![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Hub on Wheels
Sep. 22nd, 2008 10:58 amYesterday I rode Hub on Wheels, a ride around Boston benefitting Technology Goes Home, a program that gets low-income families in Boston more comfortable with technology (and more involved in the local schools as well). I admit, I think the cause is a good one, but I signed up partly because they close off Storrow Drive for the ride: I've ridden Storrow by bike!
There were three options for distance, 10, 30, or 50 miles. The routes split partway along, so it was possible to choose whatever I was in the mood for at the time. Which was the 50, of course. It still amazes me that there's a 50-mile loop in the city (well, minus a little bit in Milton). Everyone started together, doing the Storrow part (the road was closed for an hour and a half only, so everyone had to be through there first), then over to the Jway, looping south in and around the Arboretum and Forest Hills, then out to the coast and north to downtown.
Most of the time, it was easy to follow the route, between the arrowed signs, the orange-flag-waving crew, and the riders ahead, though later on there were one or two intersections that had none of these. A few other criticisms: the first two rest stops were poorly located. The first was at the U-turn on Storrow, which meant that there were lots of people stopping when others were trying to make a tight turn. It should've been 50 feet farther along, which would've made things much easier. The second one was at the top of a short, steep hill we'd just turned onto, which again meant that traffic backed up in bad ways. I was unhappy that there were multiple parts of the route that were not paved: this had not been mentioned anywhere, and I avoid off-roading with my skinny road tires. I survived the sand, and tried to walk the graveled bits. It would've been much better (also safer) to have the whole route on pavement. The second time the 30- and 50-mile routes split, there wasn't much notice, and there was a rest stop awkwardly placed (on the plus side, there was good music when I passed it, so I got to dance on my bike :-).
On the plus side, I was very thankful that they put an aisle of green outdoor carpeting stuff over the one bridge that had that horrible grillework I hate riding over (I heard later someone missed the green, rode on the grille, and did a faceplant on it, requiring an ambulance; I hope they're ok). There were plenty of snacks at the rest stops, also first aid, mechanics, and portapotties. The crew was enthusiastic. Other than the off-road parts, the route was good, and I got to see parts of Boston I've never seen before (a few felt like I might have been there on an overnight ride, but I couldn't be sure).
( The best bits. )
( It's all fun until someone loses a wheel. )
Even with all this, I ended up back at City Hall Plaza around 12:30, less than four and a half hours after setting out, which felt good.
There were three options for distance, 10, 30, or 50 miles. The routes split partway along, so it was possible to choose whatever I was in the mood for at the time. Which was the 50, of course. It still amazes me that there's a 50-mile loop in the city (well, minus a little bit in Milton). Everyone started together, doing the Storrow part (the road was closed for an hour and a half only, so everyone had to be through there first), then over to the Jway, looping south in and around the Arboretum and Forest Hills, then out to the coast and north to downtown.
Most of the time, it was easy to follow the route, between the arrowed signs, the orange-flag-waving crew, and the riders ahead, though later on there were one or two intersections that had none of these. A few other criticisms: the first two rest stops were poorly located. The first was at the U-turn on Storrow, which meant that there were lots of people stopping when others were trying to make a tight turn. It should've been 50 feet farther along, which would've made things much easier. The second one was at the top of a short, steep hill we'd just turned onto, which again meant that traffic backed up in bad ways. I was unhappy that there were multiple parts of the route that were not paved: this had not been mentioned anywhere, and I avoid off-roading with my skinny road tires. I survived the sand, and tried to walk the graveled bits. It would've been much better (also safer) to have the whole route on pavement. The second time the 30- and 50-mile routes split, there wasn't much notice, and there was a rest stop awkwardly placed (on the plus side, there was good music when I passed it, so I got to dance on my bike :-).
On the plus side, I was very thankful that they put an aisle of green outdoor carpeting stuff over the one bridge that had that horrible grillework I hate riding over (I heard later someone missed the green, rode on the grille, and did a faceplant on it, requiring an ambulance; I hope they're ok). There were plenty of snacks at the rest stops, also first aid, mechanics, and portapotties. The crew was enthusiastic. Other than the off-road parts, the route was good, and I got to see parts of Boston I've never seen before (a few felt like I might have been there on an overnight ride, but I couldn't be sure).
( The best bits. )
( It's all fun until someone loses a wheel. )
Even with all this, I ended up back at City Hall Plaza around 12:30, less than four and a half hours after setting out, which felt good.