rholland1951

In case it didn't, here it is again.


rod

rumrunn6

not initially, then briefly when I was going to quote you, but then I canceled the quote to go back & see if it was showing regular but it wasn't so I came back to quote you to see it but it's not showing now. super super weird. what I saw the first time quoting you (w/o scrolling) was blue sky, but now I don't see that

rholland1951

Oddly enough, my previous reply just got moderated. This day is definitely a keeper...

rod

rumrunn6

oh thanks for deleting your reply cuz that weirdness added to the fun "Invalid Post specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator"

it's all because I started watching a UFO documentary

edit - hmmm looking at my email I don't see anything offensive but... whatevs ... not in our control, right?

rholland1951

I think the moderator deleted my reply (or bumped it into Bunnyland). As to why? I included an ASCII art figure of a shrugging man, that included some Unicode code points from a Japanese character set. Perhaps that ran afoul of some filter...

rod

rumrunn6

hmmm ... dunno. someone else's just got zapped in another thread. something harmless about pedals (edit: I think he deleted it & re-posted it later, cuz his is there there now)

rholland1951

I spent some time this afternoon getting the old red bike, my 1987 GT Karakoram rigid mtb with a bit of bmx in its genome, tuned up for Summer duty. Aside from the usual lubing, that involved swapping the studded Nokians it wears in the icy season(s) for a set of Compass 26"x1.75" tires, a now discontinued model with Passela treads and an improved casing, what became the Compass "standard" casing (i.e., NOT the Extralight). After I bought mine, but before they were discontinued, Jan christened his remaining stock of these tires "Slumgullion Pass", for consistency with the toponymic naming scheme that had by then become the Compass norm, but they are sometimes called "Compasselas" by everybody else. Compared to any other tires that bike has ever worn, these are light and supple, and the bike goes like a bat out of hell in this configuration, very nimble and comfy. I took the GT for a welcome-back run up to Lexington on the Minuteman, and with the odd combination of the Compass tires and the old BioPace crank, I spent a whole lot of time in top gear, and turned in a round-trip time comparable to those logged on the other bikes.


Up at Mal's yard, on the Arlington-Lexington line, there was a shower of down, presumably bearing seeds, from some unknown plant; it's too early for milkweed, but the effect was similar. You may be able to see it here, twinkling in the afternoon sunlight against the dark field of clouds and treetops.


As always when I come back to this old bike, I had a whole lot of fun. It'll stay in the rotation until it's time for the Winter tires again.

rod

mr_bill

See a turkey? If you want to you can report a turkey.

I know the form is written for birders, but WBUR provides links to the decoder ring.

-mr. bill

rholland1951

On and off the LHT today, first up to Lexington with Ellen, part of the on-going program to dial in her new Clem-L. Looks like we've got the saddle height/offset/angle right, handlebar height tweaking commences soon.


After lunch, sprinted solo up the Minuteman to Depot Park, where my Surly had a pit stop.


Ran into a former colleague, a guy I was in a coffee coop with at work over 20 years ago. We caught up, and he showed me his Halfbike, the rolling equivalent of a standing desk.




After a half-hour chat, I continued up the Narrow Gauge Rail Trail as far as Fawn Lake. Along the way, I encountered something new: a very elaborate, well-worked system of cairns, including at least two stone dragons. This made me happy.


The first dragon, a right drake.


The second dragon may be a duck.


The old patent medicine factory, now condos.


The healing waters, a hot commodity back in the day, just sitting around now.


Took off home at a business-like pace, since dinner needed making and there's a schedule for that. Along the way, I encountered a series of signs put up by the local Episcopal church offering a Blessing of the Bicycles ceremony.


I thought that sounded kind of sweet, and asked my Surly if it would like to be blessed. In reply, the bike intoned "Om Canti", in a manner that suggested it was already quite sufficiently blessed, thank you very much, and would much rather stay home on Sunday morning, drink coffee, and read the paper. My bike is a free thinker...

rod

autonomy

I... I don't know what to say. I thought I've seen everything - mountain unicycles with disc brakes and stair-bikes...
Is the idea that it's lighter/more compact to transport than a folding bike? And that it's a stand up?

autonomy

Imagine stopping for a beer - or two - and some live music in the middle of your ride on the Minuteman. Could be a possibility this summer Arlington could see a beer garden pop up this summer - News - The Arlington Advocate - Arlington, MA

Arlington is slowly turning into Cambridge... inclusive of the crazy housing market.

mr_bill

Or Somerville or JP. Arlington Porchfest Tommorrow!

-mr. bill

rholland1951

Rode East.


Encountered exotic fauna.


Fingerprint jewelry, anybody?


The big old Rat Trap Pass EL tires on the Trucker DeLuxe gobble up rough urban pavement. I'm really getting fond of the High Street, Medford, hills.

rod

jimmuller 

I took a little detour into Maine a few weeks ago, just got home today.

rholland1951

Ellen's sister Myra was in town for a visit, so I adjusted the saddle on Ellen's old Raleigh hybrid to fit her, and the three of us went for a short-but-pleasant ride in fine weather on the Alewife Greenway Bike Path, with a bit of the Minuteman and some East Arlington back streets stitched in to complete the loop.


rod

rholland1951

Took the Ebisu out on a variant of the North Bridge loop in the mid-afternoon, Rte 225, River Road, and Monument Street outbound, Reformatory Branch on the return, 31 miles.

It was a windy day.


Top of the hill.


On to the Reformatory Branch.


Down the hill and across the river (Great Meadows NWR).


Mud wasn't a problem.


Dust was.


A windy day from start to finish. The Ebisu's stable handling was appreciated in that.


rod

rumrunn6

that's fun how the shadows change so much even tho you didn't move

E53 

Things are looking up; two new bike racks at Fern's, and the section of Lowell Street is re-paved. I'm hoping Monument Road is next.

rumrunn6

nice cool night, last night. wound up wearing 2 short sleeve layers for the ride from Bedford to Arlington & back. lots of good strong riders out there last night. not too many commuters, or not as many as I was expecting

jimmuller 

'Twas a nice commute today. Rode the PFN10 to and from work.

Panza

Sick shot man : )

jimmuller 

What Panza said. Very slick.

I just rode to work again today.



It was a great day.

NewATBikeComute

New art installation in Newton. Related to an art show on Monday, 6/25, I think, so may be temporary.

Dancer

Untypical directions

Artists were working on this last night, grabbed a shot this morning.

sherbornpeddler

NATBC,
I wish I could pose with the grace of that electric fan, make sense of of things like that sign post and put life into perspective like that chain link fence. Failing all those I did manage to ride 25 miles Sherborn to Dover with a little Westwood and back. I rode a bigger 37 mile version three days ago on a familiar Strawberry Hill, Pine Street Claybrook cloverleaf and was reminded to report North Street in Medfield is ground up into a corduroy preparation for resurfacing. It is bumpity from Pine Street up to the Dover town line where it becomes Central Street. That was my second longest ride of the year so I was happy to do 25 today and happy to avoid the corduroy. Maybe birds and bees are adjusting to warm weather but it seems a little quieter the last few days. It is easy to hear the gypsy moth caterpillar deification tumbling to the ground. I don't enjoy that sound. It means we are losing our roadside shade trees. I did have two close call cars whining past either distracted or terrified of the idea of crossing the stripe in the middle of the road.

Other news is yesterday I rode a 14 mile tra-la-la on the Blackstone with some old comrades to discuss a little business and much more families and all the religion and politics we can't talk in parties and bike forums. From all that I can report life goes on and the mulberries are out in force and wonderful. We stopped like old bears and foraged at two different spots on the trail.

Picture old bears on bicycles trying to bend around like your Newton fan sculpture, trying to talk about things on the sign post and and maybe managing a chain link peace sign with mulberry stained paws. Good few days of bicycling.

jimmuller 

SBP, great to see your ride report. (You want mulberries? We have a tree loaded in our back yard.)

All I did was ride the Waltham-Woburn Commute Criterium again today. It was great!