mr_bill

Keeping on the leaves theme, the loved/hated leaf blower has been by:



-mr. bill

mr_bill

M.G.L. Chapter 89 Section 2:

"If it is not possible to overtake a bicycle or other vehicle at a safe distance in the same lane, the overtaking vehicle shall use all or part of an adjacent lane if it is safe to do so or wait for a safe opportunity to overtake."

I think for these quiet streets we overpaint a bit, but if there is a traffic signal then there must be paint.

Anyhow, it was mostly safe (going through an intersection might not have been the bestest time to pass), but I appreciated the thoughtfulness.

-mr. bill

rumrunn6

that calls for a lot of judgement calls by that driver. it would have been ugly for a car making a right on red w/o a full stop directly into the "safe passer", even worse for a kid on a bike looking left for any oncoming traffic, never thinking there would be a car coming head-on at him, from the right. great photo BTW!

rumrunn6

from a biker's point of view, I certainly agree & prefer this


to this

rholland1951

I pounced on the good weather this afternoon, rolling out to Depot Park on the Rawland Nordavinden in a short-sleeve jersey and short pants. Numerous like-minded souls joined me on the Minuteman.


More people meant, as always, more complexity, and I rode past the aftermath of a bike-bike collision in Lexington. This happens far too often, and I'm convinced nobody is systematically monitoring it. As far as I can tell, there's no reporting requirement in this state, and no mechanism to support it. I suppose you could fill out a standard auto accident report, but what would happen to it after you turned it in?

Two different riders complimented me on the Rawland, asking questions about it, trying to understand just what it was. I've encountered this before: it's just different enough to tickle the imagination, but familiar enough to trigger lots of associations.


I had a good conversation with one of them, who had recently moved down from Vermont, and wasn't satisfied with the off-road riding opportunities he'd encountered here. I directed him to Estabrook Road; hope that works for him.

The Shawsheen River was looking its best, full of the blue of the sky rather than the brown of the mud.


At the Bedford Street crossing, an artist was doing a lovely job decorating a junction box. Public art, hurrah!


On many sections of the Minuteman, the yellow foliage of the Norway Maples was still holding sway, and the leaves were glowing in the low November sun.


The dry, clear air seemed to work against sunset colors, except for one squadron of cirrus clouds floating over Arlington Center.


rod

Ghazmh

I felt compelled to pull over and snap this picture yesterday morning. Although my posting here has dwindled I still lurk and ride.

rumrunn6

that's beautiful! I think the past cpl years have let ppl re-evaluate all kinds of priorities

rumrunn6

had a nice ride last night. Bedford to Concord then got a sub for dinner at Express Pizza Bedford (small shop, just a cpl ppl working there but highly recommended). took a peak at the Concord River


not sure of this cell phone pic is any better than the sport cam pic


used my 2 lites on high. another cell phone pic

rholland1951

Lovely night photography!

rod

rholland1951

That dawn that some of us never see! I eagerly await your posts. Question: where was that? Looked like Fiske Hill to me, but that's just the old brain pattern matching.

rod

Ghazmh

Hi Rod! It’s Bedford rd between Rte 2 and Lincoln center. After recently (and strangely overdue) joining CRW and another smaller club I’ve been riding with others more often than not now. As such I’ve been drawn to their message boards. I still like to check in and see what the gang here is up to still.

rholland1951

CRW is a class act. Enjoy!

rod

drewguy

Around here is there any other kind?

(And, yes, totally appreciate when drivers use the other lane to pass - just seemed odd to do that at a light and end up on the wrong side of the road)

Ghazmh

Woke up at 0400 and instead of dreadfully thinking of work I eagerly arose and headed in zombie fashion for coffee. A little while later (like over an hour) I headed out on my Honey Allroads off season/rain bike with my L&M Seca 2500 spotlight and dressed in Gore Windstopper tights and jersey had me comfy as can be, I headed to the Mighty Squirell for a CRW ride. After grouping up and heading out the miles melted away as rain spray from the fenderless riders kept me jockeying for a dry line. Eventually the conversations had to wind down as I split off and headed home after 31 miles for the dreaded and obligatory Zoom meeting followed by a 12 hour work day. Those 2 hours on the bike gave purpose to the rest of the day,

rholland1951

Took the Surly Trucker DeLuxe and rolled East on its 55mm Compass Rat Trap Pass Extralight tires, for the usual combination of hills and traffic, traffic and hills. Thanks to recent adjustments at Battle Road Bikes, the Surly fairly flew up, over, and down the hills.


While there's still plenty of rough pavement to be found on this route (e.g., Salem Street), some of it is getting smoother. I mentioned Medford Street, Malden, here recently, and Main Street, Melrose has just gotten the treatment. Neither road has been striped since the recent paving, so it remains to be seen whether Melrose will implement protected bike lanes on Main Street, as their recent prototyping effort suggests. The smooth asphalt is a major improvement already.

Early sunsets are the bane of riding in November, and I spent more time rolling in the dark on this ride than usual, which was pleasant enough. Much to be said for the right layers in the falling-through-the-40s weather, as well. Things just tended to work today.


rod

rumrunn6

that's it right there

Ghazmh

Nothing too special or exciting or lengthy. My part time job running Dads free Uber service ensured that I had small chunks of time Saturday. Smaller than I would do a road ride in but enough that I decided to hop on my fat bike for my very first fat bike ride. It was a short ride to Prospect Hill Park. The main road and side trails were providing a nature experience to more dog walkers than I cared to count or remember. I learned a few valuable lessons about fat biking. It is fun. It is slow on a whole new scale. Fast and fat bike aren’t too likely to be used in the same sentence. The wide treaded tires vibrated my but in ways I wasn’t prepared for. Dry leaves are as slippery as wet leaves. Most obstacles like largish rocks, tree limbs and undulating terrain can be rolled right over instead of weaving through. Slipping downhill towards rocks on dry leaves is a perfect time to panic. I am excited to think of the new experiences I will be able to have now. In all it was only about 5 miles. Not an actual ride but an opportunity to get to know the bike.

rholland1951

Yow! Sounds like a shot of novelty!

rod

rumrunn6

I'll bet you're looking for new places to ride?

bike_tom

This afternoon I rode my 1983 Fuji to Lexington Center and back, combining the ride with an errand to obtain a a bike replacement part.
I'm doing end-of-season maintenance on my wife's 2017 Trek FX3, and I found a rough front axle is due to a stingy amount of grease from the factory and a pitted cone. Cups look fine, fortunately.





There's been a lot of talk about Battle Road Bike here lately, so this gave me an excuse to stop in there. The young mechanic there was kind enough to spend 5 or 10 minutes searching through spare parts for the cone, but none matched. Another worker there, Tammy, really liked my old Fuji, and she suggested I try Quad cycles for the cone. Quad was on my way home, so I stopped in. I showed the guy there the axle and and cone and he just says "NO, we don't have those! And that must be from a cheap bike." Made me feel like I was stupid for asking. It surprised me, as in the past I have dealt with the owner, Rustem, who was very pleasant and helpful when I just needed a wheel trued.

I understand that a LBS doesn't want to spend time looking for a $2 part when they can be doing work at hourly rates. I get that. But I am also in the market for another bike. In the Cannondale lineup, which they sell at Quad, it would be a Synapse or a Topstone. Did I pursue that while I was there? No, I just rode home (and found an axle set on Ebay)

Anyway, that was my ride for the day.
Tom

rholland1951

I had two bikes--the 1987 GT Karakoram and the 1982 Specialized Sequoia--in for work at Battle Road Bikes, and took delivery of both on Sunday afternoon. There was no daylight left for shakedown rides then, and Monday was dominated by non-bicycle priorities, but I was able to work a shakedown ride on the GT into the Tuesday afternoon schedule, and rolled out on the Minuteman to Lexington Center and back..


Along the way, I was pleased to notice that the Mile 4.0 Cairn Builders have realized a totemic image of Raven.


The temperature was dropping through the 30s, and folks were bundled up.


The folks at Battle Road Bikes gave the GT a pretty extensive overhaul, including the replacement of the cassette and chain. That ordinarily would be a quotidian bike tinkering task, but NOS 6-speed Uniglide cassettes have become scarce in recent years. Nevertheless, Jim was able to find a good one, and it's given the bike a new lease on life. They also put a new set of SKS Longboard fenders on, which miraculously enough accommodated the 55mm René Herse Humptulips Ridge Extralights that are currently mounted, but will be most important when I swap in the studded Nokians and the GT goes on ice bike duty. Any day now.


I noticed a problem with one shift, and stopped at the shop on my way home. Jim put the bike on the rack, adjusted the rear derailleur, then noticed something he didn't like about the front brake, and adjusted that, too. We went out to the parking lot to test the changes, which passed handily. Had a good chat with Jim, and then rode home in the dark, enjoying the snappy performance of the rejuvenated old mountain bike. More bikes are lurking in my basement, awaiting their turn for a trip to the repair shop; getting through the backlog looks like fun.


rod

Ghazmh

So glad to hear that Battle Road Bikes is working out for you. Ill be bringing my winter beater cross bike to them soon for a press fit bottom bracket bearings replacement. I don’t have the tools for that job, I’m more than glad to have a reason to bring them some business.

rumrunn6

30% chance of snow Monday ... just sayin' ;-)

rumrunn6

too bad Harris Cyclery in West Newton closed, would have suggested you try them

Ghazmh

Yay!!!