mtalinm

Cervelo must have a lot of unsold inventory; they just announced this insane deal:

https://www.cervelo.com/en_us/bikes/share-the-ride/

If you and a "friend" both buy a Cervelo (i.e,. two bikes) at the same dealer, you get $2000 back ($1000 for each of you).

That is some serious dough. And I think Landry's has a bunch of Cervelos already on sale, and I could be wrong but think this discount would apply off of that sale price.

Anyone interested? I've had my eye on an RS for several months now...

rholland1951

This afternoon, took a 27.5 mile ride out the Reformatory Branch Trail, past the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, in Concord. I had walked a portion of this a couple of weekends ago, and it reminded me that it had been years since I'd ridden it (on my old mountain bike). My LHT is happy enough on trails, so off I went. I rediscovered a muddy stretch I had forgotten about in Concord, immediately before the Great Meadows, and turned around at the final mud hole in front of Monument Street. I can ride in mud, but it speaks to my knees in a way that neither hills nor headwinds do. In any event, the early sunset time suggested to me that if I returned via Monument Street/River Road, I might find myself on 225 in the dark, not awful but not particularly amusing, so there was no point in playing mud puppy just then. I bypassed the first mud-hole on the return by taking Monson St to Rt 62, and followed 62 until I came to the Reformatory Branch Trail again, then took that back, reaching Depot Park at sunset. Reformatory Branch Trail is a pleasant little ride, quiet, with some nice views of Great Meadows and some beautiful houses hidden off in the woods--amazing what can happen sometimes when you give an architect a bunch of bucks and say, "Build me a house". Encountered a couple walking a large, placid doberman and a giant schnauzer (entertaining breed, originally bred to herd cattle by butting them with their heads). At the point where the trail crosses Hartwell Rd, Bedford, some territorially-minded human had staked a territorially-minded german shepherd on a lead just short enough to keep him out of the trail; the dog was somewhat alarmed by the sparse traffic; good territorial fun, I guess, unless the dog gets off lead, in which case it becomes fun for lawyers. Beautiful day for a ride, low 40s at the start, high 20s at the end. The little pools back in the woods, that never saw the sun, wore a few millimeters of ice.

rod

Postscript: after night fell, yielded right of way to a pick-up truck whose bed and cab were decked with strings of multicolor Christmas tree lights, a couple of hundred lumens of Noel.

rholland1951

The other day I described a ride on Dudley Road, Bedford & Billerica, and provided a pointer to some of the silly, though entertaining, ghost stories about it. Anyone interested in a more adult account of the history of the place, and its remaining old structures, can find it here. The link is to a PDF, and an article on the Dudley Road Historic District is on page 4.

rod

rholland1951

In the midst of the holiday bustle, stole a couple of hours for a Winter Solstice sunset ride on the Minuteman, East Arlington to Depot Park. Hit the turnaround point, the hospitably-glowing Buddliner, just about precisely at sundown, rode back in the dusk, with lots of skylight, darkening to night. Through the (Arlington's, actually in Lexington, not to be confused with Concord's) Great Meadows section of the trail, the aisle of bare trees silhouetted against salmon clouds and dark indigo sky gave me the feeling that I was riding into an Arts and Crafts block print, an extra page from a wall calendar purchased this morning, just shows what cognitive priming will get you. Lots of water around, standing and running, from yesterday's rain, with interesting surface reflections, of the low sun before sunset, of man-made sources after; things were quiet enough that the gurgle of small streams was noticeable in several places. People on the trail in a cheerful mood, greetings exchanged. Bravo to Weather Control for the 50degF weather today, damn fine work! The forecast for the next few suggests the winter bike with the studded tires may see some use shortly.

rod

mtalinm

I can't believe I ride to work in shorts on the 22nd of December

cmolway

Same here. I did feel a little self conscious since I stopped shaving my legs back in October though. It was pretty windy on the ride home and cold enough to warrant light gloves and long sleeves. Beats the full face mask, winter tights and frozen digits that are the norm for this time of year.

rholland1951

Played hooky during the first half of the Pats game (the right half to miss, as it turned out), and rode the quick 10 miles to Lexington Center and back, partly to keep moving during the round of holiday feasting, and partly to try out some new gear in the 28-degree winter air. Lovely clear day, bright (if low) sun, with an intermittent headwind; only a few little patches of ice, no need for the studded tires yet. The new shell (SportHill Symmetry II) worked as advertised, blocking the wind and breathing well. The first new pair of gloves I tried (SportHill Fingerless Fold Over Mitts, worn with liners) washed out after riding a block; don't know what they're good for, but riding under 30degF ain't it. The second pair (REI store brand down gloves, a 30%-off Web impulse purchase) worked very nicely, though the tips of my pinkies still got a little colder than desirable; will try liners with those next time, and keep looking for the perfect winter riding gloves (everybody needs a hobby). Most of the other folks on the Minuteman were either walking or running, one intrepid soul punctuating his run with some repetitions of a move that appeared to be a combination jumping jack and push-up, with a grunt for emphasis thrown in. Got back home at half-time, and got to witness Brady and the boys do their thing all over the Fish. Hurrah!

rod

rholland1951

During a pause in the domestic action, had a Christmas Day ride, another Lexington Center quickie. Temperature 30 degrees, overcast with a high ceiling and pearly light. Spent a little more time tweaking layers for the temperature, and more or less got it right, a cozy ride. Dominant life form on the Minuteman today was the runner, a dedicated bunch. Only saw two other cyclists on the trail. One was unremarkable, but the other requires comment: a middle-aged Chinese man pushing a bicycle with a wooden superstructure added, from which were strung large bags of returnable bottles and cans. I've seen him around, on my street, in fact, collecting deposit bottles on the nights before our recycle pick-ups. I've always been impressed by his seriousness, dignity, and the methodical way he goes about things. I have never spoken with him, and so of course have projected fantasies on him from my own mental contents: that he was an engineer, was laid off as the recession came on, was an avid cyclist who turned to bottle collection as a self-reliant income source of last resort, etc., all things that hopped out of my brain and may have nothing to do with his actual history or circumstances. But I can't help liking him. Today he looked sad; no use speculating about that, I just note it. This whole encounter had overtones of Dickens, an author who periodically becomes relevant again, and is especially so this year. Maureen Dowd has a surprisingly good piece in the editorial section of today's New York Times, in which she writes about Dickens's approach to Christmas as a time for compassionately considering our alternate possibilities, the might-have-beens of our lives. I guess meeting the bottle collector on the Minuteman today was such a moment for this old engineer.

Merry Christmas and better days to us all.

rod

jimmuller 

I got a little ride in. Just a few miles around the local area to test-ride this, a new build I just finished.



We may take the tandem out tomorrow.

rholland1951

Good looking bike. Enjoy! Does a story go with it?

rod

kraeburn

I am looking to do this as well. I am in RI.

Email me if you want to pair up.

kyle.raeburn (@) gmail.com

jimmuller 

Thanks. No special story (though a followup is developing, details scattered about in C&V). I had been looking for a fun project, something very different from my previous bikes and ideally higher-end. High-end frames are expensive (and my Gran Sport is already DB 531 main tubes and fork), but frames in my size are like hen's teeth. When I found this frame cheap on ebay I decided to go for it. It's "only" 4130 chromoly, a lower-cost Bianchi. But it has steeper angles than I'm used to, quicker to go, turn, and stop. 24.4lbs as shown. I built the wheels from Campy NR hubs and Mavic MA40 rims, 32 spokes. Derailleurs are early Suntour Cyclone. Brakes are DP Tektro which can lock the wheels with just one finger, levers are Weinmann. It's going to take some getting used to!

The followup is that after I'd started this project a friend offered me an indefinite loan of a frame (with possible option to buy) if I'd build it up and ride it whenever I wanted to. I said (duh!) sure, what frame? He says the smaller of his two Masi frames, too small for him. There is a long story behind it which I will not go into here. But I've got it in my basement waiting for parts. My previous bikes have all been inexpensive and either French or English. Now I've added a Sino-Italian bike and a bike which is either Italian or American-Italian. It's a great way to spend money! I sure wasn't expecting this but I sure can't turn down the opportunity. Now I have too many bikes, just like everyone else in the C&V forum.

jimmuller 

We did 24 miles on the tandem today. Temperature about 40degF. It was great! Concord, Sudbury, Wayland, Lincoln, back to Concord. Not much traffic, lots of bikes!

At the lunch stop, east side of Sherman Bridge over the Sudbury River:

mr,grumpy 

Five and a half miles. "Crossed" the local working Farm / City park /Conservation Area. OMG! Crashed out on a board-bridge and went head first into it! ATGATT! I have a long way to go before I race any thing any time next year.

jimmuller 

Oh dear, that's not good. Sorry to hear it. Do heal up fast. In the meantime ride vicariously with the rest of us. I hope neither you nor the bike were damaged too badly.

rholland1951

Left East Arlington a few minutes before sunset, rode out to Depot Park and back on the Minuteman, 20 miles. It was dark enough for lights by the time I reached Lexington Center. The path was pretty empty, a few small groups of pedestrians, wassailers, perhaps? A couple of night skaters with head lamps, and one on wheeled cross-country ski trainers, no doubt wondering when the snow will arrive. Venus and the waxing crescent Moon were riding low to the West, Perseus and Taurus on display over Great Meadows on the return, Jupiter bright overhead as the ride ended. Dark, clear, cold, quiet ride, diffuse reflections off frozen pools, but no ice to speak of anywhere I wanted to ride. The B&M Buddliner at Depot Park bright and cheery in the darkness, a sort of 20th Century mechanical Ghost of Christmas Past. High 30s to start, about 30 at the end, interesting how perceptible that difference has become.

rod

jimmuller 

Rod, you write such picturesque reports, you just gotta' take some night picture, man! Let us see the Budliner in its night glory.

rholland1951

Deal.

rod

mr,grumpy 

Thank you. Bike and rider are fine!

The helmet took the brunt of the hit right to the forehead. If I wan NOT wearing it it wold have been ME that took the hit .Plastic and foam instead of flesh and bone. After that fall though I started thinking about how it was getting colder and darker and how I left my little back pack at home. I use it for the water bladder and to carry some spare cycling cloths, socks, a little food and the Ten Essentials. I didn't bother with it since I was less that three miles away from the house. Out in that small stand of woods, at the back edge of the farm though, I might as well have in the White Mountains if I hurt myself. I wound up walking the bike out of the woods, using it's light to see by. I rode it up out of the farm though. Muddy, slippery frozen fields. It was tough going. Run-keeper says I burned, like 200 calories. Baloney!

rholland1951

During a lunch-time walk around Fresh Pond, as we were admiring the whitecaps, my sweetie looked skeptical and asked, "Are you sure you want to ride in this?" I did, of course. Got started at 3, out to Depot Park and back, low 40s to begin, with about a 10 degree temperature drop by the end. The wind was the dominant presence, making the tree tops sing and dance, and generally getting involved with everybody's business. This seemed to discombobulate some riders: more lane confusion than usual. The outbound ride featured a headwind that was good for between one and three clicks on the rear derailleur; spent more time than usual on the drops, getting small. Mercifully, this turned into a peachy-keen tailwind on the return, and partially mitigated the falling temperature. The whole thing would have been a jolly departure from the norm if I hadn't been experimenting with some gloves (SportHill "3SP Insulated Glove with Leather Palm") that really weren't appropriate for conditions and task; my fingers got into the cold and ouchy state and stayed there, but nothing dangerous; live and learn. On the plus side, all the other gear worked well, especially the SportHill XC pants that arrived yesterday and were on their maiden voyage. And of course, saw a middle-schooler ride past in a soccer jersey with the parka his mom made him wear tied around his waist: the Endotherm of the Week; keeps ya humble.

rod

cmolway

Yeah I was dressed out for a afternoon ride too. The temps were great--only requiring the addition of a winter-weight long sleeve jersey and leg warmers. After about 10 miles I got tired with a stiff, stiff headwind and battling 40mph+ gusts which kept trying to throw me into traffic (no bike lanes). Defeated, I spent the next hour spinning on rollers in the basement. No commute in this morning. 8F windchill (before riding) and no traffic into the city made it a no-brainer.

Fenway

In Boston the missing link between the Harvard Bridge and South End bike lanes on Massachusetts Avenue were painted today with temporary lane marking paint. It's too cold for thermoplastic and it's assumed the final version of the lanes will be striped during the spring.

See:
https://bostonbiker.org/2011/12/29/pi...ve-bike-lanes/

rholland1951

Had a clear, calm, cold, and somewhat runny-nosed sunset ride on the Minuteman this evening. Reached the turnaround point at Depot Park about half an hour after sundown; as promised, snapped a couple of pictures of the cheerfully-lit Buddliner.







On the return, I had the Minuteman entirely to myself from Depot Park to beyond Revere Street, at which point I encountered a man walking a big, good-looking borzoi. The dog was interested in my headlights, and the man brought him to heel and said something soothing to him in Russian.

rod

jimmuller 

Yes. Very nice! Thank you. I've been there only in daylight.

rholland1951

Took an evening ride out to Depot Park; temperature playing peek-a-boo with the freezing point, a little above to start, a little below to finish. Overcast, relatively dark night, not much of the crescent moon making it through. The evening's Minuteman census: 3 pedestrians (1 dog walker, 1 road walker, 1 just walking), 2 cyclists, 1 runner, and 1 night skater wearing a headlamp that lit the trail with a brilliant blue-white light, illuminating the tree-tunnel to such beautiful effect that I hated to pass him--it was a little like the thanatologists' "move towards the light". Mostly just spinning in the dark tonight, alone with my mental contents, not a bad meditative state for the penultimate evening of the year. On the two or three cold, clear nights before Christmas, I spent time on my back porch, staring up at what I believed was the Ursids radiant, but never saw a meteor. Tonight I saw a meteor's equivalent, a long, lithe, white animal bounding across the trail in my headlights, there and gone in two strides. Towards the end of the ride, it seemed to me that the action was indoors tonight, behind the bright windows of the cozy houses I rode past. I'm in mine now, looking forward to a glass of wine and a hot bowl of beef stew.

rod