mr_bill

rholland1951

Good luck with that.

rod

rholland1951

Took the Rawland Nordavinden out in the hot, swampy air for yet another short ride on the Minuteman before dinner. Between starting a little late, and being a little late in the season, this turned into the beginnings of a sunset ride, the first in months, with a bit of color from the pastel box here and there in the sky, and a full-throated (or -legged, or -other-musical-bits-of-anatomyed) concert by the Night Chorus. Happiness!












There's a cooling breeze that rises at sunset on many of these hot evenings, only to die down again at dusk. I got the benefit of that while I rode, and missed it a little later when I stepped out on the porch and it was gone.

rod

Ghazmh

rumrunn6

I'm interested cuz one of mine struck me as noisier than I remember. don't notice any "drag" tho. Does yours sound any different after cleaning & re-greasing?

Ghazmh

rholland1951

Took the LHT East on Wednesday.


This was a 34-mile ride through Arlington, Medford, Malden, Stoneham, Melrose, Saugus, Wakefield, Lynn, and Revere. The high-road outbound leg involved staged climbs and rapid descents on Fellsway East, a long roll out the Lynn Fells Parkway to Breakheart Reservation, an intriguing preliminary exploration of the excellent roads and trails there, then onto Rt 129 East to the Lynn Woods, a quick look at that with a vow to return sometime when my legs weren't already spent, followed by a low-road return on the Northern Strand trail from the Lynn line back through Malden, with a bit of urban riding in the heat through Malden and Medford and the strenuous rollers of High Street, Medford, for dessert. The relatively leafy, breezy high-road route mitigated the heat for the first few hours, but transiting the urban heat island gave it all back at the end. Elevation gain was clocked at 2963', my legs know they've been up to something.

Malden: climbing Fellsway East through the dappled shade of a leafy residential neighborhood, old enough to have big trees.


Stoneham: climbing Fellsway East through the Fells Reservation.


Breakheart Reservation was the unexpected prize of this ride. The paved trail system at its core is hilly and twisty, without the gentle complacency of a rail trail, but also without the suicidal quirkiness of the Province Lands trail. And there are broad dirt and gravel trails radiating from it. Lots of shady, dynamic fun to be had here, and I expect to be exploring new bits for many hours to come. I'll be back.








I thought this was the top of the hill, but it was just a local maximum. Nice view of Silver Lake, far below.


Rode out the Wakefield exit of Breakheart Reservation, and followed a stately procession of school buses up Farm Road to Rte 129, then participated in the Running of the Bulls across the Rte 1 overpass, didn't die, made my way along Walnut Street, with a cooling breeze off Birch Pond, and rode into the Lynn Woods. After about 20 minutes of riding there, I realized I had neither the time nor the fresh legs needed to do that right, and added riding the Lynn Woods to the list of Things To Do Another Day.


Turns out there is a pleasant and efficient (and down-hill, in the direction I was going) route from Lynn Woods to the Northern Strand trail. I rode that, which transformed the problem of how to get home into one with a known solution. I pedaled gently through the rail-trail, coastal-plain flatness and enjoyed the well-known pleasures of the Northern Strand.


After a little hard riding at the end, I was home in time for a shower and dinner.

rod

rumrunn6

seeing empty beaches makes me sad. we wait so long & eagerly for our harsh winters & springs to changeover to summer magic

autonomy

I myself often roll over... but seeing how with work, family, and crazy traffic that's often the only time to ride for me, I force myself to go once in a while. These days it's not that hard, seeing how the sun rises after 6

This week I've done a couple of commutes... one of which involved dropping the car off at the shop for new brakes and then taking a detour on the Charles River path... and getting carried away to places I've never been before (well, not quite true about The Constitution, I've been nearby... I guess same goes for the Zakim, I've been on it)




It's really amazing where a bike can take you with almost no traffic jams or parking hassles. It's also much, much, much cheaper than a car to maintain (and no insurance!)

rholland1951

Minuteman Bikeway Day

Saturday, September 29, 2018



Come celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Minuteman Bikeway on Saturday, September 29, when Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford will host a tri-town celebration of the popular rail-trail. The bikeway was completed and dedicated by the three towns during 1992-93, and its success has inspired countless rail-trail and pathway projects in New England and beyond. As we celebrate the past 25 years of Going Places on the Minuteman Bikeway, we look forward to an even better trail that is part of a robust regional bicycle transportation network.



Community receptions will be held simultaneously from 11:00am–3:00pm along the Minuteman Bikeway in all three towns on September 29, and you are welcome to stop by and visit as many receptions as you like in Arlington Center (Whittemore Park), Lexington Center (Visitors Center lawn) and Bedford (near Bikeway Source). Each location will feature connections with local bikeway representatives, information about current and future bikeway initiatives, and light refreshments. Of course, the best way to celebrate the bikeway’s success is to get out and enjoy it by foot, bike, skates, or wheelchair -- and we look forward to celebrating “Minuteman Bikeway Day” with everyone on September 29.



Arlington’s Minuteman Bikeway Day celebrations will include a community reception at Whittemore Park in Arlington Center, co-hosted by the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee (ABAC) and the Aeronaut Arlington Beer Garden with live music, local food vendors, additional bicycle racks, and (of course) great beer! Minuteman Bikeway 25th Anniversary T-Shirts will also be available for sale at the ABAC booth.



Along the bikeway, live music performances will be staged at Whittemore Park, Magnolia Field, Linwood Circle (Spy Pond), behind Trader Joe's (at bikeway level), and inside the Old Schwamb Mill during the afternoon. In addition, to help celebrate the bikeway’s anniversary, 10 miles of “Bikeway Haiku” poetry will be stenciled on the bikeway pavement in all three towns, organized by Arlington Public Art.



For more information, including Minuteman Bikeway Day event listings for all three towns, see the Bikeway25 website:https://www.bikeway25.org.

Jim from Boston

Thanks for that announcement, Rod. Since the Minuteman is so central to this thread, would anyone be interested in meeting up that day, maybe for a group photo and/or ride?

BTW, I had the pleasure of showing off the Minuteman, among other sites, to a distinguished visitor from North Carolina:
.




PS: The picture of the Rte 20 T-shirt was hanging previously in the window of the Wayland Depot.

mr_bill

-mr. bill

Jim from Boston

jimmuller 

Hi, Jim. I think Rod was talkin' to me, seein' as how we passed him on the MM today and he called out. (Hi, Rod.) The joke was probably that the trike shown actually had 4 wheels. Also on the subject of "hi", hi to Mike G whom we saw in Bedford on our return. He had been out earlier and was now taking his son out for a spin.

It was a cool and pleasant day (not to be confused with a dark and stormy night), a good day for riding. We stumbled into two events slowing down traffic and making Concord Center impassable, a serious-looking foot race and the Concord Food Fight, I mean Concord Food Fair. We couldn't ride through so of course we had to stop and buy some veggies and a nice potted flower.

Ghazmh

Ghazmh

rholland1951

Jim from Boston, that seems like a natural. How do we organize it?

rod

rholland1951

mr. bill, hang on... I've seen those things. Does this mean you've been injured?

rod

NomarsGirl

I'm used to riding on rail trails. Nice and flat. Sometimes I'll hit the local roads with some gentle rolling hills. My husband was feeling nostalgic and wanted to go ride where he grew up in central mass. We only did 9 miles but he someone managed to choose a route that was uphill both ways. After the initial climb that he thought would be the worst of it, we had a really fun descent into Harvard center. That's when I knew we were in trouble.

At one point almost back to the car I pulled over and sent my husband a text to go get the car and come back for me. I was done. There was absolutely no signal and the message didn't go. Climbed back on the bike, dragged my butt over the last hill and got back to the car under my own power.

I guess I better do more hills.

rholland1951

Hi, Jim! Yeah, I had drawn the 9-10 a.m. shift for the Minuteman Bike Count at Swan Place, and counted you and Sharon as you emerged from the trail on the tandem.


After that, I hopped on the LHT and rode East. on a meandering route that intersected Saugus Founders Day and a crafts fair in Swampscott, so a certain amount of getting off the bike here, too.


rod

P.S.: I've been having some difficulties getting Google Photos to play nicely with others lately. If anyone is having difficulties seeing pictures in my posts, please let me know so I can get about debugging that.

rholland1951

Harvard is the Temple of Gravity, for sure. Pretty place, though...

rod

mr_bill

It means I injured myself. Months of riding out to PT gone in less than a second with pop-pop Labor Day night - I was walking and tripped but did not fall.

I ruptured my left achiles tendon, go in for surgery this week.

(Maybe we need a pills and ills subthread of Good Ride Today?)

On the plus side, the Kneerover Go Hybrid is awesome, and anytime I’m on the Minuteman is all good. And first time ever that I ever had someone say “way to go” as they passed me.

On the negative side, I always knew that brick sidewalks suck, but BRICK SIDEWALKS SUCK SUCK! Before or after.

-mr. bill

rholland1951

Yikes! Best wishes for a good outcome and speedy rcovery from the surgery!

rod

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by rholland1951

Minuteman Bikeway Day

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Come celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Minuteman Bikeway on Saturday, September 29, when Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford will host a tri-town celebration of the popular rail-trail…

Arlington’s Minuteman Bikeway Day celebrations will include a community reception at Whittemore Park in Arlington Center, co-hosted by the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee (ABAC) and the Aeronaut Arlington Beer Garden with live music, local food vendors, additional bicycle racks, and (of course) great beer! Minuteman Bikeway 25th Anniversary T-Shirts will also be available for sale at the ABAC booth. ghts about communication with drivers:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

Thanks for that announcement, Rod. Since the Minuteman is so central to this thread, would anyone be interested in meeting up that day, maybe for a group photo and/or ride?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rholland1951

Jim from Boston, that seems like a natural. How do we organize it?

rod

I thought we could agree on a specific meeting time and place for a meet and greet and group photo followed by a show and go ride. Maybe allow a fifteen minute grace period, and perhaps a coordinator with cell phone access. Over the next week or so we could haggle over the details.

We did such an event over a year ago for a visiting Bike Forums “dignitary,” @qcpmsame, visiting from Florida. Jimmuller and Sharon, Ghazmh, (?) someone else, and myself showed up on a raw April Saturday morning.

Saturday is always a busy day for me, with evening plans requiring me to be home in Kenmore Square by at least 5PM. I would sugggest meeting in Arlington about noon or so.

BTW to @mr_bill...dittoes for a recovery, from the "other" Jim (married to the "other" Sharon). .

NewATBikeComute

I like this idea as well; have already invited my semi-regular bike riding partner to ride that day; whether he comes or not, I intend to be around. Count me in!