Ghazmh

Went out this morning just as the flurries started for a quick 21 miles. Cold for sure but the cold was easily tempered by my boots, BarMitts, balaclava and super warm Giro winter jacket. I rode my off season road bike with its Rene Herse 32’s and although I managed just fine I would have preferred the treads of my comparatively heavy Schwalbe Marathon Winter double row studded tires. Of coarse those are mounted on my Boone 7 cross bike. I doubt I’d have needed the studs but as mentioned they have a tread which I would have liked for the veneer of snow. Yesterday I was equally bundled up when I rode for 26 miles. As I warmed back up I put my Boone 7 on my stand and installed a fresh set of SRAM X01 ceramic bearing derailleur pulleys which are an upgrade over the stock SRAM Force pulleys. They kept binding up and when compared to the new pulleys were extremely worn out.

rumrunn6

good man, you die hard! new bearings are gonna feel great

rumrunn6

Christmas Eve day nature walk w/ Wifey. Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Concord, MA

rumrunn6

got out in the forest today. things warmed up (just above freezing) but there was still plenty of crusty wet ice
got out for approx. 2 hrs after some errands & chores. got home just before dark

the bike got some wet mud, leaves, twigs & ice thrown about, so I sprung for a small .5 gal garden sprayer & rinsed it down. brought it inside & wiped down some key components, like fork stanchions, derailleurs & chain

bike_tom

Went out for a ride this morning. It was cold - just above freezing. This gave me an opportunity to try out the Pearl Izumi AmFib jacket I got for Christmas. I was very comfortable with that jacket over a jersey and a thermal base. The color is called "screaming yellow", and it certainly does:



I took the Minuteman out to Bedford, and then the Reformatory as far as Route 62. The MM was pretty much clean and dry, except for the bridges. As they say on the highways "bridge freezes before pavement". This was most noticeable on the Route 128 overpass, as well as the short bridge over the Shawsheen River. Not a problem as long as you are paying attention. By the way, the outside restrooms at the Lexington visitor's center are still open. (Bedford's are closed, as was previously reported.)

The Reformatory had a dusting of snow. It made a crunchy sound when riding over it. This pic is looking East from the parking area at Route 62:



It was very peaceful. I didn't see another soul on the Reformatory.

I am usually done for the season once the roads and trails get sloppy, but this year is providing an extended opportunity for dry riding. There is still no significant snow in the two week forecast. Its been a good year for biking and I am OK with the snow coming, I know some of you are looking forward to riding on it!

Ghazmh

Yep, not knowing if they’d be ice or not I decided to roll slowly on my cross bike with 4 rows of studs per tire equaling 8 rows of carbide studs clacking along ensuring I didn’t ride too fast. I rode 39 miles and managed to still enjoy the ride,

rumrunn6

been curious as I rode past it. still haven't stepped a foot in the front door. but, outside restrooms? sounds promising! thank you for the info! nice jacket!

rumrunn6

an inspiration!

bike_tom

The outside restrooms face Meriam St. They are on the left as you face the visitor's center from the bike path. I have not been inside the building yet either.

rumrunn6

compelling. I remember using the previous facility, in the winter, using the sink to de-ice my water bottle

rholland1951

On Christmas Eve, I returned from a three-weeks' masked sojourn in Italy, apparently uninfected. The wisdom and vicissitudes of Pandemic Tourism are out of scope here, but I did notice that e-bikes have become an increasingly visible component of Italian cycling, especially in city centers, and seem to be successfully competing for the ecological niche long occupied by Vespas.


On Wednesday, I put the GT Karakoram on the stand and swapped out the Rene Herse Humptulips Ridge Extralights, in exchange for studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta W240 snow & ice tires. This is a case of competing goods, but having occasionally fallen on ice riding without studs, I find I get more winter cycling done if I have a bike fitted with them readily to hand. Thursday, I took the GT out for a test run on the Minuteman.


There were turkeys.


There were Bert and Ernie, encouraging the trail users.


In general, the bike seemed road-worthy, but a perhaps-imagined vagueness in rear-end tracking will probably have it back on the stand before it gets more serious miles.

In other related matters, I took another bike project into Battle Road Bikes, so the value of N is apt to continue to increase over the next few weeks. Good to be back.

rod

rumrunn6

last ride of 2021 was on the Bruce Freeman, Acton - Chelmsford. last cpl hrs of daylight

rholland1951

Took the GT with its newly-reinstalled Nokian W240s out again on New Year's Eve, as the sun set, for a follow-up shakedown ride. It was full dark by the time I got to Arlington's Great Meadow...


... but you wouldn't know it from the Google Pixel 4 Night Sight images, Computational Photography delivering a pretty good surrogate for an image intensifier.


Mr. Bones has been relieved of sentry duty at the Maple Street ramp, but he's been replaced by a Snowy Owl who's (heh) deceptively adorable in daylight (though the voles aren't fooled), but becomes a luminous apparition, a little unnerving, at night.


Speaking of luminous apparitions, the trees in Arlington Center are flaunting their lumens this week.


Oh yeah, the bike... no apparent problem with the wheels. I think it's just that I had forgotten what riding the Nokians was like: the RH Humptulips Ridge Extralights provided an enormously planted feeling when ridden; the Nokians are a little twitchy when ridden on bare pavement. On some old (2013) advice of Peter White, I tried dropping the pressure in the rear tire to 40 PSI; seemed to help.

rod

rholland1951

Took the LHT out on what was a New Years Day ride, and incidentally a birthday ride, a meditative spin on a day that started out drizzly and ended foggy. A 3-layer Taiga shell and Polartec fleece over a Portland Cycleware merino wool jersey largely kept the rain out and the damp and heat balanced. Strange weather for the turn of the year.


Headed East, of course, intent on hill climbs and descents.


Got 'em. In the course of the afternoon, what began as drizzle became fog.


And more fog...


The Kurukulla Center's winter lights are back on display. If I had the patience, I'd go study there.


Why is the Mystic River called that?


It's the fog...


Not a bad day, if you didn't melt.

rod

rumrunn6

welcome back. was wondering where you went after mounting the studs. yeah weird December but I'll take it. better than some other places. nice job w/ the fog!

rholland1951

Thanks!

rod

NomarsGirl

Happy New Year Greater Boston Cyclists! Really hoping to put a lot more miles on my bike this year than last. Not a resolution, just a wish. Waiting for spring. I have no tolerance for cold anymore. Not enough meat on these old bones to keep me reasonably warm outside. I suppose I should buy a trainer, but that sounds boring.

rholland1951

Monday, I made a game attempt to dress for the weather that had blown in with the cold front, 26degF, breezy, and admirably devoid of snow (that stuff went further South), then took the GT Karakoram out for a little spin, its Nokian W240 tires bristling with carbide studs.


I rolled out on the Minuteman, my default short ride (as opposed to the Mystic Valley Parkway, which is my default shorter ride).


The clothing choices worked, without exception, which surprised me a little. But everything stayed toasty, and none of it got sweaty. No frostbite or heat exhaustion. I rolled on home, allowing the Nokians to bite any icy puddles they came to. It was the only time the studs stopped crackling on the bare pavement. In sooth, they had slim pickings: Lexington seems to have fixed its once ubiquitous drainage problems. Better late than never, I suppose.


Back home, I was amused to discover that I had grown a 3" icicle goatee. The mask helped, I think.


Pleasant ride. Beats inertia.

rod

rumrunn6

hard core! well done! nice fang! that's wild!

rumrunn6

will we be saying goodbye to bare ground for the foreseeable future, beginning Friday morning? there might be some rides to take before then!

rholland1951

Late Tuesday afternoon, I took delivery of the Rivendell Appaloosa that I had bought new from Rivendell, had shipped here, then (after some tinkering on my part), had handed over to Battle Road Bikes for final assembly and inspection. Among other things, the Battle Road guys had taken the measurements on my old LHT, the most dialed-in bike build I have, and did what they could to recapitulate those measurements on this new bike.


When I got it home, night was falling, so I quickly installed a couple of lights and took a short ride on the back streets of East Arlington, a modest and abbreviated New Bike Day observance that was enough to confirm my suspicion that riding this bike will definitely feel different than riding any of the other bikes.
rod

rumrunn6

looks comfy! meaty tires!

sherbornpeddler

Happy New Year to you riders, winter tires and clothes. I specially like the sound change tires make when they find puddled trail ice. Rod, that new bike enthusiasm with that stem and bar a beautiful homage to the past! Oh the places you’ll go! Bravo all!

rholland1951

SBP! Happy New Year!

rod

sherbornpeddler

"New Year Ice Sculpture" was supposed to be the header to my post and it was supposed to be a whimsical reference to your ice goatee, the frozen puddle on the trail and a few of my own recent mental images of Boston ice sculptures. I suppose my inability to corral spell check and my hunt peck typing are to be part of the "good ole, reliable, just like last year and the year before that". Your new bike though is sweet. All these winter riding posts are inspirational. Thank you and all you Metro Boston family of posters.