Ride to the... ride

Going for a ride includes:

1. Deciding on which trail to ride

2. Getting my gear together

3. Loading up said gear into the pterodactyl

4. Brining the bike around the back of the building to get to the front, load it

5. Handling my business in traffic to get to the trail safe/sane

6. Putzing around getting everything set (tire pressure, shoes on, garmins all set, etc)

7. Enjoying my time getting my tires dirty (who am I kidding, getting the bike filthy, and myself muddy/smelly)

And now back to town...

8. Loading up the gear and bike

9. Leisurely driving home (since I've gotten my ride in I'm much more "calm") until someone somewhere pulls a dick move which then causes me to "handle my business" on the rode and get home as quickly as possible

10. a. Finding a spot that will accommodate my car AND bike (street parking is FUN!)

b. flashers on, unload the bike real quick, throw it into the foyer and then find a parking spot

c. flashers on, unload bike on random sidewalk, park and ride bike back to condo

11. Dip behind building and stash my bike in the basement hallway

I'm envious of my buddy Sean who has some sweet trails right outside his door.  I'm envious of people who have trails within 5 miles.  On Friday I stopped being envious and I rode the HiFi to the trail!! 

This was a ballsy endeavor for a couple of reasons.  The weather, for one, was being it's badass self and I woke to a day of forecasted thunderstorms.  After accepting the fact that there would be no riding a window of no rain/thunderstorms opened up.  That was all I needed and I google mapped my way from Southie to Cutler Park.  Googles told me that to get from here to there by bike I'd be looking at about 11.8 miles.  Would that give me any ride time legs at Cutler (taking into account that I'd have 11.8 miles to go to get home at the end of the ride)?  I googled my Charles River ride and found out where the  12 or so mile mark was for that ride.  Always felt good at that spot - and then some - so I figured I can get out there and tool around at least a little bit!!

The ride was actually pretty nice.  Getting through Boston I headed down Washington St which was pretty sweet considering they have a whole lane dedicated to buses bikes!  From there I was able to jump on some bike paths (one along Melnea Cass and the SW Corridor) and the scariest of scary - the VFW parkway - was actually pretty sweet as well, with a nice bike lane/shoulder to cruise in.  The route was pretty straight forward and before you knew it I was at Cutler!!

I paused to drink some fluids and munch on a Clif bar and decided to check out the old weather forecast to make sure no storms were heading my way.  Of course I find that where I am now (just outside of Boston) is not in the clear at all, with 50-60% chance of thunderstorms starting NOW!!

What to do... hit the trails at Cutler and risk riding home in a storm, or turn tail now and book it home.  Compromise time!!  I'll do a quick/short loop in Cutler (it had been raining in the overnight anyway so I didn't know what to expect for trail conditions) and then head home.  The trails were pretty sweet, nice hard packed and relatively dry (besides the highway was perfect!!  the other side, a bit soggy).  

On the way back I did a quick tour of Mount Ida as a bunch of our kids typically go there every year.  Nice little campus... but then back to getting home.  Made it home with no rain... could have gotten a "real" ride in at Cutler, DRATS!!  But for a first time trip it was probably best to do a quick ride at Cutler to ensure I'd have legs to get me home.  

I'll likely try to make this a weekly ride to help build up miles in the legs.  This ride also got me scheming a way to make it to the Fells, which is actually a little closer (9.6 miles)!!  It sucks that the miles to get to either trail is all pavement... but at least it's riding!