jimmuller 

Took the Masi out to Concord and back, about 35 miles. Got caught in a bit or rain on the way home. No matter. It was an awesome ride!

atom bomb

News from MassBike is that Marathon start line area will be cleared out at 7:15 instead of the customary 8:15. Not sure how reliable this info is. Road closure schedule seems to be the same as last year, however.

cmolway

Yeah I saw that on Massbike's page. Kinda kill the whole point of doing the ride if you ask me: ride out, take in the atmosphere at the start and then enjoy a car-free ride back into the city. If I leave Hopkington before 7:15, I'll be back in Boston, looking for a breakfast joint, long before the roads close. I'd rather spend a day off from work riding on better roads (the roads out to Hopkington are far from "picturesque") at a better hour and make way way into the city to see the finish (not standing around for hours waiting for the first athletes to cross the line).

I still wonder if anyone had the courtesy to give Hal a call and let him know. Shame on them if the don't.

Andy2302

I had a great ride today. Made it to the herring run to check the fish. My longest ride to date @ 12 miles. The drought has lowered the water level blocking the fish from reaching their spawning ponds. There were no fish here, sad.

jimmuller 

I got out for 15 miles over lunch today, all on the Blackstone Bikeway. A beautiful day it was too.

rholland1951

10 miles at sunset, up to Lexington Center and back, at the end of a long day and a long week. Peepers peeping, bunnies hopping, a baritone voice belting out "Ode to Joy" in the Mirak Chevrolet back lot; guess somebody likes Chevies. I think Spring Fever is rampant, several WTF moments this evening, the most noteworthy courtesy of the kid in the park who hit a fungo with a golf ball that landed with alarming force about five feet from my bike. My own share of the fever took the form of wool gathering, several times suddenly realizing that I had ridden farther than I thought.

rod

mtalinm

how bad would it be to ride within a mile of the start line (25.2) and then turn around?

atom bomb

From the ride orgnizers:

"Correct, baa.org wants all cyclist to depart from Hopkington/Ashland line by 715am. We just learned about it this week. We will work with their request, our start remains the same and Hal will give some suggestions on what to do e.g. wait for the group on the return trip and rejoin if you are unable to get the Hopkington/Ashland by 7:15am..etc...

It's unfortunate we have this new constraint but we have to comply."

rholland1951

Got an early start for once, and rode a 44-mile circuit, an old favorite that I hadn't done for awhile, featuring Maple Street, North Road, Curve Street, Acton Street, West Street, Pope Road, Strawberry Hill Road, Monument Street, River Road, and a few other odds and ends, a nice 24-mile loop through Carlisle, Billerica, Acton, and Concord out of Depot Park, Bedford, with the Minuteman as a 20-mile handle and the Cranberry Bog as the mid-point.

Riding North Road, Carlisle, with its 18th and 19th Century farmhouses, always feels a bit like time travel, but this feeling was intensified when I met a couple driving a trim gig drawn by a good-looking trotting horse, and the road apples a quarter mile further on sealed the deal.

rod

mtalinm

this seems fine. either start at 5:30 (civil twilight) or don't worry about not being able to get quite to the starting line. or ride crazy fast :-)

bikinggrrrl

Andy, your photos and commentary are inspiring. Makes me want to go there.

jimmuller 

44.39 miles on the tandem today. Warmish weather. After yesterday's CCRT ride today was much harder! Ah'm wore out. Ready to sleep. Beer isn't helping!

cmolway

Like I said, there are better roads with less traffic and more scenery if I am going to take the day off and ride 53 miles. The whole point (for me) is to go to the start, soak up the atmosphere, and enjoy a car-free ride back.

jimmuller 

While you folks in Metro Boston are enjoying Patriots Day, those of us who work out of state must work today. So I've gotten in the first half of my commute. It's getting warm out there. The run in this morning was nice though. After doing a bit under 100 miles on the tandem this weekend I have two observations - my legs are tired, and the Bianchi is a featherweight!

himespau 

Was bummed to have to take the T in to work today. With such a nice day, I'd hoped to ride in, but the marathon road closings cross directly over my route and going around didn't seem particularly doable. Wish I'd been in shape to do the marathon route this morning, but I took the whole winter off. I keep saying next year I'll be in shape in time, but it hasn't happened the last 3 years. Not sure if it's going to.

Andy2302

Thanks Grrrl. I'm keeping a sort of photo journal HERE if you wish to follow.

mtalinm

Did the marathon ride this morning. Started with a friend at his place in Wellesley around 6:15 and then hung out in Hopkinton until they closed the roads at 7:30. GREAT traffic-free ride through Hopkinton and Framingham, but Natick/Wellesley/Newton didn't close roads until 8:30. So that sucked. By the time we got to Boston there were enough cyclists that the cars stayed in the left lane, cross streets were blocked off, and we were able to sprint the rest of the distance.

Bottom line it was definitely worth it. Much better than the midnight ride. Next time I would wait another half hour or so in Hopkingtonin hopesthat the othercities would have closed the streets.

Andy2302

Thanks for the report. Sounds like fun.

rholland1951

20-mile ride after work, Depot Park and back, still warm to start, noticeably cooler by the end. The warm weather led most of the numerous Minuteman users to shed clothes, so a pseudo-representative sample of the population of Middlesex County was on display in all its morphologically-diverse glory. Water levels in the Shawsheen and Tophet Swamp are as low as I've ever seen them. This year's crop of skunk cabbage is thriving in Bedford.

rod

dnuzzomueller

Also did the Hal's Marathon Ride. Fun as always. Legs were a little wodden after Battenkill Saturday, Wells Ave Sunday and Marathon today. Regardless we were not kicked off the course early but I departed Hopkington at 7:22 . The time deadlines are a good reason to treat it like a hammerfest. But that is just my take.

cmolway

Nice group ride at 5:45 this morning. Warm temps might have been the reason for the dozen or so cyclist who showed up. In Boston by 7:30 with 40 miles under my belt. Not a bad way to start the morning.

GeezerPete

Tour de Phillipston-
Nice 16 mile Patriots Day (sorry non-Bay Staters or Mainers) ramble over the hilly countryside of Phillipston, MA. Definately good for what ails you.

rholland1951

Sunst ride to Lexington, cool and breezy. The sunset was amazing, 180 degrees of glory spread over Great Meadows, colors changing minute to minute from gaudy to subtle, with enough left over to light the mirror on the return.

rod

jimmuller 

My usual commute, round trip 25 miles. Cool when I started, cool when I finished.

jimmuller 

Speaking of rides, I've been requested by several other New Englanders active in the C&V forum to put together a ride in our area. So I started this thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...81st-annual%29
(Can there be a 1st annual anything?)

So far the best date looks like Saturday June 2. I'm imagining a route centered on Concord and surrounding towns, hence the name Minuteman. I've had one request for about 30 miles, and I suspect a few of the other respondents wouldn't mind something a bit longer. Sharon and I will be on the tandem. We been doing longer distances but the tandem means we climb slooooow-ly.

Now is the time to put in your requests! Drop me a PM or email (jimmuller@rcn.com) if you are interested. Or just show up.

Details will follow in that other thread.