Conference noted::bicycle

Here are a few different ways of getting into Boston from the north:

 1. From Chelmsford, take Rt 3A into Burlington where it changes to just 3.
    Follow 3 through until it meets Mass Ave in Arlington.  Take Mass Ave
    into Cambridge.  From there Cambridge is tricky. Do one of:

        1A  Turn left at Porter Square onto Somerville Ave.
            Take the first right onto Beacon Street (Somerville)
              which becomes Hampshire when it crosses back into Cambridge.
            Continue into Kendall Square.

        1B  At Harvard Square, bear left just as you enter the square
              and do a 150 degree left turn, keeping on the outside lane
              and then immediately bear right, though the short tunnel, and
              keep to the right on the way up and out.
            This puts you on Broadway.  Continue to into Kendall Square.

        1C  Take Mass Ave past central square.  Turn left onto Main St.
            (Lafayette Sq. ?)

    From Kendall Sq. go across the Longfellow bridge, approx. straight
    at the rotary on the other side, and up Cambridge St.
    The New City Hall is at the top of the hill on the left, where the
    road starts to curve.

 2. From Pelham NH., take 38 all the way into Winchester.  You can choose to:

        2A skip over on Church St, to Rt 3.

        2B continue into Medford.  Take 38 all the way to where it meets
            28 (McGrath-Obrien Hwy) and take 28 through East Cambridge.
            Cross at the Science Museum dam.  If you've spent time in Boston,
            goto City Hall by dead reckoning (I won't describe it here,
            because the streets change name every 20 meters.) else
            take the Esplanade bike path to Cambridge St.

        2C take 38 into Meford and across the Mystic River.  Leave 38
            continuing straight on Curtiss St. past Tufts and into Teele Sq.
            Make a 60 degree left turn onto Holland, continue through Davis Sq
            where the of the street changes into Elm. Turn right at the light
            onto Mossland.  Go over the steel bridge to pick up
            Beacon St (Somerville) and go on as per 1A

Note:  Some of this is URBAN cycling.  Ride like you know what
    you are doing and be assertive to get your space in the lane.

    You probably wouldn't make it on the above directions alone.
    Get your own maps, or I could photocopy mine and mark the routes
    if you like.

    The first route (#1a) is less scenic, but involves the easiest turns.
    I found that 38 is quite nice.  The problem is that 38 isn't well
    connected when it gets to the city.

    It may be difficult to get a police escort for anything that
    goes through Harvard Sq.

    -Jeff

    Face it: there's no scenic route out of Boston.   You'll probably
    get a lot more mileage out of the press, though, if you choose 
    something symbolic.  How about Paul Revere's route (little detour
    past the Old North Church, then accross the Science Museum bridge
    and up Cambridge Ave to Cambridge Common (avoiding Harvard Sq.),
    the up Mass Ave into Lexington and Concord.  Alternatively,
    since this relates to SPORTS, you could ride the most famous
    sports route -- the Boston Marathon.
    
    If that doesn't grab you, the most civilized way to get out of
    town is to jump on the Charles river bike path.  You end up right
    at the edge of Newton, where the roads turn suburban.
    
    MATT

    Saturday morning, May 27, Linda and I will be leaving from the Tara for
    Montreal at 8am.  We have a GSW club ride scheduled for the same time.
    That ride and anyone else who would like to join for any part of the
    route will join us as we pick up the BMB route in Townsend and proceed
    west and north toward Montreal.  Saturday finishes with Terrible
    Mountain in Ludlow.
    
    Any one in Vermont can meet us on Sunday morning in Ludlow as we head
    north through Killington and Middlebury Gap toward Rouses Pt, New York.
    
    ed

    Pardon my asking, but I don't understand what this is all about.
    
    Elaine

    I agree that there are no decent bicycle routes to Boston from either
    the North or South. The only good ones are from the West. 
    
    I agree with suggestion 1B in .1, only, instead of Broadway, go straight
    down JFK Street to the Charles and pick up the bike path. Harvard Sq.
    is busy but safer than the McGrath Hwy. There are no cars (except the
    MDC police) on the bike path.
    
    To step on my soapbox for a minute, this all points out a major problem
    with cycling in and around Boston: there are few decent, safe routes.
    Something like this is an occasion to say "how about some funding for
    safe bike routes". Set a good example by making use of the only major
    bike route in Boston (the one on the Charles) to give yourselves
    credibility and then raise the question. I should be volunteering to
    ride along but I *do* have to work on Friday!
    
    end of speech
    Roger

    Well... and how did your trip go???
    
    -john

    Well, there was some rain, lot's of wind.  The mosquitos were
    incredible, makes one seek only indoor conveniences.  The Montreal
    arrival was greeted with a lot of press coverage, which I stayed
    out of as much as possible.  Linda got about 30 seconds of "the evening
    news" and an article, usually with picture in most of the Tuesday
    papers.  We did our part [for Boston] by doing aerobics with Mayor
    Jean Dore and called the "2" into Boston.
    
    The return was similar except the wind had shifted to southerly.
    Around noon Friday we rode through the storm that later devastated
    Fitchburg.  Saturday was rather pleasant, a 124 mile return from
    Central VT to Southern NH.
    
    ed