Bluebikes for Getting Downtown. What a Concept!

 I live in a "trolleycar" suburb of Boston and commute to a leafy suburb further west.  It's been years since I've had to regularly ride downtown.

My company had a big in person meeting at the Hynes Convention Center.  I didn't want to wear bike shoes the whole day and spend time worrying about my bike being locked up on the street, so I took one of Boston's bike share "BlueBikes".  It was a great experience.

I used to work downtown just past the financial district.  TWENTY FOUR YEARS AGO.  What the heck?  Biking in town back then was a bit like engaging in combat.  There were no bike lanes at all.  And a lot fewer cyclists.  Since then Boston has built out the start of a pretty good cycling network.  It went from being one of the worst cities in America for cycling to one of the better ones.

While I have ridden into town from time to time I think today was my first workday morning rush hour ride into town in a long long time.  I was really impressed by the mellow nature of the ride.  

The nearest BlueBike station is just a few minutes' walk away.  I rode almost entirely on dedicated bike lanes.  Kenmore Square is still a bit of a puzzle.  Having said, that the heavy slow BlueBike pretty much keeps you out of trouble.  It's also worth noting that this experience is not yet duplicated for people who live in "the neighborhoods" (lower income parts of Boston).  They have yet to get the kind of bike infrastructure Back Bay and Brookline have.  And that's really wrong.

On both sides of my commute there were conveniently located docking stations for the BlueBike.  The whole experience was low stress.  So unlike my downtown riding in the late 90's - early 2000's.  Maybe even lower stress than my current commute through the suburbs!

After the meeting, I took advantage of the excellent weather to swing by the new statue honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He received his doctorate here in Boston at Boston University -- and met his wife here too.  Hence, the statue honoring them meeting -- The Embrace -- located on Boston Common.

Street clothing for cycling? Weird.

The Embrace

It's long past time for Boston to honor MLK -- his treatment here was sadly typical for the era.  He had difficulty finding a landlord who would rent to a Black person.  Even as I write this, I know it's too typical now as well.  And of course the lack of bike lanes for people who live in Roxbury & Dorchester is part of the similar intentional historical under-investment those communities have suffered.

Well, back to the cycling.  For downtown Boston, the cycling network is really getting there.  I think a day pass for BlueBikes would be an excellent investment for a tourist looking to experience the town.  

If I still had to work downtown, the BlueBike offers a pretty good solution to the secure bike parking issue.  My short rides yielded me 93 activity minutes -- and doctors say you need 150 minutes per week to get most of the benefits from regular exercise.  More intense effort counts double and even going slowly on the BlueBike got me quite a bit of those.  A complete bike lane network could really help get a lot of people moving.

As always, thanks for reading and keep the rubber side down.

Winter Bike Ride!

So, I've been pretty good about getting out and riding this winter.  Unlike the BeforeTimes, I only have to be at the office two days a week. That means it's down to willpower to get me on the bike on other days.  And we all know systems/processes work.  Willpower fails.  

Having said all that, the weather has been variable, but OK.  No major snowstorms to leave the roads impassible/too narrow, no ARCTIC VORTEXES (say that in a scary voice) plunging the Boston area into low single digits so far.  SO FAR.

Today I got out on the road even though it was snowing.  I remembered to grab my yellow tinted cycling glasses.  The other day I didn't and I was reminded that snow hurts your eyeballs when you're riding at speed.   

The other great piece of cycling kit I did want to plug here is the TK Travel Kupp bike bottle.  It's an insulated metal bike bottle that keeps hot liquids hot for hours, even in cold weather.  It fits in your bike cage, so it doesn't bend the heck out of it like my old (misplaced) commuter mug.  I supposed it also keeps cold fluids cold in the summer, but whatever.  https://travelkuppe.com/  I get no remuneration from these folks or affiliate whatever.  Just a review of a solid piece of bike equipment that I've been enjoying on these cold days. .  

Here's hoping that the run of moderate weather continues for Boston.  One never knows here.  It's been nice not to have had to do any indoor cycling yet.  I have started doing some heavy days at the gym which is about as "off season" as I get.  Thanks for reading.  Keep the rubber side down.

2023!

 Who the heck schedules a new year to start in the winter? Just seems like a bad idea. Spring would be much better.  Anyway, rode 5,000 miles last year.  Hoping to do a shade more next year.  Thinking about my century/event dance card.

Starting from Zero

April: The Midnight Marathon Ride, out & back for 52 miles.

May: CRW isn't doing the Spring Century. I need a replacement

June:

King's Tour of the Quabbin?

Outriders from Boston to Provincetown.

July:

August:

North Shore Cyclists' Blazing Saddles Ride

Solo ride to Provincetown?

September:

CRW Cranberry Century?

Harbor to the Bay

Maybe I'll find some more events to fill out my card.  Hope you've got some events scheduled for the year!