Yesterday I convalesced and hydrated. I emptied the blue Ortlieb panniers and returned them to the drawer they came from until next year and reconfigured the 520 for errand running.
That consisted of mounting grocery shopping Ortliebs. It was a good lesson learned about balancing plans, ambitions, and realities. Since I bought my 520 I have enjoyed 1 to 2 weekend mini tours each year. Most have been good weather mixed with wet or cool weather. Now I'll keep hot weather in the back of my mind as I plan next years trip, which I think I'll keep to 3-4 days tops and likely include lodging other than camping.

Today I wanted to capture the essence of being on a tour, I accomplished that with my Smoothie and casual cycling attire. SD-66 sandals, Club Ride shirt, and Pearl Izumi MTB shorts. I also mounted some Racebkade clip on fenders that did 2 things. They kept the crud and mud off my toes and reminded me of their presence with the periodic rub a dub rubbing of the front tire. Especially if I stood and pedaled.I headed west on 117 as I often do to 126 and on through Concord Ctr. From there I rode side roads through Carlisle and on over to Strawberry Hill rd to Acton and onto the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. I took a left and followed it the the end which wasn't too far away. I stopped for a picture and rode the opposite way until it intersects Rte 225. I took 225 and rode it right past Ferns all the way to Bedford and then over to Depot Park. I followed the Minuteman to Cambridge and rode through Cambridge to eventually ride up the Charles River path before crossing to the Boston side and headed West to Watertown Square. I noticed an new pedestrian bridge over the river. I continued up the path to Prospect st in Waltham and from there took it home for a 59.4 mile ride.

How in the world do you see that tiny arch (“There are seven stones!”) at mile 4?

Ride back from my last AIT PT was my fastest ever, according to the app-god. (I was riding faster because the Minuteman was empty and more self-generated breeze meant more evaporative cooling during solar noon.)

-mr. bill

Yesterday morning I took my 520 out to Wilsons in Lexington via the Minuteman. Another slow casual ride coupled with a utilitarian purpose. I enjoyed all 21 miles to get there and went directly home in 6 miles instead of backtracking. Later on in the afternoon I took the Smoothie out for a final casual Friday 42 mile afternoon ride. Again I was dressed casually and riding slower than usual to enjoy the day and scenery. I went West along 117 to 26 and followed it down and took a right onto Rte 20 in Sudbury. From there I followed a delightful side road to Water Row and followed that for a while. Eventually I linked back up with 126 and then followed it through my usual Concord, Carlisle, Lincoln loop.

This morning I reacquainted myself with Lycra, S-Works kit, carbon and deep wheels. I took my Roubaix SL4 Pro Race out for 29 miles. It felt good to go faster after a week of steel bike fun. Admittedly my legs weren't willing to let me go too fast yet. Despite the early week setback I managed to spend my week off immersed in cycling and mostly loving every second. It's also been my highest mileage week yet, 288. I fully intend to add 12 or more miles tomorrow.

(route 27 where it splits from route 16 aka Washington St)

Today I took my light and fast Boone 7 cross bike out for 34.5 miles and lost myself amongst the endless miles of stone walls, barns and open fields scattered along the side roads between Carlisle and Acton. That was topped by a delightful bomb down Strawberry Hill rd albeit going at a slightly conservative pace as it was raining lightly. As I was sitting at the red light at 126 and Rte 2 I looked down and observed my front tires side walls crinkling as I turned the wheel slightly. I dismissed it as the norm for 38's and sprinted from the stop when the light turned green. Unfortunately I should have paid better attention as the hop and bobbing got more pronounced it only meant one thing- a flat. I pulled into the dump entrance across from Walden pond and patched the hole. Thankfully it was only he second flat of 2018 and on a weekend and not 5:30 on a weekday morning. The Hed Belgium/ Bontrager CX0 interference was easy enough to unmount and remount with the slightest nudge from a lever, unlike the finger blistering ordeal of doing the same with the GP Gator Hardshell 25's on the R3's Boyd wheels. The ride home from there was routine and nice. No ride tomorrow for me as I'll be getting an early start to the soul crushing task of digging out of a weeks worth of emails and VM's for having the audacity to take a week off.......