Oxherding Chapter X

Well, Google's taken over the former blogspot.com pretty effectively.  Not an issue for me... I feel pretty comfortable dealing with both large and small leading-edge companies, after working with Intel, Nortel, OASIS (the standards organization - oasis-open.org), Bay Networks, Digital, as well as earlier government-related work in the DC area.  Anyway, my stance on the relationship I experience with Google is that it is mutually beneficial: They allow me to fairly quickly make the information here available to anyone who is interested in these topics, while they can also mine it, in order to monetize it over time.
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Coming back to this blog after following the other path is kind of cool, and a good way to skate the evolutionary edge.
It's easy to get distracted by the Internet of samsara, the portal to more distracting (and amazingly-interesting) content than any human can possibly follow. My balance of attraction has always wavered between unprecedented opportunities for egoic gratification and the deep-time perspective of ephemeral being, the flash of lightning, the starry starry night twinkle of the midnight Rhone pouring out of the lake, gazed upon from le Pont des Bergues.
It's really better to give up the illusion of understanding it all, for even seeing/hearing/experiencing everything open to a human now is so blatantly impossible. However, that does not leave us in simply a blooming, buzzing confusion. We can still see The Spike, walk through Sandymount to the Strand - either physically or via some Google-related facility. No Google will ever capture the experience of waiting a bit in the company of a lovely lady on a motorcycle as the commuter train blocks the Sandymount road, then accompanying her as she turns off the engine ("to save the petrol") and walks the substantial machine the next several hundred meters home to her family, chatting about the state of the world and the preferred eatery in the town center... and the cool cider afterwards.... but it can transfer the glimmer, the spark of the event far beyond time and place to another consciousness, your consciousness, in some skeletal form.
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But still, an oxherder must return to the market.
Leaving a trail is useful; making a map may be better.
One of these days, I suppose my favorite mapmaker, Ken Wilber, will get a comment or two here.
His (very!) few Shadowed spots infuriate me like the misguided views of a beloved younger brother, although in truth he's a few years older than me. When a man who has attained the recognition that every view is correct speaks of silliness, watch out!
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No exciting pix with this post - Working erratically on some multi-media material with a more geographically and symbolicly diverse focus. With the realization of widespread 4G LTE availability, the real-time publication opportunities are becoming much more interesting, but the key will always be communicating meaning, to the extent that meaning still has meaning.
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Now that most of the nearby trails which I wish to share have been mapped into OpenStreetMap.org, I wonder if you, my occasional reader, will have more interest in following specific tracks, rather then being able to see the entire network of trails. For instance, would you like to see a handful of 20-to-50 kilometer loop rides, or specific to-and-from routes?
Do you want to travel from Lexington to Walden Pond over car-free paths? (I call suburban sidewalks car-free; with their occasional and respectfully-avoided walkers... a different breed from those pedestrian-only sidewalks of town centers.)
Or would you ever want to receive a live (or minimally-delayed) GPS track visible on a map, with occasional audio and/or video accompaniment, commentary, etc.?  A kind of voyeuristic mobile webcam?  Would you ever take a break from your other computer-based tasks to see what's going on here or on a related web site?
I've discussed the timestamp contest idea a bit elsewhere - offering extra merit for correctly identifying the timestamp of an ongoing or stored bit of media. For I may be jealous of my privacy, may take the opportunity to control my own metadata, to conceal, modify or or reveal it as desired.
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Thanks for reading.

It's looking like one of the sparsest ice biking seasons in years for my riding area - from Lexington through Concord, Lincoln, Bedford, Billerica, Carlisle, and south into Waltham, Belmont, Arlington, Watertown, Cambridge.

In memorium until next year, perhaps?


(Picture from last year's trip to Spy Pond in Arlington, Massachusetts - 12 February 2011.)

This year I have not even put on the studded ice tires (Nokian Extreme) yet.

The ground is very susceptible to damage from tires during some of the non-frozen days, especially when it is wet from the rains. I don't want to make it worse by using the metal-studded tires on unfrozen ground.

Good western winds at least help keep the air clean outside I-95/Rt. 128.

What's going on with the trail maps?

Why haven't I added a lot of new maps based on my explorations of the past couple of years?

Short answer: I've found a better way to make the trails visible to a world-wide audience on a more permanent basis.

Check out: OpenStreetMap.org

As you zoom in to the "Minuteman" area around Lexington, Bedford, and Concord, you'll see the trails which have been loaded into the map. You can print or save any area of interest. You can get apps for your iphone or other smart phone which will show you your current position on OSM, and you may be able to extract the OSM data to generate maps to load onto your GPS (depends on a lot of factors, but it works for me).

If you are a GPS user who is able to collect "tracks" of your movements, you can also add to OpenStreetMap.org (OSM) to help popularize your favorite trails. Tim Berners-Lee is a frequent trail-track contributor in the Minuteman area.

To allay one concern that I have heard, about having one's favorite trails overrun with new walkers or bike riders, keep in mind that (at least) in the Minuteman area, there are enough trails that there is little danger of your trail being overrun with new users simply because you have marked it in OSM.

By marking the trails in OSM, people may learn the safe and pleasant ways (literally "side-walks") which will allow them to travel to their favorite destinations without an automobile. I've found some wonderful paths which will lead me from Lexington to Walden Pond with very minimal riding on the roads. What a great way to get out there for an afternoon's swim... with "organic trails" along several parts of the path, and almost never encountering another walker or rider along the way, except along the Battle Road itself.

Anyone who can spell "XML" can probably figure out how to do it (add GPS-based trail information), but you can contact me if you have trouble after reading the OSM wiki and forums.

I expect to continue this blog with more of an emphasis on the "Organic Trails" approach, philosophy, and business model soon.

Catching up

Back to the trails....

A summer with many miles of trails and riding has passed. I've learned a few more trails, and added some nice tools for communicating about them.

I got a Global Positioning System (GPS) device for my birthday at the end of June, and have had a chance to record "tracks" around many trails around here. One such effort is available at http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Minuteman-Connector-Loop-1.

I've been putting together a few detailed maps using the GPS track data, but I'm not content with the results yet. Below is one way of representing the trails of the Willard's Woods conservation land in Lexington:

After playing around with a variety of software tools to merge the GPS tracks with other existing maps, I've found several ways to produce something fairly usable. A very nice tool is GPS Trackmaker, free from www.gpstm.com (I think). It allows me to bring in an image file of a map and overlay that with the GPS tracks.

It turns out that there is a lot of manipulation needed on most map images before they can be used as a background for GPS tracks. For example, they have to be aligned with North to the top. I found that the free software Irfanview allows rotation of images by fractions of degrees, which is invaluable for this kind of alignment.

Another view of Willard's Woods trails using the Lexington Town map as a background may be easier to read, since it only shows the roads.



The tracks should be displayed as wider lines, I think. Also, I should erase the big number 6, which is the voting precinct within Lexington. The heavy dotted lines are also precinct lines...

So the summer has not been wasted as far as the trail mapping goes... Just in a learning mode as far as mapping tools, and an enjoying mode, as far as getting out and riding the trails instead of talking about them. I'm sure you can understand!

Now with the shorter days of autumn and winter, I'll have to work through all those stored GPS tracks and start churning out the maps.

Snow falling from trees

Last night there was an inch or so of fresh wet snow. After dropping my daughter off at the airport at about 7:00 a.m., I returned home through Winchester. This route runs by Whipple Hill.

A few rays of sunlight illuminated the tops of the hills, and they appeared as if dusted with confectioner's sugar, brilliant white. I had to take a closer look, so I stopped at the little parking lot at the base of Whipple Hill on Johnson/Winchester Road (at the Lexington/Winchester line).

I took an old towel and blanket from the back of the car with me as I walked up to the top of Whipple Hill, making the morning's first tracks in the thin snow. The snow was already starting to drop off the branches as the rising sun made its presence known to all, and the temperature moved well above freezing.

The rocks at the top of Whipple Hill were bare of snow, so I spread out my towel and assumed a lotus position, wrapping myself in the blanket.

Everywhere, the snow dripped, dripped. White blobs slid, tumbled, pulling tiny avalanches from the lower twigs and branches. Follen Hill, visible across the Great Meadow, was crowned with white, but I knew it too would soon lose its sugar coating to the cruel warmth of the sun, even as the clouds softened the direct rays. Visible changes of the dripping snow falling from every branch, little by little, fed my contemplation. Here the change was visible, but truly, every instant, every part of the world is changing. Here an insect waves its antennae, there a bud emerges, a leaf falls, a wind current pushes a branch. A person is born. Another dies. Change. Drip, drip.

A man with a dog. A couple with British accents and a dog. Cheery greetings, returning to watch the changes. Follen Hill dark now, melted. Snow dripping still all around, but many dark branches have shed their white skins. Dark branch. Rain on the temple roof. Just this.

Greenway Meeting with Hayward Avenue Neighbors

The West Lexington Greenway team had the opportunity to meet with a number of neighbors of the Hayward Avenue, Woodpark Circle, and Wood Street area. This is one of the few areas where the proposed WLG trail which might pass within easy view of houses. (Another area of visibility is near Holton, Patterson, and Conestoga Roads.)

The piece of a topographic map shown here covers the potential trail route under power lines and around the "Bloody Bluff" hill to join the Battle Road. This area needs detailed study in the Master Plan. Perhaps this section will be infeasible at present, and travelers on the West Lexington Greenway trail will need to follow Wood Street and Fairview to reach the Battle Road. (That's what I do nowadays.)
In any case, it was very gratifying to see the turnout at the meeting on a snowy evening, and to discuss some possibilities for this project with the neighbors in this area.
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(click the picture for a larger view, or to save it on your computer)

At the meeting, the Master Plan concept was presented, and there were a number of good questions asked and discussed.

The Master Plan concept is to hire a professional consulting team to analyze issues such as property boundaries, wetlands, plant/animal communities, invasive plants, potential trail sites, etc., and develop a detailed Master Plan for the area which will be the basis for community decision-making, detailed engineering, and eventual construction/improvement of trails through the Greenway corridor.

Some of the questions raised and discussed included:

Q: How can we keep informed on the progress of the project?

A: There will be public notices and we expect the project to have a web presence. We members of the WLG steering committee plan to remain accessible and involved in the project. Also, the Town Recreation and Conservation departments will be closely involved in the project.

Q: How can we provide input as to location of specific plant/animal communities which should not be disturbed?

A: Keep communicating with us and monitoring the progress of the project. We welcome your participation, and would be happy to have neighborhood residents join the WLG team.

Q: How is the funding being handled?

A: We are applying for $125,000 of CPC funding as “seed money” for the Master Plan, and expect to be able to qualify for several other sources of funding from state and federal sources for detailed engineering and construction, based on the Master Plan.

Q: Do you believe that state and federal funds can provide the bulk of funds beyond the initial CPC “seed money?”

A: We believe that this project will qualify for funding from several sources, particularly because it provides a connection between two significant existing trail systems.

Q: How can the project avoid having invasive plants introduced during construction?

A: The materials can be specified as to cleanliness and sterility from seeds, etc. This can be part of the design process.

Q: Does the proposed Hartwell Avenue bike lane project conflict with the WLG project?

A: No. If Hartwell Ave. is safe for bikes from Bedford St. to the Minuteman Bikeway, it will help achieve the connection to the Simonds Brook conservation land, one of the goals of the WLG project. The two projects also draw from different sources of funds. The Hartwell Ave. bike project (consisting of studies leading toward repainting the street lines) would probably not qualify for CPC funds.

Q: Concerning the powerlines, does the power company allow people to travel under the lines?

A: On the town-owned lands over which the NSTAR holds a right-of way, we have been advised that there is no prohibition against trails or the passage of people. We will need to coordinate with NSTAR’s needs to clear brush and perform maintenance in the areas of their rights-of-way.

Q: Have you talked with the power company?

A: We have had some contacts, and there is no indication of conflict over having trails under the lines or the clearings on Town-owned lands.

Q: Is it safe for people to walk or ride under the power lines? What about electromagnetic effects?

A: (not answered this way at the meeting) There is no evidence of harmful effects, although some people may decide to avoid the power line areas. No studies of people living for extended periods near power lines have shown clear evidence of problems, so there is no reason to think that people simply traveling on a path near or under the power lines would be exposed to any ill effects.

(Comment) The properties on Woodpark Circle extend under the power lines, so it may not be possible to site a trail under the power lines in that area without passing over private property.

Q: What about personal safety or crime on an isolated trail? How would crimes be handled?

A: The more “friendly” visitors in the area, the fewer “unfriendly” elements are likely to be there. Lexington police would have jurisdiction.

Q: Are there some maps of the area available?

A: Some related maps of conservation lands are on the Lexington Conservation Commission's web site, and some maps relating to this project are on Paul Knight’s trail blog, http://organictrails.blogspot.com, which are unofficial maps. The WLG project will produce more official maps.

Horse Shoe's Favorite Trails

I just wanted to add some trails from Bedford.

I really like the "Wilderness Park" trails. The main entrance is from the sidewalk along Springs Road, just north of the VA Hospital. You can park in the big parking lot on the left side of the road, then cross the road to get to the sidewalk. The trail begins almost directly across from the parking lot entrance which is farthest from the VA Hospital.

There are some almost-unrideable spots in these trails. I'm sure I've never made it all the way around without stopping at some point. On the main trail, there is a steep dropoff over some stone steps just before a wooden bridge crosses the first stream. This one is rideable downhill (with my full-suspension bike and knowledge of it) but I've never made it going up.

There are two more entrances to this area, but they are fairly obscure:
1) From the end of Lantern Lane, you can cross a stream (sometimes there is a home-made bridge of sorts there) and then walk through a 100-foot wide swamp area, and get to a rough track which runs to the left and eventually to the main trail loop.
2) From some ramshackle old barracks or warehouses beyond the nets of the driving range of the golf course at the VA Hospital, there is an old road which runs down into the Wilderness Park.

I will try to post a map of the trails later.