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Ride through the City Car-free with Hub on Wheels

It’s September already, which means the leaves are going to be turning all kinds of beautiful colors in Boston soon. But don’t worry yet, there are still plenty of days of great riding weather left. And another great ride is coming up, bringing together cyclists in the city. The Hub on Wheels Citywide Bike Ride & Festival takes places on September 23. Bike riders from Boston and the surrounds come in and choose from either a 25 mile ride or a 45 mile loop. Even cooler, Storrow Drive will be limited only to bikes during the rides for a car-free experience!

Hub on Wheels is a part of the Boston Digital Bridge Foundation, an organization dedicated to bringing technology, like new computers and comprehensive technology training, to Boston Public School students and their families. You can sign up to sponsor the BDBF here.

The festival also includes food and entertainment. Last year I attended with Urban AdvenTours (we had a booth and rented bikes to loads of excited cyclists), and it was a blast. It even began to rain towards the end of the ride, but that didn’t deter all the eager riders from enjoying themselves out there.

Check out the Hub on Wheels site for all the details. The festival takes place at City Hall Plaza, 1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA.

By the way, I didn’t make it to the MassBike Festival due to an evil stomach bug. I was so disappointed! If you made it, please share your experiences in the comments section so I, and anyone else who couldn’t make it, can live vicariously through you.

Michelle

Prepare for Pie! Ride with MassBike This Weekend

I am so psyched. This weekend is MassBike’s fifth annual bike festival and Pie Race, which means hordes of Massachusetts bike lovers will be heading out to Verrill Farm in Concord for a day of bike rides, food, and fun. MassBike is a cycling advocacy group working to protect Massachusetts residents’ bicycling rights, and they hold a yearly ride to bring cyclists together and have a little fun doing what they love to do: riding bikes! There are a bunch of rides to choose from—the Tour de Lincoln, the Gardens & Rivers Ride, the gastronomically intriguing Ice Cream Headache IV—covering anywhere from six to sixty plus miles. Mmm, plus Redbones lunch is included in registration.

I was at last year’s festival and it was pretty sweet. I did the Canoeing Ride ‘N Splash where I rode a few miles out to the Concord River with a good-sized group of people, meandering through beautiful, green tree-lined streets. At the river, we temporarily abandoned our bikes to hop in canoes for a refreshing paddle. It was a nice mix of scenery, going from pavement below our tires to a cool, revitalizing waterway. Back at the festival grounds, cyclists shared details of their rides over lunch, chomping down on hamburgers (or Portabella burgers for the veggies, like me). There were all kinds of booths to visit while digesting and waiting for the much talked about Pie Race. I was clueless last year (lured away by the temptation of dairy-fresh ice cream) and left before it began, but this year I plan on sticking around for the madness. The Pie Race is this ingenious battle of the bikers and of the bellies. Riders have to cover six miles with three stops where they have to dismount their bikes and eat a slice of pie at each stop. There are two pie stops mid-race and a final slice to be eaten at the finish line. Yummy.

Next week I’ll give you a little update on how the festival goes, Pie Race and all. I still haven’t decided which ride to do. As for more organized rides offered by groups in Boston, the Hub on Wheels Citywide Ride is coming up in a month. Last year I didn’t participate in the ride, but I had fun helping outfit riders with Urban AdvenTours rental bikes. They all had a blast. I’ll be passing on info on the HoW ride too, so keep an eye out.

One other thing to mention: Add Urban AdvenTours as a friend on Myspace. We like keeping in touch with our friends from Boston and all over the world. Stop by, say hello, and reconnect with us.

By the way, here’s the link again for the MassBike Festival—info can be found on the MassBike website.

Michelle

Let’s Talk Rentals

Hi friends of UA, it’s been a couple of weeks that I’ve been blogging and I can’t believe I haven’t even introduced myself. My name’s Michelle and I’ll be posting blogs once a week about what’s going on in the city of Boston as far as bike rides and Urban AdvenTours info. I love Boston and spreading the word about experiencing it on a bicycle. I live out in Cambridge and enjoy riding my bike around the city. In fact, the other day I was out on the Minuteman Bikeway, totally digging the all the greenery lining the path. There were loads of people out riding bikes, running, and walking—a perfect way to spend a summer’s day. I stopped at Spy Pond (picture above) for a little break, contemplating whether or not to try and make friends with a group barbequing so I could partake in some of the corn-on-the-cob they were grilling. Instead of mooching goodies, I hopped back on my bike and headed out to Lexington. All in all, it was a nice relaxing way to enjoy my day off. Which leads me to how you can enjoy some self-guided bike riding around the city of Boston. Obviously we believe taking a bicycle tour with Urban AdvenTours is an excellent way to explore Boston, but renting a bike and taking yourself around is another great way to do things. You can rent a bike to extend your UA tour or just do the whole Boston exploration on a bike on your own. If you’re extending your ride and you saw all the main attractions of the city with Urban AdvenTours, you can rent a bike and take a leisurely ride along scenic bike paths or ride further outside the city. If you’re going on your own, you can build a personalized route and itinerary. That’s the beauty, it’s up to you.

There are some really beautiful paths to ride in Boston that take you off city streets. As I mentioned earlier, there’s the Minuteman Bikeway, a path running 11 plus miles from Davis Square in Somerville through Arlington and Lexington all the way out to Bedford. It’s a paved pathway running behind residences and businesses, with plenty of cool places to stop and hang out like Spy Pond, Arlington Center, and the Lexington Green.

For scenic city riding, check out the Paul Dudley White Charles River Bike Path along the Charles River. It extends 14 miles through Boston, Cambridge, Newton, and Watertown. There are also the Stony Brook Reservation paths, snaking through the Turtle Pond Parkway, West Roxbury, and Hyde Park, and the Mystic River paths, covering Somerville, Medford, and Everett. Check out MassBike and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation for more paths to ride.

Also, if you are interested in getting even further outside of the city, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority allows for bikes on the subway, buses, and commuter rail trains. Recently, tons of buses have been outfitted with bike racks, which is great way for getting your bike out to the paths. There are some restrictions for subway riding so check out the MBTA bike page for rules. Also, the MBTA has a special program to get you and your bike out to the North Shore this summer for beach riding.

So how will you get ahold of a bike to rent? First, we can deliver rentals to your hotel or to any location with the Urban Mobile, our biodiesal (that’s right, vegetable oil–powered!) bike delivery truck or you can pick up rentals at Landry’s Bicycles. You can also book rentals online.

Contact us with any questions at info@urbanadventours.com. Now get off your computer, get outside, and on a bicycle!

If You Want to Take a (Group) Ride with Me

Everyone at Urban AdvenTours is enjoying summer: blue skies, warm air, and exciting bike rides with new friends from all over the U.S. and the world. We can’t complain. But did you know we also run group tours? Besides the daily rides that Urban AdvenTours runs we offer a super way for groups to band together and become their own little cycling mob for a few hours.

Our group tours are an excellent way for your company, organization, or group to explore Boston in a fun, healthy, and environmentally friendly way. You might be in town for a convention and want to do a team-building event (biking is the new golf!), you might have a school group that would like to an engaging activity, or maybe you want get your friends together for a fun day out (maybe it’s your birthday). Whatever the occasion, doing a group ride is the perfect activity.

So what kinds of rides do we offer for groups? Well, besides our city tours we have some really cool rides crafted specifically for groups. Our most popular group tour is our own Paul Revere Ride to Freedom. We follow the route Paul Revere rode midnight April 18, 1775 from Boston to Concord to spread news that the British were coming. You’ll learn all about the events of the start of the American Revolution in the locations where they happened (UA guide Ed–in the photo above–has amazing encyclopedic knowledge on the subject).

We start at Landry’s Bicycles then head to the North End and see the Paul Revere statue, visit the Old North Church (where they hung those informative lanterns back in the day—you know, “one if by land, two if by sea”), then we cut through to Charlestown for a stop at the U.S.S. Constitution. At each location you’ll get some history and a little rest stop. Then we head north through Somerville and Medford to the Minuteman Bikeway all the way up to the Lexington Green (site of the “shot heard round the world”) for a catered lunch and a nice break. We finish our ride by heading to Concord and the Old North Bridge. It’s all very informative, but more importantly, it’s very fun.

We are also more than happy to put together a ride that is fitting for your group, like a Restaurant Ride or a Green Buildings of Boston Ride (both of which we’ve done in the past). There are endless permutations of what we can do, just contact us and we’ll be happy to work with you.

As far as logistics, we can accommodate 20-60 riders, each outfitted with bikes, helmets, and water. We provide a catered lunch and enough guides to ride with the group and help navigate everyone safely through the city streets and country roads. We also provide a ride back to your hotel or meeting point (or to a pub if you’re so inclined). The whole activity is really easy and it’s really fun.

If you’re interested in booking a group/corporate tour or have any questions about putting together a ride or just any questions at all, get in touch with Andrew, andrew@urbanadventours.com.

Check out this awesome little video we put together to give you a taste of what to expect:

Take the Trip: What to Expect on an Urban AdvenTours Bike Tour

So you’re ready to hop on a bike and see Boston, but you’re thinking: What can I expect on an Urban AdvenTours ride? Will the tour cover all the sights I want to see? Do I look good in this spandex bodysuit?

Well, first and foremost, you should know Urban AdvenTours offers some of the friendliest, most knowledgeable guides Boston has to offer. Their number one priority is to offer you a fun time getting to know the ins and outs of the city. Boston is a pretty accessible place—especially on a bike—so you’ll cover a lot of ground and learn a lot.

Urban AdvenTours offers three basic guided daily bike tours of Boston: the City View Tour, Photography Tour, and Art and Architecture Tour. All three hit the major Boston hot-spots. The places you’ll visit are all really cool in the way that they are all so ridiculously different from each other. You’ve got the always-present buzz of Red Sox devotion surrounding Fenway Park. There’s the dichotomy of old and new at Copley Square—historic churches across from modern skyscrapers (seriously, check out the image of the 130-year-old Trinity Church reflected in the mirrored Hancock Tower—it’s freaking awesome). You’ve also got the charming brownstones of Back Bay and the South End, the bustle of Faneuil Hall and the Quincy Markets, and the European warmth of Boston’s “Little Italy,” the North End. Here’s a hint: once you hit the North End, request a rest stop. You’ll find the cafes have the best espresso drinks and everyone on your tour will love you for providing them with the opportunity to “refuel” with a cappuccino and a cannoli. The rides also cover Beacon Hill, the Esplanade along the Charles River, and more.

You’ll also get your fill of Boston history and fun facts, as well as plenty of time to take photos. UA guides are all well-versed in the city’s background and love pointing out its idiosyncrasies. Plus, they are more than happy to snap some shots of you and your loved ones in front of the Prudential Center or wait for you to capture some photos of yet another Dunkin Donuts.

I guess this highlights another huge factor that sets UA tours apart—they are hands-on. Instead of falling asleep in a bus or a trolley while some driver cracks the same eye-rolling one-liners he’s been spouting for months about Sam Adams, you control the ride. You are a part of the city, not just a spectator. You are experiencing and exploring with your own hands and feet. Groups are usually around five to ten riders per tour (with the exception of special group rides and corporate tours) so it’s a personal, interactive experience.

Here’s a brief run-down on the mechanics of taking a tour: First, book it (duh). Then, on the day of your ride you’ll meet your guide at Landry’s Bicycles and be outfitted with a helmet, a mountain bike, a drink, and a snack. Then be prepared to hit the streets of Boston and enjoy a good ride. All levels of riders are welcome, though you should be (at the least) comfortable on a bike. Oh, and spandex bodysuits are purely optional.

Got any questions? Email us at info@urbanadventours.com. And be sure to keep it wheel.

The Tour de France comes to Somerville

Redbones has once again proved why we love it so much: it took two of our favorite things –eating and biking– and combined them in one awesome event. It’s holding a Tour de France Bike Breakfast this coming Wednesday, July 25, where people can eat breakfast, hang out with some fellow cycling enthusiasts, and watch a mountain stage of the Tour de France (Orthez – Gourete Col d’Aubisque). Some of the Urban AdvenTours crew made it last week and had a blast. There’s even a photo of some of the UA crowd on Redbone’s events page!

If you don’t know a lot about the race here’s a little run down. The competition is in its 94th year, and 2007′s race began July 7 running through July 29. There are 20 stages, which include various terrain, and will cover a total distance of 3,550 kilometers (that’s 2206 miles to some of us shaky with the metric system).

Let me just say that there is nothing like watching a mad rush of cyclists tearing up the mountains of France to get you amped for a ride of your own. The weather has been pretty inviting here in Boston and all I can say is it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to ride on over to Redbones next Wednesday (they’re offering free bike valet), enjoy the food and company, and then hop on a city tour with UA. Well, that’s what we’re planning on doing!