rholland1951

Folks in California got used to N95 particulate masks during the plague of wildfires they had a year or two prior to the Covid pandemic, and there were jokes about that when Covid came along. Particulates is particulates, I guess.

rod

bike_tom

Got out early again today. Temps were good, but it was humid as heck. The AQI was acceptable, so that's something...

I did my weekly ride out to Concord via the MM and the Reformatory Branch Trail.
The ride out to Depot Park was quiet. Venturing out onto the RBT, I soon encountered this:



It has not been very windy, despite all the rain - at least not in Arlington - so this surprised me. A quick portage over the trunk along the left trail edge got me past the obstruction.

Last week I reported on trail work at the Bedford Water Department. Well, I can report definitively now that there are only FOUR bollards left. No more S M I L E.



I am curious if a gate will be erected to keep unauthorized vehicles from using the now wide opening onto the RBT. I think this work indicates that the Town of Bedford has accepted that the RBT will not be developed into a rail trail any time soon. I wonder what other piecemeal improvements we might see.

Here's the status of the new restrooms at GMNWR (Great Meadows):



This air over the ponds was sultry:



I should mention that the surface conditions on the RBT were quite decent. This was the biggest puddle I encountered (eastbound view):



It was easily skirted along the left edge.

Stopping at the Lexington Visitor's Center on the way back, I encountered some sort of civic meeting taking place outside. About a dozen people. I saw them last week also.
I eavesdropped and heard them discussing recycling. (not re-bicycling).
Next time I will have to butt in and ask them what their group is.

Anyway, a pleasant ride.

Tom

EVlove

Another edition of the training ride to NARA Park for me today, but with the added interest of doing it all on the single speed from my front door, a first. Getting back to my house from the BFRT in Chelmsford center requires climbing a hilltop of 180 feet differential and I would need to have enough left in my legs to do that, at a maximum 4% grade, in 45x16. Spoiler: I did, but it was sweaty business.

But first, heading towards the BFRT, it's only a half mile climb of 80 feet, which was a nice confidence-builder. The trail, at 10-ish on a Tuesday morning, was fairly open. I was taking it easy, however, only planning to do a full effort for my customary sprint at the Westford town line. And so it happened that I was passed--passed, I say!--by a another rider on a triathlon bike. She seemed to be going at well below her full effort, as well, if the race number on her jersey was real. Now, I'm not the kind of guy who feels challenged in this kind of situation, so I tried to hang back and have her well ahead before my sprint. That was the plan, but she barely gained and so I decided to catch her, after all, rather than blow by like an idiot at full speed. "Hi, I'm not racing you, I just like to put a speed run in up ahead there", and past I went. I managed 29mph, respectable for the gear ratio, and was still stopped, reading my watch and catching my breath, when she passed me again. That was to be it, for she caught the traffic light at Route 225 perfectly, while I had to wait.

The high speed run produced some nasty clanking from the chain and if you study this otherwise ordinary "I was at NARA" shot, you may see why:



My chainring was poorly centered and thus the chain was alternating between a little too tight and way too slack with every turn. Hitting a bump at "slack" was clearly enough to upset things. I thought I could nurse it home but had to stop for a jammed chain twice on the return leg. No harm done.

My rest in the shade was near the storage area and I decided to take a closer look at the trikes they have available for borrowing. I'm sorry but that's no way to store bikes that must be on the order of $2,000 each, even in a dry summer, let alone in the deluges we've had. I think I'd be upset if that was my tax dollars!




That chain needs a scrubbing in WD-40 at the very least. Corrosion was evident in other spots, too, and that's duct tape wrapped around the bottle holder and chain guides.

Anyway, one of the park staff came over to see what I was up to, I mean, see if she could help me, and explained that the trikes are free to use for Acton residents, and $5 for two hours otherwise. They have various designs for varying abilities. I might come back to try a recumbent just for the heck of it, but I'll be sure to pick one from further in the back!

I refilled my water, regretted that NARA does not have a sunscreen dispenser (I asked), and got back on the trail. Two short stops to un-jam as mentioned, and a little apprehension going up that last hill, but it worked fine.

18.2 miles and 565 vertical feet.

rumrunn6

darnit! I sometimes parked in those spaces! what are they doing with the space on the hill, where the old restroom bldg was?

bike_tom

Regarding the future of the old restroom location: your guess is as good as mine.

I am just looking forward to them resurfacing the entrance road. With its washed out ruts, potholes, and poorly backfilled trench, it is rougher than any part of the actual Reformatory trail.

Tom

rumrunn6

you got that right. where the dirt trail crosses the road, that's terrible & I wouldn't be surprised if it caught someone unaware & knocked them to the ground

rumrunn6

fwiw - got the car loaded up w/ all bike related items for 6 nights on the cape. much easier now that both adult kids have their own cars, their own bike racks & their bikes are out of my house! woohoo! just me & the Mrs! but the kids will be joining us & bringing their own cars & bikes! actual grown-ups!

padded where required

rholland1951

Realized that Lexington has deployed more and more varied new signs on the Minuteman than I had previously photographed, so I rode the Rambler from their E border with Arlington to their W border with Bedford, and back, snapping pictures of all the new signs that they had hanging today. Here are some.




















Meanwhile, just over the Bedford line:
WARNING: Cyclists move silently at 10-25 MPH.
Please stay alert and follow these rules.

rod

EVlove

Pictograms in Colonial outfits. That's possibly the most Lexington sign ever.

rholland1951

True enough.

rod

rholland1951

Thursday afternoon, an unlooked-for change of plans gave me time for a little ride on the Minuteman, in mild air that wasn't as laden with particulates and ozone as it has been recently. I pedaled off on the Rambler to claim my prize. The day was unabashed Summer.


On the return, I stopped at the Ghost Bike to pay my respects.


rod

EVlove

I went up to the track last night, racing for the first time in nearly four weeks. Thursday evenings are pretty mellow affairs, alternating between timed events and sprinting. This time there were five of us, and it was nominally a sprint night, but we had agreed on an "anything goes" format. Which unfolded as a set of timed runs for one couple, followed by four match sprints (I was in two, one win, one loss), and finally a 10 lap scratch race (3rd out of 5, of which only 4 finished, meh). All told not much full-effort work involved for me, no need for a recovery ride really, but I liked the idea of heading out and taking it easy.

Work fizzled out around 3 and the now-obligatory radar check seemed to indicate a decent window before any rainfall. I picked the Zizzo folding bike, both for its fenders (just in case) and as a constant reminder that this was to be a leisurely ride. The tires were both low but serviceable for the two miles to the pump in town center so I set off, only to find that the pump head is now worn to the point that I couldn't do better than 60 psi. The nominal minimum for these is 90, but it would have to do. Off to Heart Pond.



The sky had something in store but a quick check of the radar indicated we should be in a gap between lines of showers for a while longer. Of course I had recently gotten soaked not once, but twice in similar situations. So I did the reasonable thing and turned... away from home! East, towards Carlisle, where the clouds appeared to be lighter. The route was now going to be a repeat of a ride I took earlier in the summer, rounding the cranberry bog on the Chelmsford/Carlisle line, and from there to Great Brook, Route 4, and back to Chelmsford center. The fields at the southernmost point, Fiske and Curve Streets in Carlisle, were now quite obviously corn.



I did not see that fellow cyclist on the far right coming, or I would have tried one of those distorted trails you get from moving objects in a panorama.

High overhead on the other side, swallows kept coming and going on the wires, noisily exaggerating the day's mosquito catch, and debating the likelihood of rain, no doubt.



After the flatness that surrounds the bog, there is a pronounced little 40 foot climb and then a net downhill with some undulations all the way back to Chelmsford, about 4 miles. I took the opportunity to stop at this impressive old house near Great Brook that I've often wondered about since moving to the area.




It's not so much the age--the house right across from where I'm sitting is considerably older--but the name that I find intriguing. I haven't been able to find mention of it online but one would assume that this farm was purchased from an actual windfall, a stand of valuable trees that were rightfully, at the time, crown property and off limits, until a storm brought them down. Clearly a point of pride for the owners, as I have never, in now 22 years, seen either the house or the sign in anything but a perfect coat of paint.

I see that I neglected to depict my bike today. You may imagine it, propped on its kickstand, just outside the frame, of course. Also of course, this state of affairs prompted an "Are you OK?" from another passing cyclist. Yes, fine, just taking pictures.

More skyward glances and, a couple of miles on, the decision point. The Warren-Pohl land off Route 4 offered the last known really protected shelter from a thunderstorm. I pulled onto the sidewalk, got my phone out, and looked at the radar. Oh my, it's really heading for us now, but I'm only 2.5 miles (with a 1.5 mile climb) from home. Press on, but in a hurry! This time I made it, but as indicated, it became a lot more exercise than I set out to do. I did the entire climb in my third highest gear. Okay, the Zizzo is geared for recreational riding, but I was now training for Sunday rather than recovering from Thursday.

In the end, the thunderstorm didn't set in until about half an hour after I got home, but when it did, it was most impressive. Street lights coming on in the daytime, fog-dense rain, lightning strikes in the immediate vicinity, and a few seconds of power outage. And through it all, the weather service never updated their "showers possible" forecast for our location, nor issued a watch or warning.



Chelmsford is roughly were the ruler lined N.H. state line begins to jog north following the Merrimack.

13.7 miles, 566 feet climbed.

rholland1951

Took the Ocean Air Cycles Rambler out Friday afternoon for a big loop, out via the Green Line Extension Path through Somervillle, a little puttering around in Cambridge and Charlestown on the North Bank Bridge and related parks, then across the Charles River Dam Road via Museum Way, across the Charles River on the Dam, and picking up the Paul Dudley White Bike Path on the Boston side, taking that through the Esplanade and on as far as the Weeks Bridge, then continuing on the Cambridge side via John Fitzgerald Kennedy Park, Brattle Street, and a jumble of back roads that was intended to be somewhat simpler until I missed a turn on Mason Street, finally picking up the Minuteman at Alewife Station and home directly. This was 17 miles in all, took a couple of hours, and was all completed before the Deluge came along Friday evening.




Wayfinding.




Skills I don't possess.


The Rambler, and a duck.


More ducks.


The Boston Pop Gun.


Where you might have found me 50 years ago.


More wayfinding, this time in John Fitzgerald Kennedy Park.


rod

rholland1951

I took the Rambler East on Saturday afternoon for another round of the hills-and-traffic drill.


As usual, the hills were hilly and the traffic was congested. But the weather was fine and good spirits prevailed. Here's a sample of the often referenced but seldom photographed Malden traffic.


Encountered three cyclists headed South on the Northern Strand Community Path. I'd like to think they were going to check out the new trail segments recently opened up there, on the other side of Route 16. Maybe so. But in any event, there's some riding I need to do there myself, on both the Lynn/Nahant and Everett ends of the trail. It's been too long.


rod

rholland1951

Took the Nobilette out for a quick sprint up the Mystic Valley Parkway before dinner. Lots of Summer fun in progress along the Mystic Lakes, occasionally leading to parking violations. People in and on the water, regardless of warnings about contamination. The Nobilette was its peppy self, yippee! Came in handy negotiating rotary traffic.


rod

rholland1951

Got out on Monday with my grown son John, he on his Cross Check, I on my Rambler, to have another look at the the GLX Community Path. I suggested he take the lead, and he went rocketing off with no further ado. I proceeded at a more modest pace, and we found each other again in Charlestown soon enough.




John suggested returning by the same path, which surprised me, but it was a good call: the climbs and descents on the GLX Community Path in the outbound direction (towards Tufts) were noticeably more challenging than those headed inbound. The T has given cyclists a new down-hill track to get the adrenaline flowing.


Not many photos on this ride, but I did get a couple when the ride was nearly over. a garage mural on the Community Path entitled "Endless Courage", and a swan and her cygnets paddling in Yates Pond. Good day, good ride.




rod

bike_tom

Been on a few rides since my last post, but thought today's was worth sharing.

I once again headed out to Concord via the Minuteman and Reformatory Branch. Despite yesterday's downpours, the RBT was still quite traversable.

Here's the usual "I made it to the end" photo, but this time I posed the bike with Lowell Rd in the background:



I spotted what looked like a pumping unit along the RBT, presumably to alleviate some localized flooding:



Road work on Hartwell Ave, which didn't affect the MM:





Stopping at Depot Park on the way back, I was fortunate to make acquaintance with this handsome pooch:



His owner told me he just had surgery to remove a cancerous spot, which is why his nose looks a little funny. I hope he recovers well.

If you've been wondering where the Shimano neutral support van has been since the Tour de France ended, it is now parked in Lexington Center:



I've saved the biggest news for last: I ran into rholland1951 along the MM in East Lexington. I was headed inbound, he out. I recognized his visage, as well as his bike. It's the first time we have actually met in the real world (not counting the time we each didn't know who the other one was.) We had a pleasant 15 - 20 minute chat. I hope we cross paths again.

About 28 miles.

Tom

rumrunn6

cpl hrs later, Daughter texts me to ask if I can bring an "extra" bike. Boyfriend's bike was in disrepair & wasn't sure if he'd get it up & running well, after arrival. ugh, removed everything, swapped racks, dug up another bike & put ours back on. we get there & Boyfriend already found a bike shop & was getting his ride-ready. oh well, at least the riding was good!

rumrunn6

no buddy pic?

rholland1951

Took the Nobilette out at midday, looking to make my own windchill.


It was a sultry day, and a bright one, the sort of weather everybody notices when they're in it, if only just a little.


I sought out the cool and shady precincts of the Minuteman.


Along came bike_tom , and asked, "Is that a Nobilette?" I admitted it was, and we struck up a conversation. It's nice when the virtual becomes real like that. Hi, Tom!


Meanwhile, the Mile 4.0 Cairn Builders are producing miniatures again, including what I saw as a musician totem.


rod

rholland1951

Another hot, humid afternoon on Thursday, what would have been called "warm" where I grew up, but a good day for enjoying a shady spot and any breezes that came your way.


I took the Ocean Air Cycles Rambler out for a spin on the Minuteman a bit after two. Soon enough, my jersey was supporting gratifying evaporative cooling as I cranked along. The breeze helped, of course, I didn't have to work so hard..


The trees were sporting their full compliment of Summer foliage, and the path was as shady as you could want it. The breezes sang in the branches. The Grand Catalpa told tree stories to the youngsters.


Ice cold lemonade!


The Bike Stop's iconic red bike is outside the wire now. What does this portend?


The little privately maintained park at Mile 4.0 appears to have been partially vandalized. Hope that isn't really true. Poor sport, if so.


rod

rholland1951

A Summer day, for sure, temperatures bobbing up through the 80s and kissing 90, enough humidity to notice, a good day to have a couple of bottle cages on your bike, with bottles in the cages and water in the bottles. I took the speedy Nobilette out, and after making my way through some unusual congestion in Arlington Center (due to repaving), I stuck to the green and shady Minuteman run between Arlington Center and Depot Park, Bedford, and pedaled like the dickens..


I paused at Taylor Lane, to pay my respects to the placid horses there.


I turned around at Depot Park, and cranked away like a bat out of hell, making my own windchill quite successfully. Yippee!


rod

rholland1951

After watching the evolving forecast for Saturday for several days previous, I reached the conclusion that I could miss the worst of the rain if I started early and ended early, neither of which adaptation comes entirely naturally to me. But I gave it a try, starting out in the late morning, rather than the early afternoon. This began well, as I rolled East on the Ocean Air Cycles Rambler, intending to execute yet another instance of the hills-and-traffic drill in the hills and flats of Arlington, Medford, Malden, Melrose, and Stoneham.


While waiting at a light in Malden, I took a picture of this paradigmatic instance of a Raised Ranch house, in the style declared by the Providence Journal to be "Rhode Island's favorite house." In case anyone was wondering... Note that it was dry.


I myself remained dry for several hours. I paid careful attention to the weather radar, which was initially empty, and then began to show me a thundershower here or there, sometimes relatively close, but never seeming to be moving in exactly my direction. Pretty soon, I got cocky, and stopped looking quite so often. And then it began to rain. Not a bad rain, not a hard rain, but I thought I should perhaps start pedaling back to Arlington. I did that, and the heavens opened. After getting thoroughly soaked I took this picture while cranking up Fellsway East, in Melrose (or was it Stoneham? or Malden?) Wet, wet, wet!


As I passed the Kurukulla Center, in Medford, for the second time, I took this photo as a souvenir of the deluge. By then I was starting to enjoy myself, getting into the spirt of the drenching after all those days of heat.


Serious volumes of both rainwater and traffic resumed as I negotiated the Winthrop Square rotary, crested High Street, and then descended into West Medford, when I clocked 21 mph.


A pleasant time was had by all, and the Rambler proved itself in these wet conditions, as did the 38mm Soma C Line tires, and the Paul Racer braze-on center-pull brakes.

rod

rholland1951

Sunday afternoon, I had a quick sprint up the Mystic Valley Parkway on the Rambler to see how the various scenes on the Mystic Lakes were reacting to the sudden change of the weather to the cooler and more benign.


Families were making a day of it in informal settings along the shore of the Lower Mystic Lake.


Various paddling and splashing was in progress on the Upper Mystic Lake.


On the docks of the Tufts Bacow Sailing Pavillion, sunbathers took one dock, swimmers the other.


At Shannon Beach, a small musical performance appeared to be in progress, surrounded by the customary swimming, wading, and water sports. Somewhat mysteriously, a plume of smoke with local, rather than Canadian, origins was drifting across the water in the middle distance.


People were in high spirits, enjoying themselves and each other. I had spent an hour cleaning and lubing the Rambler, which had taken a decidedly amphibious role in the downpours of the previous day, and I was cheered by how it responded to that treatment. The Summer rolls on.

rod

bike_tom

I decided today was a good day to finally do the urban loop that I have been envisioning. Others have posted variations of this - here is what I did:

• Minuteman to Alewife
• Alewife Linear Park to Davis Square
• Somerville Community Path, including GLX extension, to Lechmere / North Point Park
• Dudley White Bike Path on Cambridge side of Charles to Watertown
• Watertown Cambridge Greenway to Alewife
• Minuteman back to Arlington

It was quite the urban tour!
We've had a lot of shots of the Somerville Community Path lately, but indulge me to share one of the lead-up to the steep crossover:



In North Point Park, showing the Zakim and the Bascule railroad drawbridge:



Duck boats climbing out of the water!



I crossed Route 28 at Museum Way, and used the Land Blvd sidewalk to get onto the bike path along what's called Cambridge Parkway. The path there seems very new:




To be honest, I didn't initially realize there was a dedicated bike path and was riding on the sidewalk next to the river (to the consternation of some pedestrians.)
I should mention that it was a tight squeeze passing under the Longfellow Bridge: the bike path seemed to disappear there and all users are forced onto a narrow sidewalk,

By MIT, showing the BU "Jenga" building on the far left:



When I got to the BU Bridge, the bike path suddenly went into the street, and seemingly became one way - and not the way I was going! Not wanting to have to cross Memorial Drive, I walked the bike on the narrow sidewalk to the other side of the rotary. I mounted again there, but the the bike path doesn't really become substantial again till past River St.

Under the Elliot Bridge:



There's actually a tunnel under the bridge, out of view to the right, that allows continuing without dealing with the messy intersection above. There was trail construction going on there, but it was still passable.

The Charles in Watertown near North Beacon St:



I made my way through Arsenal Park (getting a little lost in the process) and picked up the spur of the Watertown Cambridge Greenway that ends at Bond St.

The Greenway was aptly lush and peaceful:




The WCG took me to Fresh Pond, then up and over the railroad tracks to Alewife using the sidewalk along Alewife Brook Parkway:



Quite a ride!
The only part I didn't like was the disappearing bike path at the BU Bridge. I think I will try the Boston side of the river next time to avoid that.

Total ride was 18.7 miles. If you subtract out the 2.8 mile roundtrip from home to Alewife, the loop from Alewife and back was about 16.
Interestingly, the total ride length was only a few tenths different than round trip to Depot Park. The experience of course was vastly different.

Tom