Waiting for the 'works.

Love this spot in Roslindale. It had a fantastic view of downtown Boston, with none of the crowds.

Peter's Hill, Boston, MA

The fireworks were moved up a day, in order to avoid being rained out. Their plan worked, mostly. The sky opened up on us on the way home. The girls huddled under a comforter, as we rode. It was refreshing, after such a hot day.

Want to win a Yuba?

Of course you do.

Join the Union for Bike Month!

Win this bike by joining or renewing online or in person before May 27.

The Bike Union will be all over the place this May building up volunteer strength and member support for an incredible summer of bike repair education, getting new riders on the road, and of course better biking infrastructure and policies!

To reward you for all your support, Yuba Bicycles is going to award one of you lucky Bike Union members a bicycle. If you join or renew (or, if you’re a member already, make a donation over $25) before 8pm on May 27, you can win a fabulous Yuba Mundo cargo bike! You can join online or in person (and don’t forget that you can also join by volunteering for 10 hours)!

The raffle will be drawn on May 27 at 8:30pm at Flat Top Johnny’s for the Bike Union/Climate Ride Meet & Greet

2014 Bikes Not Bombs Bike-A-Thon

Team Big Orange Bike rides the 2013 Bike-A-Thon

Sophie, Clementine and I will be riding 30 miles in our CETMA Largo as part of the Joy-Riders Team, on June 8th, in order to raise funds for Bikes Not Bombs. This will be Clementine's longest ride yet! This is a big bike. It has a plywood box. The kids will be my cargo. People will say we're crazy. Please, sponsor our lunacy as generously as you are able. We appreciate your support to help us each reach our fundraising minimums. Thanks!

The BNB Mission: Our Mission Bikes Not Bombs uses the bicycle as a vehicle for social change. We reclaim thousands of bicycles each year. We create local and global programs that provide skill development, jobs, and sustainable transportation. Our programs mobilize youth and adults to be leaders in community transformation. 

2014 JP Bikes Spring Roll

This year's ride is the Saturday prior to Mother's Day, May 10. It's a great ride for the kids at just around 2.5-3 miles. The route will have a police escort and is mostly flat. There'll be food, decorations, family biking gear to check out and activities for the kids. It's all free! Hope to see you there!

Here's a link to a recap of last year's event with lots of photos: 2013 JP Bikes Spring Roll.

Bye, Bye Studs Day

My favorite day off the year: "Bye, Bye Studs Day"!

Low 20s, snow and ice covered paths at night?

Sophie and I had a great time.

Studded tires make all the difference in the world.

Cabin Fever

It's been rather chilly in Boston. I don't enjoy long bike rides when the thermometer dips below 10°F, which means I've been spending much time on public transportation lately. Being cooped up had me antsy and the kids weren't faring much better. It warmed up to 34°F, yesterday. It felt like a tropical breeze. I'd read somewhere there was to be a children's rock concert at The Sinclair, in Harvard Square, a bit over nine miles away from us. It was the perfect excuse to get us out of the house.

I told the girls it would be cold and that if we rode our bike it would take us almost an hour to get there, or in their terms: "three Doras". I told them we could take a bus and two trains, but that would take us an hour and a half at best. Finally, I offered to suck it up and drive, which would take us no more than 45 minutes. They chose the bike! I love my kids. We bundled up and headed on over. It wasn't too cold at all, although the wind was off of the charts. On the way in, my two year old was battered a bit by the canopy being tossed by huge gusts of wind. Wish I had a photo of the girls bent over at their waists and the canopy flat across their backs from the wind, but I'd forgotten to start the camera. On the way back, they fared better as the five year old was better equipped to lean into the canopy to prevent it from flattening out.

If not for the tiny kid leaning into it, that canopy would be flat across the box from the force of the wind.

Which reminds me, I'm loving the Stokemonkey. Seriously. There were gusts that blew us from side to side and would have stopped my not-so-aerodynamic rig in its tracks, but twist the throttle a bit and we were cruising. Good stuff.

We made it to The Sinclair in about 45 minutes and parked right out front. As we walked to the ticket window, we were told the show,"ROCK'N ROMP" was sold out. Not to be discouraged, we hung out for a bit and within fifteen minutes, we were able to buy some tickets. The girls got their faces and hands painted and took full advantage of the play things strewn about.

 

Rock'n Roll is good for the soul.

The band played a bunch of kid friendly rock tunes. The kiddos had a blast. Definitely worth the trip for a warm play space on a chilly day. 

Before heading home, we had to hit the Pirate Ship Playground, of course.

A shout out to Boston Bikes!

Credit where credit is due.

I had a problem with the way one of the routes I utilize was being plowed in the winter. I sent an email to the kind folks at Boston Bikes:

Good morning, 

First off, it was really nice to chat with you when we found ourselves both riding from the Harvard area to JP, last week.

Next, I've a question about Canterbury St, by Baby Nat's, that I hope you may be able answer. 

Canterbury is blocked off to MV traffic by two Jersey barriers. However, many local bicyclists utilize Canterbury as a neighborway. In the winter, this access point is typically covered by 6 - 10 feet of snow by the end of the season, as plows (not sure if they're public or private plows) just love to dump snow here. As of yesterday, it's been covered in a sheet of ice.
As I was sliding across this sheet of ice on my back last night after having wiped out while riding my bike, I realized that perhaps something could be done about this pinch point. Technically, Canterbury St is a public road in its entirety. Is it legal for plows to pile up snow on top of the Jersey barriers thus making the neighborway impossible to traverse via a bicycle for several months.

Would it be possible to have this neighborway be free from mounds of snow and sheets of ice, this winter, pretty please?

Thanks for all you do!

Best,

Todd Consentino
Roslindale

 I included a couple of photos.






Less than a week later, it snowed, and...

I could ride my bike here, as desired!

Here's what this area looked like last year-ish:

Score one for Boston Bikes! If you see an issue you'd like help with around Town, then, please, drop Boston Bikes a dime.

January Rain

#1 said she didn't feel good and that she didn't want to go to school.  I told her if she got ready quickly and with a smile, then we'd could ride our bike to school in the rain. Otherwise, she'd have to ride in the car with Mom.  Guess which option she chose:
1. Bike in the rain.
2. Car in the rain.

Sledding by bike

Off to go sledding, then for hot chocolate and ice cream.

We had a bit of a malfunction on the way to the hill, as the side of the box popped off!  Oops.

We were able to jury rig a repair with a couple of bungee cords that I keep on board. It got us to the hill and back. I must say I am pretty proud of how my oldest reacted when the side of the box she was riding in popped off. She stayed calm, pulled the side of box in towards her and calmly let me know what was up. She rocks. I patched it up with some brass tacks when we got home.

 #2 was tuckered out by the time we got home.