The gym vs. the bike

[dmaze]

Yesterday was incredibly nice out, and I figured it would be a good day to take my bike out and call it "spring". I waffled some on which way to actually go, and so cleverly avoided the Mystic Lakes in favor of a plan that would skirt the Fells and go straight into the big rotary at 93...new plan. The ultimate route involved climbing the hill on Waltham St. in Woburn and Arlmont Hill from the Arlington side, plus (in an attempt to involve the paving disaster that is Forest St. in Arlington) a little climb up Johnson Rd. in Winchester. (Route map)

The short conclusion from this, I think, is that there is some success in my attempts to use the gym to not totally atrophy over the winter. The various hills were, if not easy, at least continuous: winning on the traffic lights, I didn't stop between the light at Park Avenue and Mass Ave in Arlington Heights and the light at Route 60 in Belmont, for instance. Speed was not quite there, maybe 15-16 mph on the flat parts, and it didn't feel like my endurance was there either (though I wasn't really out that long).

Maybe next weekend, weather permitting, I'll go get thwomped by the Quad ride. And maybe I'll think about doing the CRW Spring Century again this year and hope for less rain.

Comments

[fredrickegerman.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that's pretty close to my preferred "medium workout with hill climbing". I tend to go along the Mystic Lakes, though (lower traffic); I've learned a route to the bike path on the back side of Horn Pond which I prefer to the road on the front side. It's paved and generally clear. No idea how to describe it adequately, though; mostly it's "go straight at the flashy light across 3A at Bacon St, turn left at the stop sign onto Woodside, except it's called something else there, and then hang a left after crossing the little pond."

Also, I just climb back up Ridge St and pick up Park Ave at the top of Turkey Hill. I'm curious why you avoid it---is it the bad surface coming down off the hill? I could see that being pretty bad on a road bike.

Biking the Concord Ave rotaries: madness!

I hear tell that Belmont is going to continue the bike path from Alewife a bit further along so that you can bike the Concord Ave corridor. But I suspect it will remain unpaved for the moment... Fine on my cross bike with the heavy tires, but probably dicey on a road bike.

[dmaze]

I wouldn't describe Forest St. on the Arlington side of Turkey Hill as "bad surface" so much as "potholes with occasional pavement in between". The right turn in between the two hills there was definitely an attempt to avoid that (and fairly successfully at that).

On this particular run I didn't actually bike the rotaries on Concord Ave., I used the sidewalks there instead Probably the more sensible routing is around the back of Fresh Pond (and I think they're done with construction there), coming back via Huron Ave. I should also come up with a better way back from that area that doesn't involve the new-and-improved extra stop signs on Walden St.

[fredrickegerman.livejournal.com]

Obscure fact: I learned archery in the playing fields of the elementary school on that corner, summer between freshman and sophomore years. Took me years to learn where the school actually was (I got rides from Alewife). Then I stumbled upon it during a ride along the ridge.