buzzman

Did my Concord/Carlisle 52 mile loop in the bright afternoon sun.

A stunningly gorgeous spring day.

My pace was slow but consistent.

A non-stop ramble at a very modest tourista-like speed.

I am now pleasantly fatigued.

jimmuller 

There is a good chance you saw or passed us today. We did our Bedford-Chelmsford run, though by a few different roads than we typically ride.

It was indeed an unexpectedly nice day.

I've been drinking Dogfish Head 90min IPA, and I am pleasnatly fagitued tooo. No, not queit fatigeud, but um, I'm having trouoble tpying.

buzzman

I was out from 3:30 to 6:30 pm. I saw a lot of riders. I didn't pass too many though (and surprisingly wasn't passed by anyone). I wave to other riders if I saw you I probably waved.

jimmuller 

I wave to everyone unless I'm too oppicued (or occupied, your choice) with traffic or the road surface. We're kinda' hard to miss, on a blue vintage tandem, a couple usually wearing matching "platinum" white/gray jerseys, and I have a white/gray beard. Yea, I know, that describes 90% of the riders out there.

The signalman on the BFRT in Chelmseford

buzzman

I definitely would have noticed you if you were on a tandem. I'm partial to them- my wife and I courted and honeymooned on an old Atala tandem that we still have.

I'll watch for you next time.

rholland1951

Another busy Saturday, yard work and errands, didn't get on the bike until almost 5. Rode the GT Karakoram with its 55mm balloon tires down to Harvard Square on Mass. Ave., and followed the Charles River path out to Watertown Square on Greenough Blvd. and Charles River Road, then crossed the river and returned on the path along Nonantum Road and Soldiers Field Road, recrossing at the Lars Anderson Bridge and back to Brattle Square, where an electric blues guitarist and a Gypsy accordion player were holding forth, and home by a leafier route, Brattle Street, Aberdeen Street, Huron Ave., etc., passing Mount Auburn Cemetery, Fresh Pond, Little Pond, and Spy Pond along the way. At one point, my path was strewn with cherry blossoms...




















For whatever reason, I haven't been riding into town since getting back on the bicycle in earnest five years ago, even though I know there are some great rides there; today's ride was really a bid for a little novelty in a shorter route, since time was scarce; it was also an opportunity to exercise the newly-mounted balloon tires on some varied terrain (got that). But once begun, I was startled to realize that it's been something like 40 years since I last rode the Charles paths, on my old Raleigh (then my new Raleigh); seems like just last week, of course... The paths have changed a bit in my absence, for the better. Sometimes, the bicycle is a time machine: most often transporting us into the past of the places ridden through, in this case, rolling from my own past, circa 1974, to a beautiful Spring afternoon in 2014.

18 miles through Arlington, Cambridge, Watertown, Newton, Brighton, Allston, and Belmont.

rod

jimmuller 

Of course! How quickly we forget.

I saw another of those stapled-to-chicken thingies this morning. Crossing the road in front of me. Woburn seems to have an abundance.

mr_bill

Finally did the commute to work. This will be catch as catch can. It's only slightly irrational - 24 miles out this morning. Return this afternoon should be 22 miles if I take the right hill this time.

It's not lost on me that much of this is a common recreational ride. It's far busier on the weekends.

Minuteman Commuter Bikeway - so very quiet:



Concord a bit busier, I'm taking a left then a right, everyone else is going straight and then left heading the other way. One of the advantages of reverse commuting:


The hills - Strawberry and Nagog:




Meh picture of the orchards:


And the last hill:


-mr. bill

Bishbike

Loving all of the ride photos from all of you.

Got out for a 46 mile out and back to Strawberry Hill and Great Brook.


Took shelter under a tree during a brief shower...



Blue sky made an appearance at Hutchins Farm...




Artists creating their masterpieces down on the farm...





Horses out doing what horses do...

mr,grumpy 

Did my 12 mile loop today. Didn't even bother with the marsh trail, just swung wide and went through the marsh on the beach side instead. Only took one picture, of the bike locked outside of CVS but that's analog so it'll have to wait….. Runkeeper says I'm getting faster. I don't know though. I always feel like the brakes are stuck "on" for the first couple of miles….

jimmuller 

Loving the pics.

I rode the Masi to work today. Enjoyed every minute of it. Had a flat on the way home. That's what happens when you run high-performance tires instead of flat-protected tank treads. Tubes and patch kits are cheap though. I replaced the tube and got on my way. I was so close to home it would have been faster to walk.

mr_bill

Flip side:

Flying down the hill. And I'm still on the wrong hill! How did I miss my turn? +2 miles:


Running up the hill:


Fresh Eggs! Will have to pass on them today:


The rotaries of Concord Center. First Parish in Concord Unitarian Universalist spire directly ahead:


Best laid plans, turned right too early, got cocky that even though I knew I made the wrong turn, decided to go off plan and ride through Minuteman National Park to Old Mass Ave to Mass Ave. Because.
Very happy dog, and exceptionally well trained:


Having passed the point of no return, compounded my mistake, and accidentally returned. But a transcendental moment. Tourist loop in the middle of the commute. +5 miles:


Finally back on the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway. Reverse direction crowded, my direction, not so much.


Think my car misses me:


Planned 44 mile commute ended up 53 miles. That's a 20% error. Oh well. Next time.

-mr. bill

rholland1951

Took the LHT out at the end of the day, 10 miles on the Minuteman. Beautiful riding weather, mid-60s, clear, the sun going Ra! in my eyeballs to start, then quietly set and left Middlesex County in muted pastels, slowly darkening. Encountered a runner down, tended by his buddies, with an ambulance on the way.







rod

Bishbike

25 mile out and back to Concord this evening. Perfect night for a ride.

buzzman

I dig everybody's photos. I know all of these locales so well- such a treat to see them from everyone else's perspective.

I'll try to grab a shot or two on my next outing.

Did my nice 40 mile loop out to Concord late this afternoon.

Had the realization today that i've been doing this loop for 43 years- since I was a junior racer in the early 70's.

It never gets old. Even as I do.

agmetal

Shifting troubles on my way to work this morning were the start of an annoying day overall (it was also the 8th of 9 consecutive days of work), but I got the derailleurs working more-or-less correctly with new cables that I picked up on my break and installed before leaving in the evening. Then I took the "scenic" route home, and discovered North Point Park...not sure how I've never known about this place before, but it's absolutely beautiful, especially in the evening!

jimmuller 

Ah, a new discovery! Great!

All I did today was a 30 mile ride with 8hrs of work in the middle, Waltham to Woburn and back. It was a nice day.

caffein8ed

Took the first ride of the season with my kids on Sunday. It was just an around-the-extended-neighborhood type of excursion, but we managed to get in a solid 18 miles.

As a person who has no routine back trouble, and despite spending a good amount of time in the gym over the cold months, I was surprised to come away from the ride with a few days of lower back pain. I suppose (and hope) I just need to get used to riding again.

Anyway, we'll be heading out again this evening for an hour or so. The plan for the next five months is to try and maintain a Monday/Wednesday/Saturday riding schedule, and rack up about 50 miles a week.

Here's hoping!

jimmuller 

C8, good to get back on the bike, isn't it?

I did my commute today, 30 mile round trip Waltham to Woburn. The weather was beautiful but today's traffic was HEAVYYYYY. I think today was Drive Your Car To Work Twice Day, or something. Drivers were getting irritated at each other. Of course I'm usually well out of the way.

Nickel

Is there a common place that people in the Boston area post about stolen bikes besides Craigslist?

jimmuller 

Not that I know of. Perhaps others know. I hope you didn't lose one.

buzzman

A nice tunnel of trees on my 25 mile Weston loop.

Was a gorgeous day for a bike ride.

rholland1951

Took the LHT out for 14 quick miles on the Minuteman after work. The lovely weather brought out the crowds, and some of the evils of population pressure were in evidence. I found myself thinking, "Grand Theft Auto: Minuteman", an image that was only reinforced when I encountered an otherwise ordinary-seeming woman wearing what I believe to be a Kevlar vest (tactical chic is the new Spring fashion?); nevertheless, I did nothing to my fellow trail users more drastic than giving them a few loud dings from my Crane bell, on an as-needed basis, and managed to keep up a good pace. In part all this hustle was an experiment with tire pressure tweaking: 45/50 PSI for the 38mm Compass Barlow Pass Extralights; they rewarded me by rolling fast and rolling with minimum bounce over buried roots and other little distractions. In part, the hustle was simply what my body & brain needed, and the bike complied.

Towards the end of the ride I realized that I had been so intent on making time that I had taken no photos, so stopped briefly on Broadway in Arlington to snap a picture of an old Greek Revival house that is arguably the best-looking object on that street. Google later informed me that the house has its own Wikipedia entry...


rod

Bishbike

Bishbike

Rode out to Harvard for the second time this season. 62 miles of hills and sunshine.