Burlington Landlocked Forest

It is getting warmer and it's time to start riding my other bike more frequently. This weekend, I decided to visit a new place, which is close to my workplace but so far remained unexplored - the Landlocked Forest in Burlington.

This piece of land is bordered by two highways, Rt 3 form the east and I-95 form the south, which makes it a bit difficult to access. The only good entrance to the forest is available from  the west at Turning Mill Rd. I have heard a few things about the Landlocked Forest previously and one of them was that it was mountain bikers' favorite place in the area. And once I entered the forest, I quickly found out why. (You will not see it in the pictures, though, as somehow I forgot to photograph those most difficult sections of the trial.)

First, we arrive at the small parking lot at Turning Mill Rd where we can get the mountain bike off the roof of our car. Well, that was at least what most people I saw there were doing. I, on the other hand, decided to consult the map first. The yellow trial takes us around the entire area and seemed like the best way to ride. Unfortunately for me, the entry blue route consisted of a very loose gravel that my skinny (-ish) tires struggled with.

Once I got off that route and entered the forested area, the situation improved and the trail turned into a narrow, sandy path.

But not for long. Most of the trial is clearly much more suitable for mountain bikes than vehicles like my Poprad. Roots, large rocks, sharp turns, steep inclines - all these made my life very hard over there. My bike lacked wide, knobby tires, very low gears and the seating position was way too high making descents risky. On the top of that, I am not comfortable riding a bike in such a heavy terrain using clipless pedals. I used to do some mountain biking many years ago in Polish and Austrian mountains, but I always used large, knobby platform pedals for that. This let me react faster in some dangerous situations and while riding Poprad, I was close to falling down twice because I nearly failed to unclip in time.

Nevertheless, the Landlocked  Forest trial is beautiful and leads us through many interesting areas: ponds, streams, narrow boardwalks, etc. Originally, I thought I could explore the entire forest but after completing the southern loop I made a decision to turn back home. My bike became more of a mountain bike there, than anywhere before (maybe except of the Middlesex Fells Reservation I visited earlier). And since I was struggling with the trial, it didn't make much sense to continue. At least not on this bike. I rode a bit further north and connected with the blue trial called The Gas Line on the map. This was a much smoother path and looked much more familiar.

Across Lexington

Spring is here. Snow is gone but trees and bushes are not completely green yet. With no leaves, the forest looks empty and you can easily spot things you were missing before. This all means that now it is the best time to explore the neighborhood and look for those well-hidden tiny, narrow paths that take you through the forest to previously-undiscovered areas.

This week during my work commute, I started taking a bit longer but scenic route home - The Lower Vine Brook path and then the Minuteman Trial towards Arlington. And I noticed something new that wasn't there before:

These little blue markings seemed to be scattered all the over Lexington area. A quick look at the above shown web address and the mystery is revealed - Lexington wants to emphasize the importance of "sustainable transportation" and is introducing a system of greenways as a way to move around the town on foot or by bike. Very commendable!

The blue signs that I noticed are markings for the 5.5 mi long pilot route. The map is available here. It is a pleasant ride, although some sections are narrow, steep paths in thickly forested areas and are probably suitable for bicycles with more gears than I have on my Schwinn.

2, 3 or 4 - The Mass. Ave. Corridor Project

The heated debate is still going on. Once you start reading the news, you may have a feeling there is a war out there...

The Massachusetts Ave Corridor Project is a plan to rebuild the main artery connecting Arlington with Cambridge - The Massachusetts Ave. I wrote about the planned transformation of the Arlington's main intersection before. The town called it the Center Safe Travel Project. Now, The Corridor Project seems like a logical extension of this idea and it is something I wished for many months ago. Let me quote myself here:

[Massachusetts Ave] is wide enough to accommodate bike lanes. This design is, in my opinion, the best option. Not only it merges both loose ends of the Bikeway but it promises bike lanes on Mass Ave. (...) hopefully those lanes would be eventually extended also to the east, in Cambridge's direction.

Therefore, The Corridor Project is supposed to place two 5' wide bike lanes in each direction on Mass Ave, on its 1 mile long section

between Pond Lane and the Rt 16. The detailed summary is available here.

The part of Mass Ave targeted by The Corridor Project.

In my opinion, the Mass Ave in this area is currently a bit of a mess. It is very wide with technically 4 lanes (2 in each direction) and parking places on both sides. I wrote "technically", since those lanes are not marked at all, so it's only up to the drivers to choose where those lanes are and how wide they should be. I really wish the town would at least paint the centerlines.

Once you read the project's summary, you will see that the town plans on removing one lane in westbound direction (toward Arlington center), while maintaining two lanes in eastbound direction (towards Cambridge). Also, the single westbound lane would be wider and the parking places on both sides of the street will be widened as well. This is to prevent dooring cyclists by parked cars. As I mentioned above, those cyclists will enjoy new 5' wide lanes in both directions.

It all sounds pretty sane and smart to me and overall looks like a well-thought solution. However, as you may expect, there will always be a group of people unsatisfied with any changes. The planned reduction from virtual 4 lanes down to 3 started an outcry of upset motorists even though the plan is to reduce number of lanes only in the less-traveled westbound direction. So as you can see, the motorists want all 4 lanes, the town plans for 3 and I would be perfectly happy with... 2, but only if we could fit bike lanes on both sides and streetcar's tracks (the "T") in the center.

Sidewalk!

Sidewalk! (Comic from YehudaMoon.com)

This is what I heard yesterday - "Sidewalk!". I was on my way home when a passing driver yelled something through his car's window. I only understood one word - "sidewalk" and I am not sure what he meant by this since there are no sidewalks on good portion of Middlesex Turnpike in Burligton. And there wasn't one in the place where he was passing my bike. Even if there was a sidewalk available, I wouldn't use it. I am not a pedestrian while I ride my bike after all. I am a "vehicle".

I noticed this long time ago. People feel being in rush when they drive their cars. I feel the same. Cars make us feel like we are losing time when we have to drive slowly behind a much slower vehicle and when we have to pass a bicycle by changing lanes. Even though it takes only a few seconds. Bicycles on the other hand, relax us. I never feel like I am being late when riding my bike, I never feel rushed. I simply know that it takes a certain amount of time to get to my destination and even if I arrive 15 minutes later, it doesn't matter. But somehow, losing 15 minutes when driving a car feels unacceptable. Why?

P.S. I didn't have a chance to follow Yehuda's example and throw away driver's car key. Not sure I would be happy doing it anyway.

Happy Easter!

Not much new and exciting happening lately. Even spring is somehow slow and lazy to show up this year. This morning I had to take a ride to Trader Joe's to pick up some last-minute Easter items. Flowers for our Easter table was just one of them.

Another one, was a "brick" of butter. I needed one to carve a lamb out of it. It is one of our Easter traditions and American butter is unfortunately useless for this purpose as it only comes in sticks. I have no idea how to carve a sheep out of a stick of butter. It would probably look like a crocodile. I had to buy an Irish "brick" butter then.

On my ride back home I noticed some first signs of spring but it still looks like trees are a bit shy to grow new buds. I give them a couple more days. Anyway, it is getting warmer and with today's temperature of over 15C (~60F), I feel like spring is finally here.

Children bikes and the problem thereof

Do you know what the main problem with children bikes is? There is virtually no choice. Have you ever tried to shop for a bicycle for your kids? Not an easy task (unless you absolutely don't care) because about 99% of all children bikes look like this:

An average children bike (Source: Google Images)

They are ugly, heavy and made of some very cheap components. Perhaps the cheap part of it may be justifiable somehow. Children outgrow their bikes quickly, after all and no one buys a small size bike for his/her child hoping it will last for life. But it doesn't excuse the designers from building ugly and heavy bikes.

Hopefully, there are some alternatives but unfortunately, still too few. The first one I heard about was Islabikes. It is a British manufacturer of children bicycles and at least in pictures they appear to be better designed: are prettier, look lighter and seem to be of better quality. Take a look at their Cnoc16 model and compare with the first bike above:

Cnoc16 by Islabikes (Source: Islabikes.co.uk)

But that's in Britain. Here in U.S., we were a bit out of luck. Until recently. This year Linus introduces Lil' Roadster - their children bike for boys (There is a girl version as well!). I have to say that this is the first children bicycle that caught my attention in a long time. Not only it looks great, doesn't come in pastel blue or Barbie pink, looks lightweight, but it also comes with some components still missing on many small bikes: fenders, chain cover and a bell. I guess it's beauty is in simplicity. One gear, one (coaster) break, simple lines. And another big plus - it does not pretend to be a BMX or a mountain bike. Good work Linus!

Linus Lil' Roadster (Source: Linus Bikes)

But in the end, it always comes down to price. As I mentioned above, our little ones will outgrow these bikes quickly, which means - we don't want to spend too much. And unfortunately, we will likely not see many Lil' Roadsters in our neighborhood. At $300, it seems like a bit pricey offer (Closer to $200 would make more sense). But if you have multiple kids at different ages the bike can serve well all of them, one by one. And then, it may be worth considering.

Schwinn Coffee - 17 months report

As I mentioned in my previous post, my Coffee looked pretty ugly after this winter season and last Saturday I decided to spend a few hours cleaning it. Since I had to disassemble at least part of the bike, I had a chance to take a closer look at some components. It's been over 17 months since I have purchased the bike. Here is the long-term usage report.

The good:

1. The geometry. The bike is comfortable. In fact, it is probably the most comfortable bike I ever had. The Coffee is stable and it is one of a few bikes I can ride hands-free (not that I normally do that).

2. Drivetrain. The simple 3-speed Shimano hub and 38T/19T ratio works quite well. It's true that on my daily route to work I would prefer more gears and I wouldn't probably buy a 3-speed bike again. These seem to be more suitable for flatter roads. However, the cheap Shimano hub works well so far and requires minimum service - something I like on a full-year bicycle.

3. Brakes. They are just adequate - not the greatest but acceptable in this price range. I find them very capable of stopping the bike even in wet weather conditions.

The bad:

1. Schwinn saddle. Very uncomfortable. The new Brooks B67 I added shortly after buying the bike is much, much better. This is not unexpected. Cheap bikes come with cheap saddles. The Brooks costs over $100 - a 1/4 of the bike price, but provides much-needed comfort.

2. Tires. They weren't that bad, actually. Worked quite well until the last January when I discovered that the rear one had a factory defect. That was the only reason I had to replace them. Poor quality control and my bad luck.

The ugly:

1. Fenders. They work, but they could work better. Coffee's fenders are shorter than on most city bikes and while they provide just enough protection, they should be longer in the next version of Coffee. Can you hear me Schwinn?

2. Rear rack. Well, what can I expect from a $15 rack? Poor quality chrome plating? Yes. "Lightweight" construction? Definitely. The rack works with light loads but I wish it was a bit stronger. Also, after this winter season the rack shows large spots of corrosion all over the place. At this point, this is a purely cosmetic issue. Still, a better rack would be appreciated. Even if the bike costs $50 more.