I rode the 40-mile segment of the MassBike Charlie Proctor Memorial Ride. Charlie Proctor, of course, was killed by a driver at the notorious Appleton Street/Mass. Ave. intersection in Arlington. That's got a temporary fix now, with funding for a more permanent fix in the next Town budget, if I'm reading the runes correctly. Today's Memorial Ride was split into two elective segments: a 20-mile ride that simply proceeded out the Minuteman to Depot Park and back, and a 40-mile ride that unfurled a great clockwise loop from and to Depot Park, rolling through Bedford, Lincoln, and Concord. All rides began and ended at the Tufts Bacow Sailing Pavilion, on the Upper Mystic Lake, off Mystic Valley Parkway in Medford. From time to time, we'd encounter MassBike checkpoints. I rode to and from the Bacow Pavilion, so my total for the day was 45 miles through Arlington, Medford, Lexington, Bedford, Lincoln, and Concord.
I rode the Ocean Air Cycles Rambler for this event. As I expected, it went the distance with comfort, resilience, nimbleness, and speed, climbing hills at need, and inspiring confidence in the bike's stability during 30mph descents.
The ride finished at the Bacow Center, with a well-catered meal.
Meanwhile, on the lake, Summer had declared itself.
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