The computer must be right. What's wrong with me today?

When I ride my bike, it's most usually on one of a few rail trails with which I'm quite familiar. I have a cyclocomputer (are they still called that?), a watch-sized device which connects to a magnetic sensor to observe how quickly the front wheel is spinning and over how long a time, and hence to determine how fast I'm moving and how far I've traveled. I like being able to use it to track my progress. Earlier this year, though, I found myself pedaling at what seemed like a usual pace, but watching numbers indicating that I was going noticeably slower than usual. The display had to be right, though - didn't it? - so had I fallen suddenly and unexpectedly away from shape?  Why had it become harder to maintain a normal speed? I found it concerning, until I finished my ride and saw that what I'd always thought of as 18 miles (and which a smartphone GPS and topo map still did) was shown instead as about 16.3 miles, and that my elapsed time for the route wasn't abnormal for me. Further investigation showed that the cyclocomputer's setting for tire circumference had somehow gotten reset to its default, which was smaller than that of my actual tire. Once I readjusted that, simple division raised my indicated speed by about 10% the next time I rode. I felt better about both my pace and my device once the accidental bias was gone. I wasn't actually traveling faster, but a more reassuring measurement made it feel that way.

Back on a saddle, again; revisiting the Nashua River trail

I've enjoyed cycling for many years, though not as a group activity or at a competitive level.  I'm perhaps the perfect candidate for rail trails, as they're smooth, generally flat, and sometimes scenic.  My cycling routine got interrupted last summer; since then, I've been out and about on foot regularly, often for photography, but I'd been uncertain about how I'd do back on the pedals.  This morning, I decided to try, revisiting one of my favorites, the Nashua River Rail Trail, starting northward from Groton, Massachusetts.

A beautiful clear day; the path leads into nicely shaded woods.

It's almost 9AM in Pepperell, about halfway along the route.

According to the marker, it would have been 108 miles to Portland, Maine by way of the tracks that aren't there any more.

Most bike paths don't offer the small geographic thrill of crossing a state line, but this one does.  There's just over another mile of trail after this welcome to the City of Nashua, New Hampshire, ending at a parking area.

It would have been 39 miles to Worcester, Massachusetts from this point, which is the same marker as seen before, but viewed from the other direction.

The Nashua River is dammed (that's dammed with an "m") just beyond this point.  The trail has many more water views enroute, like this one.

Back to the starting point, just over 18 miles roundtrip.

Not especially quickly, but that wasn't the point.  It was good to ride again.  I'll be back.