alarm for 6pm instead of am, so didn't get out quite as early as i'd hoped but still able to get in 35m before driving to Six Flags (gack)

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/88972838

the roads in Dover are like glass - I couldn't find a single pothole all morning. and there are enough cyclists out that drivers are more respectful than in other towns (i'm looking at you, Norwood).

is there any way to bring up the borders of Dover in Google Maps? i'd like to plan a ride that avoids any of the surrounding towns :-)

godshammgod

I love, love, love Dover. It's my bread and butter riding town. I live and work in Newton and every post-work ride heads through there. I actually just finished a 25 mile pre-work ride through parts of Dover.

On the whole though, most Needham, Newton and Wellesley drivers appear to be rather friendly. Then again I'm riding at 6:30am so the roads aren't that crowded to begin with.

jimmuller 

I'm going to have to get as far south as Dover one day. This morning I was limited to heading east from Waltham, through Watertown and back. That's not much of a ride. The weather was huuuuumid but traffic was quite light. I did manage to take a few pics for this thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...2#post12713702 (go to message 635).

atom bomb

Me too. South Street, Needham has that rumbly chip seal on the last bit - not so glassy a road no more. It also seems to be a car/bike battle ground. Usually going out via Central these days. But once in Dover.... so nice.

mtalinm

so does anyone have some nice Dover routes? I looked on MMR and there are lots of routes that go *through* Dover, but I'd like to construct a route that basically takes in all of the city and its wonderful streets...

godshammgod

Dover (and Sherborn, a worthy inclusion) are pretty small but there's a lot of side streets to explore.

I don't have any specific routes at the moment, but a good little stretch is taking Farm Street to Bridge Street and then onto Farm Road which goes by beautiful Farm Pond. That road eventually leads you back to Route 16 which takes you into South Natick before allowing you to get back to Dover.

I'll see if I can post up a route a little later.

JandersUF

I agree with all, Dover is kinda the local Mecca... lots of towns are pretty nice (west concord, sherborn, etc), but none are nicer than Dover.

When I lived in Brookline my main training ride was the CRW saturday morning fitness ride and its many variants... which I sadly haven't done this year. Then only time I ever had a run in with a car in that area was on South Street in Needham, when a pickup ran a group of 8 of us off the road... no big injuries, but someone lost a rear wheel.

cmolway

I rode a fast century with ECV on Saturday. About 100 riders turned out (including a couple of pro racers) with 50 or so riders staying together for most of the ride, averaging 21mph. About 10 miles from the finish, attacks from the group came fast and furious, driving the pace above 35mph on one wide and flat stretch. Definitely the fastest century I have seen. Burgers and taps of Belgium beer at the end topped off a great day of riding. Kudos to Seaside Cycles for hosting a great event as well as Pinnacle Bikes and Riverside Cycle for hosting great water stops.

Jim from Boston

In defense of Norwood, it is a bustling commercial town and should not be held to the same standards as Dover. I'm sure Norwood serves many of the commercial needs of idyllic Dover, Sherborn, etc. After all it is the home of the Automile. Furthermore, I looked at your route and I hope you are not confusing the segment in the neighboring town of Canton, especially Neponset St, with Norwood. Frankly, I avoid a lot of Canton because of roads and drivers when approaching Norwood (where I work), and that's why I often ride bucolic Moose Hill St through Sharon.



I am fortunate to have some extended commuter routes of 20 to 30 miles from Kenmore Square to Norwood through Dover via Needham, Sherborn, Westwood or Medfield, and IMO routes through those neighboring communities blend pretty seamlessly into Dover.

godshammgod

Awesome. That's how a century should be done.

I really wanted to make that ride, but I had a commitment in the early afternoon so I would never had made it in time.

Oh and I figured I'd ask. Any Jewish riders on the thread partaking in the Tour de Shuls on Sunday? 75 mile fundraising ride to a bunch of Temples west of Boston. I'll be extending the route with a friend to make it a century. Info is here: https://www.tourdeshuls.org/

mtalinm

How are the roads in Medfield? If they are close to Dover and Sherborn then that is where I will hang out from now on...

Canton wasn't too bad, it was definitely norwood...not that I have a bone to pick with the city, I bought a bike there, but its narrow streets and lack of cyclists or bike infrastructure make the drivers less courteous I would say. Westwood is not bad but the tax base does not support the paving wizardry one enjoys in Dover.

jimmuller 

I'm not so sure about the speed part (I wouldn't trust myself in a pace line ) but I do like the bit about burgers and taps of Belgium beer.

Today's ride was in to work again but on the Gran Sport instead of the UO8. It's only the second time I've had the GS out this year and I'd forgotten how quick it felt. And of course lighter too. I felt like I could do some of the steeper sections (and sometimes actually did) in a higher gear. I also cut about 2 minutes off my fastest morning run. Not having a rack and panniers meant I had to "settle" for carrying less stuff. I'm still not used to the that extra cog but the gearing is better on the GS. It should be a fun ride back to the station this afternoon. Lots of downhill!

pocky

About 15 of us rode this on Saturday: https://www.baycolonyrailtrail.org/ch...erbiketour2011 . The route was Franklin to Boston, following the path taken by the old Charles River Railroad. If and when the Bay Colony Rail Trail gets built, about half of this ride would be part of it. Most of our group took the Commuter Rail from South Station, others got on at various stops along the way, and others rode out to Franklin for the start. We had a mixed group and took a relatively relaxed pace. I rode it on the fixie, in 52/16, with no real excitement except when someone's rear derailleur literally exploded in front of me (as in, springs and pulleys literally flew off his bike) on a long uphill. It was a bit hotter and more pollen-y than we expected from the weather report, but all in all a lovely ride, with lots of history lessons and old photos presented by the incomparable Dick Bauer.

godshammgod

It's a known fact that a fine Belgian Ale is the best recovery drink. I put that into practice Saturday evening. And I may just do it again this Saturday at some massive beer festival in Boston.

Regarding Medfield, it's a great riding town as well. I usually end up there on some of my longer rides.

mtalinm

sweet, Dover/medfield/Sherborn is a nice ride radius. If Millis has smooth road then that would be good to add. I just can't take the potholes in most towns... 109 was a real bear last time I rode it home from medway

cmolway

left a little early and added 40 miles to my "commute" this morning.

rholland1951

Yesterday, rode a 45 mile circuit from Arlington, through Lexington, Bedford, Carlisle, Billerica, Acton, and Concord, past the Maple Street swamp, Great Brook Farm State Park, the Carlisle Cranberry Bog, and the rolling hills above the Concord River along Monument St in Concord and River Road in Carlisle, with lots of greenery and light or moderate auto traffic (plenty of bikes, though). Nice day, nice ride.

pocky

I seem to remember Millis being pretty smooth. The pavement didn't get majorly sketchy until we hit Needham.

Jim from Boston

I ride Millis fairly frequently, and it's a pleasant area. I don't particularly focus on potholes except to avoid them, but I don't recall the roads in Millis being bad at all.

My experience on Rte 109 is that, while the traffic is heavy and fast-paced, there is a very nice wide shoulder from Medway to Medfield, but the shoulder width diminishes and is pockmarked past Medfield to Westwood, A very pleasant, and only slightly longer alternative is to go about a mile down South Street out of Medfield Center and take a left onto Elm, which becomes High Street in Walpole, then onto North Street, and Brook Street to Oak Street in Norwood. From there you can continue on to Nichols in Norwood, or go back to 109 in Westwood where I think the road conditions and traffic are more suitable.

BTW, as a public service announcement to my fellow cyclists, today I suffered a corneal abrasion I did an 18 mile commute this morning into a moderate headwind but otherwise uneventful. I wear eyeglasses and had no problems with anything blowing into my eyes. About one half hour after arriving, and just sitting quietly at a meeting my eye felt like it had a particle in it. I saw no foreign material in the eyelid, nor did anyone else, and it was not relieved at an eyewash station. I was lucky enough to get an appointment with an eye specialist at about an hour after the onset, and he did identify some black particles, and diagnosed the abrasion. From an online medical textbook:

My eye doctor claimed 24 to 48 hours to recovery, and my colleague (female), who asked me if I poked myself with an eyeliner wand, claimed she has gotten better overnight.

I wasn't able to work today as it was difficult even to just keep the uninvolved eye open because that irritated the affected eye. The eye doctor didn't think a patch would be useful, though I used an improvised one for a while until I realized it was probably further abrading the cornea. I was given an antibiotic ointment and I've spent most of my day with my eyes closed. I took Alleve for the pain, and have some heavy-duty analgesics available if I need them to sleep tonight. Pain management to get over the initial phase is discussed in that article.

It's now about 15 hours after the onset of symptoms. I note improvement, and only now can keep my unaffected eye open long enough to work at the computer. I'm pretty nearsighted, and unfortunately the better eye is the involved one. The prognosis of quick improvement has been an encouraging thought to get over this. So that's what I learned about corneal abrasions, FYI.

jimmuller 

Jim from Boston, get well soon! Take care of the peepers. Sorry to hear of your trouble.

Jim from Boston

Thanks for your reply. I wote about it just becuase it was a strange occurence and I was puzzled by how it happened, though I have to presume it was on the ride that morning. I doubt there was anything to cause the abrasion after I was indoors.

It's now about 21 hours after onset, and I still need to keep my uninvolved eye closed.