rumrunn6

wow that could have killed someone, but that trail is so well looked after

mr_bill

I like the way Rod put it a few years ago:

autonomy

So, that was just a blip - look at the water levels after this weekend's storm! Wonder what that road looks like now...
USGS.01170100.66774.00065..20171024.20171031..0..jpg

https://dailey7779.blogspot.com/2017...ober-30th.html

rholland1951

Took the Rawland out in the hour before sunset, scampering to get home before the costumed multitudes arrived demanding candy.






There's a new art installation on the Minuteman, ¨Current¨, by Frank Vasello.


Fun to ride the Rawland again, it's lively.


Bring on the spooks...


rod

E53 

I did my usual run from North Billerica to "Fern's" in Carlisle. From there I went as directed by the voices in my head. Ended up on the Freeman trail and got off at Agway, then onto Rte 4 and went up the hill at Russell Mill Pond. The Freeman trail was a mess with debris from the wind storm.

rholland1951

Took the Ebisu out to Depot Park in the early afternoon of this cool, grey day. Not a lot of folks out, a peaceful ride. Stopped in Lexington Center and had a look at the Zagster bike-share dock; didn't see anybody riding one, though.


Had another look at the new beaver construction at Tophet Swamp: the dam...


... and the lodge (hidden in the bullrushes; may be easier to see as the cold months progress).


Tophet Swamp was downright photogenic today.




This tree glowed.


Turn-around at the Buddliner.


The old farm is vanishing from memory. A few sections of the field are still what they were; perhaps they'll be preserved as greenspace, and kids from the new houses will play there.


The old tree, venerated by the Druids of my imagination, has lost its top when the wind blew, and is shorter but wiser now.


Hurrying home under a cold sky.


rod

Ghazmh

As always great picture to be enjoyed. Sometimes the familiar sites look a little nicer from another cyclists perspective.

E53 

35 miles today with the usual pit stop at Fern's. From there to Concord, across Rt 2 at Emerson, then a quick right onto Old Marlboro Rd. This was a new road to me, and I enjoyed it. I went through Maynard, then Acton, then Back to Carlisle, and Home to Billerica. It's always fun to try new roads. The trouble is; I'll run out of new roads before long.

rumrunn6

got out on the Minuteman last night. fewer ppl were out than last week

rholland1951

Hopped on the Rawland for a ride at sunset--earlier and earlier, these days, and about to get earlier still, when we go back to Mordor Standard Time.

Bopping and jiving through Arlington Center.




Rolling out the Minuteman as the sun set.








Night fell, and the crowds that the nice weather had drawn to the Minuteman resolved themselves into the unlit, the half-lit, the fully-lit, and the absurdly over-lit. From time to time, the admonitions ¨Point that thing down!" and ¨Thank you for not flashing!" seemed more specific and more polite than some other things that occurred to me.


rod

rumrunn6

do you have 2 lights? or is that pattern from one light? do you have it aimed slightly left or does it just look that way cuz your bars may have been turned a little? still fine tuning my light situation for use on the trail. the wide angle lens didn't do enough to help

jimmuller 

Lights On the Minuteman. Canons to the left of them, canons to the right of them, into the valley of dark rode the 600...

I run my L&M Urban on the lowest of its three non-pulse settings. Every so often I get yelled at even in broad daylight. So here's the deal. I commute 35 miles round trip every day. About 85% of it is on public streets. I run lights to be seen, not to see (and at night I turn them down or off when a bike comes into view, even quite far away). I do not wish to lower my visibility protection just because "your" Drivers Ed teacher never taught "you" not to stare into the headlights of an oncoming car. On the other hand, there was one guy with a serious temper problem and apparently needs cataract surgery too. I don't need the stress.

When DST goes away I and others will be commuting home in the dark. In previous years well over half the cyclists run no light at all or light so dim they are barely visible, light which certainly doesn't illuminate the possible hazards. And I have to turn mine down or off to accommodate them. That's an unfair trade-off, IMHO. Make me less safe because "you" don't run a headlight?

Lights On the Minuteman is not a pleasant subject.

rumrunn6

thank you. as I'm learning. was thinking some of those same things, so thanks for the confirmation. quite the dance

mr,grumpy 

Trying to lok like a "commuter" even though I don't have any where to go....
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Gb5m5a]

Ghazmh

I got out Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings this week. My weekly mileage is way down. The past few weeks are about 50% less than the summer. Works been busy, the darkness doesn't help either. I have plenty of illumination but my drive and enthusiasm to ride gets diminished this time of year. Getting up at 4:00 AM to ride a bike feels really really early. Anyhow today I saw the most bicycle headlights since it became too dark to make out the cyclist behind them. I do intend to take my steel Smoothie out tomorrow afternoon.

jimmuller 

My sweetie and I took ye ol' Peugeot tandem out today, rode from home out to Carlisle for lunch, took a few non-linear turns, ended up with 48.3 miles. The temperature was, um, 44degF when we started, what you might call cool. Very November.

First photo op, Samuel Wilson, a.k.a. Uncle Sam who provided provisions for the US army for some years, born in what is now Arlington, MA but was then called Menotomy.



A few more photo ops, of course.





One more of my favorite photo subject, my sweetie.



Today's ride was notable for a number of encounters. We stopped at the Lexington Visitors Center and I noted a pair of bikes and their riders, a Trek and an ANT. So I asked the couple wearing bike helmets sitting there which one rode the ANT and the woman said "I do but he built it." Cool! It turns out he now works for Seven. They commented as how it was hard to run a small business and compete with the big factories in Taiwan. They also commented on the tandem, particularly the nifty biplane fork crown, and we talked about the bike's history for a few minutes.

Later in the day on our return we were passed by three cyclists decked out in the usual roadie trappings and riding CF (of course) and the guy in back slowed and complimented the tandem. Traffic and other stuff caused us all to stop for a moment. While stopped he even asked about the Mafac brakes and how the drum brake worked. He hadn't noticed the two cables coming off the right-hand lever.

That qualifies as a great bike-got-noticed/vintage-bike day. The ride was pretty special too!

Ghazmh

60 miles this lovely afternoon on the Smoothie decked out in casual cycling garb. Slightly slower than my CF steeds but no less enjoyable. Slowly rolled by Ferns and not a familiar face to be seen. I'm hearing some unhappy sounds from down below which makes me think the Smoothie too is ready for a new chain and cassette.

rholland1951

You're right, I'm running two lights to make that pattern. Each is mounted on a mid-fork light mount (Paul Ginos or Nitto mounts, depending on whether it's being bolted directly to the fork, or to a Nitto front rack). The light on the left mount is normally pointed at a spot 5-7 feet beyond the front wheel, and serves to illuminate the pavement immediately in front of me, and to help me be seen. The light on the right is aimed at a spot 20-30 feet ahead of the front wheel and helps detect Invisible Pedestrians, as well as to illuminate the trail edge (keeping track of that can be an issue on the Minuteman). I generally use a Planet Bike Beamer 5 on the left, since its relatively diffuse beam is well suited for the close-in application, and a Planet Bike Blaze 2 Watt Micro on the right; it has a brighter, better-collimated beam. Both beams do what I need them to do, and neither get into the eyes of on-coming cyclists under normal night conditions on the Minuteman (salmoning recumbent tricyclists excepted). I can ride at speed with this combination, without making a nuisance of myself. It's taken awhile to work this configuration out, but I'm reasonably happy with it, and find it also works for me on the road.




I keep an extra Blaze 2 Watt light on the handlebar, but don't usually turn it on; it serves as a reserve for unusual conditions, failure of one of the other lights, or to meet the occasional need for counter-battery fire when encountering someone with a very bright (or worse, very bright and flashing) light aimed at eye-level...

rod

rholland1951

I took that picture with the bike stopped and the bars turned about 15 degrees to the right. During normal riding, the right beam would skim along the edge of the trail.

rod

rumrunn6

got any daytime pics of them both in the same frame?

jimmuller 

We took the tandem out again today but with less, um, sense of purpose than yesterday. Today's ride was only 28.5 miles but very nice miles. Lunch in Concord:



We rode south from Concord into Sudbury, then back north again. Took a detour on Powder Mill Rd to check on the cut for the Bruce Freeman. The road is open again, the trail is not yet.

E53 

First stop was at Fern's for some peanut butter cups and a coffee. Then on to Concord, and did a "Walden loop". I got as far South as Route 20, then picked up Route 27. re-crossed Route 2 at Emerson, hung around Concord Center for a few minutes, then decided that I needed more peanut butter cups, so I went back to Fern's. Oh, I got a sandwich too!

Ghazmh

I got out Sunday afternoon for 47 miles on the Smoothie. It was cool overcast and lightly drizzled for a few seconds. Usual neighborhoods, no Strava records nor any photogenic stops. Just a nice Sunday afternoon doing what I love.

mr_bill

I never thought I'd see this intersection "fixed!" A reminder of how bad it was.

Still don't get the green paint leading to a bunny hop the curb thing (this is a repeated problem around town) but at least there is finally a *gasp* walk light there.


-mr. bill

rumrunn6

lol at least Boston is "trying"