A lot of time to think, because I just kept getting honked at.

I’m an experienced road cyclist. I ride on the right, as close to the fog line as safe and reasonable; I signal my turns and stops, and generally crank a straight line. I do not ride with an iPod or anything else in my ears. So I don’t think the honk is meant as scolding, unless it’s scolding for daring to be a cyclist. In which case, the sound of your horn, while unpleasant, will not cause me to stop cycling, or stop cycling on the road.

Usually the honker is somebody who is passing me, so perhaps the honk is meant as a courtesy to say “hey, I’m passing you!” You know, in case I didn’t notice the deafening clatter and roar of your big machine coming up behind my relatively silent bicycle. I don’t think it’s that either, because the honk nearly always happens at the end of the massing manoeuvre, when the motorist is already in my field of view. Here, there is no further information that the honk can add.

I should add, in fairness to these motorists: they all passed me properly, by going at least partially into the left lane to leave lots of space between my elbows and their wing mirrors. This is unfortunately uncommon enough to be remarkable. There are some of motorists in the wold who think that as long as a stationary car and bicycle could fit side to side in a travel lane, they can pass at 40 mph without moving to the side at all. Here, it is a good thing that Mass drivers think lane lines are only suggestions.

The route starts in Lowell, heading south on MA 110 to MA 4, and following that road to Bedford, MA. It’s a steady, gentle climb from the start to the Billerica line, then after a slight dip, a steep uphill slog for a mile and a half to Rangeway Road. “Steep” here is not more than a 2% grade, but around here that’s practically vertical. From here on to Bedford it’s basically flat. In terms of scenery, this section progresses rapidly from urban to suburban to rural, past marshes and meadows and forest, with beautiful crossings over Russel Mill Pond (mi. 6.5) and the Concord River (mi. 9.5). From Lowell to Bedford is completely exposed to the sun, so bring sunglasses and sunscreen.

Halfway through Billerica I realized that I had forgotten my helmet in Lowell. Oops. That’s important. But given that the highway riding was nearly done, I decided it would be safer to press on than to retrace it all.

At Bedford, there’s a Whole Foods just off the road, and I decided that Sushi would make the perfect mid-trail snack. I was right.

Across the street from the Bedford Whole Foods, a brief jaunt down Webber Ave to Loomis St puts you at the northern terminus of the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway. The trailhead is a little tricky to find–it’s behind the old Boston and Maine railroad car. On a nice day, follow the bright yellow spandex.

The bikeway is an 11-mile green tunnel, under almost 100% forest cover. Sunglasses went in the panniers here. The trail passes through the towns of Bedford, Lexington, Arlington and Cambridge before ending at Alewife Station. Frequent road crossings are marked by stop signs on the trail, and local motorists are very good about yielding to walkers and cyclists. The busier crossings have traffic lights with trigger buttons for the trail users. In Lexington, the trail passes by a town park where there was some kind of concert going on that the entire town seemed to have turned up for. Just past the park, across from the Seasons Four nursery is a huge patch of wild raspberry bushes, which made for a convenient water and berry-picking stop.

At the Lexington Arlington line, the trail crosses south of Arlington’s Great Meadows, a 180-acre virgin wet meadow with hiking trials around its uplands. At Arlington Center, the bikeway breaks and requires you to ride for a block along Mass Ave, but the signage is good and again, there are always other cyclists to follow.

At Alewife, follow the signs to Davis Square via Linear Park, which is a multi-use trail paved on top of the red line subway connection between Davis and Alewife. Again, there is a slightly awkward crossing over Mass Ave. This part of the trail is narrower and has more pedestrians and dog walkers, so use caution. On yesterday’s ride I nearly had to stop to avoid a small, curious dog whose human was so lost in her iPod that she had no idea it was running straight for my bike!

At Davis Square, the trail is done. Ice cream, beer, and BBQ are good options here. Map of the route below

Here’s what happened tonight:

I’m coming home from an aborted bike ride, my rear dérailleur having failed about a mile out of town.  The bike is still rideable, but not terribly shiftable.  At the top of a hill, I have a left turn back onto my street, and a stop sign.  Oncoming traffic also has a stop, cross-traffic has right of way.  I am slowly creeping towards the intersection, backpedaling and trying to keep balance without putting a food down and losing momentum.  I don’t particularly want to put a foot down because my feet are clipped into my pedals, and it’s a pain to unclip and recliip when you don’t have to.  Also, I would lose some of that precious momentum if I came to a full and complete stop.  There’s only one car coming from the right, and at the rate he’s going, I can crawl up to the intersection and then sneak in behind him without having to make a full stop.

As the car approaches the intersection, the driver slows down, to a creep, much like what I am doing.  Almost as if waiting to make a left turn, except that 1) he doesn’t have his blinker on, and 2) if he wants to turn left, he  can do it–hee’s got no oncoming traffic.  As he comes to a slow rolling stop in the MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION, he makes eye contact with me, as if to say “why aren’t you going anywhere, moron?”  Maybe because I have a stop sign and you don’t?  Had he waved me across as he approached the intersection, I could have gotten in in front of him.  Had he proceeded at a normal rate, I could have gotten in behind him.  What actually happened due to his utter failure to either follow the rules or communicate an acceptable deviation, was that I nearly fell over sideways, and did perform an utterly graceless dismount and walk my bike the remaining block home.

This just baffles me. Yielding when you don’t have to I understand, IF YOU SOMEHOW COMMUNICATE.  It can be nice.  Stopping in the middle of the intersection, expecting everybody to know what you’re thinking, and making me look like a moron who doesn’t know how to ride his bike is ärgerlich.