Minuteman Bikeway Rail Trail

Shining Lights

2009-06-03T20:37:00.002-05:00

I hardly ever see bicycle lights along the trail on account of only being out on fair days. By chance I saw both a headlight and a taillight this morning, both as I neared Mill Street. Even in full daylight, the new LED lamps are a great aid to being seen. I had no trouble picking out the dwindling red taillight when the rider was 200 yards ahead of me. The best bicycle lamp of my childhood -- powered by Raleigh's front-hub generator -- was dim and fragile by comparison.

Today: 4.5 miles. This year: 166.9 miles.

A Snake on the Trail

2009-04-28T10:29:00.003-05:00

Near Arlington's Great Meadows

Today: 13 miles. This year: 97.2 miles.

Brush Fire in Arlington's Great Meadows

2009-04-19T18:42:00.004-05:00

There was a widespread brush fire in Arlington's Great Meadows on Friday, burning a large portion of the open area and threatening nearby houses. The Friends of Arlington's Great Meadows have a map of the burn (pdf). The taste of soot was still in the air today as my wife and I walked along the Minuteman Trail west of Fottler Avenue and then onto a short loop of the Great Meadows Trail (pdf).

View from Glacier Knoll

Brush and leaves burned to the edge of the trail

Optical confusion

2009-03-28T15:39:00.002-05:00

I thought for a second that someone had blacked out the centerline on the bridge over 128, but it's only the shadow of the fence rail.

At MA 128 / I-95.

Yesterday: 8 miles. This year: 33.7 miles.

Almost Clear

2009-03-18T12:46:00.003-05:00

I skated west from Lexington Center to Bedford Depot Park today, relying on Yury's report that the trail was clear enough for all activities. That's nearly so, undercut only by some sand and gravel at Bedford Street, followed by rotting ice across the path just west of there.

Falling whistle post at the Lexington DPW

Today: 8 miles. This year: 15.7 miles.

The First Few Miles of 2009

2009-03-18T06:23:00.003-05:00

I skated west from Hurd Field into Lexington yesterday and found the trail much clearer than I expected. There's some gravel at Fottler Avenue and some ice in the shadow of Maple Street. I turned back at the private driveway between Seasons Four and Woburn Street, where there was only a narrow strip of wet pavement surrounded by melting ice.

Arlington's all clear.

West across the private driveway crossing, Lexington

Yesterday: 5 miles.

Lexington: Still a Mess

2009-03-11T07:43:00.001-05:00

East from Seasons Four

At the Seasons Four crossing

The Deadwood of Damocles

2009-03-07T09:48:00.002-05:00

Temperatures in the fifties, maybe up to sixty degrees this weekend should take a big bite from the last of the snow and ice in Arlington. Lexington has a lot further to go.

At Drake Village, Arlington

Upper-body exercise

2009-02-12T10:23:00.002-05:00

While the trail is nearly skateable, many ramps are still thick with ice. I stopped at Hurd Field with a spade this morning and cut a two-foot-wide slot through the ice on the ramp. The drainage and exposed pavement should make the remaining ice melt away much sooner than it would have. Once the trail dries out, I should bring a broom instead.

Trail Conditions: Coming along quickly

2009-02-11T13:33:00.005-05:00

Sunshine and warmth raised my hopes that some part of the trail might be clear enough for skating. Full-width puddles, streams of runoff, and some scattered ice fields dashed those hopes for today. Even so, I walked from Thorndike Field down to Alewife Station and up to Arlington Center and found the trail quickly clearing. Online there are renewed plans for plowing in Lexington, although probably not until first the ice melts and later it snows again.

Last year a commenter remarked on some old signs in East Arlington that face away from the trail. One is east of the trail, roughly facing the end of Chandler Street and the other faces White Street to the west. The first has traces of lettering and the second is completely effaced. The top line might end in MPING. DUMPING FORBIDDEN is the best fit I could think of. My photo of the face was washed out by strong backlighting; you'll have to look for yourself.

At Thorndike Field, Arlington

Alewives near Alewife Station, Cambridge

Looking east toward Lake Street, Arlington

I never knew about the fines.

Illegible sign near Chandler Street, Arlington

Today: 2.7 miles walking. This year: 2.7 miles.

Quads to move

2009-02-08T16:56:00.003-05:00

The long-vacant Brattle Pharmacy, 1043 Mass. Ave. in Arlington, has a banner on the Brattle Street side announcing that Quad Cycles and Team Quad will soon be there. Much like their old location in Arlington Heights, they'll be just a couple of blocks off the Minuteman Trail at an access point with stairs. Either shoulder your bike or get off at Ryder Street instead.

Updates: Ted Packard reminds me there's a ramp from the trail to Washington Street, just 50 narrow, bumpy, semi-paved yards from Brattle Street. And after driving by from the other direction, I see there are posters advertising the new tenants on three sides of the building.

View Larger Map

Trail Conditions: Meltdown

2009-02-08T16:45:00.002-05:00

Four days later, the same stretch of trail is awash in meltwater and edged with ice.

West from Mill Street, Arlington

Ice covers half the inbound lane at Mill Street.

This day, week, month, and year: 0 miles.

Trail Conditions: Bright White

2009-02-04T11:14:00.003-05:00

Even after plowing, the trail is a brighter white than your freshly-washed sheets.

Equipment tracks in the snow

West across Mill Street toward Arlington Center

East from Mill Street behind the old Brigham's building

Today: 0 miles. This year: 0 miles.

New Rules for Bikes in Traffic

2009-01-27T11:27:00.002-05:00

While you're waiting for the trail to clear, you should read up on the new Massachusetts bicycle law.

Lexington suspends bikeway plowing

2009-01-15T20:45:00.002-05:00

Plowing wasn't going well in Lexington and now the town has suspended the program. You read more on Clear the Trail and the FOLB blog, or respond to the Lexington Minuteman's weekly poll.

Bikeway plowing: Arlington yes, Lexington no

2008-12-23T14:10:00.002-05:00

Driving around this morning I crossed the bikeway at Bow Street, Maple Street, and Bedford Street in Lexington. There's been no plowing at all near those crossings. Clear the Trail reports that Arlington has plowed and Lexington is "off to a slow start." There's no update on the Friends of Lexington Bikeways blog.

FOLB update; Following Blogspot blogs

2008-12-21T18:22:00.003-05:00

There's a rare new posting at the Friends of Lexington Bikeways blog. On my way to mentioning that I noticed the Blogspot settings for following blogs and the layout gadget for displaying followers. Now you can follow this blog and I can see how microscopic my readership really is.

Minuteman plowing in the Globe

2008-12-14T10:06:00.002-05:00

Today's Boston Globe declares "Bikeway to be plowed". The article explains that plowing in Lexington will be more expensive than in Arlington because of the bollards. Fund-raising isn't complete yet, so trail users should consider chipping in. There's more info in the Lexington section of Clear the Trail.

Tomorrow's forecast has the temperature rising to 50°F before the rain comes in -- it might be a skating day.

Woburn Street crossing: It's all different now

2008-12-05T07:42:00.001-05:00

After not skating for several weeks, I was surprised to find the trail crossing of Woburn Street and Hayes Lane in Lexington remodeled. Instead of the long diagonal two-part crossing, the trail jogs left at Woburn Street along some newly widened sidewalk (lower left in photo), then turns right for a short, perpendicular crossing that avoids Hayes Lane (far right) completely.

Looking west across Woburn Street, Lexington

Yesterday: 10 miles. This year: 1556.7 miles.

Privately-funded Plowing in Lexington

2008-11-26T10:51:00.002-05:00

A Lexington Minuteman article announces that Lexington will join Arlington in plowing the bike path this winter, but using private donations. Amusingly the article was originally headlined "Lexington to pave bikepath this winter", but it's been corrected.

Coban™ Self-Adherent Wrap

2008-11-16T15:13:00.002-05:00

This is only off-topic if you never get a road rash. I donated my 82nd pint of blood last week, not that much of a feat spread over 26 years, and asked for a Coban™ bandage to avoid the itchy rash that I used to get on my arm from the adhesive tape. The lingering rash with intense itching was by far the worst part of donating, edging out the inconvenience of skipping skating the day after. I've used Coban and store-brand imitations mostly after blood donations, but it's also good for large abrasions such as you get from falls.

Lexington Construction Notes

2008-11-06T07:23:00.003-05:00

Already repaved, Woburn Street had its curbs reset on Tuesday and Wednesday. The bike path still detours around the construction to Fletcher Avenue.

The pedestrian crossing of the trail just short of the Lexington Depot, previously just a painted path often covered with an illegally parked car, is being rebuilt. The new approach has granite curbs and brick surfaces, much like the steps to the trail a hundred feet east.

Near Lexington Depot

Yesterday: 14 miles. This year: 1546.7 miles. To Stillwater: 89.8 miles.

Growing Nippy

2008-11-03T10:14:00.002-05:00

Mid-day on Friday I skated comfortably in shorts and a t-shirt. At eight this morning I wore long pants, a flannel over-shirt, and running gloves, yet it took nine miles for my thumbs to warm up. My halluces were cold after thirteen miles despite double socks. Maybe I skated at the wrong time of day: the afternoon forecast calls for warming to 54°F.

Today: 13 miles. This year: 1518.7 miles.

Dry Leaves, No Problem

2008-10-31T17:01:00.004-05:00

Looking east from Fletcher Avenue, Lexington

This barrier at the end of Hancock Avenue in Lexington is made from old rails.

Today: 12 miles. This year: 1505.7 miles.

Wet Leaves are the Black Ice of Inline Skating

2008-10-27T10:09:00.004-05:00

Wet leaves are easier to see, of course. The resemblance to black ice is in the slickness and the difficulty of assessment. How wet are they? How rotten, and how deep? The more fortunate connection is that black ice and wet leaves both fade in the warmth of the day.

Just as Yury suggested, the shallow excavations later topped with concrete are the foundations of new benches. The one below is on the outbound side of the trail west of Wiggins Avenue in Bedford.

It's hard to keep track, but I don't think this tree leaning out from the tree line used to be so prominent. My guess is that its great height and the rain-softened ground are slowly tilting it over the trail just outbound from Fletcher Avenue in Lexington. There are high wind warnings tomorrow afternoon into Wednesday morning. Don't stand right there.

Today: 13 miles. This year: 1493.7 miles.