Took the Surly Trucker DeLuxe and rolled East on its 55mm Compass Rat Trap Pass Extralight tires, for the usual combination of hills and traffic, traffic and hills. Thanks to recent adjustments at Battle Road Bikes, the Surly fairly flew up, over, and down the hills.
While there's still plenty of rough pavement to be found on this route (e.g., Salem Street), some of it is getting smoother. I mentioned Medford Street, Malden, here recently, and Main Street, Melrose has just gotten the treatment. Neither road has been striped since the recent paving, so it remains to be seen whether Melrose will implement protected bike lanes on Main Street, as their recent prototyping effort suggests. The smooth asphalt is a major improvement already.
Early sunsets are the bane of riding in November, and I spent more time rolling in the dark on this ride than usual, which was pleasant enough. Much to be said for the right layers in the falling-through-the-40s weather, as well. Things just tended to work today.
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