bike path laugh

[stevep]

in the fall i frequently use the minuteman bike path west of boston to make my appointed rounds ( i sell bike stuff ) and yesterday i took advantage of the beautiful summer weather to visit obtuce among others in boston.
when i start on the path there are 2 guys next to me...i say hi and start out in standard bps ( bke path speed - 17-18mph and slow down if anyone else approaches or you pass anyone )... just ridin along.
anyway, after about 5 miles one of these guys ( called infractor 1 ) goes flying by me in an obvious "attack"... i chuckle...he is pedaling maybe 140rpm, his knees are clearing brush on both sides of the path... funny. anyway..the 2 demons come out in my head... 1. just let the guy go and have a laugh or 2. take him and his teammate to school for a little lesson in humility. anyway, demon 2 wins out because the gift is too easy not to pick...
so i pick it up a little to get to about 20 feet behind this guy..i know his buddy is sitting on waiting to cast the final blow... by now infractor 1 is starting to labor and slow down ( his 45 seconds were spent )... #2 goes flying by same thing...knees mowing grass...pedaling a buck fifty...perfect... so i cross to his wheel and am now sitting on him as he labors at 23mph..22mph, 21mph. gradually slowing and slowing and slowing ... the eddy merckx in me comes out and i very slowly pass him, say hi again and ride on...and infractor 2 fades quickly.
they started it. i had to send em home or they would have irritated me the rest of the way in...
very funny at the time, very entertaining riding the bike path. anyone who has the opportunity knows the characters.
this, btw, is a great bike path imho. fun, nice, clean way into the city regions.

[znfdl]

steve p, very nice :D

[Bittersweet]

Before we moved to W. MA we lived in Arlington on the side of the water tower hill (Art Wester and I were sitting on our front steps watching the BMC race when Nicole Reinhart hit the tree about 200 yds from us - devastating but another thread). In the off season or when it wasn't mental with people I usually started all my rides on the bike trail going from Arlington out to Bedford at which point the traffic has thinned out, you're warmed up, and you've enjoyed the sights. This really is a great trail and a lot of fun to ride as long as you keep the speeds moderate and it isn't the first couple of sunny weekends of spring. But wow did you see all sorts of crazy things such as the two characters you describe. As long as there weren't lots of families with kids I would frequently engage in the same ritual. Allowing some chucklehead in full Lance regalia to tow me before slowly pouring on a little power in the last run-in to Bedford and then out Rt 4/225. Fall days are especially nice and the early foliage along the swampy areas can be spectacular. Ah the memories.

[Too Tall]

SteveP - I could hang with yah man ;) You cashed their check.

[davids]

I've only ridden the Minuteman path in 'family mode', with wife and young daughter, toodling along at speeds too low to measure. It's a great place for that kind of riding, and my kid's always been proud when she's knocked off the 20-odd miles from Alewife to Bedford and back.

I'm bemused by the 'infractors' on the path, guys in full USPS kits who think they're stylin as they blow by the 9-year-olds. A multi-use path, crowded with weekend riders, families, and stollers is no place for posers. Get 'em out to the western suburbs where they belong! ;)

[Bittersweet]

davids -
the infractors are unbelievable. and a giggle. you really need to ride mass ave or other routes out to Bedford if you can go so fast that you scare the kids and are a danger to others. there are so many ways to get on and off and when it is bike path "busy season" it is quite obvious.

A great toodle trail on a beautiful Sunday. My kids were really young when we were there and I'd put them in the dragger behind my commuter 3spd and we'd go get apples or ice cream. See the sights. good stuff

[Grant McLean]

I ride part of the lakeshore path in the west end of Toronto fairly regularly,
this section of path completes a loop I like to ride after work. I get the
guys who want to "race" me almost every day... It gets tiresome after a while,
but like you said, sometimes a switch goes in your head, and "it's go time!".



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