Sometimes it is hard for someone who makes their living on a bicycle to take time after work or on their day off to go for a ride and actually enjoy riding.  I find that some of the great rides I have been on are at a slower pace enjoying whatever Mother Nature offers instead of grumbling during a rainstorm or snowstorm on the clock as a courier downtown.  When I first moved to Somerville, my favorite time to ride was in the summer after midnight.  Not only was there little to no traffic to become frustrated that I, a cyclist, is taking up their space and time, but the whole sense of freedom to just explore that I haven’t felt since childhood on a BMX from Child World.  I remember fondly of the summer of 2006 when it seemed to be a light warm rain around 1 am most nights for half an hour or so as I pedaled my way around Medford, Somerville, Cambridge, Arlington, Allston, Brookline, and Boston proper.  I welcomed the cool rain and the unique smell it has on asphalt only in the summer as I started memorizing the streets unaware a year and half later I would be working as a courier.

Another Great Ride is a lazy Sunday afternoon on my 3-Speed complete with front picnic basket, rear rack, and saddle with lots of springs without a care in the world just taking my time going completely out of my way just because and stopping at all my favorite places in the area.  I find myself going to Harvard, Central, and Inman Squares in Cambridge browsing used bookstores for a hardcover copy to replace the tattered paperback of one of my favorites.  After all that shopping, I take a ride down to Chinatown for a bean paste filled “Chinese donut” which is then usually followed with a ride over to the North End for a fancy cappuccino.  Instead of just taking Surface Road North to Salem Street, I like to loop around the Waterfront area usually taking Summer Street to D Street to Seaport back to Surface North.  On a nice day the sights and smells of the ocean and some boats makes me want to go back and visit New Bedford where I used to live.  On a bad day, the wind constantly trying to knock me over is an added challenge as I daydream from the saddle about racing in the Tour de France.  After the coffee stop in the North End, if there is enough time in the day, it is always a relaxing ride to head down to Allendale Farms in Jamaica Plain to buy local organic produce, if not, meet up at a local dive bar with friends and hangout talking bikes.