Wednesday, July 10, 2015, Around Boston
Ride Leaders: Tom Allen and Dick Harter
32 & 41 miles, 10:00 am start from Larz Anderson Park, Brookline.
Riders - 32 mi (10): Dick, Betty Hoffman, Nancy Smith, Brooke Stevens, Peggy Gelin, Jon Clardy, Paul Greco, Gary Smiley, Maurice King and David Wean.
Riders 41 mi (13): Tom, Don Buchholtz, Butch Pemstein (Great to see you again Butch!), Greg Stathis, Steve Robins, Elsa and Tom Lawrence, Barbara Martin, Elissa Brown, Jim Whinfield, Lei Wang, Alan Lazar, and Everett Briggs.
The "Around Boston" routes offered plenty of riding variety and some new scenery and experience to almost all of our riders. The 2 groups (longs and shorts - riding distance, not pant length) set off separately despite having the same routing for the first 7 miles. 12 riders followed the leader of the 41 mile ride out of the parking area at Larz Anderson and made their way to West Roxbury Parkway, which featured several large rotaries and climbed its way up Bellevue hill. This was just a preview of some more climbing to come.
From there it was an extended downhill as we breezed through the Stony Brook Reservation, a large semi-wild area in the middle of Boston. We then visited the Readville section of Hyde Park, the home of former Mayor Menino and the home of yours truly on his first relocation to Massachusetts back in 1967. Then more climbing as we entered the Blue Hills area. We rolled along very well and didn't bog down on the hills.
After a rest and bathroom stop at Houghton's Pond (where one rider expressed her disappointment that we hadn't planned for a dip – skinny or otherwise) we did a bit more climbing to reach the overlook which is capable of providing a spectacular view of the Boston skyline but was rather hazy when we got there. (Photos were taken.)
Then the descent into Quincy and Milton where we first encountered some significant traffic before finding some more residential roads. Then picking up the Neponset River trail we re-entered Boston city limits and made a pause in Dorchester where Everett pointed out the painted gas storage tank and explained that the blue stripe contained a profile of Ho Chi Minh as an anti war protest on the part of the artist.
After pedaling past U Mass and the JFK Library (where we were forced to detour around an interruption in the Harbor Walk that's been there for a year) we rode along the South Boston beach front and on to the "Innovation District". Another detour forced by the massive construction projects there. We did stop for more photos at the Federal Courthouse. We then tackled the streets of Boston following the harbor the best the streets would allow and crossed over to Charlestown where we passed under the Zakim bridge to loop back along the Charles and find the lunch stop.
Lunch was quite good, but several of us needed a McDonalds schedule more than a gourmet menu. (Especially the ride leader, who had a medical appointment to keep.) So, with several riders already planning to ride directly to their respective abodes, the leader bailed out and left finding the way back to cars to the resourcefulness of others. (Greg Stathis reports "The four riders made it back to the cars in good time under Jim’s competent guidance.")
Thanks to Everett for sweeping and to the numerous volunteer arrows who seldom needed to be asked (an were often unnecessary as we kept well together).
The RideWithGPS recording is here. Photos are embedded in it, so have a look.
Tom Allen
Boston Short Loop Report
Ten riders set out on the short loop, eliminating the 10-mile jaunt into the Blue Hills. We enjoyed the Boston Parkway roads, the Neponset River Trail, the Harborwalk , and the Paul Dudley White trail along the Charles. And we were, briefly, challenged by a traffic light that wouldn’t change, a road on the route with a fierce do not enter sign, the endless construction around UMass and the JFK library, and the gps that fell asleep after eating too much at Audubon Boston. We managed to stay together through the ever-changing Seaport District and the tourist-filled Boston waterfront. We gave thanks to Nancy Smith for sweeping and to David Wean for getting us from the Muddy River to Jamaica Pond while my gps was snoozing.
Ten riders set out on the short loop, eliminating the 10-mile jaunt into the Blue Hills. We enjoyed the Boston Parkway roads, the Neponset River Trail, the Harborwalk , and the Paul Dudley White trail along the Charles. And we were, briefly, challenged by a traffic light that wouldn’t change, a road on the route with a fierce do not enter sign, the endless construction around UMass and the JFK library, and the gps that fell asleep after eating too much at Audubon Boston. We managed to stay together through the ever-changing Seaport District and the tourist-filled Boston waterfront. We gave thanks to Nancy Smith for sweeping and to David Wean for getting us from the Muddy River to Jamaica Pond while my gps was snoozing.
Dick Harter
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