Bike Commute to Boston

On a beautiful fall day in New England, who would want to drive a car to work? For some time, I’ve been meaning to carry a camera along my bike ride to work and take some photos. Last Friday, I got that chance.

My trip begins on Gay Street in Westwood–a wide, tree-lined street with farm/mansions at one end and houses like mine at the other. Usually, there is a line of cars up the hill from the stoplight, but on this day, I left a bit later and found no traffic. I was unable to snap a photo of the interminable bridge construction on Washington Street crossing route 128…but perhaps, before my kids start college, I will be able to ride my bike across a new, smooth bridge instead of dodging potholes and racing cars on the currently 2-lane bridge into Dedham.

I take Washington Street through Precinct 1 in Dedham, to Dedham Square.

After the square comes the circle–a terrible idea where Washington Street meets Route 1, resulting in a mess of concrete and asphalt that divides Precinct 1 and Dedham Square from East Dedham. Often, I avoid the circle by taking East Street, but that’s under construction too, so today, I braved the circle and charged on through and headed up Washington St past the former Dedham Mall.

Washington Street is a wide, 4-lane road that also serves a number of busses that make their way from the former Dedham Mall into the Boston neighborhoods of West Roxbury and Roslindale. In the moning, the traffic is not bad and although trucks and buses can sometimes come a little close for comfort, my bigger concern is dodging the ruts and potholes.

I always get caught at at least one light; this time, I’m left to look up the last stretch to Bellevue Hill and the West Roxbury Parkway/Eneking Parkway. I used to take the parkway because it is a nicer ride through Brookline, but Washington Street remains the most direct and efficient route, so I usually stick with that.

From the top of the hill, on a clear day, I can see all the way down into the city, from the clock tower at Forest Hills station on to the downtown skyline. The downhill ride is fast–sometimes 25mph or more. Coming home, this becomes a more leisurely ride, allowing ample time to experience the full ambiance of the housing projects along the way…

Forest Hills station is another cycling dilemma, not suitable for leisurely photo projects. The buses I have been competing with all down Washington Street converge on the station. But, after navigating through the maze of buses, taxis, and pedestrians, I cross the street and begin cycling down the southwest corridor multi-use path. The path take me through Jamaica Plain. The southwest corridor is a good idea…and most of the path is a great bike ride. But it can be challenging to cross certain streets. Some sections of pavement, especially around Green Street station, are so bad that most experienced cyclists opt for the road instead of the path.

The road also makes it easier to cross at Jackson Square. Jackson Square is the T stop abutting the Heath-Bromley projects. Some of these areas…I hear about them later on the news as crime scenes. But I’ve never felt unsafe riding through Roslindale and JP. On a bike, the biggest danger is your own lack of attention…then road/street hazards…then cars…then, maybe pedestrians.

The southwest corridar park takes me all the way to Ruggles station and the Northeastern campus.

As I ride up Columbus in the morning, I’m shielded from the bright sun by the campus buildings, then I cross Mass. Ave into the Back Bay on Columbus Ave.

I work my way through the South End via Warren Street and cut through on Waltham St to the “South of Harrison” artist district…past a big bus garage…until I encounter a highway mess.

The most difficult part of my ride is getting from the South End to Southie. It’s not a long ride, but I need to go up this 4-lane road to a left turn under the I-93 overpass and along roads under the highway until I can cut over to Southie on either the 4th St or Broadway Bridge. The problem here is that these roads are all ramps and feeders and not really suitable for bikes. I’ve tried other routes, but there is always a trade off and just too many on/off ramps in this part of town to avoid. I was shocked to see a woman running a baby carriage across this intersection, againt the light that I was afraid to cross against…insanity.

After crossing into South Boston, the final leg of my ride is up the Harbor walk along Fort Point channel, next to the Gillette Factory. Each morning I get an awesome view of downtown lit up by the rising sun and constantly changing as new construction projects alter the Boston skyline on a daily basis.

This ride takes about 50-60 minutes. I could probably do it faster, but I’ve learned that is the speed I can do without breaking too much of a sweat so I can still go into work without grossing everyone out. I hope.