Child Porter in the South End

This bike is often parked outside Mike's City Diner. I have not seen this kind of child-porting tricycle before and so I carefully noted its make on a piece of paper that did not move internationally with me.

The format of the stroller reminds me a lot of the Quinny strollers which have exchangeable seats in a frame designed to accomodate a child's growth. I have no idea if this tricycle does the same, certainly it's for sale so it must be eventually outgrown! Chi

Little Green Shopper

I saw this shopper of ambiguous vintage in the South End and thought of you Velouria: Green frame, cream tires... It would be cuter if the fenders were green too, don't you think?  :)

Freebie Friday

Wow, it has been a LONG time since this blog has had a freebie friday.

In hopes of making up for all that lost time, I would like to offer someone in the Boston area my custom-reinforced Cyclist-themed Bike Rack Wine Box.

For information about the box please see this post with the details and this post with more photos. This box will work best for you if you have a Blackburn rear rack, but should be customizable for another rack. Email me to discuss picking this up for free. *CLAIMED*

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Wooden Rack Box

Awesome rack-mounted box spotted on Mass Ave. I peeked inside it and the owner had a bike helmet in there at the time of these photos. I particularly liked the wide leather straps, this was clearly a DIY project.

Whoa there stranger!

I am sure there is a treasure trove out there on the internet, but a quick Google search did not turn it up...

So this morning I left Future Cyclist with his nanny and got on my bike to head to work. Very first stoplight a cyclist pulls in about 2 cm from my shoulder. YIKES! I startled, and all I could think to say was "oh, hi." Later he passed me at the next red light, and then I very loudly said "On your left!" as I dropped him on the bridge.

Always too late at this sort of thing I thought later that what I wished I'd said was something more like "I don't usually let a man get this close to me 'till I've got his phone number" or something like that.

Witty people, or people with better Googling skills, what could we be saying in these situations, something that indicates no-harm-done but next time say something!?

Coolest thing I saw today

Someone was moving their apartment via pedicab! Lots of boxes labeled "kitchen" and stuff. No photos though, my hands were full.

Stay safe out there, lots of inexperienced drivers at the wheel of very large moving trucks.

Advice Needed and Gratuitious Baby Photo

We've enjoyed my friend E's photo submissions here on the blog, but now she needs some advice and I'm not sure I can help her. She'll be visiting home again and bringing her European-biking boyfriend with her. He's bringing his bicycle and wants to bike from Boston to Woods Hole.

I know it can be done, my husband has done it, but his route is less than ideal. He uses the Boston Brevet 200km route to begin, then hacks together the Cape portion of it. Navigation is a major hassle, and the bike path over the bridge is almost impossible to find, with access hidden behind a strip mall.

There must be a better way!

I know some people who have biked from Boston to Plymouth. I found this Boston-Plymouth bike route online, but am dismayed to see there are 606 cues over 80km! That strikes me as extremely complicated.

Does anyone have experience/advice for how to bike from Boston to Woods Hole. Thank you!!!



And just because I'm a doting mother, here's a photo of Future Cyclist practicing his chant "Allez les cyclists!":

Exciting Development

There is a free newspaper, The Boston Courant, which is delivered to our apartment regularly, maybe weekly? I don't read it much, but this week a headline caught my eye:

Space for Bikes Not Cars at New Building

It seems there is a new residential development in the former Renaissance School building. It appears this is right downtown, near the Public Garden and Back Bay.

I don't know if the bike parking will be sufficient or not. The article states that they have 767 square feet of storage for up to 80 bicycles. The building will have 128 units, broken out as 76 two bedrooms, 29 one bedrooms, and 23 studios. Certainly that's less than one bike per unit, so my family would have trouble taking only our fair share. Of course we could keep doing what we're doing - parking some bikes in the apartment itself. In any case it would be fun to live in such a bike focused building.

I wonder if they'll release photos of the bike storage design? I'd love to see how they have it set up!

Beacon Hill Elegance

Loved her boots and red coat (which we now allow in Boston!) as she cycled onto the Common.

PS - It's a strange New England thing to leave Christmas decorations up until Easter. I've been here for a while now and I still don't understand it.

Helena Handbasket

OK, terrible title, but it was the "drag queen" name my friend chose for her bachelorette party, and she was just married on Saturday. Hurray!
Happy honeymooning J!

Back to Boston cyclists...

This pretty cyclist braved the cold temps to bike down Charles Street with a blinkie attached to her basket-backpack.

While baskets of that type are a look that make me think summer and beach, it was refreshing and cheerful to see one in the depth of winter.

Independent Fabrications City Bike

Spotted sometimes on Newbury Street, this bike always makes my husband stop for a second look. Those green and yellow rims are even the Indy Fab colors.

One thing that's made clear by this rusting steel washer and nut next to a pristine seat stay - a titanium frame makes some sense for an all-season bike like this one. Expensive for all of us who don't work at IndyFab, but certainly practical in Boston!

Bicycle right from the Denver Airport

I wasn't prepared this time, but perhaps on my next trip to Denver I will be ready to avail myself of the designated bike route that has signs posted all over the airport.

Here you can see that the bike route starts inside the terminal!


Viewed from Passenger Pickup, these are the bike signs that mark the route (look at that hot sun and plan to bring water!):


This is the only bike parking I saw at DIA, making me think there is either an employee shed somewhere or they mostly envision this bike route for travelers.


Here are examples of the signage along the road:



This route is not for the faint of heart. People who have done it report that riding so close to cars zipping by at 70 is nerve racking (but something they would do again). Still, I'm just happy that some facility has been made to make a distant and rather inaccessible airport more accessible.

MassBike has information about riding your bike to Logan.

You turkey!

A reader sent in this photo, taken this morning, of wild turkeys availing themselves of bicycle roosts at Longwood.

It seems the one in the basket looked as if s/he was settling in for a long stay.

Back Bay Bike Parking

New bike racks are going in on Clarendon Street, in the Back Bay. This location is right across from where the Hard Rock Café used to be (empty now), and is very near the new John Hancock building and the Back Bay subway and commuter rail station.

The upside of all this parking is that there is certainly a lot of it, it's in an area with a paucity of bike racks, and the entire area is covered for protection from the elements. Downside is that the entire area is covered because it's a tunnel freeway entrance for the Mass Pike. It's a great use of space for a much-needed resource, but beware of "freeway-minded" drivers folks!

Dreamy Bicycles

There are bikes on the ceiling at the new Sel de la Terre in the new Mandarin Oriental on Boyleston St.

I'm feeling unobservant, because it seems they're not that new. How did I miss them? Well, anyway, aren't they wonderful? I want to go get a drink there just for the ambiance.

I've only been to the Long Wharf location (once) but based on their website it looks like bicycles on the ceiling it might be a tradition at the Back Bay location. How cool is that?

New Bike Lanes

I loved watching her streamers flying off the back of her handlebars as she wooooooosssshhed down the hill and under the bridge in her new bike lane.

Happy Bike week Boston! Hurray for our new Comm Ave bike lanes, and another huge thank you to Nicole!

Here are some more photos from Boston Biker

Donut Stop?

It seems that I am endlessly amused by the sight of a bike in front of Dunkin' Donuts. But you'll agree, this blue beauty looks good there. I've seen her elsewhere in Cambridge, such a pretty bike gets noticed.

Liberty!

This lovely lady is enjoying a self-guided tour of Boston courtesy of the loaner bikes for guests of the Liberty Hotel. I followed her as she lingered outside the Gucci window, and mused that these free bicycle loans give new meaning to the hotel's name.

Boston Marathon Ride

My friend J and I biked the marathon route this morning. From Boston to Hopkinton was nice enough, but the trip back was everything I had hoped it would be. The roads were closed, the excitement was building, we even had people cheering for us, and inexplicably the weather was cool but bright and lovely. There were hundreds of other cyclists out. The police were cheerful and smiling and there were lots of wonderful volunteers setting everything up. We were back in Boston safely before the first racers and all in all it could not have been a better ride.

I'm happy to rave that my friend J rode her brand new road bike for her first ever long bike trip today and she did a great job the whole morning. Seeing how happy she was really made the ride for me.

There was one surprise - we stopped for a snack and when she saw my snack the wonderful possibilities of long distance cycling somewhat crystallized for her.

Yes, it's true, it's a RULE - if you're riding more than 50 miles you are allowed to have chocolate chip cookies before lunch if you want to. Even your mother will agree. So tell all your friends - ride a bike = eat chocolate chip cookies. It's pretty great!

"We all have to respect each other"

I think Nicole Freedman's statement regarding the two recent cycling accidents pretty much sums it up. We just all have to respect each other.

Please, stay safe and courteous. What sad days in Boston.