Right -- I love biking. Why do I always forget that?

[jducoeur]

I don't bicycle during the winter, for a variety of reasons: in particular, it's a tad less safe, and I just plain don't enjoy it much when the temp falls below 50. And by the time we get around to spring, there is a very strong, "It's too much haaaassle" response -- in particular, trying to remember how to reinflate those verdammt performance tires. (I never remember the eensy-weensy little screw to open the valve, and wind up struggling with it for ten minutes until I get the clue.)

But that first good bike ride of the season -- a day like today, when it is clear and crisp, warm enough to be pleasant but not yet hot, going for a short 7-mile loop exploring a bike path I've never tried before (the one along Alewife Brook), seeing the sights and the people -- more than worth it. I really need to remember that going for a ride is a *totally* appropriate way to get my daily exercise, and I'm allowed to do it simply because it's fun.

And yay for the state getting it right: they have finally committed the funding to complete the Community Path over the next five years. This will effectively run the Minuteman Path (which runs into the Somerville Community Path) all the way to Lechmere, so there will be a more or less continuous bike path from Boston out to the suburbs...

Comments

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

Could you not put the bike in the trunk of a Camry if you remove the front wheel? If you have a front fender, it won't work, but might, otherwise. I would miss my trunk mount rack if I didn't have it available. There should be some way of getting a bike hauled on a car—that's what cars are there for! :)

North Station provides easy access to the Charles River bike paths (via Nashua Street). You can ride out to Waltham and back, much of it on either side of the river, and it's quite a nice ride (pavement is better on the Boston side than the Cambridge side, downriver from Arsenal bridge). If you did want to run your bike through Charles, it shouldn't be any problem. The station was redone in the last few years, and there are ascension rooms from street level to the platforms. You just have to be concerned about the rush hour times that the T doesn't want you to bring a bike into their carriages.

[matildalucet.livejournal.com]

I have goofy handlebar extensions that make things interesting. I have short enough legs that I've thought of trying to find a way to move the front seats forward and get it into the back seat. The trunk isn't as big as a non-hybrid Camry trunk; the battery takes away space. Still might be worth a try. I've learned how to take the bike on the subway and (at least theoretically) commuter rail and bus, which opens up more possibilities than what I can reach on my own leg power.