Ghazmh

E53 

40 miles on my Roubaix starting at around 9:30AM. Carlisle to Concord, then around Walden Pond. There was a Large group of motorcycles which was participating in a charity run. A quick search on the internet reveals that the ride was for suicide prevention for veterans and active duty personnel. (statistics say 19.2 per day...sad) I happened to be wearing my new Army riding jersey which got me waves from a couple of riders.
I continued my ride through Maynard, then Acton on 27, a short hop on the Freeman, then back to Fern's. It was a great day to ride!

jimmuller 

That is one my favorite runs, along with the Baker Bridge run from Lincoln into Concord.


It was a great day, wasn't it? We didn't ride though. Took a stroll up Monadnock instead. Haven't been up there in years. Lots and lots of folks but we purposefully took a longer woods trail with no intention of going to the top.

Ghazmh

E53 

It sounds like you've lost a few pounds; good for you!
BTW..."E53" was my basic training company at good old Fort Dix in 1972.

Ghazmh

rholland1951

Way back on the 4th of July, I discovered the Ebisu's rear wheel was rubbing against the frame, out of true, so I retired the bike from the rotation until it had a turn in the truing stand. Yesterday's rain made me more interested in wrenching than riding, and I quickly discovered a broken spoke... uh oh! Conveniently enough, I have replacement spokes of the appropriate size, left over from the wheel build; inconveniently enough, it may be necessary to remove the cassette to put the new spoke in the flange (wheel just see about that); also inconveniently, I seem to have mislaid my copy of Jobst Brandt's book on wheel building, but I reckon it'll turn up. May take this as an opportunity to get to a backlog of other work on the Ebisu (cockpit revision, brake adjustment, install rack and Honjo fenders).


rod

jimmuller 

Rod, you don't need JB's book to fix that. Actually you are a bit lucky. That is a head-in spoke. You will have to remove the cassette of course because it is on the drive side. But threading the spoke inside to outside means you don't have to bend it to weave it around the rest of the spokes. (That's why when building a wheel you always do all the head-out spokes first.) Just remember to cross it inside the last crossing spoke. You will have to be patient tensioning and re-truing it, but it isn't a tricky task.

rholland1951

Jim, thanks for the encouraging words. Agree with your analysis of the situation. Re Jobst's book, I found it, so if I need to swear on a stack of Bibles, I can swear on Jobst's book instead...

rod

rumrunn6

new cast & new x-ray. Wifey keeps teasing me, telling me she will ask for a copy but still nadda. doc says she is doing great, cast coming off in 3 weeks

rholland1951

It occurs to me that this thread has reached page 300 a few days ago. Congratulations to SBP (@sherbornpeddler) for building to last, and to all of us who have ridden together virtually here over the years.

For those who haven't yet done so, exploring the early days of the thread is interesting reading.

rod

rumrunn6

tree pruning on the Minuteman today



& I saw this really interesting bike, which has a rear rack that doubles as a stand. it's a "Montague". I told the owner about this forum & this thread because she said she loves this trail & rides it often

Ghazmh

Jim from Boston

Well said @rholland1951, and Hear, Hear. I have frequently described this thread as the de facto Metro Boston Regional Discussion subforum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

... I like to write up my rides, as do others on a local discussion thread here in Boston, and for me, it’s more a journal for myself, than for the amusement of other subscribers, though I hope others would find it interesting. Of course we in Metro Boston all know the region, and each other, at least electronically, so we are a ready receptive audience for each other.

I have thought of that thread as the cycling equivalent of “apres-ski” after a day on the slopes, where we gather to exchange stories, routes, photos, ribbing, and (?) tall tales…

mr_bill

That is a fascinating bike. Not many full size folders out there.


-mr. bill

rumrunn6

yeah those are indeed interesting

got back out there today. the arborists missed a branch ;-)



dodged some rain but not all of it ...



glad I have good shoes

rholland1951

Wow! That's a great photo!

rod

rholland1951

Took the LHT out for a couple of hours to Depot Park and back before dinner, managed to time it so I didn't get wet, just daintily moistened from time to time. Grey-green filtered light, wet air, marching clouds, rioting verdure, an antic cross-wind.




I had a look at the low spots, vernal pools in the wet season, mud holes and dry stream beds in the recent drought conditions, now a bit wetter but with a ways to go.

Only saw two Lime Bikes on the Minuteman. Discounting the hypothesis that the rest were raptured up, I suppose this means they were pedaled to their riders' destinations, and are sitting there.

rod

rumrunn6

haha yeah thanks that is a fun one! took quite a few tries. if I lean over too much I can get wobbly & as a new cleated rider that's not always a great idea helps to have a handheld waterproof sportcam. been riding with it in my bendo bag lately since it developed an audio buzz when mounted on the bars. wish I had control over shutter speed. but since it's totally automatic I have to play with changing light conditions to get either sharp or blurred images. been trying to get a shot of those lime bikes on the side of the trail with just the right amount of sharpness & blur but they are either sharp or too blurred. maybe between now & next winter I'll get one I like

rumrunn6

niiice. I think we took a photo of the same spot yesterday (or not). all that movement shows the moving wind from the storms really well. I was looking at all that movement questioning my decision to ride. wonder if we passed ea other. was out there approx 3-4:30pm. off to Quebec city for a few days w Wifey. won't be back on a bike till sometime next week

oh wait, found it. I like yours much better tho

rumrunn6

haha so true!

jimmuller 

That is 'zactly what I was gonna' say but you beat me to it.

rholland1951

A near miss, I think. I was out 4:15-6:15, by which time that ferocious cloud had gone elsewhere, leaving only its puddles behind. Have fun in Quebec!

rod

rholland1951

I got a call late this morning from my son Sam, suggesting that we meet for lunch at the Kickstand Cafe. Good idea! I rode my 1987 GT Karakoram over, saw the he had already locked his (formerly, my) 1973 Raleigh Grand Prix to a rack; I locked the GT next to it, and left the two red bikes to get reacquainted.


After sandwiches and a good chat, we decided to have a ride up to Lexington on the Minuteman.


Once in Lexington Center, we stopped at Peets for some coffee. This cafe-to-cafe riding discipline has its points, for sure. As we left, and turned the bikes back towards Arlington, a gentle rain began to fall. By the time we passed Brown Homestead, we were out of it, and feeling somewhat refreshed. At the Swan Place junction with the Minuteman, Sam paused to receive a message from the aether.


The message received, we proceeded as far as Spy Pond, at which point I headed home to East Arlington, and he rolled on to Somerville.


More aether. I'm pleased to say we both made it home before the downpour.


rod

rholland1951

Took the Trucker DeLuxe East again. Those 55mm Compass Rat Trap Pass Extralights soaked up a lot of rough pavement at speed on this ride.


Crossed the Mystic River at the Arlington/West Medford line; some clouds were crossing it, too.


Crossed the Malden River in (sure enough) Malden. It had its own clouds. That's the Wynnless casino on the horizon.


Rode with the wind on the Northern Strand Community Path.


rod