Click images to enlarge
If you're in the Boston metro area during the fall, a healthy and fun way to see Boston, experience the sites and sounds, and get an idea of places to return to for extended visits is to take one of the many guided bicycle tour rides offered by Urban AdvenTours.
I just did this myself and I had a blast!
Urban AdvenTours is an eco-friendly bicycle tour company that specializes in guided bicycle tours for visitors of all ages and abilities, schools, corporations, as well as sponsored events.
Our ride was called the Emerald Necklace and Fall Foliage Tour. The Emerald Necklace is a 7-mile long network of parks and parkways that span over 1,000 acres of parkland — half of the City of Boston's park acreage. Included in the Emerald Necklace are The Back Bay Fens, Riverway, Olmstead Park, Jamaica Pond Park, Arnold Arboretum, Franklin Park, The Public Garden, and The Boston Common. The ride took us about 3 hours and covered about 15-miles. We rode our bikes at a leisurely pace over basically flat terrain, so just about anyone can enjoy themselves on this tour.
We did have to negotiate a couple of fairly narrow spaces here and there and rode up a gravelly path at least once, so some basic cycling skills, i.e., balance and turning abilities are needed. Riders should be comfortable riding in the street — though the majority of the trip is over nicely paved bike paths. There's still time to book a reservation in time to enjoy the colors of the Fall foliage which will probably peak during the weekend of October 17th, though the tour is lots of fun regardless of the color of the leaves.
The tour includes the rental of a bicycle, a helmet, and a bottle of water. All the bicycles are new Globes made by Specialized. They feature a Shimano Acera 8-speed derailleur setup and were really fun, comfortable, and felt safe to ride. Those just returning to cycling might have benefitted from a little bit more instruction time on using the shifters, but they're easy to figure out. Just remember that the lever on top shifts up to higher gears, while the lever on the bottom shifts down to lower gears and you'll be all set. Children and petite women will be happy to hear that the rental fleet includes versions of the Globe with lower top tubes, which allows for both a lower seat position, as well as crotch clearance when the rider is standing.
I should point out here that all the bikes are outfitted with standard platform pedals. I made the mistake of bringing my clipless road cycling shoes instead of sneakers, which would have left me out of luck if not for the kind help of the Chief Wheel Officer, Andrew Prescott, who generously pulled the clipless pedals off of his single speed and put them on my rental. Much thanks, Andrew!
This ride is very casual so wear whatever is comfortable for you and weather appropriate for a 3-hour ride in the Fall (or Spring), and bring your sneakers. Each bike has a thumb bell, a bottle holder, and a small handlebar bag for the storage of some personal items, i.e., camera, candy bar, wallet, or possibly a light jacket. If you have something fairly bulky, it's best to bring a backpack.
There is only one stop scheduled stop for a bathroom break so get there early and do your thing before leaving.
A smiling and very friendly tech named Niko helped me to get my seat height correctly adjusted, and then I pedaled off to join the group so that we could get started.
In addition to myself and the tour leader, Patrick, our group had people from an interesting variety of places. There was Tyler from Washington, D.C., his friend Emily from Provo, UT, Natalie and Mike from Los Angeles, CA, Anye from County Kerry in Ireland, and another fellow whose name I didn't get. Mike was in town as part of a film crew shooting a Ben Affleck produced film called "The Town", whose location shoots and the resulting traffic redirects — it's an action adventure flick with car chases and shootouts — caused Patrick to make detours on another tour he led the previous week
Incidentally, I had a bit of a Hawai'i connection (my home state). Niko — the tech — was born there, and Natalie is originally from Hawai'i. Hey, "Hawai'i No Ka 'oi!", which means Hawai'i is the best! I digress.
(Continued...)
0 Comments