mr_bill

I can still be surprised on the Minuteman:


-mr. bill

rholland1951

Surprise on the Minuteman is a renewable resource... Thanks for that!

rod

rholland1951

I took the OAC Rambler out around lunchtime Tuesday, the idea being to be back before the rain started on a gray, chilly, breezy day, just the standard short ride up the Minuteman to Lexington Center and back. Paused on Broadway to take the bike's picture in front of the best surviving example of the Greek Revival style in the neighborhood.


Why are the plants pink? It's a clever campaign to publicly identify invasive species before eradicating them.


The leaves are starting to change, and the occasional interval on the Minuteman is becoming handsome with their colors. Nobody painted these. More of this should follow.


The Mile 4.0 Cairn Builders are at it again. Don't know about anyone else, but I see three little animal totems here. Or maybe petrified meatballs.


One of the abutters at the Maple Street ramp is determined to give us More Better Spooks this year.


The poster for Hazel's Flying School is noteworthy; somebody gave this a little thought.
.

The light dims and the fun begins.

rod

rumrunn6

wonder what his average forward speed is. & can you imagine him, at home, thinking "yeah, I can do this, why not?!"

rumrunn6

haha that's great. "since 1693" & is she wearing a garter belt in the illustration? I guess it has it's uses

rholland1951

The weather on Thursday afternoon was benign, Indian Summer but for the detail that we haven't had a freeze yet. I took the Rawland Nordavinden out for a quick sprint up the Minuteman to Lexington Center and back, wearing shorts and short sleeves while the weather supported it. With its lively frame, low-trail geometry, and light, supple Grand Bois Cypres Extra Leger tires, the Nordavinden danced over the root heaves and other pavement anomalies, and flew over the smooth stuff.


Plato's bicycle?


The Mile 4.0 Cairn Builders have hit their stride again, with a series of totemic triads. Here's the latest.


And lastly, a whirly-gig.


rod

rholland1951

Another warm day, another sprint on the Minuteman before dinner, this time on the Rambouillet. These little rides recharge me, somehow.


I love the Rambouillet, but I've come to the conclusion that I need to swap out the pedals. The MKS Allways pedals that I've been using on this bike for the last 600 miles or so were an experiment; both the pedals and the bike fell into my hands at the same time. My right foot has a tendency to turn out a bit, and I've found the Allways design works less well for that than either the MKS Lambda or the MKS Gamma. Live and learn.

rod

rholland1951

Saturday, I took the Ebisu All Purpose Bicycle and rode East.


It was the sort of brilliant Fall day that we never seem to get enough of in any given year, clear and crisp. I was on my usual Saturday hills and traffic drill, and made good time. Over the rivers, Mystic...


.and Malden,,,


and through the woods, climbing and descending in the Fells Escarpment, up...


and over.


There was even an opportunity to meditate on the quick and the dead.


Managed to stay on the good side of that dichotomy. Fine day for a ride.

rod

rholland1951

Monday, I took the Ocean Air Cycles Rambler out for a drizzly, late-afternoon spin up the Minuteman to Lexington Center and back. Clouds had been progressively piling up, and we now had a bunch.


The Fall colors were starting to break out in earnest, and I took a few pictures of that.


I admired the willows.


Hail, Catalpa!


The elaborate Halloween tableau at the Maple Street ramp is starting to cohere around the Hazel's Flying School theme, with Mr. Bones as ground crew, a windsock, a landing strip with landing lights, and a hapless student pilot in a tree. Said one pedestrian to another, "We're dealing with genius here!" I'll have to ride by in the dark, before the month ends.


Several pedestrians had equipped themselves with umbrellas for defense against the drizzle.


rod

rumrunn6

landing strip! ha!

rholland1951

Tuesday afternoon was bright, dry, and comfortable. I took the Rawland Nordavinden for a quick sprint up the Minuteman to Lexington Center and back. Had one impromptu game of Drop the Pursuer along the way. Little fragments of doggerel verse came and went as I pedaled, e.g., "Green hair, purple hair, sometimes blue / Look at them looking back at you." Basically ephemera, of course, but what isn't; just ask the leaves, crunching under the tires as the wheels turn.


rod

bike_tom

Got out this afternoon and made use of the fine weather to ride the MM->RBT->Battle Road->MM loop. As has been said, its not technically Indian Summer, since we haven't had a freeze, but I'll take it.

Some sights along the way. RBT at Great Meadows:



Very fresh bacon along Battle Road:



Hartwell Tavern:



Lexington Common:



As you can see, the foliage was nice, but not spectacular. My wife and I rode the BFRT on Monday, and it seemed liked the colors popped more there.

Today's ride was a bit over 28 miles, which brought the Checkpoint to 500 miles since it joined my stable in July. A nice milestone on a beautiful Fall day.

Tom

EVlove

Good ride today, well yes, quite the! Allow me to introduce you to Chelmsford's newest open space property, which I decided to explore for the first time today. This came about after I managed to miss my original destination, the cranberry bog. I hadn't been there, or at least not to the Chelmsford side of it, in several years, and rode right past it. Which eventually took me to Route 225 and the BFRT, where I turned back and during a stop at H[e]art Pond...



... decided to follow the BFRT all the way to Chelmsford Center and continue onto Boston Road/Route 4 to Warren-Pohl. Now, this is barely over half a mile from the trail, but it's some of the nastiest, most convoluted street fighting I ever need to do around here. I could easily see myself riding the sidewalks next time, I really can't imagine the local cops would argue with that being the safer option. The street address is 95 Boston Road and it's already marked in Google Maps, but the street view is old. Here is what you're looking for, on the right when coming from the center:


The tiny marker:


Once down what looks like a private driveway, you'll find ample, easy parking and the information kiosk:




I actually tried to find the spur to Bartlett Street (in white) but couldn't. That might be an easier access on the bike, although not a straight shot from the BFRT, either. Cut off in the picture, sorry, but trail rules are no motorized vehicles, i.e. we're good.

The trails! Now, I'm practically an off-road virgin, and in fact, just busted my nose pretty bad superman-ing off my MTB last week, but this was totally doable. Bike see above, those are brand new 30mm CX Comp tires, the max I can fit on the Bianchi. In fact I could hear bits of rubber mold flash go tic-tic-tic on the fork crown when I first set out.




Nasty rocks are picked out in spray paint throughout. I suppose they're expecting a bit of MTB traffic.

EVlove

Some more trail pics






I could totally have ridden this, I mean, totally but it would have been bad etiquette to mess up the trail. Yes, that's it.

The rest of what I saw was pretty bone dry, but I'm afraid with the forecast for tomorrow, it'll be a proper CX muck-fest by the time any of you folks can get there. In fact the whole place seemed perfect for hosting a CX race, if that was a thing over here.

As I said, this has just been opened to the public, plus it's a bit hard to find, so it's still quiet. In fact I didn't see anybody today except very close to the kiosk. So at least for the moment, and on a weekday, it seems perfectly reasonable and responsible to have a little fun on the bike in there. Might change once word gets out.

EVlove

Forgot to mention that this is managed by the Chelmsford Conservation Commission but I don't think a trail map is available yet. I would expect to see one posted here in due course.

Lastly, the real reason why I had to put those brute-ish tires on my beautiful, well, not quite Ferrari, but Alfa Romeo, perhaps? If Alfas were made in Japan, that is. The Westford St bridge over I-495, literally 1.5 miles from my house.

thin_concrete

That bridge looks miserable - good choice on the tires. I’m near the BFRT and love it. They do a good job maintaining it, although it does get quite packed on summer weekends.

rholland1951

Managed to escape a round of home-improvement activity to take the OAC Rambler for a quick sprint up the Mystic Valley Parkway along the E shore of the Mystic Lakes at sunset. The day had turned warm, and it was one more (one last?) opportunity to ride in shorts and short sleeves.




It was peaceful, with lovely colors in the sky and water, while they lasted.






I rode home as night fell. It gets late early now.


rod

rholland1951

So, I looked at the weather radar as related by the Pocket Devil, and it seemed to be telling me I could have a nice ride this afternoon and get wet. So I rolled the Ocean Air Cycles Rambler out of the garage, and struck up a conversation with my neighbor, Bob. "Where are you going?" asked Bob. "I'm going to get wet," said I. Bob chuckled and said he had figured as much. Off I went, and so I did.

So, what was shaking on the Minuteman? That would be Autumn...


... and also, Mr. Bones.


So, the ride back was just like the ride out, but in the opposite direction, and wetter.

rod

EVlove

I got some wet miles in yesterday, as well, but not much to show and tell. I explored the gravel road between River St and Nutting Rd in Westford, before the rain got more serious and I hurried back home, acutely aware that I wasn't wearing any neon yellow except for my gloves.

The gap at Nutting Rd where a bridge used to be. Looks like the other side is a lot less traveled, it continues to Route 40 per the map. Next time. It was now starting to come down for real and I escaped via the asphalt.

rholland1951

After Friday's rain stopped, it was shorts and short sleeves riding weather. Fenders were occasionally helpful.


Unable to resist that, I took the Rawland Nordavinden out for a fast, focused sprint on the Minuteman. Made good time. The lively bike danced over the root heaves at speed.


Follow the yellow brick road!


rod

rholland1951

Good stuff! Nothing like the novelty of a new route...

rod

EVlove

Today turned into a much nicer day and I decided to head to the cranberry bog for real this time, via a stretch of the BFRT and Elm St. It was bittersweet as we used to take our dog there many times, up until some years ago, but she is long gone now. Most of it was OK to ride, even for inexperienced me, on the cyclocross tires. I walked & kick scootered the gnarlier parts. I think that's what it's called these days, I overheard some older kids in the bathroom





On the Carlisle side, between the cranberry bog and Great Brook Farm. This beautiful fellow was in and out of his barn a few times as I was trying to get a good shot. Turned out his elderly owner was about to appear with what I assume was a customary afternoon equine treat of some sort.


Serious project at Triangle auto service in Chelmsford. I guess the rain drains out of this one as fast as it gets in but I still felt bad about the partially open windows.


And the triangle itself, newly reconfigured. Boston Road/Route 4 in the back, Concord and Parker. A topic of hot debate in the town Facebook group but it sounds to me like a lot of people didn't pay attention when this project went through the usual community input process during the design phase. I do wonder how many of these signs will still be straight after the first snowplow comes through.

EVlove

And I hope that wasn't one of you guys leaving Chelmsford center on Westford St a little later, neon jersey, white beard? He looked like a much younger guy from behind, I swear, so I dropped him in short order on that hill I know so well. Trying hard not to start huffing and puffing until I was well ahead, of course

He passed by my house as I was putting the bike away and that's when I noticed the beard. Sorry! So, that got me thinking, I wouldn't even know how to offer a little help up a hill. Assuming I do realize I'm passing somebody who might appreciate it. What does one say, and what exactly does one do to help? I'm serious. I have zero group ride experience.

Ghazmh

All between 5:00-6:00 AM this morning.

rholland1951

I envy you your circadian rhythm!

rod