BioBus Bike Blog

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

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!

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: