Going Back in Time

Its not often you come across a restaurant unchanged in time. Ann's Is just that.

The food here is all american as well as the Wait Staff. Beautiful in its own way, The food is the best. Like an old 3 speed, nothing is over kill. Pancakes cooked in butter, in cast iron. The flavor is spot on.

Only open for Breakfast. Ann's opens at 5:30 and closes for the day at 11:00 am. The "Lunch" part of the sign only means, Unchanged from a time when they were open for lunch.

American as the day is long, The remembrance of 9-11 has a 5 Euro note taped in the center.

Run by two, The food keeps coming from the little kitchen.

All the hardware is as it was back in 1955 when this spot first opened.

Final note, Anns's will be closing for good soon. There is a new two story building planned to be put in its place as soon as Thanksgiving, this year.

Time Out

Its been a while. Things have been a little complicated over the past couple of weeks not allowing the Bosrug group to explore and enjoy our New England backyard.
Its fine, time will come when we will be back to it, but over the past week, adventures had us in the very center of the USA for less fun stuff. There is a time for everything.
Our adventure was bike-less. Fly out on Tuesday morning and then back again on Thursday.
A quick round a bout for the passing of a friend. He had lead a good life and will me missed. Here are some of the photos.

A Walk Around Bike Day

Sunday morning before things got hopping, I had to the chance to do a walk around with my GoPro Hero 2 on a pole. One frame every 5 seconds. here are a few of my favorite.

New Blog Launched

Please join us on our new adventure.

http://viafrancigenaadventure.blogspot.com/

This is what Wiki has to say about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Francigena

The Village

I Love New England for its villages and town centers. There are many that instead of a strip or road side stop, have a center of town that more then 5 roads meet at a point.

A good center of town has a town green at its crossroads. Needham, Dedham, Dover, Natick all have a village and a meeting spot for the town folk to shop and do business.
Unlike a strip or roadside stop, Southern New England has villages.

I like to slow down and look around when I come to a center of town. Each village has its own personalty and story to tell. They had a reason for their existence. Some farming and others manufacturing. I like to take to take the time to observe. Find the story and cherish it. Like finding Gold!

The Raleigh Roadster is the perfect bicycle to enjoy such a spot. Its as if it was designed with stopping, shopping and exploring in mind, Like a rolling metal sculpture, when parked, its a thing of beauty. Standing alone or leaning against New England architecture, it adds to the picture. It looks right.

For some, the Village is merely a road. Their goal is to get through the village as quickly as possible. Head down and in their own world. Having places to go and things to do make cars and bicycles alike simply traffic.

Back when everybody knew your name, it wasn't necessary to travel to the next town to buy things. The village had everything one might need. Travel between towns was light, like Europe.

Now a days shopping for things has been taken away from the village. Shopping Malls in the 60's took business away from the small center of towns and made it nearly imposable for "Mom and Pop" shops to exist. Now with internet sales, unless you find a tourist town, its almost impossible to find a good small hardware store, Bakery, or shoe shop in any Southern New England town.

Bringing back the small shop would require paying full price. Discounted items are killers to a small business. There is a reason all the small shops closed and its not just that drivers don't slow down and want to go where there's parking.

I enjoy the Village. For me, "The best deal in town" is to be able to return to a store and have it open. Run by folks that love there job and their customers. Stories shared and jokes told. The Village is a place where real life exists.

Why I Do This Blog

Blogs are done for many reasons. Money making and a simple cheap form of advertising. Blogs are a great way to involve and inform the public about items an author has found and can recommend.
Blogs can be a "News Letter" of sorts to spread the word regarding group events and activity's having to do with your blog subject. Reports on events that readers might have missed and would have enjoyed being at in person.

The reason I do this blog is simple. Loving the adventure of the Roadster and the road, I can use my Blog as a journal to share with anyone interested and at any given time, I can turn it into a book.
"Blogs to Print" emails blog writers offering to turn their Blog into a book, Discounts at time, pressing a button and paying has in short order a book of your blog on the way to your house.
The true "Lap Top" and not needing a Laptop to read it. Years from now I just may have a Great,Great Grandchild that can see how things were way back in the year 2012.

My rules of My Blog are simple. I keep the subject fun and short. Never a rant. Everyone knows as a cyclist there is more then enough to rant about! (Was that a rant?)

Keep the Blog fresh. Add something new so readers enjoy taking the time to check.

The most important thing is to keep the posting short. Filling a page with little scrolling to finish it. Something to think about that I have found on my own.

Thank You for reading my Blog, Know that I enjoy your company and always look forward to your comments.

Taking The Time

I heard someone say the other day, "Where has the summer gone?" It took me for a bit, until I realized how great every moment had been.
Im lucky, I love my job. Being on the front line of bicycle retail sales in the Boston area, I have managed to keep smiling and learning. Just when you think you have seen it all, something new appears.
Taking the time to discover and not repeat for the sake of repeat. Getting stuck doing the same old thing may be easy, but when it comes to memories of times gone by, it may actually be harder to remember.
Its does not come as a surprise when I hear, That Summer went fast!" When every ride and every day is the same. its no wonder at all.
Taking the time to mix things up. Friends and family and meeting new folks. Heads down and endless miles has a great feeling when its done. There is nothing like experiencing a 350 mile week. I have had many. But taking the time to stop and actually see where you are, may just slow things down enough to remember the difference of your day to day doings.
I like to go back and look at the photographs. I share some of the best, but some are of the personal life I share with the folks that participate in the adventure. Photos out of context have no meaning unless you know why they were shot.
At the end of the day you may just ask yourself why you chose to do what you did.
Taking the time to think it out may just have you realizing that in fact not only is Summer not over, but tomorrow may be the perfect time to take care of that crazy idea you had that makes you, you and your life complete. Taking the time and not letting Time Take You.

The Untouched

"Their Out There!"

I have heard it more then once. Just when you think its over, another discovery.
Cool hideaway spots with beautiful views, off the grid. Places you can call your own that when you return it will be clear, that even years later, that you were the only person there.
Its not easy. It sometimes takes a little scratching and scraping from underbrush. Carrying the bike sometimes, but "Old New England" is still out there and with a little thinking outside the box, will have you smiling.
If someone tells you about a spot, its too late. You need to find your own and in this case, not share with others.
I have many. Some, known by friends. Like "The Terese" Known only by a few, if you were to find it, you would think it was a thousand years old. Rock shelf's with trees growing around them, started 40 years ago. A place that no one would find.
A spot by the Charles River, where the river spills and splits, On both sides the rushing water is only four feet across and four feet deep. The water is cold and crystal clear. If you didn't know, you would never guess it was the "Mighty Chuck".

You could be surprised about some of the spots you have passed by on your daily rides. With a little map reading and a little planning you just might find the perfect spot to call your own and find yourself saying to others, "Their Out There!"

And The "Hits" Just Keep on Coming!

Call her "Miss Farnsworth" Brought over from England by Aeroplane in the late 40's, This beautiful Dawn Tourist was recovered last night.

Following a hot tip, the Raleigh Hunters moved in and captured, alive, this beautiful specimen of Post War Cycling Iron. Not wanting it escape after receiving reports around 4:00 pm yesterday, a call went out to the Northern Headquarters to send in the Motor Car and head to a Hamlet by the name of Westwood where the Raleigh had been holding up in a shed for the last 40 years.

Check back at a later date for updates on how the "Catch" cleaned up.

Calm and getting use to its new surroundings

Post War Dynohub with "Bakelite" cover, in near to perfect condition.

Rubber Tri Springer Saddle

Hot Weather Sunday

Too Hot to Ride?

I can remember many of hot weather rides that were fun beyond belief. Heading out for a ride when its 80 degrees at 7:50 in the morning may require a little bit of planning to have a day of real enjoyment and fond memories. I have done many in the past.

About 35 years ago, good friend Chandler Pyle and I headed out on a black and white 1936 Colson, double steer tandem. One speed, New Departure coaster brake with a New Departure, cable pulled, front hub brake. It was around 100 degrees and the plan was to stay as wet as possible.

Every sprinkler, every pond, lake and river,We enjoyed. Our ride went from Dover Center over to the Wayside Inn and back in a line that had us riding from pond to lake to pond.
Staggered not straight, the total ride was about 35 miles, on and off road.

We knew how to stay cool in a time of very little Air Conditioned homes, buildings and cars.

We would see a sprinkler in a yard and charge at it. Back yard, front yard, nice lawn or not, we did not care. If there were kids playing in the water, we just honked the bulb horn and went for it! I remember kids with buckets of water splashing us as if it would make us go away!

Linking up swimming spots for a ride can be a great way to deal with the heat. My shoe of choice is a sandal. Just get in with your shoes, your only there to cool off.

Returning home after having swam in over 8 ponds and lakes
has one smiling from ear to ear and later has you looking forward to another heat wave!

If only there were photographs!

3 Speed Fun

There is nothing like a 3 speed bike ride. Not easy to forget, I recall rides years later about things seen and things found.
As I have become older, I tend to just want to "Ride my Horse" and not "Ride my horse into battle."
I have been told that no one rides like I ride. Not for speed but for fun. On road with a off road bike or off road with a road bike, it really doesn't matter. It all about the adventure and as a result and most of all, the memories. When it gets hard, the stories get good.
The stories always start out,"There was one time" or "Did I ever tell you about that ride that Me and (fill in the blank) did when we got caught in the rain, in the dark at the 102 mile mark?"
Lasting memories are good enough reason to wear a helmet or to at least write them down.
When things get tough during normal, off the bike, times, its nice to go back in my head and remember better moments when we had the best time I could ever imagine on a bicycle.
"3 Speed Fun!"

Week Day Bicycle Touring

It has never been said better, "Lets hear it for Week Day New England Bicycle Touring!" Thank You Warren.
Roads around Southern New England after 9:30 am for the most part are car free. Get out into the country and it even gets better.
Bicycle trials that are filled with both runners and Riders during the weekend are clear and safe to travel. Having time off in the middle of the week is part of my life and always appreciated.

Quiet Bicycke Path at a Famous Charlestown Spot

Queen Anne's Lace in Full bloom with time to enjoy

Another Beautiful Quite Path