Newton, Wellesley, and Blue Hills Reservation

The ride

Oh my goodness! Look at these cute buildings!

That was my inner voice throughout the ride.

Today I rode a 60-miler that took me South of Boston. The route disappointed me; I wanted to get up into Lexington and Concord. There’s great biking there, and I’ve enjoyed the area. Instead, I headed off towards Dover and ugh Dedham.

The houses of West Newton proved the first challenge to that disappointment. They oozed springtime cheer. They were old and ornate, painted in pastel colors with white trim. Cherry blossoms bloomed in their yards. The sun rose, brightening the sky with pink hues against the gray clouds.

The stone buildings of Wellesley proved the second challenge. I hadn’t been to Wellesley before.
Heck, I didn’t even know Wellesley was nearby! From just a passing ride through, I’d like to go back to wander through clean-lined stone buildings and investigate a crepe place that I duly noted.

Riding through Medfield banished the remaining shreds of my disappointment. “Okay, but Medfield?” you say. Yes! I love Medfield. Just inside the city limits, there’s a nature preserve. A swamp. I get to ride on a road that cuts right through that swamp. The sky is clear and open. Broken branches and shallow water surround me. There are great blue herons!

I’ve ridden this road before, and as soon as I realized where I was, I got so excited that I pulled over to take a couple of pictures of dead branches and underbrush. That is to say, a swamp.

I expect that by now, you fully share my enthusiasm.

As an unexpected bonus, I got to bike near the Blue Hills Reservation, a giant state park complete with ski slopes. I had heard about the reservation from co-workers who had come to enjoy winter sports. I was pleased to stumble across it.

A final photograph to leave you with: I came back up through Stony Brook Reservation, where I found a lake right next to the road.

Nominal

• My new brakes (dual pivot side pull calipers) performed as expected.
• For the first ride of the season, my average moving speed (13.6mph) was about where I expected. I expected to finish my ride around 10 am, and I pulled back in front of my apartment at 9:59 exactly.

Off nominal

• My toes got numb! I had my new clip-in shoes cinched too tightly. Loosening them eased the numbness, and by the time I got back, I had regained complete feeling in all toes.
• I got back and found an angry red bar on my forehead. It turns out the mount for my headlamp rubs against my forehead. I’m looking into alternate lighting systems.
• I was so excited about the ride that I didn’t sleep much last night.

The route