It's been a really mild February in the Boston area. So far this winter I think we only had one plowable snow storm. As a result, I've been able to get out quite a bit more for long rides on the weekend. In fact, it's been a challenge trying to balance the winter weight lifting I like to do with the opportunities to ride up to 50 miles/80 km.

My bike at the current end of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) in Wayland

Exploring the unpaved Waltham side of the MCRT

A brown February in Boston

Popped a spoke, but Landrys kept me rolling

My Specialized Secteur is 10 years old and due for replacement. Does it know that I'm looking at replacement bikes? This month its rear wheel has been slowly dying on me. I broke a spoke -- and the cassette was rusted solidly to the wheel. After some doing Landrys was able to get the cassette off & replace the spoke. A week later another spoke went. Oh, this is most definitely not the original wheelset, by the way. A rear wheel on my touring/commuting bike might last as long as three years. Maybe. Finally, a spoke just pulled through and the wheel is completely toast.

That is a dead wheel.

Friendly horses!

Very friendly horses.

The horse just wandered over to say hello. I scritched his nose, but really, I know very little about horses. Even if I had something I could give him, I'd have to believe his owners wouldn't want some rando giving him food of any kind. Nice horse though.

The Charles River

Getting set for squats in the gym.

I've made a point of getting back into the gym and lifting weights. Some of this has been upper body stuff, but the real heart of the matter is squats. It's a nice change of pace and I can feel the improvement out on the road. When my legs aren't hurting, which is most of the time!

A new protected bike lane

My local DPW has been slowly increasing the amount of protected bike lanes we have in town. It's a damn good thing. Both photos are depicting locations which were formerly tough spots to bike in.