Red Bones and NEMBA

Every May the Boston Bike Week activities are kicked off with a biker block party at Red Bones. You know it's time for the party when the skies start to get dark and rain is pending. In an effort to get better weather, the Red Bones party was moved back to June. ML and I decided to park the truck in Lexington and take the ever convenient bike path right to the party. This wasn't going to be a race, or even a training ride, so I geared down, put mountain bike pedals on the singlespeed, dressed in baggy shorts and a casual t-shirt and even donned my helmet with a light in case we stayed longer then expected. As I'm throwing my leg over the top tube, I pray that none of my biking friends see me dressed like this. I also realize that the thought of being ashamed to not be wearing spandex is very unique.

I've done the bike path a couple of times. Typically the middle of the day when I'm looking to do a super easy spin at lunch time. For a roadie who is accustomed to the dangers of the road, getting onto the bike path at 5:30 in the evening was like a hill billy jumping on 128 during the evening rush. A yellow line painted on the ground separated those coming one way from the other, but this was mearly a recommendation. Riders on every sort of wheeled contraption are making their way to and fro, swaying from one side of the path to the other. Rollerbladers taking up the whole lane with their full pushoffs, walkers three abreast, riders with cobbled together bikes just make up this interesting. I still remember the first time I took the red line from Quincy to Boston. I went to work the next day marveling at the wonders of this public transportation. It picked me up right next to work, dropped me off right next to school and was super cheap. Hopefully the shine of the bike path doesn't wear off, because years later, I would rather drive to Boston to ride the t.