Tom and I went today to ride on the 
Nashua River Trail. Originally, Buzz was going to join us, but he was taking care of sick children and spouses at home and couldn't make it. I met Tom at 8am -- we were supposed to leave at 8am, but his bike had flat tires, so he had to switch wheels and innertubes around. We headed out almost exactly at 9am. I meant to stop by the office and pick up a digital camera, but had neglected to bring any keys, so we didn't document our trip photographically.
We drove to the trail head, but just before we arrived, we ran into a police road block. After waiting for 15 minutes, we turned around and tried navigating to the trail another way around. By the time we got to the trail, the roadblock had been taken down and we never did learn what the problem was.
The ride itself was relatively uneventful. There was a strong, gusty breeze blowing that was usually a crosswind, but occasionally was in our face on the way out and once or twice behind us on the ride back. The trail had a fair amount of traffic -- lots of little kids. The trail is about 11 miles long -- we reached the end and took a break sitting on the rocks to warm up. The temperatures were in the low 60s, but with the wind, it felt much cooler -- especially in the shade or when the sun went behind a cloud. We took a few breaks to stretch on the way back and made slightly slower time. The wind seemed to be carrying a lot of grit and dust. We had to stop and wipe our eyes periodically.
At the end of the ride, we stopped for lunch (and a pint) at JP O'Hanlons, a little Irish pub in Ayer. I was going to try the "old speckled hen", but they were out, so I settled for Guiness. Tom had bangers and mash while I got the shepard's pie served in a bread bowl -- not the most Atkins friendly meal, but I figured my exercise made up for it.
We stopped briefly at the Bear's Den Reservation on the way home. Randy and I had stopped there too on the way back from Somerville and it was fun to share it with someone else. We just took a quick turn around and then headed back. A nice break in the rather tedious drive. All in all, a great end to a great adventure. Too bad Buzz couldn't come this time -- maybe next time.