rumrunn6

cool I’ll bet the overpass shoulder was pretty sketchy no flat tho so that’s good 👍

bike_tom

Took a very restorative ride up the Minuteman from Arlington to Depot Park today. The MM was dry except for occasional runoff from melting snow on the shoulders. Lots of people out, mostly on foot, but a few on wheels.

Arlington Great Meadows in East Lexington:



Yes, that's the same Checkpoint I got last summer. I decided to try a stealthier look, so I covered the multi-color panels on the fork and seat tube with vinyl wrap. I'm liking the new look, so I think I'll keep it that way for awhile.

I had Depot Park to myself:



I didn't try the Reformatory Branch - I assumed it would be an icy quagmire.

It was great to get out. Way too easy to be held back by winter lethargy.

Spring starts two weeks from tomorrow. Let's hope for a short mud season.

Tom

bike_tom

I always associate that intersection with going to HD or Costco - in a car. I've never ridden a bike that way, but I can see the appeal. As I'm sure you know, ff you follow Winter St around the Cambridge reservoir it leads to some nice roads in Lincoln.

rholland1951

Wedged a quick ride up along the Mystic Lakes into an unnaturally busy Sunday. Took the Sam Hillborne, which has 250 miles on the build, and is therefore in the "some settling may occur" period. Here's the Sam, propped against a pole that proclaims prohibitions on swimming and drone operation; this seemed to work, nobody was swimming or operating drones, also nobody was boating or fishing, or doing much of anything else in the immediate area. Too cold to swim, to warm to skate, as quiet as I've ever seen it.


The only person the Pole of Prohibitions didn't scare off was the only other cyclist I encountered. We were each enjoying the silence, it seemed.


Early in the ride, I realized the shifter for the rear derailleur was slipping, and all shifts ended up in high gear. I attempted a field adjustment, but the trick that works reliably on the Suntour Power Ratchets that I have on most of my bikes does not seem to work on the Dura Ace shifters used in this build. I did such shifting as was necessary with the front derailleur and the triple crank, and the bike became a de facto 3-speed. This evoked memories of a well-loved old Raleigh.

Good, quick, cool-not-cold ride, quiet. I'll take the bike into the shop on Tuesday.

rod

rumrunn6

Great to read & see these reports of clear paths thank you

rholland1951

Took the LHT out on the Minuteman around 4-ish, expecting mild conditions based on what I experienced Monday morning. But a rowdy wind had kicked up, opposing my outbound progress and making me glad I was wearing a shell. It was a wind to make the flags snap.


A clever person shackled a bike for sale to a piece of trail furniture. Hope that goes the way they imagined. Reminds me of the time, long ago, when I went fishing for bluegills, and caught a big pancake-back turtle instead: not what I expected.


rod

rumrunn6

yeah wind ... moved the bar mitts from the MTB to the hybrid for tonight's ride
I think I remember seeing or reading about "flippers" who lock their for sale bikes to light poles & parking meters w/ signs like that. I'll bet Comm Ave near BU has a few

EVlove

The wind kept me indoors yesterday and it doesn't seem to be much better today, either. The BFRT must be covered in snow and ice so it's only the local roads for me, or driving to the Minuteman. Not likely.

bike_tom

Was searching today for an update on when the Somerville Community Path Extension will open.

I found this recent article: https://mass.streetsblog.org/2023/03...yed-til-april/

Bottom line: April at the earliest
I may ride over to the current terminus at Lowell St Somerville later this week and see what's up there.

I am still looking forward to doing an Alewife Linear Park -> Somerville Community Path -> Dudley White Bike Path -> Watertown Cambridge Greenway loop that begins and ends at Alewife.

rumrunn6

the cold wind was cruel, the snow was fun

rholland1951

Beautiful!

rod

rumrunn6

thank you. was just the right set of circumstances
always impressed with the strong riders on the MM. the legit road bikers, yes, but mostly impressed w/ the strong riders on what seem to be really mediocre bikes & some downright sketchy bikes, but they zoom past me
a new flavor on the MM seems to be folding electric fat bikes, w/ parent & child in back. the true carless. love it

tried to do the whole ride 4:30-6:30 w/o any lights
but at a certain point, on my way back from the pond, it felt unsafe not to have a little front light on, so I turned on a small light, specifically for that purpose
then further west, it got darker & there were hardly any other riders, so I turned on the big boys
dipping the bar lights down if I saw another rider or pedestrian facing me, up ahead. also turned the helmet light down to low & glancing off trail to be kind as we passed
my apologies to the one guy who was invisible prior to a video clip where I had everything on full blast. I did glance away w/ the helmet light but I think one bar mounted light, w/ a wide angle diffuser, was most annoying to him. he had no lights & it was very dark & the trail was curved, so I didn't see him in the distance when I started the video clip. so again my apologies. of course if he had a light I would have know he was in the distance & I would have applied my courtesy, as I did for about 12 other ppl. he must have thought I was a jerk
but I think lightless, night riders, are a different sort

anyway, lighted nite rides, after work, maybe be coming to and end soon due to the clock change 3/12/23?

rumrunn6

it's still there. as I rode past it last night I thought if it would be funny if someone cut the lock & swapped in an old beater bike w/ the same sign. maybe mean & cruel, but a little funny?

rholland1951

There's that turtle again...

rod

rholland1951

March seemed to be making just a bit of progress, the weather seemed just a little milder, and I took the Rivendell Sam Hillborne out for a short spin up the Eastern shore of the Mystic Lakes, to verify the recent repair of the rear derailleur, and to look for signs of life along the Lakes. The derailleur shifted without fuss, and the Lakes were considerably livelier than the last time I looked.


The student sailors operating out of the Tufts Bacow Sailing Pavilion are back, possibly for the first time this season.


All this and some sunset color, too. And dogs, and runners, and a few other cyclists. Signs of life, harbingers of Spring. Good day for a ride, albeit a short one.


rod

rumrunn6

wow! boats in the water already!

rholland1951

Heartening sight, indeed!

rod

bike_tom

Another very nice afternoon ride from Arlington to Depot Park today.

Just a few days ago there was still snow in the seating circle at the Depot, which doesn't get cleared. Not any more:



I noticed that there is not much snow left in the woods along side the bike path. I am curious about the Reformatory and Narrow Gauge trail conditions, but I didn't do any reconnaissance on those today.

Tom

rumrunn6

probably a slop fest in these temps above freezing

bike_tom

True, but hope springs eternal.

Side note: I'm picturing what a slop fest might look like...

rumrunn6

mud & wet snow?

rholland1951

Saturday afternoon, I took the Sam Hillborne and rode East.


Temperatures were in the mid-30s, with a NE wind often puffing away at 15mph. The roads were wet from flurries that melted to drizzle before hitting the pavement. I rode my usual hills-and-traffic ride through Arlington, Medford, Malden, Melrose, and Stoneham. Drivers seemed a little introverted, probably because of the NOTICEABLE WEATHER EFFECT (Massachusetts drivers drive less competently any time they notice the weather). The headwind cut into my speed outbound, and the tailwind boosted it inbound. The drizzly flurries ceased by mid-afternoon, and the road surfaces dried pretty quickly in the wind. The 38mm Compass Barlow Pass Extralights rolled where I wanted them to, and ate the shock caused by rough pavement and potholes. Returned a bit after a beautiful pink-purple sunset that unfortunately went unphotographed in the interests of making progress while keeping the rubber side down. Got more experience with the Sam on hills, warming myself on the climbs and whizzing down the descents.

rod

bike_tom

I didn't ride today, but I have a BFRT status report from a walk my wife and I did midday.

We had lunch at Nashoba Brook Bakery in West Concord, then walked the BFRT from the train station northwest to the other side of Route 2.
The trail is completely clean and dry. Here's a view looking southeast toward Commonwealth Ave from a spot near Warners Pond:



A view from the Route 2 bridge north toward Wetherbee St:



The only place where we saw a high view-blocking fence is the one above, between the BFRT and the state police horse corral. There is also a tall chain-link fence, with barbed wire on top, behind that wooden one. Seemed odd, as neither fence continues on the Route 2 side of the corral.

Anyway, this new segment is nice and I am looking forward to riding on it soon.

Tom

rholland1951

Took the Sam Hillborne out at noon for a run up the Minuteman to Depot Park, racing the incoming weather.

In Arlington Center, a parlay of Sams.


Arlington's Great Meadow, same as it ever was.


Sam has a chat with the Saucer People.


Depot Park: did I mention that the new Pocket Devil has a wide angle lens?


The bicycle as nose.


An ever so slightly dismal view of the Shawsheen River, looking N from the Minuteman's bridge. The Shawsheen is frequently punctuated by fallen trees, like I've never seen it. No canoeing up to the Merrimack, I think.


Tophet Swamp. I didn't discover that I had a tailwind until I turned around at Depot Park. Then I discovered the headwind (and its chill) with each passing second. However, there were dogs.


Got home a little after 3. Got drizzled on just a bit. I'm now bundled up for the duration.

rod

EVlove

Isn't that the fence that caused the delay of the official opening? I forget the details but somehow this fencing was overlooked in the original design. It's needed so the horses don't get spooked by passing bikes and, more importantly I find, to protect the privacy of the prison inmates that tend to the horses.