Bedford to Lexington

This Saturday was too nice to not spend outside.

We lazed about the house all morning and I did a little crocheting on the patio but we really needed to be out in the sun doing something active. Winter has been so long! It seems like all we were able to do was sit on the couch and try to ignore the blizzards outside our window.

Spring has definitely made itself known so we strapped the bike rack to my car and loaded up the bikes. We can't really bike in our neighborhood because the roads are so narrow and windy with cars zooming down them. We would surely get hit and die.

 Fortunately there are some great bike paths in the area. We drove out to Bedford to bike the Minuteman trail down to Lexington.

The sun was out, the sky was a deep blue with puffy clouds floating along- something we haven't seen in far too long! The trail was busy, I think everyone who owns a bike had the same itch to get out and stretch their legs. We wound through the trees for the 4 miles to Lexington Common. 

We arrived just in time to see a large group of Red Coats on the green. They were doing some drills in preparation for the Patriot's Day reenactment. 

The Lexington Green is the site of one of the precursory battles in the Revolutionary War. In the hours following the skirmish at Lexington on April 19, 1775, a battle commenced a few miles down the road at Concord with the famous Shot Heard Around the World. Paul Revere, John Hancock and many other notable names of the time were involved in the day's events.

There is a tragic story attached to one of the houses adjacent to the battle green. The home is a private residence now but once belonged to Jonathan Harrington, a friend of Paul Revere and a patriot. Every year on Patriot's day a reenactor playing Jonathan Harrington kisses his wife on the doorstep before rushing to meet the rest of the Minutemen assembling across the road. As the battle closes the wounded Harrington drags himself back to his doorstep where he dies at his wife's feet. It's haunting to watch and drives home the sacrifices made by the men and women seeking freedom in America.

The common was full of people milling around, picnicking on the grass and napping in the sun. It was so wonderful to be outside in nature with other human beings! That is something I must have taken for granted before this winter. The ride back to Bedford was just as warm and enjoyable as it was on the way to Lexington- and most of it was downhill too!