rholland1951

Last two evening rides have featured bunnies (possibly the same one) who seemed to want to race for a bit before they veered off into the greenery. Cute.

rod

jimmuller 

I got out today for an easy six miles, three over to Harris Cyclery and three back home. Except that it wasn't quite so easy. I'd just mowed the lawn for the first time in a month. That beer when I got home sure tasted great.

cmolway

100 miles yesterday as part of the North Shore Cyclists' annual Blazing Saddles Century. Things were looking good despite the heat until I hit "bare hill" in Topsfield at mile 85. The 16% grade locked up both my legs at the top. I had noodle for a few miles to work them out, dropping my average speed just under 20mph.

Two weeks of short, flat miles in south-eastern Virginia while on vacation with the family probably didn't help either.

sherbornpeddler

Bunnies, Beer and Bare Hill!
Evening rides, lawn beer and post 16% noodling a 20 mph century.
We do have diversity.

I zigged and zagged 40 miles around Dover's downed trees Saturday morning after an intense local storm Friday night.

Today I managed another early morning 40 from Holliston to cut the corner in Cumberland, RI via Burnt Swamp road in a long narrow loop. A lot of new pavement in Franklin and Cumberland made this a much nicer ride.

Next month I'm a volunteer Ride Marshal at the Hub on Wheels ride Sunday 25 Sept. morning. This is one of my favorite rides of the year. No better way to tour neighborhoods, paths and parks all across Boston. https://hubonwheels.kintera.org
Storrow Drive, Fenway, Arnold Arboretum, Franklin Park Neponset River, Carson Beach, Boston Harbor and City Hall. The Pro Crit is the same day, after the ride.

JandersUF

Still mostly just riding around the Cambridge-to-Concord Axis, though I occasionally hit the Blue Hills before or after work, or go out to my old stomping grounds in Dover. I did a nice 50 mile ride before work a couple weeks ago that started in Milton, looped through the Blue Hills and then went south nearly to Canton, and turned west to the happy hunting grounds of dover, before returning to Milton via the NNW.

I did, with the help of Strava (now with pretty nice free mode), find a lovely hill in Bedford-- Page Rd. east of town center/VA. Coming from the west it is a pretty nice interval climb, and a good way to earn an espresso on the way how. I think strava is a fun way to find good local routes; if anyone else is on it, let me know and we can share rides.

Starting tomorrow I'm going to join in the "Tour of the Unattended," which is basically an asynchronous stage race over the next 5 days. If you are interested, they have a website with a lengthy explanation here: https://ridestudiocafe.com/studio-com...r-august-2011/ The stages are roughly centered around Lexington.

The premise is that each day, they have a route that you have to ride. You can do it whenever, as long as it is that day. You need some type of GPS device (Garmin, or smartphone) to record your ride. You then submit it, and compete that way. There is a large degree of honor system. My main goal is to be Not Last. Which might be difficult...

The first stage is a "prologue" slightly over 7 mile loop in Dover. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

mtalinm

well now I can say I've had my 15 minutes of fame: https://www.boston.com/lifestyle/gree...from_westwood/

JandersUF

Nice!

rholland1951

Page Road is fun, and very brisk on the descent. I'm fond of the "Please don't squish my chickens" sign near the top of the hill.

rod

jimmuller 

I got in about 15 miles today, ending up through light rain. We had friends visiting, an old boss who used to race bicycles and his wife. (No, I don't mean he used to race his wife.) So I offered him my Gran Sport because it fit him okay with the seat lowered and I rode the Peugeot. We managed only Mt. Misery to Concord and a bit toward Bedford before I decided the sky looked way to gray for us to continue. Even so it was a great, quick ride.

Bikinggrrrl, did I pass you going the other way on Sudbury Road about 4PM? We were climbing the hill toward Verrill Farm in a light rain when I glimpsed a tandem pulling a trailer going the other way, downhill, north toward Concord, looking almost as much in a hurry as we were. Both riders were wearing orange, and the trailer was white I think. Didn't have time to shout out.

jimmuller 

Hey! Izzat you standing over your bike in Lobby 10? Cool!

buzzman

How very cool that is!!

bikinggrrrl

That must have been us. Gosh, I love that downhill. Although my captain was insisting on some restraint because the roads were damp. Yes, we were trying to beat the weather. I don't mine cycling in rain but really didn't want to repeat the Hail experience of last Friday.

As we approached the lights at Route 2 a woman pulled up beside us and seemed eager to talk. I thought something was wrong with the trailer and immediately ran through the check list: wheels not flat, rain cover up, baby secured inside... I couldn't imagine what she was trying to tell me. She pulled in a side road and us alongside her.

To tell you the truth, I am usually not very interested in what other women have to say to me when I'm out pulling my child behind me. I have been yelled at too many times ... mostly to the gist of "How could you be such a horrible mother to put your child in such danger." But for some reason this woman's plea was different and I was concerned.

Turns out, she didn't realize we had a little passenger. Because of the rain, she was trying to offer us a ride home! How sweet is that? I don't think that has ever happened. I thanked her sweetly and explained with the weather this year that if we waited for clear forecasts we would never get a ride in this year. Still pretty awesome that she offered though.

jimmuller 

Restraint? What's that?? Yeah, I tend to ride cautious anyway and especially so with roads like that. When we hit Rt117 it was looking dark enough and traffice was antsy enough that I flipped my lights on and told Jan to ride in front of me.

That is a great hill, and of course it's the drop down into the vestigial valley of the Sudbury River. We hit 25mph going down it without working because I was trying to avoid tailing another cyclist who didn't seem to be in a hurry. I'd driven it occasionally for years and never thought about it as a hill until I biked it.

Ooh, nice. Sure beats Mz. Floppy Hat, dozzenit? Or maybe it was Mz. Floppy Hat having a better day.

jimmuller 

Today's commute was spectacular! When I left the house this morning the ground was wet and the sky was overcast. By the time I left the Attleboro train station the road had dried up, and by the time I hit the Rhode Island state line the wind had shifted to the north, a dry, crisp pre-autumn breeze.

The ride back to A'boro in the afternoon was wonderful. Not a cloud in the sky, the sun sitting lower day by day as demonic August wears herself out. Traffic was light and courteous. I guess everybody must be feeling good today! It sure is nice to have some dry air again.

rholland1951

Another late day at work, another night commute on the Minuteman. Tonight there was a full-throated chorus, with buzzes, squeaks, squawks, and other music contributed by frogs, bugs, teenagers, and an unlit roadie whistling "Dixie".

rod

jimmuller 

Please tell us you weren't the unlit roadie whistling "Dixie".

buzzman

Working in Wellfleet for a month and loving my CCRT bike rides as part of a loop I've been doing. But tonight was absolutely spectacular because my wife went along and we rode to Coast Guard beach for an ocean swim, then looped back along the ocean beaches of Wellfleet beyond the bike path and cutting down Long Pond Rd. took a narrow, sandy dirt road/trail to a remote little pond in the woods. Fortunately, we had light kits on both bikes because we ended up riding home in the dark. Fabulous ride!

rholland1951

Not me. While I've been known to whistle "Dixie", I definitely glow in the dark, fore and aft, brightly enough to see and be seen. I actually heard this guy before I saw him; I guess whistling in the dark is functional.

rod

sherbornpeddler

I tend to whistle in the dark particularly when I'm about to stop or start or occasionally when I go for a walk. I suppose it is to prevent surprises.

pocky

Not exactly metro Boston, but our weekend trip to Western MA was great. Rode the rail trail to Amherst the first day, hiked Mt. Holyoke the second day, and rode the rail trail over the bridge to breakfast in Northampton the third day. I stayed on the tandem with my wife the whole time, and our friends rode our single bikes. Glad I brought more bikes than necessary -- the Kona turned out to be too long for Frank, so he switched to my MTB and was much more comfortable. Would have wanted to put in more miles, but our friends were a bit new to it.

I'll have to post a photo of our hatchback with the tandem on the tandem roof rack on the left side, a single bike on the other roof rack on the right side, and three more bikes on the trunk rack. All stable, stayed tight, zero problems. Got a very interested passerby while we were unloading, who asked me about the trunk rack (Rhode Gear Pro, which could optionally hold a whopping 4 bikes with the two more optional brackets), and took a picture so he could "justify the purchase to his wife".

cmolway

Nice ride into work this morning. Climbed up Bunker Hill St. in Charlestown to avoid the construction on Main Street. Nice change of pace. A slight tailwind gifted me a 20mph average commute home today (obeying traffic rules even!).

doesn't quite make up for the brutal headwind home the other day.

jimmuller 

I had a lovely commute today too. The strong southwest wind was a crosswind for the first two thirds of the afternoon ride. But when Rt123 turned slightly left at the 1/1A intersection it became more of a tailing wind.

sherbornpeddler

Pocky,
Nice report and observations and sounds like a clever rack. My wife and I stayed at a B&B in Florence and rode this trail. The ride up to Amherst, lunch, visiting, strolling and ride home was terrific. We biked the trail to Northampton for dinner. What a great bike friendly area!

sherbornpeddler

CCRT marketing department should quote you! The tail end of the Saltonstall trail into P town is beautiful and last year a little perplexing for me to follow. Fantastic views and I didn't get too lost with water on one side and Rt 6 on the other.

We are contemplating another epic, all world (aka routine for some of you) century ride from Sherborn to P town and ferry to Boston.

Buzzman, your evening ride is right on! The weather has been spectacular for evening rides. Light kits are good. I'm contemplating how to mount a second headlight low on my carbon fiber fork to augment the handlebar mounted light.

cmolway

black squall-line on the horizon and a decent tailwind and the threat of getting caught in a nasty T-storm meant a new record time home today: 25.30 (an average of 21mph while obeying traffic rules). I rarely do that in my car commute! On one long, flat stretch I was easily keeping up with traffic for a mile or two. I glanced down at my cyclo-comp and realized I was motoring at 32mph! Wish I could do that all the time.