mr_bill

Sun setting on a cancelled due to heat weekend:



-mr. bill

rholland1951

I sheltered from the heat in my basement, truing the rear wheel on the Ebisu. Once upon a time I had broken a spoke on that, replaced it, but never got around to turning the Ebisu into a working bicycle again. I got into the truing groove pretty quickly, and dished and trued the wheel to a first approximation.


Looked done to me, and besides, it was an excuse to take the ride in the heat that I'd been talking myself out of, so off I scooted up the Minuteman to Lexington Center and back. Heat and sun alternated with cool and shady patches.






This ride also gave me a chance to try out a new pair of Summer cycling shoes, arguably more visible than tasteful. Maybe visible will come in handy.


"On the other side, it didn't say nothing." - Woody Guthrie.


Nice little ride, drank a lot of water, concluded I probably need to fiddle with the wheel a bit more, or adjust the rear brakes, or both, and reacquainted myself with the particular fun of the Ebisu. Was also persuaded that the time to rewrap the handlebars and reorganize the cockpit has come. Things to do on rainy days, of which we are said to be having a few soon.

rod

NomarsGirl

Glad everyone is safe after the extreme heat. I went out Friday morning to get in a spin on the local roads knowing that I had a cookout/pool party on Saturday and would not even attempt to ride in the 100 degree heat on Sunday.

rholland1951

Monday afternoon seems to have been a good time to change plans on the fly. I went out to the garage at 12:30, intending to take the LHT for a spin, only to discover that its rear tire was flat. I pumped it up as an experiment, then took the Trucker DeLuxe instead, leaving the LHT to leak or hold its air as it would. I headed West on the Minuteman, the ride plan predicated on the weather, and my (mis)understanding of what the Weather Underground app was telling me about it. Around Brown's Homestead, a drizzle started. By the time I reached Lexington Center, this had become a rather assertive shower, so I parked my bike under the roof of Lexington Depot to check the weather radar again.


What I saw was that large sections of the area to the West had recently changed over to light rain, the way the atmosphere is allowed to do if it feels good, wet, and ready. So I got back on the bike and headed back to Arlington. I hadn't counted on staying dry on this ride, but figured I'd get as many nice, cooling raindrops as I could practically use by the time I reached home, and there was no reason to overdo it. Conditions were like a photographic negative image of those of the ride on Sunday: then, pavement under the open sky was hot and to be avoided, pavement under the tree canopy was delightfully cool(er) and to be sought; today, the open sections were wet and cool (whether delightfully so is a matter of opinion), the covered sections were dry and relatively warm, and the approach-avoidance tropisms were reversed.


By the time I got to Arlington, the rain had stopped, and it was clear that no more was in the immediate future. I really didn't feel like stopping just yet, so I continued down Broadway through East Arlington and into Somerville, climbing Clarendon Hill and transiting Teele Square, Powder House Square (empty!), and Ball Square, the end of the line for Broadway, just now.


In better days, I would have stopped at Paramount Bicycle Repair, but that requires a Time Machine now. The bike I was riding was built to spec by Tyler Oulton, and embodies the best of Paramount and its proprietor, and so evokes the shop every time the wheels turn. Instead, I roamed the back streets of Somerville until I reached the Somerville Community Path, and caught up with what's doing there. Elly the Elephant, for example...


Some serious gardening...




And the further evolution of my favorite demotic public art installation. I don't know who did this work, and would be grateful for a pointer to the back story.






I made my way home after that, dry and happy.


When I put the bike away, I noticed that the rear tire on the LHT was, once again, flatter than a flounder. Guess I'll have to fix that, but fixing a flat in the garage beats fixing a flat on the side of the road. Fewer people stop to ask if you need help, for starters...

rod

TXBDan

Yeh the weather psyched me out a bit, too. I thought it was supposed to rain all day so i didn't ride to work. Turns out it would have been perfect at commuting times.

rholland1951

Took the Rawland up to Lexington Center on the Minuteman before dinner. Mad crowds of riders-runners-walkers-dogs out tonight, pent-up demand for an outing after all that weather. Nothing worse than near-misses that I saw.

Turns out Arlington's Great Meadow has a(n accidental) proscenium arch.


rod

rholland1951

While listening to the second Congressional hearing, I changed the rear tire on the LHT, that had developed a flat in the garage. Nothing subtle about this, the find-the-sharp game was resolved quickly.


That done, and the hearing done, I took the LHT out for a 15-mile spin on the Minuteman, turning around at Bedford Road.


The Bow Street Woodman is looking a mite skeletal these days.


The Mile 4.0 Cairn Builders are becoming increasingly aesthetic, now with recognizable critters.


There's a horse in there somewhere. Can you find it?


By the end of the ride, I had largely purged myself of Congressional Miasmatic Toxemia. Hurray for bicycles!

rod

rholland1951

Took the LHT out for a rush-hour sprint to Depot Park and back, 20 miles. Paid my respects to the Buddliner.


I was delighted to see that one of these excellent signs still exists, at the Bedford end of the Minuteman. "WARNING: Cyclists move silently at 10-25 MPH". Beats the shinola out of pastiche Burma Shave jingles...


On the return, discovered that Bow Street, Lexington, had received a fresh coat of asphalt since I crossed it outbound, and the Town of Lexington had very sensibly arranged a half-block detour on the sidewalks to keep folks from riding and walking through something that everybody would regret.


Tar pits aside, it was a lovely day for a speedy ride. The new shoes seem to be working out.

rod

mr_bill

So, other than I have been lethargic in posting rides, I will just note that meeting your spouse at Underwood Pool is beyond wonderful.

(Note - The ride on Unpleasant St is no shorter than the ride from Minuteman/Fitchburg cutoff and is frankly “wonderful.” Concord Ave may be the only place in the Commonwealth where MAholes drive slow.)

-mr. bill

rumrunn6

had to road test a new tire so took a ride from home (Stowish) to Arlington. used the roads to Concord, then the dirt trail to Bedford, then the MM to Arlington. Friday was lovely in the high - mid 80s but not very humid at all. a perfect summer day

rumrunn6

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome. there is a pleasant sense of accomplishment & pleasure to handling a maintenance or repair task, & then riding. as opposed to doing a repair & continuing the day w/o riding. nice nail?

rholland1951

Yah, most of the barriers to maintenance are mental, occasions to procrastinate. This was a length of rigid wire, perhaps 0.5mm across, about 7mm long, protruding from both the inside and outside of the tread. No idea what it was when it was useful for something other than pestering cyclists. It caused a relatively slow leak, which explains why the flat didn't show up until the day after the ride.

rod

rholland1951

Took the Rawland Nordavinden out for a quick spin before dinner up to Lexington on the Minuteman. Managed to leave the Pocket Devil somewhere other than in my pocket, so no pictures, no statistics, no track, no realtime notification of the outbreak of hostilities with Slobovia, no nothing. However, had a nice ride, made good time, observed the foibles of my fellow trail users, sang "Twinkle, twinkle little star" to a couple of hapless twinklers, enjoyed seeing several of the Minuteman evening regulars, dropped a couple of pursuers, kept the moving parts moving, and made it home in time to cook up some crab cakes and zucchini.

rod

jimmuller 

We took the tandem from home in Waltham out to Concord. It was a steamah'. Stopped at a farm stand to buy some local peaches and black raspberries. Somehow they and we made it home safely despite the heat.
@mr_bill, was that you who called out hello?

mr_bill

Who dats?



-mr. bill

mr_bill

Fresh Kermit on Beacon.

And Brian Blessed Voice. (Someday I’ll soliloquy rather than mono-mono-syllable.)

(Note that the prefix has two syllables.)


-mr. bill

jimmuller 

Well, lookie that. Another couple who looks just like us.

Sorry I couldn't wave back. When I'm on the tandem I don't have brain cells to see anything except the pavement right in front of us.

rumrunn6

Saturday got out for a short ride w Daughter & Wifey on the BFRT out by Acton & Carlisle

rholland1951

Took a 10-mile Monday lunch-time ride on a loop route through Arlington, Medford, and Winchester, along the Mystic Lakes on Mystic Valley Parkway and then on a staged climb up the Fells escarpment, picking up the rolling hills of South Border Road, returning with a swift descent down Governors Avenue and then with more rollers on High Street, before crossing the river again and home. Short, sweet, and hilly. Also, hot. Made me happy.

West Medford: the Mystic River was looking phlegmatic.


Medford: the Lower Mystic Lake is on the left, the Upper Mystic Lake is on the right, the dam is in the middle.


The Aberjona River, formerly known for transporting carcinogens and other effluvia of progress.


Mystic Valley Parkway, Winchester: the long climb starts.


South Border Road: one of the many trailheads into the Fells Reservation. Looked shady.


Governors Avenue: what goes up, must come down. Wheee!


Took the Trucker DeLuxe on this one. The 55mm Compass Rat Trap Pass Extralights were ready for whatever fun developed.


rod

rumrunn6

oh boy, what can possibly go wrong with that?

mr_bill

In fairness, the never ending project is still not done.

The kermit on the cross street will make ALL the difference.

(The driver didn’t see the couple walking with the infant in the carrier either. Note the parent telling the other to wait.)

-mr. bill

rumrunn6

forgot to mention that the Bruce Freeman trail, out by Acton, is sporting some new, reflective, white, triangular (& spring loaded?) bike calming devices on top of those annoying, raised, brick features. wonder if that was the plan all along, or if they were getting complaints & reports of crashes. we didn't go up far enough into Chelmsford to see if they replaced the steel bollards that Wifey crashed into last year

mr_bill

Unicorn sighted on the Minuteman next to the hockey rink.

Looked new, does this mean that non-E Limes are back in town?



-mr. bill

rholland1951

Took the LHT on a lunch-time ride on the North Bridge loop, 32 miles through Arlington, Lexington, Bedford, Carlisle, and Concord, my default 3-hour ride when I'm not feeling creative, with lots of shade and a little of everything else. Rode it before the heat broke and the heavens opened.


There'll be a maintenance closure of the Minuteman in East Lexington starting August 5. If we're lucky, they'll fix those puddles that everybody zigs and zags around (and that may or may not have been implicated in the fatality, depending on who you ask). Anyhow, they'll fix something. Details of the detour on Mass. Ave. can be found here.


Crossed the Concord River twice on this route, once on Route 225, once on Monument Street. Here it is the first time, giving the sky back some of its blue.


Rode the friendly rollers on Skelton Road, River Road, and Monument Street. Honored tradition by stopping at the top of the hill for a picture of the Hutchins Farm fields, spread out like an illustration for "This Land Is Your Land".


Went whizzing down the hill, crossed the Concord again and turned into the Reformatory Branch trail. Stopped to peep at the swamp through a curtain of pine boughs. The gnats said howdy.


The wildflowers in this open field that the Reformatory Branch skirts knock me out. Tried to take their picture, then rode away grinning.


The Reformatory Branch was sandy-dusty when I rode it today. It'll be muddy now.


Paused to admire the Great Meadows NWR making its way through the Summer.


The days of having the Reformatory Branch to yourself are gone.


Wonder when the tunnel under Route 62 goes in? I'll miss the steep ramp on the Concord side.


Also: Lexington DPW is replacing a water main on the other side of town, that will result in night closures of the Minuteman between Hartwell Ave. and Westview, for about a week.


rod

rholland1951

"kermit"? A green-painted bike lane? or ... ?

Hint: don't consult the Urban Dictionary for this, they've got another domain in mind.

rod