Training Log Archive: CleverSky

It's a kind of dubious claim, but I just received the September 2020 issue of Math Horizons, and I now have an Erdős number. And that number is a respectable 3.

C • Erdos number 6

CCW. It occurred to me the other day that this is the ideal time to do this, because the trail is often plagued by mud and water, and right now everything is bone dry. Quite a few more dismounts than I would have hoped, but not so bad. This is my fastest bike time for this loop, no doubt helped by the fact that the firebreak clearing that was done on Old City Road meant that I was able to make really good time on that stretch. I should come back soon and do this in the opposite direction, because that's clearly the preferred way, there are a number of obstacles that have ramps built up on the other side. And I should also see what I can do on foot here in my current state of fitness.

Little bit: filled three more trash bags with shingles and wood scraps, and carried the miscellaneous objects over to the pile, by headlamp. That basically does it for the sheds, there's a little raking left, mostly of a pile consisting mostly of twigs, a few pieces of half-buried wire fencing that I need to dig up, and there are a few scraps over at the small shed. Now I need to measure the pile to see if I think it will fit in a single giant dumpster load.

Dan Parker Road, In The Dark, from Rocky Hill Road to Nancy's old mailbox on Raddin and back. A couple of side excursions on the way back, to scope them out for possible future mountain biking. The first one would have been a shortcut if I'd had more patience (or a map). I'd hadn't been out there in quite a few years, and it now features some DPW-quality trail marker signs. Nice conditions, cool and dry, though my glasses fogged when I got back into the car.

Town Forest, In The Dim. The plan was to do Shorter Mystery Blazes as a figure-8, then I decided to go out the Powerline trail and come back on the new trail. The light wasn't bad when I started at around 6:30, but by the time I got to the Enigma Road, I decided to just go back to the snowmobile bridge and shortcut to the Christmas bridge to get out of the woods. I had to do that part at a walk because I couldn't see my footing, then I came back on the road.

Shirley and Townsend. Long sleeves weren't essential, but I didn't regret wearing them. Fairly windy.

On the Lane property, with Nancy, In The Dim, not too far because she was feeling kind of knocked out by allergy medication. I've never seen the Mulpus this dry, it's essentially a chain of disconnected pools. There must be some flow, but it's down in the gravel.

Around some trails and roads on the Westford/Chelmsford line, a place that Nancy hadn't gotten to yet on her quest to go to all of the interesting places in Westford. One section was clearly a forgotten spot on the outskirts that has a very different character from the rest of the town.

Some more exploration of the area behind Flat Hill Orchard, and in fact exiting through the orchard.