Circle the City and The Emerald Necklace - June 28, 2023

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 28 June 2023, Circle the City and The Emerald Necklace

Ride Leader:  Gary Williams

~35 miles, 10:00 am start from South Boston, MA

Riders (11):  Gary, Ann Whaley-Tobin, Craig Tulig, David Goldberg, Frank Aronson, Gene Ho, Zach Woods, and first-timers Jesse Metcalf, Lotika Paintal, and Ravjit Paintal (plus 1 unidentified, unregistered rider).

After pushing-back our start time to 11:00 am, owing to a steady rain earlier in the morning, we set off from Castle Island under overcast skies.  We rode through the Seaport and the North End before crossing over into Charlestown for two historic stops.

The first was atop Bunker Hill to view the monument.  We lucked out when a park ranger happened to walk by as we were stopped, and she was kind enough to give us a brief overview of the monument and statues honoring the American patriots that fought there.  We then descended to the Charlestown Navy Yard to view the USS Constitution, aka "Old Ironsides.”

We proceeded to Cambridge for a brief foray, passing the headquarters of EF Education First, the primary sponsor of one of the American professional cycling teams that will compete in the 2023 Tour de France.  After cycling along the Charles River on the Dr. Paul Dudley White Bike Path, we passed through Back Bay, along Beacon Street, to a point just north of Kenmore Square where we crossed into the Fenway neighborhood and entered the Emerald Necklace.  We rode along paved trails all the way to Jamaica Pond and through local neighborhoods to the Arnold Arboretum, where we paused for a restroom break.

We then rode through the arboretum, to a point just east of the Forest Hills T Station, and onto the Southwest Corridor Bike Path.  We climbed up to Franklin Park, passed White Stadium, and descended to the Arborway.  We took local streets through Mattapan before entering the Neponset River Trail eastward to Dorchester, and eventually arrived at the campus of UMASS and the JFK Museum.

We made one last stop by the museum for some group photos before heading out onto William J. Day Boulevard to the finish line back on Castle Island.  A small group of riders enjoyed a repast at Sullivan's. There were one or two light mists along the way but otherwise, the weather was comfortable.

Report by Gary Williams.