Wednesday, March 29

Morning:
Another beautiful morning, cloudless sky, about 45 degrees. So I was crossing the Mass Ave bridge and got behind this well-dressed cyclist - don't know if you can see it in the photo but she's wearing heels. I thought that at the end of the bridge she would definitely keep on going down Mass Ave, but imagine my surprise when she turned right on to Memorial Drive (2nd photo)! Well dressed and courageous! The warmer weather is bringing out more riders, which is a very good thing - strength in numbers, etc. I definitley get a boost riding with other people.


Evening:
Beautiful evening - great ride - nice on the fly view of The Dragon - it was practically empty.

Tuesday, March 28

Morning:
Another great, sunny morning. Temp in the mid-40s. Nothing to report. The ride happened. It was over. I was at work. Hmmm....maybe things are going to get boring now that it seems winter is over and I have nothing to complain about. Photo is of the Mem Drive outcrop on the fly.


Evening:
46 degrees, a little windy which put a bite in the air. The mask, as you can see, has been retired. Too bad, though, because NO bicycle helmet looks cool, and the mask ameliorated the dorky look just a little. Anyway, next photos is at the beginning of Mass Ave bridge. I got this on the fly as I took advantage of the Mass Ave red light. Next is the bike rack at Trader Joe's. They have the screwiest bike rack around. It's all bent to hell and jammed up against the wall. Makes parking it a little chaotic.

Monday, March 27

Morning:
Finally. A beautiful and glorious morning. Temp in the 40s, blazing sun and not a cloud in the sky. I had several very close calls on the way in, but nothing could ruin the mood that the sun has put me in. No mask, no gloves, just a t-shirt and a windbreaker. March, you're a gonner.

Evening:
So, on the ride home I found myself right behind the guy who I wrote about last Thursday night, right at the very same spot as last Thursday. Friends, I was presented with another opportunity to triumph. This time, however, I took the the Mem Drive outcrop. I caught up to Old Yellow (see photo) about mid-way through the outcrop and tailed him until he bailed for the sidewalk at Ames St. I took the Grater, of course.

Friday, March 24

Morning:
Temp in the 40s, overcast. Probably one of the best rides I've had - I blew through Kenmore, went through all of the lights. I didn't stop until the Mem Drive outcrop where the headwind picked up a little and my thighs started to burn. Didn't even stop for a photo.

Evening:
Friends, I must apologize for the lack of pictures. It was just one of those days. It came, it went. Next thing I knew I was home from Mars, and Friday, March 24 was an hour and ten minutes away from the history books. The ride home was good - same route as last Friday - Cambridge to Allston.. Then home to some Vietnamese take-out. I hear that next week is going to bring nicer weather. I suppose that I should be glad of that after all of my complaining. But I will be loath to part with the black face mask. It's light enough, though, that I might continue to wear it. In fact, I'm wearing it now.

Thursday, March 23

Morning:
Temp around 37 - pretty good ride on the crycycle. Very fast ride, but tons of speeding traffic on Mem Drive. Glad the sun is out. Check out the dude in the photo - I came up behind him in The Dragon and blew past him - but as I went by, I saw that he was wearing a full-face Shoei motorcycle helmet. Preposterous! I had to stop and wait till he passed by so I could snap a pic.

Evening:
Great ride on the crycycle tonight. I ruled the Cheese Grater. With the promise of Spring in the air, I put aside my childish fears of being doored and blazed the Grater! I have to admit to being goaded into it by my competitive spirit. A fellow crycyclist just behind me outdid me at the Sinkhole by taking the Outcrop, while I chose my usual route. Right at the confluence of the two routes I found that he was ahead of me! Not Happening! I put a little pep in my step and caught up to him just as he was bailing to the sidewalk at Wadsworth Street for his trip up Mem Drive. The sidewalk?!! Not me, not Uneasy Rider - tonight it's the Cheese Grater. Well, gentle readers, I blazed. I left him in his sidewalk-riding dust. At the end of the Victory Ride section of the Grater I even caught the Mass Ave walk sign which meant my momentum went unchecked till I hit the lights at Beacon St. Anyway, any good part of a ride is always ultimately spoiled by the unavoidable, and in tonight's spotlight is what I call "Hammer Time" (see photo). This is at the outlet of the Dragon, crossing Comm Ave to Beacon - the roadway becomes so rough for about 75 yards that you've got to either post on your cranks, or suffer the 4,000 blows to a rather sensitive area. The reward for all this courage and fortitude?

Wednesday, March 22

Morning:
Ah, it was OK, I guess. Around 35 degrees, overcast. Fast ride. The photo is on Mem drive right after crossing under Longfellow. The canoe lives permanently at this dock. You can't see it in the photo, but the bow is stenciled with "BETTY" in big, black letters.


Evening:
Until the weather improves I'm going to drop 'bicycle' and adopt 'cry-cycle'. So anyway, the crycycle ride home was cold and gray - gray because a bunch of clouds have moved into the area and are expected to stay for a few days. We might even be treated to some snow showers Thursday. Photo is of a bridge in a city called Boston, in a province of Siberia.

Tuesday, March 21

Morning:
I'd say Spring is really on its way! It was about 32 this morning. Still windy. Great ride though. I did Kenmore in about 4.5 seconds. Photo is of the sign that welcomes you to the Land Blvd smack-down.


Evening:
Decidedly better. Temp in the mid-40s. Nothing of note to report. Photo is of the view as I exit my place of employment. It's a small company located, as you can see, on Mars.

Monday, March 20

Morning:
Jeez, what is it with this March? What is it with the first day of Spring? It was 26 degrees this morning with a biting NW wind!! Unbelievable. By far the coldest ride of the whole year. The only photo I had time for was this standard issue Mass Ave/Comm Ave. Too cold to stop.



Evening:
Better than the morning by far. The bridge wasn't so bad as the wind was a little to my back instead of this morning's aero-dermabrasion experience. First photo is of the grand entrance, the foyer, if you will, of Kenmore (I think they call this Charlesgate East?). Here you get just a little taste of what lies ahead. Second photo is more evidence that Lights Out is now Lights On. Why, in the dead of winter, you couldn't see a thing during this part of the commute. Now look. Just in time for daylight savings! And finally, the reward for those who brave the cold winds: this martini is made 3:1 gin/vermouth with bitters and 3 olives. Let the winds blow, I say.

Thursday, March 16

Morning:
Beautiful day - even if it is just in the 30s. A real quick ride, hardly any lights. Look at me, man, I'm HAPPY. Cold and happy. Sick of March, but HAPPY. Tired of riding the bike, but happy. It's the sun that makes all the difference - the sun will do it every time. Like I said, happy.

Wednesday, March 15

Morning:
Blustery, cold. It was in the 40s - but the temp has dropped to high 30s as of 3pm. Like I said, I hate March. We actually just had some snow furries. Even though the sun is out. I hate March. I've been very remiss in my bike maintainence. My chain is all stiff and rusty, my freewheel is definitely about to loose its last pawl. I decided to ride on the sidewalk along the river today instead of on Mem Drive. I just wanted to take it easy. The Land Blvd smack-down was in full effect. I hate March.

Evening:
I went out to North Station on my way home an crossed up through Beacon Hill. It was blowing like crazy - had my mask and flippers on. First photo is of Staniford St - the wind was blazing down here - I crawled up Staniford with the wind in my face. The photo looks like I was riding through suburb of Moscow. I cut up through Beacon Hill. Next photo is of Beacon Hill coming down to Cambridge St. This part of the ride was beautiful despite the wind. Beacon to Park Drive was a hellacious wind tunnel.

Tuesday, March 14

Morning:
Damp, damp, wet. Look at these pictures. Look how damp and dreary Boston is this morning. March. We're in for a whole month of this. Look at my leg - wet up to the knee. At least the temp is in the 50s for the time being. Snow is expected Friday, though.

Evening:
Temp in the mid-50s but a howling wind blowing the whole way. I put on my gloves mid-way through the trip. Photo is of the Sinkhole. Danger abounds here. I hate this part of the trip. I hate March.

Monday, March 13

Morning:
Overcast, damp day, high 40s. The Charles was like a mill pond. I made a fender out of pipe insulation since I knew it was going to rain today. Sharp, eh?



Evening:
Left the "camera" at work so I'll have to resort to one of my art shots. Anyway, Uneasy Rider is so damn busy at work that it's impacting timley posting. Can't really remember the ride last night. I remember dampness, and darkness, and speeding cars.

Friday, March 10

Morning:
54 degrees - finally the cold snap is over. It rained last night, so all the road crud that has been accumulating during the dry, arctic period of the last two weeks has now been dissolved into a viscous muck coating the roadways. Photo is of a Plymouth that pulled out right in front of me on Comm Ave - it was a close call - I had no time to brake - had to swerve into the other lane.

Evening:
Damn! The weather is turning nice! About 62 degrees this evening. I made my way up Mem Drive to the BU Bridge to get to Allston to get to Marty's - AKA Mecca - to procure some Aqua Vitae. The first photo is of BU Bridge - someone once shouted at me to "get off the road" here. It's a crazy MF confluence of traffic here. The second photo is of The Temple where Libations to Sooth the Weary Bicycling Soul may be procured.

Thursday, March 9

Morning:
A brisk, overcast morning. I went without gloves for the first time since November, although I think it was a bit premature. Sorry for the first photo, but it seems that Memorial Drive is not the safest place for birds. Bird carcasses are a common sight on this side of the river. I'm just curious how it happens. Are they napping on the roadway? Probably not. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, drivers on Mem Drive all do about 90mph - so I assume they hit these birds "on the wing." Second photo is of the right hand turn you can make off of Land Blvd onto Cambridge Parkway. This is always a sketchy area for cyclists - I've almost been nailed here five or six times by cars turning right in front of me. Notice the wide swath of sand and salt at the edge of the roadway - sometimes I feel like I'm riding on Revere Beach instead of Memorial Drive.

Evening:
Temp in the 40s - nice, quick ride home although had some close calls here and there. Kenmore was its usual bag of treats. Photo is of Beacon at St Mary's, outbound side. This part is both a blessing and a curse because so many people double park. They're all going to Chef Chang's or Johnnies Fresh Market. So, the right-hand lane is pretty much all yours except when you have to swing out into the next lane to go around the double parked cars. Note the fellow in the Dining In jacket - he had a big bag of Chef Chang's.

Tuesday, March 7

Morning:
Very nice - about 35 degrees, sunny, no wind. Pedestrians I pass seem to have a decidedly more sanguine look than the past two brutally cold weeks. Photo is another rare sighting of a rider on Memorial Drive. I've been riding this for two years, day in and day out, and I have probably seen only about 4 riders. It's definitely a little nerve-wracking to ride it because although the posted speed limit is 35, everyone does 45 to 50.

Evening:
Jeez, I thought the MIT sailing team was intrepid - but the title goes to Harvard tonight - they had their motor boats out breaking up the ice enough for the sail boats to practice. It was a beautiful evening - around 38 degrees, very little wind. Fast ride home with no craziness - not even in Kenmore Square.

Monday, March 6

Morning:
Temp around 30 degrees. Traffic still seems light, which is fine with me. I was trying to take a picture of the Mass Ave bridge on the fly, but I got the camera turned around and wound up taking a picture of myself.


Evening:
Traffic a little heavier this evening, temp in the 30s. Photo is of the end of the line for cyclists on the Cambridge side. If you're coming up Mem Drive, like I do, and then bang a left onto Mass Ave, this is all the courtesy a cyclist is going to get. What, maybe 25 yards of bike lane before you're dumped unceremoniously onto the bridge? Sayonora.

Friday, March 3

Morning:

Jeez, things have been so busy at work that I haven't had any cyber-slacking time. Bette late than never, though. I think I'm getting used to this cold. It was in the high 20s this morning, I think. The ride was pretty smooth, although there was a lot of traffic. I was able to capture a fine image of road crud. This is the stuff that gets so dry that the winds whip it up and it gets in your eyes, mouth etc. It mixes so nicely with diesel exhaust.

Evening:
About 25 degrees, windy. Plenty of traffic and mayhem in Kenmore. I've noticed that the cold weather has the the side-effect of diminishing my attention when riding. I'm looking forward to a two-day break from it.

Thursday, March 2

Morning:

Temp in the upper 20s, dropped my chain once. Photos are of ice on the Charles. The channels seem to be left by sculls and their attendant motor boats.

Evening:

Man, I couldn't believe it! The area I refer to as "Lights Out" on Beacon had, for the first time since I've been posting, streets lights that were actually on. It was so amazing I had to take a photo. See those streetlights? They are never on at night. You go from blazing Kenmore square to the pitch black of Lights Out. But tonight, it was not to be - there I was, in the biting cold, but with my treacherous way being lit by streetlights.

Wednesday, March 1

Morning:
Didn't even have time to take a picture this morning. This cold weather is getting old. Same thing crossing Mass Ave bridge - icy blasts, nose running like a faucet. Charles is freezing over and it's MARCH 1st!! What the hell??

Evening:
Higher temp, but wind still makes it feel very cold. Same gusts coming accross Mass Ave bridge. Dropped my chain twice - once on Mem Drive and again in Kenmore. An observation: Acoustic velocity decreases with temperature which makes passing cars sound more jarring to me in cold weather. In warmer weather, you might perceive the traffic coming up behind you as a steady hiss. But in colder weather, especially the sub-20 degree stuff that we've been experiencing, it seems like cars are suddenly at your side.