First training ride: Minute Man Trail and some dirt road riding

Welcome to May!  Spring is finally showing up here in Boston, and I finally took my Salsa Vaya out for a nice ride.  The goal of this ride was to putz along for the fun of it.  I left the cycle computer at home and meandered down the Minute Man Bikeway – the very same trail that Paul Revere rode his bicycle on at midnight to warn the people of Lexington that the Red Coats were coming.  This is one of the few semi-straight routes in Boston, so it definitely is the quickest way to get to Lexington.


Top: one of the train cars that belonged to the rail trail (in Bedford); bottom left: downtown Lexington; bottom right: many inline skaters, bikers, runners out and about today.

From the end of the Minute Man, I continued along the Reformatory Branch Rail Trail.  This is a dirt path – and a true experiment for me.  As a skinny-tire road rider, I usually have steered clear of anything remotely off-road.  But since I now have fat-tires on my Vaya, and since I'll be dealing with at least a couple weeks of dirt road riding in Tajikistan, I reckon I ought to get accustomed to riding in less than ideal scenarios.

Truly, at the beginning of the 4-mile path, I was quite nervous and cautious.  Rocks, mud - what to do!  By the end, I was feeling pretty steady and actually quite enjoying myself.  Although I could still use some tips on how to ride through mud...

Saw this critter along the way:

Enjoying the trail.

A fortuitous cafe at the end of the trail, called the Trail's End Cafe.  A quesadilla and some coffee before my return trip.

Some 32 miles, and a very pleasant day.  Fun ride: check!