We ask our members to submit their travel and commuting stories along with a picture and love the submissions we have been receiving so far! In the fall of 2019 we learned more about Cambridge City Councilor Patty Nolan's 2019 summer cycling trip. Here is her story along with a great picture of the distance she covered by bike from Buffalo to Syracuse.
I have biked my whole life and encouraged our kids to bike as soon as they learned. As those who know me know, I bike most places and love taking the T. I didn't own a car until I was over 30 and always get the discount on insurance for driving less than 5,000 miles a year... So I have lived the values of using cars infrequently and supported multi-modal forms of transportation naturally - since forever, basically. It is not new for me to espouse the values of groups seeking to improve urban riding. I lived in Amsterdam over 30 years ago for 6 months and that informs my vision of what a large urban city can do for safe cycling and walking.
However, I had never done a really long ride..... until this year... Thanks to the inspiring example and encouragement of Green Streets, this year (2019) I did my first ever overnight bicycle ride - the first half of the Erie Canal Ride organized by Parks and Trails of NY. I LOVED it! I was inspired by the age range of cyclists, and the incredible joy of covering 200 miles in 4 days - I biked from Buffalo to Syracuse, NY. While that isn't much for some - 50 miles a day for 4 days in a row - it was an achievement for me.
It was not a commute, but it did profoundly affect me, and I will definitely do more.
April's new Commute
April from Newton, MA wrote about her new bike commute that she now looks forward to every day following a change in jobs.
I changed jobs and the distance between home and work at the new and old jobs is the same. However, the time to get from Newton to Cambridge, which is about seven miles, can be as much as 90 minutes. Initially, I drove to work very early, parked and went to a gym near my workplace. Then I realized I could abbreviate the time by biking to work instead, but still showering at the gym. This was a game changer. The bike paths along the Charles River are shady and gorgeous. I arrive to work feeling like I have already accomplished something and my fitness routine has become more varied. The bike was pricey, but considering the time I save by skipping gym workouts and shaving off up to 20 minutes in both directions, it is worth it!
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