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Metro Boston: Good ride today?

Old 07-05-18, 12:10 PM
  #7401  
rholland1951
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6

That's awful! Please convey our wishes for a speedy recovery to your wife, along with the hope she can get back on the horse, so to speak, after she heals.

Trail designers seem to get excited about stanchions, bollards, gates, etc., but in use they turn out to be much more trouble than they're worth. They've been gradually disappearing from the Minuteman for years. The Bruce Freeman has more of the learning curve to climb, having started later.

rod
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Old 07-05-18, 12:29 PM
  #7402  
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Took the old (1987) GT Karakoram rigid mtb out for a late morning ride in the hazy heat, 15 miles mostly on the Minuteman, but with a little detour in, around, and through Arlington's Great Meadow because, hey, it's a mountain bike, and if I don't bounce it off rocks occasionally, it gets sullen. The 1.75" Compass tires helped. I had a long, unbroken succession of red bicycles, starting as a kid, of which this is the last. Hot day to be riding a red bike.


Uncle Sam clearly prefers it to the LimeBike.


Hot, green, and hazy.


Into the woods.




I've ridden the duckboard section before, but chose to walk it this time, on the principle that meeting somebody coming in the other direction would be a PITA.


Romping through the swamp.


The Meadow dances.


If you stick with the trail, it leads you to a birch grove, lovely and secluded. That's at least half the reason I occasionally take this detour.


Different weather coming tomorrow. If you ride in it, don't forget your snorkel. J J J

rod

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Old 07-05-18, 12:52 PM
  #7403  
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Originally Posted by rholland1951
That's awful! Please convey our wishes for a speedy recovery to your wife, along with the hope she can get back on the horse, so to speak, after she heals.Trail designers seem to get excited about stanchions, bollards, gates, etc., but in use they turn out to be much more trouble than they're worth. They've been gradually disappearing from the Minuteman for years. The Bruce Freeman has more of the learning curve to climb, having started later.
thanks. she's a tough cookie. can't keep a good gal down. she should be getting a "waterproof" hard cast on Monday & she thinks she can use the pool & drive her 5-spd car. if anyone can, she can :-)

btw I really like what you are doing with the gifs. stationary camera & letting nature's movement provide the entertainment. I tried using time lapse but I think I overwhelmed the system with too many images that were too large & it crashed
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Old 07-05-18, 01:43 PM
  #7404  
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
thanks. she's a tough cookie. can't keep a good gal down. she should be getting a "waterproof" hard cast on Monday & she thinks she can use the pool & drive her 5-spd car. if anyone can, she can :-)

btw I really like what you are doing with the gifs. stationary camera & letting nature's movement provide the entertainment. I tried using time lapse but I think I overwhelmed the system with too many images that were too large & it crashed
Good to hear!

The gifs are fun, and provide a somewhat abstracted sense of motion and process. I started using them because I thought their presentation was more natural for this format: no need to break to YouTube, it's just another picture that happens to jump around a bit.

rod
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Old 07-05-18, 02:39 PM
  #7405  
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
was having a nice ride on the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail heading from Acton toward Lowell until our ride came to a crashing halt (5 miles from the car) at Pond St, Chelmsford when Wifey struck a stanchion hiding in the shade & broke her wrist (crack in the radius bone). she was distracted by the lovely beach we just passed. I think her dark sunglasses in the bright sunlight & the object being in the shade contributed to the collision. we had been dodging them the whole ride. we were also dodging raised brick lane dividers. one of which she rode into / over earlier in the ride. she was so shaken up, that we stopped so she could regain her composure. then a few miles later, this ;-(

a town employee came over. as did another good samaritan, a woman with a car. the town employee said there has been MANY SERIOUS CRASHES into this particular stanchion. then he made a face indicating they were even more disasterious than this one. one can only imagine ...

I was ahead of her & when I heard her anticipatory yelling I turned to see her crash & go down. I stopped & ran to her aid. she didn't want to get up right away & was considering what was hurt. after some amateur trail side triage & after conferencing for a few minutes in the hot sun with the two people who offered help, we decided to let the woman with the car, drive Wifey to Emerson hospital. Wifey said she should get an x-ray & definitely could not ride back to the car. the gentleman watched her bike while I rode back to our car, then returned to get hers, before joining her at the emergency room. boy that Emerson is a well oiled machine! (plus it was slow yesterday, go figure) by time I got to the ER she was walking out with her temp soft cast

before the crash, while we were enjoying our ride she was talking about how she could work a partial bike commute into her daily work schedule. well that's not going to happen. & her first ride of the summer was her last. I doubt if in mid-August she will want to ride again, even tho she loves it so much. too far into the future to consider right now. she did enjoy the new insulated water bottle holder *sigh*

Pond St & Bruce Freeman Rail Trail





















yikes, that's terrible. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
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Old 07-06-18, 09:46 AM
  #7406  
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Today I took my Boone 7 cross bike out for 33 miles. Although I am running 38's I could have easily rode up Monument st with its grooved pavement, instead I went up Lowell st with its fresh pavement. I didn't need to ride the cross bike as there were no puddles that I would have steered my road bike around. Instead it's been about a week since I enjoyed its light nimble and fast handling and the overall different feel of the 1X drivetrain, heard the insidious buzz of the blingy turquoise Chris King hub, and felt rebellious proudly showing off cantilevers in a world of disks. I easily push it at the same average speed on the same roads as I do my Roubaix. In January I fully expected this bike to be parked in the garage all spring summer and fall without seeing asphalt until next winter. Little did I know....l





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Old 07-06-18, 07:52 PM
  #7407  
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@rumrunn6, that's a bitter pill. Hope she is better soon and with no complications.
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Old 07-07-18, 07:56 AM
  #7408  
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Originally Posted by jimmuller
@rumrunn6, that's a bitter pill. Hope she is better soon and with no complications.
thank you Jim. I took her out in my car last night, she drove to the grocery store. then later she drove our girls to a speak easy in Hudson. today she's going to test drive a Prius. but she's not ready to try her stick shift. I'll add that she had an injury to her groin as well. not often mentioned w bike falls. it was pretty serious but she was embarrassed to mention it at the ER. it's better now but I was not happy that she didn't tell the attending physician. she's very independent around the house even making her own meals & she has no pain. only downside, today is a gorgeous day but she doesn't want to go for a bike ride
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Old 07-07-18, 12:56 PM
  #7409  
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This morning I hit the road at 0600 with my R3 for a splendid unhurried 59.1 mile ride. I have been making it a point to discovery and incorporate into my regular routes all the picturesque side streets that intersect the roads I frequent.
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Old 07-07-18, 02:17 PM
  #7410  
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You folks are getting hard to keep up with!

We took ye ol' vintage Peugeot tandem (which is to say out only tandem) out early today with the intention of putting in some miles. We ended up with 62.85 miles which qualifies as a metric century. It is longest ride we've done this year, and last year too.

The obligatory selfie while eating lunch at Fern's:


An of course the obligatory stop at Hutchins Organic Farm to buy veggies. Amaranth this time.
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Old 07-07-18, 02:27 PM
  #7411  
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Threw Ellen's Clem-L and my Nordavinden on the bike rack and had a 9-mile jaunt on the Bruce Freeman. Viewed all stanchions with distrust. Good day for a ride.


rod
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Old 07-07-18, 04:09 PM
  #7412  
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Originally Posted by mr_bill
Made a map of where Lime Bikes are:



-mr. bill
that conspicuously empty hole in Lexington... saw a Limebike there at the old train station this morning. So they're going to make it that way
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Old 07-07-18, 04:21 PM
  #7413  
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@rumrunn6 well wishes to your wife. I know exactly what you mean by "hidden in the shade". Those bollards and gates on the MM, while they do keep an occasional confused driver away, have always been tricky to get around.

I had family obligations today, so headed out for a sprinter ride this morning. Ended up taking the Reformatory Branch roller coaster into Concord and then headed immediately back without stopping. Pleasantly empty roads, though there were quite a few cyclists, even on the RFT. Set a few personal records on Strava, which means I'm getting back to my previous shape.


​​Right now I'm standing in a very long line at the Aeronaut beer garden in Arlington. It's a full house over here and lots of bikes. Sadly, I did not cycle here this time.
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Old 07-07-18, 04:49 PM
  #7414  
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Originally Posted by autonomy
@rumrunn6 well wishes to your wife. I know exactly what you mean by "hidden in the shade". Those bollards and gates on the MM, while they do keep an occasional confused driver away, have always been tricky to get around…
Hi @rumrunn6 also. Dittoes to all the consolations and well-wishes above. Similarly in my experience:
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
…I would not fault one for riding (safely) on the sidewalk. I have done so myself in the Detroit suburbs as mentioned above. One of my worst crashes occurred when I moved over to the sidewalk and didn't see a post [about six inches high] sticking up in the shade
Furthermore that happened as I left a busy road and just just transitioned from bright sunlight to shade.

In my job, I have a saying unto myself that “The possibility of messing up a project is directly proportional to the amount of special attention you pay to it.” Similarly, when I sometimes try for an extra modicum of safety beyond my usual careful riding practice, an unanticipated problem can occur.
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Old 07-07-18, 06:56 PM
  #7415  
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thanks for the understanding guys.means a lot. passed it on to Wifey including your own accounts of similar crashes. today she mentioned she broke her slow speed fall with her arm & that's when it cracked, not from the impact with the "bollard". she went for a walk after car shopping today & I rode down to the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. national parks have a much more sensible solution to the same problem

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Old 07-08-18, 01:21 PM
  #7416  
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“Bollards are bollocks!” Dad in England explaining to his son that it was not his fault.

It seems engineers have to relearn the same lessons over and over again.

More likely than not, bollards aren’t needed. In the unlikely event that bollards ARE needed they must be designed well, they must be visible in all lighting conditions, and they must minimize the harm they might cause.

When the Minuteman first opened the bollards were metal, very yellow and topped with a yellow metal bicycle seat. Good visiblity during sunny days. No active lights, let alone retroreflective meant that in low light conditions they could be hiding in plain sight.

But worst, The bicycle seat was at a very unfortunate hight for roller bladers and roller skaters.

So sorry.

-mr. bill


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Old 07-08-18, 01:26 PM
  #7417  
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The Sun sets VERY slowly in København this time of year.


-mr. bill
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Old 07-08-18, 04:17 PM
  #7418  
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Originally Posted by mr_bill
København this time of year
wow that is impressive cycling infrastructure! & wow, you travel a lot!
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Old 07-09-18, 12:17 PM
  #7419  
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
wow that is impressive cycling infrastructure! & wow, you travel a lot!
@mr_bill @rumrunn6 That's what happens when your city cares about pedestrians & cyclists. Now that people are giving up insanely long commutes and moving back into the cities, our planners are starting to think about it too.

I left the house at dawn, got on my adventure/touring bike and went west at touring pace on the MM with no specific route in mind and the only goal of adding miles to my commute while trying to stay off roads & avoid commuter traffic as much as possible. North on Narrow Gauge, which was much more pleasant now that it's green - especially the section north of Sweetwater Ave. The super-narrow sandy stretch at the end was especially sandy today, though I did OK on my tires. Not wishing to backtrack, I looked for the shortest safe way to Monument St., which seemed like it would be Maple St in Carlisle. In my desire to get off the really busy at this point Rt. 4 I took a turn too early... then not wanting to backtrack and attempt a left turn on 4, I consulted the map and my gut feeling proved right, I pressed on from Outlook Rd. through Greenough Land which turned out to be more of a hike-a-bike than desired because of a narrow, rooty trail in places. But still better than sharing Rt. 4 with impatient drivers and a very pleasant area to explore; saw a beaver. And a whole bunch of turkeys, there are always turkeys around in Billerica/Carlisle early in the morning.



Abandoned building at the entrance to Greenough Land


Greenough Pond



Then, onto Monument St. where the grooved pavement for half of it wasn't as big of a deal as poor-decision-making drivers, one of whom swung so wide (nothing to complain about there for me) that they almost hit an oncoming truck... could've slowed down and waited 5 seconds. Monument St. always boggles me in that it does not seem like such a big commuter cut-through, yet I've witnessed plenty of silliness there on weekday mornings.
No stop at the North Bridge as the trail is closed for renovations. Then, back to familiar territory through Concord and onto the Minuteman NP - this one was also very pleasant, although pretty much all of the non-flat sections have water ruts and lots of sand, so it can be tricky at times. But the greenery is fantastic, the surrounding meadows and fields are a bit more overgrown than I remember at this time of year, which gives it an even greater feeling of being in the wilderness (if you can tune out the 2A noise)
All in all just half a mile short of 35 miles, which is a pretty big ride for me at this point. I really love how I can go from road to gravel to singletrack to road all on one bike. Now, if I could just get used to this saddle... maybe it's a moot point and I need to upgrade after all.

If you look at the bike layer on Google Maps, it's possible to make a very big trail loop by going MinuteMan -> Narrow Gauge north -> back roads west through Great Brook -> Bruce Freeman Trail south -> back roads to Concord -> return to MM via Reformatory Branch or Minuteman NP. I opted out of this crazy plan today as it would be a 50+ miler but one day it'll be done!

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5025.../data=!5m1!1e3
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Old 07-09-18, 12:20 PM
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Noticed a new addition to "bike/hobo route signs". It's lacking in the creative department a bit as it's just a simple straight green line. I've been wondering for a while, is there a way to find out the routes these are marking without actually following them, is there a list somewhere?

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Old 07-09-18, 07:21 PM
  #7421  
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By the way, saw lots of LimeBikes on the MM this weekend and today, a lot of them seem to have moved places. There are now 6 in Lexington, the ones visible from the MM. So people are using them.
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Old 07-10-18, 06:48 AM
  #7422  
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last night took particular notice that there are no bollards on the Minuteman. not one. I saw lots' of cutoff posts at all the intersections where they once stood. & all the gates were wide open. I can only imagine all the injuries that forced their removal

terrible pic I know. surprising how dark it is on the trail under the trees in the early evening



kept reminding myself I didn't want to fall on my 1st clipless ride & risk breaking a wrist. as I left the house daughter chuckled at the caution. but what would she do if we were both in casts?


winding thru traffic I unclipped of course. don't know about that tune the fife? was playing


I was thinking about videotaping the process of clipping / unclipping while riding one handed, but thought that might be tempting fate a bit too much :/

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Old 07-10-18, 07:15 AM
  #7423  
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Originally Posted by autonomy
By the way, saw lots of LimeBikes on the MM this weekend and today, a lot of them seem to have moved places. There are now 6 in Lexington, the ones visible from the MM. So people are using them.
weird yeah, they were scattered about last night. guess that's a good sign?
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Old 07-10-18, 07:18 AM
  #7424  
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Originally Posted by autonomy
If you look at the bike layer on Google Maps, it's possible to make a very big trail loop by going MinuteMan -> Narrow Gauge north -> back roads west through Great Brook -> Bruce Freeman Trail south -> back roads to Concord -> return to MM via Reformatory Branch or Minuteman NP
would love to find a new job in East Burlington or Bedford. that would be an awesome commute for me from Stowish
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Old 07-10-18, 11:20 AM
  #7425  
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
last night took particular notice that there are no bollards on the Minuteman. not one. I saw lots' of cutoff posts at all the intersections where they once stood. & all the gates were wide open.
There have been times when all the gates were open, or so it seemed. However these last two weekends we've been out on the tandem and found some not so open. IIRC the gates at rt225 have been closed. They have pavement aprons running around the sides but not especially wide and actually quite difficult (i.e. dangerous) to negotiate on a tandem. Most times when the gates are closed I have to run us over onto the grass and tolerate the pavement/dirt transitions.
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