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Metro Boston: Good ride today?

Old 08-10-21, 10:27 PM
  #9426  
rholland1951
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Took the GT Karakoram on a quirky little ride Tuesday afternoon. I needed to verify that the Alewife Station hadn't completely replaced ordinary bike racks with bike cages, so I hopped on the Minuteman via the gate at Orvis Circle, and waited to cross at the long-awaited Lake Street-Minuteman traffic light.


Got barked at at the Bark Park. Good dog!


The impromptu hobo jungle that used to shelter under the Route 2 bridge is long gone. I wonder where those folks went? The Mugar wetlands, perhaps?


There are indeed bike racks galore at Alewife.


Since I was near the trailhead, I decided to return via the Alewife Brook Greenway, a homely little multi-user path running alongside the unprepossessing waters of Alewife Brook. While I think this MUP is better for pedestrians and runners than for cyclists, it was fascinating to see the level of use it was getting; people are adopting the Greenway in spite of its flaws, the way they sometimes adopt an ugly puppy. This reminds me a bit of my ex-wife's story about going on picnics at Love Canal during her Western New York girlhood. The charms of wounded Nature.


The Greenway delivered me to the Mystic Valley Parkway, in Arlington, and I cruised up to the Mystic Lakes dam to see what was going on in that scene. Turns out, not so much.


Turned around then and had a pleasant ride back to East Arlington and dinner.

rod

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Old 08-11-21, 06:47 PM
  #9427  
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91° F with 60% relative humidity didn't really put me off this afternoon. Back in South Georgia, 50 years back at this point, that would have been considered a nice, warm day in August, with "hot" reserved for fiercer values of both variables. The AQI of 71, however--mostly due to ozone, with a photochemical haze that hovered on the threshold of visibility--we would have objected to mightily. We liked our hot, humid air relatively clean, there and then, and through dumb luck mostly got it that way, then. There and now? Perhaps not. Nevertheless, I rolled up to Lexington on the Surly, also on the Minuteman, despite the minor irritation to my mucous membranes.


There was a bit of a queue at the Mass. & Mystic intersection, waiting for the light to change and release the next squadron of cyclists and walkers onto the bikeway. That MBTA bus released less perfume than I was expecting, perhaps not one of the old diesels.


As is often the case, the traffic on the Minuteman was a small study in Random Walk, with clumps of riders interspersed with periods of several minutes of solitude.


The Queen Anne's Lace reminded me that, in spite of everything, we have reached Deep Summer.


Riding home, I skirted the Arlington Farmer's Market. Dinner was already provided for, so I resolved to stop some other Wednesday.


rod

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Old 08-12-21, 12:16 PM
  #9428  
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Breaking a pattern, I took the GT up the Minuteman to Lexington Center and back at mid-morning, while the heat was just starting to build and before the ground-level ozone got nasty. I rode hard, put in my fastest time on this route in recent memory, and perspired freely, appreciating the evaporative cooling that followed. I took one picture, while pausing to take a drink at the turn-around point.


rod
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Old 08-12-21, 07:44 PM
  #9429  
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Baby spins.

Did 3K on a Blue Bike to Davis Square this morning. So good to be on a bike again.

Somerville theater lobby is looking good, looks like opening soon, but I can’t help but worry about the delta wave:



Walked the rest of the way to BIDMC. (Pills and Ills update. Great news. I’m undetectable. Meeting with docs again in 12 days, but in the meantime, going off hormone treatment, hoping cognitive side effects improve, and radiation therapy may be indefinitely postponed.)

-mr. bill
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Old 08-12-21, 09:43 PM
  #9430  
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Originally Posted by mr_bill
Baby spins.

Did 3K on a Blue Bike to Davis Square this morning. So good to be on a bike again.

Somerville theater lobby is looking good, looks like opening soon, but I can’t help but worry about the delta wave:



Walked the rest of the way to BIDMC. (Pills and Ills update. Great news. I’m undetectable. Meeting with docs again in 12 days, but in the meantime, going off hormone treatment, hoping cognitive side effects improve, and radiation therapy may be indefinitely postponed.)

-mr. bill
That's wonderful news!

rod
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Old 08-13-21, 11:14 PM
  #9431  
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Rolled out on the Surly Trucker DeLuxe noonish on Friday, the heat already hot enough, but with ambitions for a bit more, and the ozone getting tasty. In contradistinction to Thursday's speedy ride on the Minuteman, I spun gently along up the Mystic Valley Parkway on this one, going in and out of the parks and trails along the way, riding close to water myself, and trying to adopt a cooler frame of mind by contemplating fellow humans who were in, on, sprayed with, or otherwise even closer to the water than I was, or else had found other ways to conjure cool. This effort began at the North Union Spray Park.


An inflated Sea Tiger kept kids in and out of the water at Shannon Beach.


Two kids on a beach kayak went paddling through the narrows where once the Old Middlesex Canal was carried across the Upper Mystic Lake by an aqueduct.


In the woods behind Shannon Beach, I contemplated a set of three mysterious Landlocked Lifeguard Towers.


But then there's always ice cream.


Further down the lake, at the Tufts Sailing Pavilion docks, Sun Worshiping and Water Walking were in progress.


It's worth noting that the Lower Mystic Lake, with its associated trails, was pretty much deserted when I rode by. But in the young Mystic River that the Lower lake feeds, water bugs were frisking in the shallows.


Across Mystic River Road from the waterbugs, someone was offering Winter to any child who could use it.


rod

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Old 08-14-21, 03:20 AM
  #9432  
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Originally Posted by rholland1951
Rolled out on the Surly Trucker DeLuxe noonish on Friday, the heat already hot enough, but with ambitions for a bit more, and the ozone getting tasty. In contradistinction to Thursday's speedy ride on the Minuteman, I spun gently along up the Mystic Valley Parkway on this one, going in and out of the parks and trails along the way, riding close to water myself, and trying to adopt a cooler frame of mind by contemplating fellow humans who were in, on, sprayed with, or otherwise even closer to the water than I was, or else had found other ways to conjure cool. This effort began at the North Union Spray Park.
An inflated Sea Tiger kept kids in and out of the water at Shannon Beach.
Two kids on a beach kayak went paddling through the narrows where once the Old Middlesex Canal was carried across the Upper Mystic Lake by an aqueduct.
In the woods behind Shannon Beach, I contemplated a set of three mysterious Landlocked Lifeguard Towers.
But then there's always ice cream.
Further down the lake, at the Tufts Sailing Pavilion docks, Sun Worshiping and Water Walking were in progress.
It's worth noting that the Lower Mystic Lake, and its associated trails, was pretty much deserted when I rode by. But in the young Mystic River that the Lower lake feeds, water bugs were frisking in the shallows.
Across Mystic River Road from the waterbugs, someone was offering Winter to any child who could use it.
summer extreme
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Old 08-14-21, 10:18 PM
  #9433  
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Took the Surly Trucker DeLuxe and rode East on the last hot day.


Enjoyed the usual round of hill climbs and descents, interspersed with the delights of a little urban riding, which often seemed to recommend the Buddhist practices of compassion and detachment; an interaction with a wary dog with his snout poking out the window as I rode past his car on the right was a case in point. Hill climbs in the heat seemed ok as long as I paced myself, and descents seemed to go a little faster in the thin, hot air, not to mention bestowing the blessings of evaporative cooling. Topped out at 30mph, if the Pocket Devil is to be believed.


I was pleased that both the Fellsmere jets d'eau were back in operation. Simply looking at them had a cooling effect. And while the weather didn't break while I was riding, from time to time a darker cloud than usual would provide welcome shade. Nary a raindrop, however.


I paused at the Kurukulla Center coming and going. This little pilgrimage anchors the ride for me.


Shortly after the second stop at the Kurukulla Center, I realized that my front derailleur had become mis-aligned. Rather than try to fix that on the spot, I managed to get the drivetrain operating more or less happily as a 1x9, using the middle ring. This gave me reasonable gear ratios for both climbing and descending, although not as good as the extremes of the touring triple. Thus equipped, I was able to complete the last set of hills--High Street, between Medford Center and West Medford--and wrapped up the ride with greasy fingers.


I've got some wrenching in my future. Or perhaps it's time to find a good bicycle mechanic with retro-grouch tastes...

rod

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Old 08-15-21, 07:39 PM
  #9434  
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Originally Posted by rholland1951
greasy fingers
sympathies. it happens & stinks when it does. nitrile is your friend

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Old 08-15-21, 11:15 PM
  #9435  
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Took the GT Karakoram for a quick spin up the Eastern shore of the Mystic Lakes Sunday before dinner. The fact that the sun was so low before 7pm reminded me that the long days are passing, the long nights are approaching, and that the season of sunset rides and rides in darkness will be with us soon enough.


Shannon Beach had a good turnout, although the relatively cool temperature had fewer people in the water and more people socializing on land. Still, the kids at the Beach wanted to get wet, it seemed.


Only a few were out at the Tufts Sailing Pavillion, down near the dam. Quiet scene. On the other hand, it's hard to sunbathe in the dark.


Quick and quiet ride, over too soon.

rod
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Old 08-16-21, 06:48 PM
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A conversation with a low-level healthcare bureaucrat left me in a foul mood. A quick-paced ride astride the GT up to Lexington Center on the Minuteman largely cured that. Fastest time on that route to date. I know, the Commuter Bikeway isn't the place for time trials...


rod
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Old 08-17-21, 10:06 PM
  #9437  
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Rolled out on the GT to Depot Park on the Minuteman mid-afternoon, once again cranking hard and focused on making time. Just took a picture of Sam at the start, who explained that nobody is interested anymore in a bicycle that isn't electrified. I told him I'd heard that too, and then put the phone away and set about putting my legs to good use propelling my decidedly un-assisted old rigid mtb up the trail.


Things seen but not photographed: 1) the cutest puppy in the world, a young Bernese Mountain Dog that looked like an animated teddy bear; 2) four recumbent tricycles, one of which pursued me down the long hill through Arlington on the return, but never caught me. Whizzy ride, I'm having a whole lot of fun with the new tires (Rene Herse Humptulips Ridge Extralights) on the old bike (1987 GT Karakoram).

rod
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Old 08-18-21, 10:00 PM
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Today's weather had more than a little of Summer in it, and I took the GT out for a little ride along the Mystic Lakes before dinner. Clouds, treetops, raindrops, sails, and swans were peaceably mingling on the surface of the Upper Mystic Lake, as seen from the Aberjona River bridge.


rod

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Old 08-19-21, 04:50 PM
  #9439  
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Quick sprint to Lexington Center under post-hoc-ominous clouds on the GT, with a little rain in the face to remind me that my timing of the ride was pretty random, given the attention I had paid to all the outlandish weather messages offered by the Pocket Devil earlier in the day. As it happens, the rain was just being polite, and didn't persist once I noticed it. I went sailing up the path and back again, and got on with what was left of the day.


rod
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Old 08-20-21, 11:23 AM
  #9440  
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This morning I mounted my Light and Motion 2500 Lumen lamp to my handlebar for the first time since April or May and rode 31 miles in the rain rounding out the week with 120 miles. Given the upcoming forecast I think it’ll be a few days…….
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Old 08-21-21, 10:55 PM
  #9441  
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Saturday, took the 1987 GT Karakoram East, ahead of Henri, who was somewhere South of there, chasing his tail (while the weather forecasters were chasing his tale). I noted that the Kurukulla Center had taken down banners and prayer flags in advance of the gale.


I spent the afternoon in the manner usual for this ride, a mix riding in urban traffic and cranking up and flying down hills in Arlington, Medford, Malden, Melrose, and Stoneham. The sky was a shocking, clear blue, with here and there a tropical-looking cloud or two, altogether deceptively benign.

Early on, I crossed the Mystic River into West Medford, and observed a couple of kayaks paddling upstream towards the Lower Mystic Lake.


I was delighted to see that the highest, steepest section of the big hill at High Street, Medford, has been smoothly paved, after the better part of a year of frequent excavation for what I took to be gas pipe repairs or other troglodyte tinkering. I treated myself to a fast descent by way of celebration.


rod

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Old 08-22-21, 05:07 AM
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Saturday ended up being a superb riding day albeit a little humid, I rode my Seven Redsky road bike for 39 brisk miles. A landscaper and his trailer felt it was his civic duty to teach me a lesson in Concord about being on his road. Despite trying to wave him down with 1 finger he was too coward to stop and have a “chat.” Eventually I was barreling down Conant rd in Weston looking forward to taking a left on 117 for the final stretch before home when an errant rock that was washed onto the road got up under my front tire and gave me a pinch flat. 10 minutes later I was back on track and headed home.
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Old 08-22-21, 02:58 PM
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Yesterday my wife and I went riding on the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (BFRT) for the first time in awhile. We started from the parking lot at Brooks St, Acton. Initially we went as far East as we could, which is still the turnaround at Wetherbee St. I expected to see evidence of the pending continuation of the trail toward the new bridge over Route 2, but there was nothing to see but the same old weeds. From there we headed West, going as far as Grist Mill in Chelmsford Center. Total mileage just a shade over 20. It was a nice ride, albeit somewhat humid. The BFRT was about as busy on Saturday as the Minuteman on a typical weekday. The Go Outdoors exhibit is in full swing right now:




We had a pleasant lunch at Donelans afterward, sitting at one of the outdoor tables. On the drive back I made note of the fact that it is just 4.5 miles, via Lowell Rd, Barrett's Mill Rd, and Strawberry Hill Rd, from the end of the Reformatory Trail to the BFRT at Brook St. I may bike that gap on my own in the future. Maybe someday (in my lifetime?) the Reformatory will connect to the BFRT at West Concord, as the railroad used to.
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Old 08-23-21, 06:33 PM
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Rode the 1987 GT Karakoram out to Depot Square and back on a delightful Summer day before it reverted to Henri's wet remnants. This, the ride itself, made me glad, and other comments are beside the point.


rod
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Old 08-24-21, 07:28 PM
  #9445  
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Originally Posted by rholland1951
oh that's a fun one!
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Old 08-24-21, 10:18 PM
  #9446  
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Found myself squeezed for time Tuesday afternoon, so took the GT Karakoram up the friendly neighborhood Mystic River and along the Eastern shore of the Mystic Lakes, a quick ride before dinner to encourage circulation of the lymph..


Shannon Beach was full of splashing kids, the way Nature intended. Some of them couldn't seem to get a capsized inflatable swan righted, but seemed to be having fun making the attempt.


The burgeoning popularity of paddleboards has me wondering about their stability. Perhaps if my daughter gets one, I'll give it a try... (splash!)


There were a lot of cyclists out on the Mystic Valley Parkway this afternoon. Here's a guy on a bike towing a kayak mounted on a 2-wheel trailer, the epitome of human-powered amphibious operations, looking for all the world like he was being chased down the road by the shark-like kayak.


rod
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Old 08-25-21, 11:55 PM
  #9447  
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Took the GT out before dinner on the Mystic Valley Parkway on another hot and hazy day; was that ozone, or particulates from a distant fire that made the air visible? I wondered at that a bit, but not so much that I availed myself of Mr. Google to find out... (Whoops, I just peeked: it was particulates, guess I should have worn a mask!)


Kids on the lawn behind Shannon Beach were playing an improvised game with a gigantic soccer ball.


The scene at Shannon Beach was hot and hazy, cool and splashy, with sand between the toes; all the essential elements of Summer in their proper proportion. Ok, maybe a little too hazy...


At the Tufts Sailing Pavilion, on the Upper Mystic Lake, there was a happy mixture of paddleboards, kayaks, and swimmers, including some distance swimmers towing those suddenly common floats (thanks a lot, Governor). No dogs to speak of, but you can't have everything.


On the other side of the Dam, on the Lower Mystic Lake, kids were swimming with a duck.


Seems to me I had read that No Wake conditions for power boats prevail on the Lower Mystic Lake. The guys on the powered cousins of paddleboards were having a grand old time ignoring that; across the lake through the haze, they were reminiscent of the old Marvel character, Silver Surfer. A power boat towing a sled joined the party. This is somewhat less urbane fun, but gave us Summer in another register.


I got a cool breeze off the Lakes as I pedaled and the rest paddled (or dog-paddled), and I tried not to think of epidemiology or ecology for minutes at a time. I gave myself a tiny vacation of referred hydration. Nice to have that so close to home.

rod

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Old 08-26-21, 08:38 AM
  #9448  
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Originally Posted by rholland1951
The burgeoning popularity of paddleboards has me wondering about their stability. Perhaps if my daughter gets one, I'll give it a try... (splash!)

rod
The paddleboards are plenty stable - the challenge is whether the paddler on top is stable!
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Old 08-26-21, 10:00 PM
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Rode the old GT out to Depot Park and back in the heat of the day.


The principal point of the ride was to float along through the green tunnel of the Minuteman's tree canopy, keeping out of the sun and generating my own wind chill.


I did notice a few things in passing, though. For example, Bert-on-a-stick has been joined by Ernie, and seems consoled. When I noticed that, I noticed that the folks who own that yard have installed a relatively elegant staircase up to the Minuteman.


rod

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Old 08-27-21, 11:26 PM
  #9450  
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Had a mid-afternoon ride on Friday, the last hot day of the most recent heat wave. The weather broke as I was taking the bike out, with a noticeable temperature drop and some harmless (actually, pleasant) drizzle. I was charmed, and headed up along the Mystic Lakes to make the most of it.


Folks who had turned out to cool down were staying to enjoy the change in the weather.


I caught a glimpse of a distance swimmer, towing one of those floats that have somehow been justified by the drownings of young non-swimmers who are pretty much the polar opposites of the skilled athletes that the State has paradoxically asked to wear these silly things. Far from the most important screw-up of the present moment, but it bugs me, nonetheless.


A pleasant afternoon's ride, and a gateway into some gentler August days.


rod
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