Having noticed on previous rides that the streets are now much less congested than the trails, I took the Surly Trucker DeLuxe on a 2-hour social distancing road ride, more or less a substitute for the Depot Park back-and-forth, but without the Minuteman and with more hills, 17 miles through Arlington, Lexington, and Lincoln. Started the ride by rolling NW on Mass Ave, which was sparsely traveled, about as many bikes as cars, and relatively few of either (the Minuteman, when I could see it, appeared somewhat congested).
Climbed the first hill of the ride, Mass Ave up to Arlington Heights, then rambled through the village of East Lexington to turn left onto Marrett Road, which gave me a gentle stage climb as far as Middle Street. Rolled down Middle Street, onto Lincoln Street, Lexington, and shot under Route 128 (I-95 for out-of-towners). I paused to check the state of the Cambridge Reservoir, which appears to be reserving plenty of water, thank you.
After perhaps a few yards on Lexington Road, Lincoln, I turned right onto Mill Street, for another stage climb up to Route 2A (North Great Road). I followed that down to Old Mass Ave and the Fiske Hill section of the Minute Man National Historical Park, where I paused to photograph the full parking lot.
Feeling patriotically renewed and historically contextualized, I continued down Old Mass Ave, turned right onto Wood Street for a short block, then turned left on Mass Ave to climb the hill that everyone forgets is there. It's a nice hill, fun to climb, fun to roll down. I stopped at the top for some more historical contextualization.
That done, I went charging down the steep Mass Ave descent, hit the lights right, and rolled into Lexington Center at speed, then simply continued along Mass Ave to my East Arlington destination. Along the way, I noticed a line of persons seeking coffee, standing at six foot intervals, snaking towards the Starbucks next to TJs. A minute or so later, I noticed what in the 50's would have been termed a "car hop" administering caffeinated curb service at the Dunkin Donuts at the Foot of the Rocks (more or less).
This ride pleased me; it had enough hills to make my legs and lungs take note, it fit nicely into a 2-hour interval, and it got me back and forth across 128 without having to dodge ramp traffic. At least for the duration of the public health emergency, I guess I'll be easing off on the Minuteman a bit. Mass Ave is wider, and not as busy.
rod