Sunday, July 29, 2012

More vacation riding

Besides the Rock Harbor ride, I did a few other rides on the Cape and at home:

A short ride to Chatham Light to see the ocean at 6AM:



I rode 24 miles with Matt, my young cousin (by marriage) and his dad, Uncle Paul.

And a 22 mile ride with my wife and the boys.  We passed the bike path rotary:




Stopped at the airport to check out the planes and their unusual weather forecaster:




And checked out this old canvas fish spotter plane, now in use as a shark spotter by Cape Cod Shark Hunters:



We also stopped at the new-ish Chatham playground, adjacent to the Anglers' field.

At home, on Sunday, I rode out towards Concord, turning around 9 miles into the ride when it started to rain.  I started the ride at 5:30 and while the sun had officially risen, it was still pretty dark out.  I now have a rechargeable Night Rider light so I will feel better about these early morning rides.  Not sure if it will go on my IF or my Surly.

All of these rides were on my Surly.



Sunday, July 22, 2012

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Good day to drive


Torrential rains, damaging winds, lightning and haul - a good day to have driven to work.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Ti!

This morning I rode 18 miles on a single speed titanium bike on the bike path from Arlington Center to Bedford and back.  I was in the house by 6:35.  The bike is the demo Seven Cafe Racer single speed you can see at Ride Studio Cafe.  The ride is as smooth as the advertising tells you it will be - silky smooth.  I had the 700x23 Ultrema tires inflated to 100psi, which helped but the frame material and geometry helped much more. What a nice ride!

It is not my bike so that is the end of that but it was to quite fun ride it!

The bike, back at its home:


Sunday, July 15, 2012

Hot summer weekend rides

Two weekend rides, both very early - back by 8:30 on Saturday and 7:30 on Sunday:

Saturday - I decided to check the radar with only 10% chance of rain but it was headed towards where I intended to ride at 5AM.  I waited for 30 minutes to see that it was passing just south but, just in case, I rode the Surly and carried a pannier with a gortex jacket.  This is the route.

I did a shorter but fun ride on Sunday morning, leaving the house about 5:45.  I hadn't been on Monument Road in Concord in some time and it was beautiful at 6:30:


Friday, July 13, 2012

Early morning Concord ride

It was a fine morning for another early morning ride to Concord, MA via Lexington, MA and returning through Bedford, MA to pick up the Minuteman bike path.

I also commuted into work today.  That brings me over 800 miles for the year.  Not the best year ever but I already rode as much as I did last year, which was, by far, the lowest mileage year I have had, both for running and cycling in almost 20 years.  But having a couple of boys will do that.  It is getting easier.

I passed through Lexington around 5:30 AM.  There was light on the Ride/Studio/Cafe building from the sun but no one was inside yet so no coffee for me.


Sunday, July 8, 2012

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Early morning Lincoln ride

I got out early this morning for a quick but somewhat hilly ride, coming down 2A with the Mill Street/Lincoln St cutoff to pass by the Cambridge reservoir, over Lincoln/Bedford Road to Lincoln center, and back by Trapelo, Winter, Old Country and Concord roads.  I saw a number of cyclists on Trapelo and Concord roads.  There was a near accident when a Hummer refused to give way to two cyclists who were going straight at Concord and Spring Street in Lexington when the Hummer took a right.  I heard the cyclist shout from a long distance but it didn't seem to reach the Hummer's driver.

Cambridge Reservoir from Trapelo Road:

  






Friday, July 6, 2012

Date ride

My wife and I had a date ride this morning.  We had taken the day off because of day care schedules and had the nanny stay with the boys.  We did this ride.  The ride was great - it was a pretty day and not too hot but it was long.  My wife hit the 100 mile mark on this ride while I think I topped 700 miles for the year.  Unlike last year when I rode most of my miles on the Surly, I have about 600 miles on the IF and slightly more than 100 on the Surly.  I'm feeling great riding the IF.

We stopped for a snack at Keyk's in South Chelmsford.  They didn't have a great selection and my wife opted for a bar while I had a slightly too sweet cupcake.  We may try it again when they have a better selection.

We stopped at our favorite break site on Maple Street in Carlisle.


I also rode a 26 mile version of the Concord, Bedford ride early on Thursday morning.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

40 mile Saturday ride

I did this classic (to me) 40 miler on Sunday morning, getting home by 9AM, the latest I have been cycling in  a while.  Here is the map.

I also road to Concord and Bedford early on Monday morning, getting home by 7:15AM, adding 25 miles

And I commuted to work on Tuesday, adding 14 miles on my Surly.  Tuesday was warm and I had to sprint back home, which left me needing a shower before bed.

I believe I rode 81 miles since Saturday and over 600 miles for the year.  Not much by some standards but with two small children, it seems like a decent amount.  I feel myself getting stronger, slowly.

A new bike

The newest bike in the family, a late 70s or early 80s Miyata 215 touring bike.  It has a triple crank and the longest wheel base of any of our bikes.