T is for Tomato

And for Tired, unfortunately.

This is what 100 pounds of tomatoes look like (two boxes of 50lbs each)

And many, many hours later this is what 32 quarts and a pint of tomatoes look like.

I did buy a fabulous machine this year which in Italy is called a "passa tutto"  (pass everything).  It uses a hand cranked "worm drive" to drive raw chunks of tomato through a sieve, spitting out watery sauce and pulp at one end and seeds and skins at another.   It save a huge amount of time skinning and seeding the tomatoes, but I generally use a lot more chunky tomatoes than sauce.  You also have to spend some time cooking down the sauce to a reasonable consistency.  I cheated and left it overnight over a tiny simmer flame, although you could also do it in a crockpot with the lid off (I had two crockpots worth of raw juice, so it was too much work to try to stagger it/ transfer the sauce etc.)

Fortunately the pain will fade, and I'll be able to enjoy lots of spaghetti, chili and other tomato-rich dishes all winter.

Happiness

Bicycling to drop off the compost:   15 minutes.

Bicycling to the library to drop off overdue books:   7 minutes

Bicycling to Target to buy laundry soap, black tights and a new mattress pad : 20 minutes.

Bicycling from Target to TJ's to buy an orchid as a hostess gift 25 minutes

Bicycling home very very slowly to not damage the orchid, and watching all the people out enjoying car free Memorial Drive 10 minutes.

Spending the afternoon running errands outside in the crisp fall sunshine instead of in a box on wheels, cursing at traffic:  worth all the time in the world.

Luxe bike parking and private bike share

At the Harvard law school I saw this fabulous Miesian bike shelter:

Gilbert was so jealous.....and wants me to remodel his shed so that it's more glamorous.  Although given recent events he may be happy to be in any shelter!

I suppose they wouldn't help much if the wind was from the south, but they're awfully nice looking, and any roof over my bike is a good roof!  They also have a law school only bike share- I don't know if there are other locations, but it looks like you check out the key to the lock from a staff person, and then could ride it somewhere on an errand, lock it up there, and then ride back.

At some of the dorms I've seen a new bike share called "Crimson Bikes"  which, like the HLS program seems to have repurposed refurbished abandoned bikes for a student only bike share.

I think that they're relying on them being homely and mismatched to keep them from being stolen,  and it might work, but the history of such informal bike sharing programs has not been great.  

Still, it will help fill the gap until Hubway gets a foothold on this side of the river.

Orange and Green

I always feel a bit self conscious taking pictures of people's saddles (while they're on them at least)
but this one looked like it was worth it-  forest green pleather to match the frame.

Nicely complemented with Orange helmet and red bag.

JSK at Harvard Thursday Night

Janette  Sadik-Khan,  the visionary Transportation Commissioner from NYC is giving a lecture Thursday at the Harvard GSD at 6:30.   Information here.  The lecture " New York's Sustainable Streets"  is free and open to the public, but these lectures often fill up early,  so come early if you want to be in the lecture hall (they generally have  video simulcast if they overflow, but I don't know if it's guaranteed.

New "couplet" bike lanes downtown

And the bike lanes keep on coming!

Was pleased to find new bike lanes on the paired one way streets of High and Franklin running from Broad   to Washington/ Downtown Crossing.

These streets were plenty wide to accommodate a bike lane, but not wide enough for two car lanes, so  a bike lane is a perfect addition.  Also, these streets provide a nice alternative to the greenway for bikers coming from the South Station area to Faneuil Hall and the financial district.

As I've complained about the lack of facilities on the greenway, I'm glad that these provide a good alternative and hope they will get used a lot by hubway users.   I think that there needs to be better signage though (although it may be in the works) to direct non-locals from S. Station to these routes.

I feel like I've forgotten something.....

As you might have heard, we've had a bit more rain in the northeast!   It's not been as bad in Boston as further inland,  but it rained constantly for about three days, and off and on two days before that.
I'm not big on riding in pouring rain,  and had to drive/ take the train for work,  so last night when I went out to saddle up and go grocery shopping,  I was shocked to find, that I'd left Gilbert locked to himself outside for FIVE days in the rain.   Poor Gilbert-  bad bike owner!

I do have an excuse, sort of.  The Scientist and I got married on Saturday, and it was a busy day.  I rode out first thing to do a quick errand, and locked up out in the back yard because I thought I might have to run out for another errand.  Then the day got away from me, and next thing I knew, we were loading flower arrangements and my dress into the scientist's car, and headed off to the venue, leaving poor Gilbert locked and alone.  I'm really glad first of all that he's still there,  as unsecured items do have a tendency to walk away in a dense urban neighborhood.   He was out of view of the street, which obviously helps a lot.

There are some who would say that a city bike is made to be left out in the rain,  and the assumption that the bike will get wet is the reason that I used frame saver, stainless steel hardware, and waterproof light fixtures.  However, I do try to cover both the saddle and the basket when I know the bike will get wet,  and that was obviously not the case this time.

I'm not sure what to do about the saddle- it was well treated with Obenauf's  and you can see a bit that the water is still beading up on it to a small extent.  I'm going to let it dry today in my office,  and this weekend will recoat it with Obenauf's  both top and bottom.   It feels mostly OK (rode with a plastic bag over it to avoid a wet butt though).   Anyone have suggestions for best care of a leather saddle after a thorough wetting?

I'll also treat the leather trim on the basket, and may park it in the sun, with the lid open to let it the inside dry out as much as possible.  I'll probably open up the chaincase, and give the chain a bit of extra lube this weekend too.

All things considered though the bike rode just fine-  the brakes didn't even squeal. I guess that it's true that a good city bike should be able to withstand all kinds of negligence and abuse.  On the other hand, I'd rather not test that theory too often