rholland1951

I allowed myself a little bicycle therapy this afternoon, taking the Sam Hillborne up the Minuteman to Lexington Center and back, keeping an easy pace. When I stopped at Peepers Pond, a woman came up to me and said, "All the cygnets are dead. They had too much contact with the children. The children made a trail to the nest because they wanted to see the babies. Now they're dead." Uh-huh. I didn't think it was politic to mention bird flu.


Broadway, Arlington: All About Strange Beasts of the Past.


rod

rumrunn6

road pavement grinder?

rholland1951

Could be. It's fully tracked, in any case. I haven't seen it in action yet.

rod

rumrunn6

Wifey & I got out for a modest round trip, Concord to Bedford Depot. Lovely day

the water fountain is on!


Wifey reports the ladies room at the depot has issues, such as no running water. I can report the men's room has no such issues

OMEN!

A bit off topic but I didn't want to start an entire thread for a regional specific question. Riding through Somerville a few days ago I was stopped by an officer and issued a written warning for "running a red light". I had been at a complete stop during a red light when the Walk sign came on for all crossings - I waited for everyone walking and crossed in the remaining seconds before being pulled over on the other side. I was under the impression that after yielding to all pedestrians I was allowed to ride through, I explained that to the officer and he said I needed to dismount and walk my bicycle. I can't find anything that says I need to dismount though. The officer was nice about it all, and I know it's not a huge deal, but I'd like to have some clairfication for the future. Thanks!

rholland1951

I think you hit the nail on the head. Google Lens came back with "road milling machine", and other similar photos.

rod

rholland1951

I suspect this varies on a cop-by-cop basis. The logic is, to be treated like a pedestrian, please dismount. But some cops may be more pragmatic about that.

rod

rholland1951

I put the old Rivendell Rambouillet back in the rotation, and took it for a spin on the Minuteman this afternoon.


The Ram was a pleasure to ride, and nipped briskly along, passing those of the Memorial Day throngs as required passing.


I tried dropping in at Battle Road Bikes, but they were very sensibly closed in observance of the holiday.


Failing that, I went around back and took a photo of the Rambouilet, with their mural. They reconfigured the Ram for me last year, after I found it at Bikes Not Bombs. The orange and cream color scheme suggests it was part of the first production run, in 2001.


In the little park across the Minuteman from the mural, a swarm of satellites or, perhaps, drones, have been installed. Wind moves them. Found myself singing Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love" on the ride back.


rod

rumrunn6

OMEN!

I mean that I had a foot down (not track/bike standing, just rolling up, etc..) waiting at a red for the light to change and the Walk sign for all 4 crosswalks was the next in the cycle.


Thank you for the response, Rod

rumrunn6

maybe if you didn't cross in the crosswalk & just rode the bike, in the auto lane, with the auto traffic's green light?
I can see a cop saying if you're acting like a pedestrian, then do so on foot?

maybe start a separate thread here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/advocacy-safety/

rholland1951

Thinking about this, the traffic code has good support for pedaled bikes behaving like vehicles, and walked bikes behaving like pedestrians. The rub comes with so-called "super-pedestrian" behaviors: pedaled bicycles behaving like pedestrians with augmented capabilities. There's no consensus about this, I think.

rod

rumrunn6

that would be fun to discuss, w/ a Boston cop, on the side of a road ... hehe

EVlove

I spent Sunday morning at another track event at the NE Velodrome. Ten of us attended, which was better than expected during the holiday weekend, but didn't justify splitting up into two groups. So, given the hot weather, we agreed on a modest "omnium" with three mass start races and one individual 500m time trial, with 5 minute hydration breaks in between. Quite the mixed group, two fit young guys seriously competing for the overall win, one sprinter who easily won the 500 but didn't score a single point apart from that, one older rider back for the first time in a while and well off the pace--and a Festivus for the rest of us. Racing as one of six pretty evenly matched guys and gals was fun.



I have a lot to learn about timing and tactics but I can definitely keep up, and more. Except in the time trial, once again. 5th place overall.

All I could manage after that was to light the coals for my wife, who proceeded to grill ingredients for three dinners. Monday saw lots of work in the garden and finally a pre-dinner recovery ride on the BFRT. I was determined to take it easy and I don't think I broke 15 mph even once, except downhill. The trail was of course still fairly busy, so while it would have been possible to go faster, it would have required sharper reflexes than I had available. In short, a day to heed this sentiment...



...stop and admire the flowers...



...and fish. Or, rather, watch others fish. All at NARA Park.



Personally, I prefer to present a moving target to the bugs, so I was soon headed back. Still taking my time, and deciding not to rise to the bait, when such presented itself in the form of a roadie passing me.

At Heart Pond, I left the BFRT and paused leaning on my bike for a moment, mostly to enjoy, discreetly, the sight of a young and very pregnant couple having their pictures taken on the beach by a friend. Not in turn photographed by me.

15.9 pleasant miles in all.

rumrunn6

had a nice ride after work today. easy quick one RBT Bedford / Concord roundtrip. had a cpl contentious convos w/ dog owners which I wrote about here post #24

aside from that, I saw 1 dead chipmonk near Great Meadows. assuming a bike ran over it's head, poor thing. good reminder why bikes aren't allowed in the refuge

OMEN!

I was riding in the painted bike lane the whole time - never in the actual zebra stripes. I'll start another thread, I just wasn't sure if this would be something city-specific.

Thanks for the responses.

bike_tom

I got out for a quick ride up the MM to Depot Park and back before lunch today. Weather was great and the path fairly quiet.

On the way back this notice at the Lexington Visitors Center caught my attention:



If you can't make out the URL, its this: lexingtonma.gov/bikepedsurvey
I haven't done the survey yet myself.

While at the Visitor's Center, I saw this contraption go by at a good clip:



There is active work going on at the site of the Bike Stop fire. From the side it looked like the roof of the building is completely gone. Here's a video flyby:



The piece of construction equipment reported on Broadway in East Arlington was no longer to be seen, but the intersection is freshly ground down. I think we can infer it was involved in that process:



Over the past year the MWRA was working on the water main that passes under there. I suppose the repaving indicates they are done at that spot.

Tom

rumrunn6

Lexington, another town that leaves dog leashing up to the owner ... :-(

https://ecode360.com/10531586

excerpt:
No dog owned or kept in this Town shall be allowed to be off the premises of its owner or keeper except in the immediate restraint and control of some person by means of a leash or by effective command. The owner or keeper of any such dog that is not restrained or controlled off the premises of its owner or keeper shall be punishable by a fine of up to $50 or the maximum permitted by Section 173A of Chapter 140 of the General Laws, whichever is higher.

stay alert out there ppl

EVlove

Two brief observations from an otherwise unremarkable training run before dinner, on the BFRT between Chelmsford center and Route 225. Fairly busy section (Bartlett woodlot) and time of day, and yet I had to come almost to a full stop for a group of three not quite fully grown rabbits, littermates no doubt, crossing ahead of me. Chipmunks are seemingly everywhere, so are robins right now, but I don't think I've seen a rabbit on the trail before, not even in much less "peopled" areas. I was on the track bike, but in its guise as single speed with brakes fore and aft, good thing, or their first encounter with a bicycle could have been their last. The poor things live quite precarious lives as it is.

And speaking of roadwork, miracle of miracles, High St in Chelmsford is getting a much needed resurfacing. Milled surface right now and the BFRT crossing has only minimal signage, presumably on the theory that it's a stop sign for trail users, anyway. Looking forward to taking High St more often when that's done, it had been a road to avoid when I'm on skinny tires.

rholland1951

I had been contemplating taking the Sam Hillborne out of the rotation for awhile, but instead took it out on the Minuteman for a vigorous sprint, coaxing it to a new high average speed and informing my legs and knees about how to make that horse run. A good, hard ride, on a day that I needed it. One photo, just because.


rod

rholland1951

Took the Sam Hillborne out Friday at 4:30 to investigate a rumor from an unofficial source that the gates to the extension of the Somerville Community Path had been unofficially opened. This apparently had been unofficially true, but had involved the unofficial use of wire cutters, and the gates were once more officially locked.


Oh well. At least the giraffes were friendly...


and Elfland was open...


and in Davis Square, a sax player blew a slow, meditative blues, conducive to waiting.


I made my way back home before the storms arrived.

rod

rholland1951

Saturday brought cool temperatures, intermittent drizzle, and a stiff breeze: what could happen? So I dressed for conditions and took the Sam Hillborne and rode East for another round of the hills-and-traffic drill through Arlington, Medford, Malden, Melrose, and Stoneham..


The first of the rain came out to play as I crested High Street, climbing out of West Medford. It would be back at intervals. I got my first unparseable complaint from a driver (realistically, a passenger); this too recurred at intervals. Seemed to be a corollary effect of the phenomenon of Massachusetts drivers losing skill whenever they notice weather. The drivers on this route are normally well-behaved, but the weather today unnerved them. Sometimes being just a little deaf is helpful: I have no idea what they actually said.

Medford held its first Porchfest today, and I spent the Medford segments of the ride approaching one musical beacon while another receded. While I didn't pause at any of the performance sites, I enjoyed some of what I heard a great deal. The participants seemed genial and well-organized.


This section of the long, fast descent down Fellsway East in Malden serves to illustrate the generally wet road surface conditions today. The Rene Herse Barlow Pass Extralights gripped the road like an old Armstrong Tire ad, and the fenders kept the bike and rider clean. I clocked 27mph on that route.


That long descent ends at Fellsmere Park. I noticed that both jets d'eau were operating Saturday afternoon: for most of this season, it's been one or the other. The Fellsway Park jets d'eau are early signs that the ride is ending. As such, they always evoke just a little regret.


rod

EVlove

Between work, two 93 degree days followed by a hailstorm, and the cold, wind and showers all weekend, my grand total for the month of June was 4 miles on the bike. This would never do for tomorrow night's hoped-for track event (Sunday's was canceled, of course), so I kept an eye on the weather radar today and drove to Chelmsford center just after 3, for a training run on the Van Dessel, still equipped as single speed. The BFRT wasn't very popular at all--more chipmunks than people, it seemed at times--but it was rather too wet and gunky for a fenderless bike with minimal tire clearance. It's always worst in the densely wooded section right at the start, though, so I decided to persevere and things did indeed improve, for the most part.

I reached NARA Park in good time and decided to take the long walk around the pond this time, all the way into the back where the ballfields are.



Now, I may be biased, but that looks to me like the perfect spot for a velodrome on the right No disrespect to the Acton Adult Softball league, whose home this is, per the signs on the backstop, but I don't think they hit 500 foot homers on a regular basis. Google Maps says the area is roughly 500 by 400 feet. Big enough to warrant a conspicuous sign by the parking lot, NO GOLF.

In continued my walk and upon turning a corner, came upon this fellow rather unexpectedly:



Despite the posture in this shot, he or she was not busy fishing but rather, grooming. Seemed to be used to passers-by, too. I watched from a bench for a while but then sprinkles set in and I hurried to get going again, fully expecting a downpour at this, the most distant point of my ride. Don't we all know how the universe likes to do that kind of thing to us. The precip was short-lived, however, and overall the return ride was noticeably drier under the wheels already.

13.6 miles, 300 vertical feet, and a recorded top speed of 29 mph. Maybe I managed a little more once or twice but the gizmos weren't always cooperative today.

rholland1951

I kept one eye on the weather radar for most of the afternoon, and became convinced that this was the sort of day when one might ride between the raindrops. I put that to the test on the Rambouillet, in a little ride out the Mystic Valley Parkway along the E shore of the Mystic Lakes. Within a minute of pedaling into the street, a light rain started, and I received a playful spritz for the next 10 minutes, after which that raincloud floated off to bestow its aqueous gifts on others. I cranked along briskly, among a few other cyclists and runners who were out, and photographed a solitary fisherman casting his line off the pier of the Tufts Bacow Sailing Pavillion on the Upper Mystic Lake. No sails were to be seen.


30 yards or so to the South, gulls and cormorants were doing their own fishing below the dam, on the Lower Mystic Lake.


I spun home drier than I might have been, and considered the between-the-raindrops exercise to have been largely successful.

rod

rholland1951

In the early afternoon, I put on a KN95 particulate mask and climbed the somewhat-too-grandly named Horn Pond Mountain. I got a good picture of the smoke and haze, from a vantage point at the peak that usually has a fine view of the Boston skyline; today, it was the merest suggestion of the skyline, as a very subtle sort of shadow puppet. Depending on some technical characteristics of the display you're using to read this post, you may or may not be able to see that.


So, considering that fair warning, I then took the Rivendell Rambouillet out to Depot park, still wearing a KN95 mask. Having seen the air, I had no particular desire to breathe it, Besides, it smelled like Quebec.


However, it became visible at ground level from time to time.




Fortunately, the air wasn't the only thing worth looking at. There were chickens.




And there were horses.


Every bicycle gets to pretend to be a nose, at least once.


The better to smell Ontario with, my dear.

rod