rholland1951

Rode East, temperatures in the low 50s falling into the high 40s, with a breeze and occasional showers that, one little drizzle excepted, never actually fell on me, although they wet some of the roads I traversed in Stoneham, Melrose, Malden, and Medford, but had moved along by the time I got there: very polite little rain showers. When I reached the Kurukulla Center to pay my usual respects to the stupa, I saw a monk had erected a ladder next to it and was doing some sort of maintenance work.


When I passed by again, after dark, as the ride was winding up, the stupa was illuminated, and so was I.


rod

mr_bill

Someone doesn’t like masks, Uncle Sam, or both. Thorndike/Magnolia on the Minuteman almost in Cambridge (our fair city) MA:





p.s. The westernmost Bluebike Dock in Arlington is here now. The rest of the docks have already been removed for winter. Don’t ask how I know. At least it’s warmish and wetish today.

-mr. bill

rholland1951

Went out on the Rawland Nordavinden for a mental health ride about 30 minutes before sunset, temperature dropping into the 50s with a wind that toyed with the bike.


After a couple of miles, I was at the Bow Street, Arlington, access point on the Minuteman with pink clouds over a flat front tire. The light was fading, and rather than fixing the flat on the spot, I threw in the towel. Mental health seemed best served by that tonight. I'll fix the flat tomorrow.


Had one last look at the sunset colors over Bow Street while awaiting rescue.


rod

rholland1951

Took the venerable old GT Karakoram rigid 26" mtb out on Minuteman in the late afternoon.


The sky was entirely clear, not a cloud to be seen, and the light from the low sun gave everything a vivid, precisely-rendered cast.


The shadows of tree trunks lay across the path like bar codes, and to ride them was to scan them, flickering on the eyelids.


The phragmites near Peepers Pond were given solar halos.


Peaceful ride. I still haven't put the studded Nokians back on this bike, but the weatherman is making threatening noises about snow, so I guess I'll have to get on that soon.

rod

rholland1951

Got out on the Surly and rode East.


Aside from the customary photos of the Kurukulla Center, the phone stayed in my pocket. Had a pleasant ride cranking up hills and rolling down hills, interspersed with bouts of urban riding in the flats. With night falling so early, I got to use my lights for the last hour.

rod

rholland1951

Took the Rawland Nordavinden with a new tube in the front tire for a late-afternoon spin up to Lexington Center and back on the Minuteman, temperatures in the low 40s.


The Ghost Bike has effective seasonal camouflage, and no pedals.


I didn't expect to see ice on the Minuteman just then, but did notice a number of spots in Lexington where meltwater was running across the pavement. This could produce black ice during an overnight freeze, and make things slick for early birds.


Fire and ice danced together on the surface of Peepers Pond.


rod

rholland1951

Took the Surly Trucker DeLuxe and rode East.


As usual on these rides, the theme was hills, with some urban tactical riding thrown in. The bike is shod with Compass Rat Trap Pass Extralight tires that measure out at 54mm, inflated to 30/35 PSI; these float pretty well at speed over such rough pavement as is encountered. I've been riding this bike a lot more this year, and have developed more of an intuition for how it handles, and how to get the best from it. Climbing and descending with it is great fun, and rides in the Fells Escarpment hills just to the East have emerged as favorites, quicker to ride to than Harvard, and about as challenging.

Not counting a quick descent on Everett Street, Arlington, the first (and last) of the hills is High Street, running from West Medford into Medford Center, two climbs and two descents, with a busy rotary to negotiate passage through in between. On the second descent I realized that I had a bike ahead of me, and two bikes behind me, interspersed with the usual herd of vehicular cattle. The bike in front was the slowest of the bunch, and the logic of the situation called for passing it (and an intervening car), which I did, clearing the Medford Center stoplight just before it changed. This was a little more social interaction than is usual on that stretch of road.

Another hill is the long, gentle climb up Main Street through Malden and Melrose, and on up through Stoneham (and, I suppose, Quebec, if you keep at it). This was peppered with road work sites today, the most interesting of which included this large piece of equipment that proclaimed "Vacuum Excavation", and was apparently performing same.


A favorite hill is Fellsway East, from Stoneham to Melrose to Malden, passing through the Fells Reservation and several residential neighborhoods; the climb is warming on cold days (or nights), and the descent can get just as speedy as one could wish. The traffic comes and goes, now you see it, now you don't, but is generally well behaved.


Back in the Medford flats, there were lotsa lights on Sheridan Street.


rod

rholland1951

After getting through the majority of the day's needful things, I found I could no longer ignore the mild weather, and took the Rawland Nordavinden out to Depot Park on the Minuteman.




Lots of other folks couldn't ignore the mild weather on a Sunday afternoon, either, and the Minuteman was thronged. Not especially photogenic throngs, but throngs nonetheless, and I just cranked along enjoying the ride, with my normal photographic impulse content to bide its time. The sun set as I turned around, and I often had the trail to myself as I pedaled home. I love it when that happens, it's a remarkably peaceful ride under those conditions.

On the outbound leg, I had noticed something new: Revolution Hall, a new restaurant that has set up operations just off the Minuteman on Maguire Road in Lexington, with trail access between the Hartwell Ave. and Westview Street crossings. I paused on the return to examine it further. This looked jolly, and a little research suggested that the food might be good. I made a note to give it a try after the second inoculation, call it April for the sake of argument.


Riding on through the darkness, I came to Arlington's Great Meadow, and paused again to experiment with the new phone's Night Sight feature, which I think of as a software implementation of an image intensifier. I'm still getting my head around what this is good for, but here's a sample.


That done, I rode on home through the darkness, having a pleasant time of it.

rod

rholland1951

While the TV weatherpersons were warming up to declaim "THE SKY IS FALLING", but before the sky actually did fall, I rolled out on the Surly Trucker DeLuxe for a ride up to Lexington Center on the Minuteman. The temperature was 25degF, with the light of a pale sun filtered through gray clouds without delivering much warmth, and a cold breeze that was just getting started, not to say warming up, since it warmed nothing.


Not a lot of folks out in this austere environment, but a few walkers and riders were making a go of it.


Ice was forming on the not-so-little backyard skating rink in Lexington.


Ice was forming on Peepers Pond, too, although it's far less likely to host skaters unless the freeze is long and hard.


It was a moment that is already gone, the cold before the snow that has since commenced falling. The Friends of the Lexington Bikeways take care of plowing the snow on the Lexington segment of the Minuteman, and are passing the hat for that again this year at www.FoLB.net. It's tax deductible, and if you're rounding out your 2020 contributions and like to ride on the Minuteman in winter, you'll be able to see your money working. It's a quaint system, but it seems to succeed. To chip in for plowing the Arlington or Bedford segments of the Minuteman, just buy a house there and pay your property tax.


rod

Hugh Morris

Rod, I dare you to try running the rat trap pass tires at even lower pressures.

I'm 230lbs before any gear and I'm on the "endurance" version of the rat trap pass at much lower pressures. I've only had them for a few weeks, running with tubes on rims with an IRD of 17mm, currently floating around 20 front / 22 rear, and I mean FLOATING.

This is my one rockhopper to rule them all (read: only functional bike I have right now) and these tires were the most recent splurge; no regrets. Photo not really GBA, this is the East Bay Bike Path from Providence to Bristol.




Penny, my parts bin bike with trendy$pendy$upple $hoe$

rholland1951

Hugh,

I think I aired mine at 20/25 once in a fit of absent-mindedness, and it worked fine, but didn't repeat the experiment. That's a nice looking build. Rhode Island is certainly in scope for this thread, based on precedent. Nice colors, be they sunrise or sunset (you get your choice in Rhode Island, given the shape of the coastline).

rod

Hugh Morris

That was a sunset, and you're right about that coastline! I'd encourage you to repeat that experiment. Even on paved roads, it was nice to drop down to 22 rear, as it just eats up all the road joinery, frost heaves, and generally gnarly New England pavement.

rholland1951

The other day, I changed the tires on the venerable 1987 GT Karakoram, removing the Compasselas and installing 47-559 Nokian Hakkapeliitta W240s, with 240 carbide studs for ice and an aggressive tread for snow. Today the kids at Weather Control delivered the perfect little thaw, 50degF with gentle breezes while the daylight held (not long enough, that), so I took the freshly reconfigured GT out of the garage for a shakedown cruise, and rode East.


The ride began with watching a commuter rail train blow through the West Medford crossing.


Medford: the old Caddy on Central Ave. dreamed of summer days, spent cruising with the top down, all the while wearing a cap of snow.


Malden: the quick travel the Northern Strand Community Path, the dead sleep nearby in Bell Rock Cemetery.


Northern Strand Community Path, Malden: they're riding directly into the snow, good luck to them. The path itself, I should add, was completely clear.


Fellsway East, Melrose: did my share of hill climbing on this ride, and was reminded that this old mountain bike is geared low for climbing. Descents were fine, with good control, although I kept the speeds moderate then, reacquainting myself with the Nokians while keeping a skeptical eye on surface conditions and the traffic.


Salem Street, Malden: heading back into Medford, meltwater filled the low spots, no doubt a harbinger of tomorrow's H2O fest. Clouds floated on puddles, cars rolled over them.


Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Medford: the sun was setting, and winter lights were illuminating the stupa and an adjacent shrine.


I rode back through Medford Center, dodging a police car that came screaming through with lights flashing, on official business of the most urgent sort, then rolled up High Street, around the rotary and up and over the hill, then down, down, across the tracks in West Medford, picking up Harvard Street, crossing the Mystic, cranking up the hill and home.

I'm pleased to be riding the GT/Nokian combination again, I expect they'll keep me riding through the snowy, icy months. I've been away from that kind of fun for a couple of years, it's a pleasure to return to it. A tip of my helmet to Peter White, who sold me the tires in the first place.


rod

Ghazmh

Having run out of ways to keep describing my rides I’ve been reporting in here less and less. The excitement and soul feeding joy hasn’t diminished one bit. I’ve been riding throughout the pandemic, weather and squeezing rides in all hours of the day before during and after work. Tuesday I rode my final 15 miles for 2020 before the sun came up. It put me up to 8004 for the year. An accomplishment that was fun, easy, and still hard to achieve. If its not too wet out Jan 1st I may take my newest Seven, a gravel bike with tubeless tires out for its first ride ever.

rholland1951

The ride, rather than the description, is the thing. Your rides are wonderfully varied and challenging as to route, distance, and ride conditions, and your reports enrich us all by showing us what is possible. That they often do this with cogent concision is admirable. Look forward to hearing more about the new Seven. Wishing you happy trails in the New Year,

rod

rholland1951

Took the reconditioned winter bike (1987 GT Karakoram, sporting 47-559 Nokian Hakkapeliitta W240s) and rode East.


I got the usual mix of urban tactical riding and hill climbing and descending that I prize this route for. Noticed a few things: an unusual amount of broken glass in the margins of Medford Street, Malden and a roadkill syringe that some litterbug junkie had left in Main Street, Malden, first one of those I'd seen in over a year. My Nokians were crackling on the bare pavement, and this caused a young schnauser to bark at me, which I regard as protected speech under the First Amendment. We've got various sorts of sloppy weather coming, so perhaps I'll go looking for ice to ride on; the tires are silent on ice..

Kept an eye on the time, and headed back a bit before sunset. The last descent on this ride is on High Street, rolling down to the village of West Medford. Lots of company, most of it automotive, but generally well behaved.


Just before crossing the Mystic to return to East Arlington, I paused to take a photo of this deserted West Medford basketball court. I've ridden past some good games in progress there, but tonight it was still.


rod

rholland1951

Kicked off the New Year with a cold weather ride on the Minuteman, out to Depot Park and back. It also happened to be my birthday, a round number starting with "7", so that gave me something to contemplate as I rode along. But with the temperature falling through the 30's, much of the ride involved contemplating the cold, observing it's effects on the ride itself, including actually slowing the ride down, and looking to see how the various layers I was wearing were holding up. On that last point, it became clear in the course of things that the high-dexterity, phone-friendly gloves that have worked so well down through the 40s were outmatched in the mid-30s. At this point, I've got a desk covered with gloves with various characteristics, and will fall back on that to identify what is likely to fare better. For some reason, I have to relearn some of this every new cold season.


People were bundled up against the cold, using various strategies, ranging from parkas and tights to shorts and t-shirts.




A father piloting a family bike with pedal assist whizzed by transporting a child (4?) who was howling in protest. A couple on foot contended with the revolt of two daughters, perhaps 6 or 8, who insisted on turning around and going home, the mother and a smaller child continuing the walk, the father, in ear-shot of both groups, trying to mediate. I came to regard the cold as an actor in the ride, as something to be actively engaged. More of that to come, before the days become warmer and longer. I did make a point of riding through the two small frozen puddles I encountered on the Lexington segment of the Minuteman, near the Woburn Street crossing: it gave the studded Nokians something to do, and for a brief moment they didn't crackle..

Happy New Year, all.

rod

Ghazmh

Happy New Year Rod! I did take it out for a 20 mile spin on Friday through the trails in Weston along the MCRT and then out to and through Lincoln. I was deep into what I would have considered mountain bike territory which required 110% concentration and focus on where my front wheel was going. I dressed how I normally would if I was going on a road ride at 35 degrees. Riding trails was slower but way more physically and mentally engaging and I quickly felt overdressed. After so few miles on the bike I can’t yet tell how much of the ultra plush comfortable ride ride came from the butted tubing and seat stay design and how much was from supple tubeless tires at 40 PSI. It was no slouch on the road. I quickly spun up to road bike speeds and could have gone on forever. Either way I rolled into my garage thinking I just rode the best bike I’ve ever owned.

rholland1951

Whew! That's a sweet bike, indeed!
rod

rholland1951

Took the 1987 GT Karakoram in its Winter Bike persona out for a twilight ride on the Minuteman, temperatures falling through the 30s, but not past the freezing point, I think. I was testing out a new shell (Taiga Works Val d'Isere All-Season) and a different set of gloves. The clothes all seemed to work, and the ride was peaceful and energetic.




Wonder which star (or planet) that was?


This fellow was mounting BIG LUMENS while walking his jellyfish. Better than the guy who rode by completely blacked out.


The Ghost Bike was showing suitably spectral lights.


Much to be said for the Minuteman after dark. Arlington Town Meeting has repealed the 9pm Minuteman closing time, so spirits in the night can transit it legally at all hours.

rod

rholland1951

Took the GT out around noon for a spin around the Mystic Lakes. Got a little ocean-effect snow, and did some more experimenting with layering which largely worked: it was a cozy and comfy little ride with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark.

Crossing the Mystic, which today was the province of swans.




Canoeing? Kayaking? Fishing? We have a few things for you to read, first.


Launch your kayak here.


Riding in snow flurries cheers me, for some reason. The ride was over before I knew it.


rod

mr_bill

"Candy Canes" near Alewife, with antlers, because....




-mr. bill

rholland1951

Took the GT out on the Minuteman at the end of the day, which is to say, the middle of the afternoon.


Soon enough, I found myself chasing the sunset.


Found some nice colors over Mal's yard.


Continuing on to Arlington's Great Meadow...


... where I more or less dawdled for a while, taking photos of this or that, the pastel clouds, clear air, and low-incident-angle light doing most of the work for me.






If you focus on a cloud, sometimes the world gets cloudy.


Clarity returned with this bird's nest.


Bid Peepers Pond a good evening, and concentrated on the ride.


Out to Lexington Center, where I turned on my lights, then home in the dark.

rod

rholland1951

Once again, I took the GT out on the Minuteman at sunset, a pleasant ride on a cold, clear evening. Lots of company on the trail, mostly well-lit. My studded Nokians made their customary dry-pavement crackling sound, a little like riding around on a working fireplace, but not as toasty. Such sunset colors as we had were just subtle tints at the edges of the clear sky.






These chilly little rides make me feel cheerful.

rod

rholland1951

Took the GT (what else) and rode East.


This ride had the usual eastern-route virtues: urban tactical riding mixed with hills, climbing and descending. It was simply a bit colder. My current good ideas for layering proved to be good enough.


rod