Jim from Boston

Remember Marc, what happens in Boston, stays in Boston.

irwin7638

Oh yeah, about that....

Jim from Boston

I followed the link

missjean

Still want to, so I'll keep checking in to see if there are plans.

Jim from Boston

So far, the Kenton's are coming on perhaps Thursday, or Friday, and Marc on Friday. All are staying til Sunday; Marc through Monday AM, and I don't know about the K's. Besides the Saturday AM Ride, everything is fluid, but I have lots of suggestions for spontaneous and flexible activities, that some I am sure will meet with unanimous agreement.

Marc is in Somerville, and I don't know about the K's. We apparently are all riding the Metric Century on Saturday.

miss kenton

Jim, We are about to book a hotel as I write this. How does Waltham sound? Would the subway (supposedly located near our hotel) be feasible to travel into the city, not with bikes, but for socialing?

BlazingPedals

Here's a short clip of Helluva, starting as I turn from Unadilla Rd onto D36 toward the day's first rest stop at the outskirts of Gregory. Remember the glider field?

.be

Jim from Boston

Waltham is not a bad choice; probably cheaper than in-town hotels, with pretty convenient access to Boston and North Acton. The subway, however doesn't go to Waltham, and the closest stop is at the end of the Riverside Line, about 2-3 miles away. There is a Commuter Rail to Waltham with departures to Boston about every two hours (see MBTA.com for subway and rail information). So I would advise driving into Boston.

Since Marc is in Somerville, my neighbohood in Kenmore Square is pretty convenient to both. While I have mentioned that Boston is a crazy place to drive, Kenmore Sq is pretty easy to find. From Waltham, you can take the Mass Pike, a direct freeway into town with an easy spur that goes directly to Kemore Square. It would be about 15 to 20 minutes.

I also mentioned that parking can be a hassle, but Kenmore Square is doable with free parking, especially after 6PM on weekdays, and all day weekends. We're near Fenway Park, but fortunately the Red Sox are away. Kenmore Square is very close to pretty much everthing you would want to see and do on a Boston weekend.

Do you and Mr. Miss Kenton, Marc, and Missjean have any particular interests?

Jim from Boston

Here’s my recollection from the Third Annual Fifty-Plus Ride in 2011:

Your video nicely captures that idyllic morning segment of the OHR.

Jim from Boston

PS to Blazing Pedals, Road fan, freedomrider1 et al on the OHR ride.

It occurred to me that you all were on an “Official Fifty-Plus Fifth Annual Ride” (Midwestern sector). Previous years had suggestions about multiple various Rides throughout the country.

Also earlier on this thread I posted:

FYA, there is a sticky on the Fifty-Plus Forum, A Chronicle of the 50+ Annual Rides, and in one post, I listed the threads that chronicled the Rides II to IV beginning with the personal narratives and photos:

I'm aware that there are separate threads for the OHR and the Katy Trail Social, so I will try to include those narratives in the Chronicles, to keep the tradition of a Fifty-Plus Annual Ride alive. It’s a nice contradiction to recent (now closed) threads on this Forum such as:

BlazingPedals

After I hit the send button, it occurred to me that it would better have been posted to the "Big Rides in SE Michigan, you're invited!" thread.

irwin7638

[QUOTE=

Do you and Mr. Miss Kenton, Marc, and Missjean have any particular interests?[/QUOTE]

I intend to spend a couple hours at the Art Museum on Sunday, but there is plenty of time to work around that. I'm up for anything, I haven't been to Boston and the Celtics aren't playing so, tell me what's up!

Marc

Jim from Boston

Kenmore Square is a nice fifteen minute walk to the Museum of Fine Arts through a hip urban scene or a pleasant pastoral park, though there is also an Institute of Contempory Art on the waterfront, about five miles away by subway.

miss kenton

After a brief discussion at lunch, Mr. K said that he would be interested in seeing Fenway, and I would love to see Harvard. I think you mentioned we could pass Harvard by bike on a trail ride along the Charles, yes? Other than that, we are open to anything you might think a visitor to Boston would enjoy; we'd both like to soak up Boston. Although Mr. K did state that in hailing from Philadelphia, home of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, historical sites are rather, been there, done that. (Don't shoot the messenger.)

Jim from Boston

Not far from the site of the Saturday Ride are Lexington and Concord, MA where was fired the "shot heard 'round the world," making Philadelphia, etc possible.

Several years ago we visited Wiiliamsburg, VA. At the Hotel they showed a theatrical film clip of the Founding Fathers in Virginia, referring to those "Hotheads and Miscreants in Boston..."

missjean

The idea of a ride along the Charles River sounds nice, but I'll defer on the what-to-do to the folks coming in from out of town. If you have never been to Boston before and want to see the sights, I'm more than happy to go along - there is great stuff to see in Beantown.

freedomrider1

Go celtics.

Jim from Boston

Since Saturday, July 27 is this week, here are some further considerations about the weekend:

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
1) Additional bike rides
Besides the Official Bike Ride on Saturday, it has been a usual custom to have a shorter Friday afternoon ride, and perhaps a Sunday ride. Those previous Annual Ride weekends were usually in rural areas without much to do otherwise. So if there are other preferences to tour Boston, that's fine with me.

Two nice leisurely rides however that I might suggest are both on bike paths; the first, maybe best for Friday to introduce the City, is the Charles River (Dr. Paul Dudley White) Path through parkland along the river with nice views of the city, and passing by Harvard University in Cambridge. The other is the Minuteman Path, a sylvan ride in the nearby suburb of Arlington that goes to, and beyond Lexington MA.

2) Walking tour(s) of Boston
Boston is well-known as one of America's most walkable cities. I have taken many people on tours on a route up to about 6 miles long, that can be abbreviated by using the subway.

3) Sitdown dinners
There are many restaurants of all different price ranges and food selections in the areas worth visiting. Seafood and Italian restaurants are particularly good IMO. We can dine at a table, or stroll and eat.

4) Museums, etc.
Marc wants to visit an art museum (presumably the Museum of Fine Arts), Mr. Kenton wants to see Fenway Park, and there are numerous other cultural venues we can discuss as interested.


CONTINGENCIES
1) My work schedule
Unfortunately I was not able to get Friday off, but I may be able to leave early getting to Boston and meeting up around 2-3 PM. I don't want to tie anybody down waiting for me during their short time here, and I can suggest many activities to kick off your visit.

2) Arrival times
I look forward to hearing your travel plans. We'll exchange cell phone numbers if interested so we can pinpoint meeting times as they become evident. For the Kentons, I've driven to New Jersey from Boston via the Garden State Parkway, and that took about six hours on a Saturday afternoon. The trip from Detroit via Canada and the New York Thruway is about 12 hours, and Marc lives further west in Grand Rapids as I recall.

Of note to missjean, I'm not sure where you live, and what days you may decide to join us. Since our plans will be fluid, we could post when arrangements become more definite, or call by cell phone.

3) Weather
No definite predictions this far in advance. Rain is rain, and I myself have a rain bike. This past week was a record-setting, triple-H heat wave here in Boston. Yesterday I set out for an intended 60 - 70 mile ride, but started an hour later than planned. By 10:30 AM I cut it short to about 40 miles because it was so hot, my pace was slow, and I had a lot to do that day.

Registration for the Saturday AM ride is open to 10:00 PM on Friday, and I think can register on-site Saturday with an extra $5 late fee. So we may want to definitively plan our choice of routes late Friday depending on the weather.

4) Post-ride fatigue
We’ll only know about this on Saturday. Personally, I find I can recover from a long ride fairly quickly and I'm ready to go. Often my wife and I go out dancing on Saturday night after my long training ride. One further benefit is that I feel really good the next morning and often get up as early as 4 AM. Unfortunately on a Sunday morning, the town wakes up much later.

miss kenton

We think the ride along the Charles sounds great, I'm looking forward to that. I do want to take advantage of the opportunity to see the city of Boston in addition to the ride on Saturday. We are flexible regarding any activities, and are looking forward to meeting the other 50+ members. Thanks for this outline and I think the Friday registration is a good idea for the Kentons. This should be fun!

Jim from Boston

BTW, Marc, I forgot to mention that in the town of Dedham, about 10 miles away, is the Museum of Bad Art (MOBA); “Art too Bad to be Ignored”

https://museumofbadart.org/

My bad; parking meters are in effect until 6 PM on Saturday also. The rate is 25 cents for 12 minutes with a two hour limit, and the meter maids are everywhere. So if you park at 4 PM, for $2.50 you can park until 8 AM the next day, or all day Sunday until Monday AM. Parking in private lots on a Red Sox game day is up to about $40.

irwin7638

I expect to be there in the early afternoon. I will be recovering from the drive, but might be up to meet for a pizza with whomever is around later on. It sounds like we can all start off together on the ride. You will probably leave me in the dust early since I will be riding the Hunq which will be all geared up for touring, but that's OK. Whatever anybody is up to on Saturday night works for me. A ride on the Charles on Sunday sounds like a nice recovery day depending on everybody else's schedule. Of course it all depends on the weather.

Marc

missjean

I'm just over the border in Nashua.
A ride along the Charles would be quite nice on Friday afternoon or Sunday. I also have to work on Friday, but can get out early.

Jim from Boston

OK, here’s a tentative plan, weather, etc. permitting:

FRIDAY:
Do a leisurely ride along the Charles River of about 5 to 10 miles, longer or shorter by mutual decision; maybe 2 hours long with stops, especially Harvard. I suggest we start about 3-4 PM, with allowances for Marc and missjean if they would like to join. We would assemble about one-half hour before in Kenmore Square and travel by car caravan-style to a parking lot (any of several along the route that have free parking spots) near Harvard. I could travel to Somerville (Marc) and/or Roxbury Crossing (the Kentons) to show the way to Kenmore.

Afterwards, we can stay together and go back to Kenmore Square, park on the street, stash the bikes, and go for a walk and/or dinner. Or, we can disassemble to our lodgings and reconvene, or just call it a day. We may want to submit our registrations for the Ride before 10 PM via the Internet.

SATURDAY:
The Ride. Again, convene in Kenmore Square and travel to North Acton. The Metric Century starts at 9 AM, and I would estimate about 45-60 minutes to get to the start. Presumably we would all finish in the mid-afternoon, and have lunch at the starting point. Afterwards, we could decide what to do from then on.

FOR THE KENTONS:
Since you’ll be here on Friday morning, you are on your own. Personally, whenever I visit a new city, I pick up a map and walk or ride to explore. Not far from your Hotel, you could pick up a rental cycle from a Hubways bike-share kiosk, to avoid the hassle of taking yours, but I think walking would be the best way to get around.

A strong recommendation though, is to take a bus or trolley tour to scope out the town. In the Back Bay at about one mile from your Hotel, is a cluster of major Hotels where you could pick up such a tour. Probably the most popular vehicles are the Duckboats, which you pick up at the Prudential Center (“The Pru”). They are amphibious landing craft and go into the Charles River as part of the tour. The Duckboats are kind of gimmicky and touristy, but fun, particularly family (read child)-oriented. Get there early to get a ticket. I think the trolley tours cover more ground on land, and most have on- and off-policies

Finally, a good guide to what’s happening in the City both current and long term, e.g. museums etc, is the Improper Bostonian, a free glossy magazine available at various newboxes throughout town.

PM me for any questions.

irwin7638

That sounds like a good schedule, I'll PM my phone # to Jim for any last minute communication.

Marc

miss kenton

I like it, too. I hope that we can all meet up on Friday afternoon/ evening. Marc: take a nap as soon as you get to town and get rested up. miss jean: Tell your boss you need off to attend a cyclists' conference and will come back to your job better equipped to perform your duties.