Ghazmh

Knowing rain was coming and not wanting to get wet I rode my Allroads 22 miles before it rained. Then I cleaned the drivetrain and replaced the chain. 1800 miles on the odometer. The rear Soma Shikoro tire shows it’s mileage so far.

lcdel

In the Back Bay now but spent a year in Providence, any recs on routes there and back? I’d love to ride over for a day trip!

Jim from Boston

That picture of the bridge brings back fond memories. Every December for about 30 years we drove under the bridge from Mass Ave to buy a Christmas tree from the Arlington Boys & Girls club. Then about three years ago we went there and there was no sale.

Since then, we now go to the Belmont Lions Club.

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzman

I did a Southeastern MA ride today (Sunday) and ended up on the Cape. Great ride. On Tuesday I'll ride over to Providence, RI spend a day there then ride back to Boston (Newton, actually). I may do a longer loop out into western RI ( my old stomping grounds) and then back to Boston that way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lcdel

In the Back Bay now but spent a year in Providence, any recs on routes there and back? I’d love to ride over for a day trip!

Wow...that quote from @buzzman was from way back in 2009; I haven’t seen a post from him in quite a while; since 8/7/17 according to his profile.

He was (is) a favorite BF subscriber of mine and we corresponded a few times, including PMs. As a relatively new BF subscriber in 2010 I posted:

lcdel

Oh wow, I'm new to the forum and forgot to check the date, just saw that post on the page and replied! Glad I could resurrect an old user-friend for you.

rholland1951

Buzzman... remember those weekly commutes out to the Berkshires!?! Hope he's well, and still rolling.

rod

lcdel

Looking for a bike to start riding in Boston for the first time, how is Mass Ave? I have friends in Winchester and was hoping to try riding there from the Back Bay.

rumrunn6

this was last Saturday. Not all Mass Ave but a big chunk in the middle is

Ghazmh

It has a dedicated bike lane. It is a congested urban road so I’d be fine riding it for commuting or getting to a particular destination. As with most roads, especially one like Mass ave with lots of parked cars and intersections, keep your head on a swivel and dont go too fast that ya can’t react quickly enough to those pesky drivers who don’t look before pulling onto the road.

rumrunn6

if you want something to feel good about. today we got a heart warming drive-by from our town's First Responders & tow trucks?

rholland1951

Riding from Boston to destinations in Middlesex County, you've got an interesting set of options. First of all, you have to cross the Charles River. There are a series of bridges to help with that. Depending on where in Back Bay you are, one or another bridge will be closest to you, but in some circumstances you could decide to ride farther up or down the river to a different bridge, if that put you on a road (or bike trail) you liked better for the rest of your journey once you'd crossed that bridge. For example, you could cross the Harvard Bridge (which, amusingly enough, goes to MIT) to put you on Mass. Ave. in Cambridge, but you could also ride up the Charles River bike path and cross the river on either of two bridges in the Harvard Square area, and pick up Mass. Ave. there. Google Maps in bicycle view will help visualize the choices.

Just now, the auto traffic is relatively light on the roads, while MUPs are getting a lot of use, so the route that make the most sense this month may not be the best route six months from now, when the cars are back in force.

rod

Ghazmh

Today was a great sunny day to ride. A little windy but great nonetheless. I rode my Seven Redsky 60.4 miles out to Sudbury then on up to Carlisle and of course rode down Strawberry Hill rd from Acton into Concord. I saw 2 different drop bar blue tandems peddling in the opposite direction as me. However neither couple was the usual we see on this thread.

jimmuller 

Drop bar blue tandems? Were they vintage tandems? Alas, 'twasn't us. I wish. Sharon is still recovering from her broken arm from our last tandem outing, and in any case, she won't even let me ride solo these days. If I have a bigger problem than just a flat tire (so she worries about) I might need a lift to get back home if I was too far way. At 71 I fall into the high-0rish category so I can't argue. Couldn't argue with her anyway!

I'm sure glad to read that you are out riding. Do be safe, ya' hear?

Ghazmh

Hi Jim! I don’t believe they were vintage. Both looked newer, I didn’t catch the brand. I didn’t realize she had a broken arm. Please give her my best wishes and as always I look forward to seeing you two on the road.

jimmuller 

Hi, Mike. Will do, and yourself too. We took a spill a month or so ago. Just starting out, pulling out from Mendon Rd after having visited the, ah, parking lot at Great Meadows. Just as we started we got hit by a gust of wind and weren't going fast enough for me to hold the bike up. I thought I posted a bit about it, but perhaps not. In any case, she is recuperating nicely, doing her PT exercise faithfully. We aren't riding of course and she won't let me ride solo until this alien invasion problem is resolved.

rholland1951

I took the Nordavinden up to Lexington Center and back on Mass. Ave. in the late afternoon. At Arlington Center, 5 cyclists peeled off to the Minuteman to 1 continuing up Mass. Ave. (me), so this seemed like a good bet. The outbound leg was a bit of a grind, pedaling into the teeth of a stiff headwind that effectively added a few percent to the grade for the long climb up to Lexington Center. The return was a breeze, with the breeze at my back and gravity on my side. Exchanged no virus particles of which I was aware, no crowds.

While I was putting the bike away, I observed a rollicking group of little kids and their parents playing with abandon. Whatever the wisdom of that, it was cheering to see it.


rod

Ghazmh

Wanting to capture the adventurous feeling of last weeks adventure to Portsmouth I decided I’d ride my steel Soma Smoothie. I dressed in casual cycling clothes and headed out without a particular destination in mind. It was kinda a mistake as the Smoothie isn’t particularly light, as refined or delightful as my Seven. Without a destination at the end to justify dragging around the Ortliebs I quickly realized I’d rather have been dressed in my Sunday best and be on my Seven.

As I approached the BFRT in Acton I was glad to see a blue plastic box of relief. 42 miles in all.

Ghazmh

This morning I rode my Allroads for 21.8 miles before the weather got serious. The highlight was going 30 miles an hour down Church Street in Weston in the pouring rain. The low was the persistent headwind for the last 21 miles of this ride.

russtopherb

Brave getting out there today, the winds here in southeast MA have been howling all day and are just getting worse.

Ghazmh

I’d attribute it to good timing rather than bravery. I got home about an hour before it got crazy.

autonomy

30 miles this past Sunday on the less-traveled (by us) roads, west through Lincoln, then south on Tower Rd to Weston, turning north on 126 to Concord, Monument St, and back on 225. Some excellent riding over there!
I'd like to say we had the roads to ourselves, but we didn't - Strava shows 108 flybys, and it seemed that in the bizzarro world of today all cars were replaced with cyclists. Feels like every day is a Sunday afternoon for riding, and that's not a bad thing.

Ghazmh

This morning’s 25 miles on my Allroads began in the dark and ended with glorious spring sunshine. I wasn’t surprised that the roads and surroundings were covered in everything from the smallest of twigs to entire fallen trees. Unlike yesterday mornings ride today I crossed paths with a steady stream of other similarly dressed Lycra clad cyclists.

Ghazmh

Opportunity coupled with good weather enabled me to ride 22 more miles during the afternoon. Nice experience.

rholland1951

Improvised a 10 mile route through Arlington, Medford, Winchester, and Somerville, starting off along the Mystic Lakes and the Aberjona River, then making a strategic wrong turn that had me rolling up and down hills for the balance of the ride. Overall, the route resembled a banana that had seen better days, or perhaps a Charles River whitefish.


Readying a canoe for launch on the Lower Mystic Lake.


Another pleasant day on the Mystic Valley Parkway.


Rode another section of the Tri-Community Greenway, from Bacon Street to Winchester Center. Nobody much on it this afternoon, but it doesn't look wide enough to support social distancing with the kind of crowd that one could imagine turning up if the temperature were 10 degrees warmer.






Trees in bloom on Boston Ave, Medford. Signs of Spring and a nice climb.


Ball Square, Somerville: the Broadway bridge is still under construction, months late.


The Ball Square merchants are suffering from the lock down, but Ball Square Fine Wines is doing a land office business with their Internet delivery service.


rod

rholland1951

Took the Trucker DeLuxe out for an 11-mile loop up to Lexington Center and back, out on the mostly-empty Minuteman, back on the even-emptier Mass. Ave. Temperatures in the mid-40s, blustery, with a head-wind that added to the effort outbound and the speed inbound, chilly enough to make the merino neck gaiter I had pulled up over my nose to send the right social signals feel downright cozy, if a little moist about the nostrils.

The Minuteman had enough elbow room to please a misanthrope with a penchant for armchair epidemiology, perfect for social distancing.


The Mile 4.0 Cairn Builders have achieved Social Distancing. Sputnik next.


Put the contents of the register in the bag and no one gets hurt.


Steel frame, long wheelbase touring bike, 26" wheels, 2.37" Rat Trap Pass Extralight tires, rolls well and takes the rough with the smooth.


The sky was always up there. This was reassuring.


Mass. Ave., the village of East Lexington: come for the Hot Rod, stay for the Flying A.


rod