Dot Bike

This past weekend Debbie was out of town and after the fun Farmer’s market ride (see previous post) I was looking for a Sunday activity.  I saw that the CRW was holding it’s annual Climb to the Clouds rides.  These are a series of routes from 47 to 100 miles that go through towns west of Rte 495.  The Climb to the Clouds part is that the 60 and 100 mile route climb Mt. Wachusetts although all the routes have plenty of hills.  I wasn’t quite up for a full century that included that much climbing so I chose to do the 60 mile option.

The day was warm and humid but not as bad as Saturday.  The registration and water stops were well personed and ran smoothly.  The roads had generally very low traffic and at least for me I didn’t see much of the pack misbehavior that had plagued the event for the past couple of years.  Hopefully this wasn’t just because I was one of the first to roll out of the short ride starting point at right around 8:00 am.

Well I made it over the mountain and finished in a little over 4 hours.

Here is a map of the route and if you feel so inclined there is no need to wait til next year as there are plenty of farm and convenience stores along the route to refuel and refill so head on out.

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Another in the commute to Cambridge series contributed by John. This is great if you want to get a few extra miles in in the morning. A couple of healthy but not too taxing climbs and some scenic and fairly low traffic roads.

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John originally sent me a link to the map at “Map my Ride” but the javascript was causing errors so I transcribed the route into a plain Google Map. Clicking on the link above will take you to John’s original map.

Here is another in my series of commute rides. This is Debbie’s normal commute into her office in the Back Bay. To get to Franklin Park she rides down Talbot and then a short stint on Blue Hill Avenue. Then through the park and down the hill and onto the Southwest corridor. The Southwest corridor park is generally a nice path although there are quite a few street crossings where you need to take care. The bike and pedestrian paths are separated along most of the route.

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While DotBike is planning on having lots more bike rides and participate in a number of events if you want to ride more and get out of the city a bit there are several options not too far away.

If you want to go on an organized group ride there are a number of organizations that run several rides a week some that go throughout the year.

There is a ride every weekday at 6:30 a.m. that starts fairly near by at the John L Kelly field parking lot across from the St. Mary’s school. The ride lasts from between 65 and 80 minutes and usually goes at about a 16 mph pace so this is definitely for road bikes and previous group riding experience is welcomed.

If you’re feeling more like hammering down the road and are an experienced road rider you can check out the Blue Hills Cycling Club. You need to join to get their full ride and training schedule but if you contact them I’m sure they’d let you try out a ride with them to see how you liked it. These guys also have some Mountain Bikers and Triathletes as well.

One of the largest groups in the area is the Charles River Wheelers (CRW). They are loosely based in the Western Boston area burbs but they have rides starting all over Eastern Massachusetts. Their rides are open to all and they have a few different series of weekly rides as well as varied weekend rides. A good number of rides start at locations near the south shore so are fairly convenient to Dorchester. Debbie and i have participated in a number of these rides and they are great because they generally have short and long options and fast and slow groups. There are series for beginning riders and hammer fests for those wacky fitness freaks.

For those who enjoy hitting the trails there in the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA). You need to be a member to receive the newsletter with their ride calendar but they do have some open events where you can see what they’re all about. Just this past weekend they sponsored the blue Hills Mountain Bike Day.

Many bike shops also have group rides that leave from the shop or nearby for evening or weekend rides. You can check out the schedules at Landry’s, Wheelworks, Quad Cycles and the Cycle Loft to name just a few.

If you are more inclined to ride by yourself or a couple of friends there is a great series called Pocket Rides in Eastern Massachusetts that come on laminated pocket sized sheets with maps and cue sheets. These are really awesome and Debbie and I frequently use the South Shore routes.

Well I’ve no doubt left out a lot but this should hopefully get you started. There are many links with more info on all the sites included here and don’t forget the Mass Bike site for their ride series. And feel free to add more ideas in comments to this post.

To continue my series on useful or not so useful (but very enjoyable) bike routes here is one I frequently do just for fun and exercise. There are a few fun climbs (and a doozy if you choose to go up Big Blue) but this is a nice route with fairly quiet roads (except for one slightly hairy venture into the Willard St./Furnace Brook Pkwy./Rte 93 rotary).

Here’s the route:

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You can do different variations. The pink loop is about 7 miles with only one climb of note and the green about 13 or so with three climbs (one short but steep). The Great Blue Hill climb is a little under a mile but there’s no doubt your climbing here. Enjoy.

As the weather gets oh so much nicer and more people think about riding their bikes more we have had several people curious about various commuter routes. DotBike members are more than happy to ride with you to work if you aren’t sure of a good way to go. Just use our contact form and we can hook you up.

I ride most days to and from Harvard Square in Cambridge and generally I use as many off road paved paths as I possibly can to get there and back. I start off near Codman square so I take Talbot Ave. to Blue Hill Ave. to get to Franklin Park. Here’s a map of my route from Franklin Park to the Memorial Drive Path along the River.

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Look forward to some other favorite routes to Downtown Boston and other locations.