Day 94 - Wellesley to Lexington MA

Sunday May 26, Biked 32 miles. Total mileage by end of day: 4943. 

Very warm & sunny.

Passed a nice house with a little rainbow as I bicycled by.

Beautiful warm sunny morning.

Argh, an evil Dasani plastic bottle trying to escape down a storm drain and into the ocean. We must stop throwing our money down the drain when buying super expensive and polluting bottled water.

Bicycled by the gorgeous Auburndale branch library.

It even had a pretty piano outside for people to play.

Soon afterwards my route traipsed down a tasteful trail...

...and past a peaceful pond...

...then rumbled along a rambling road.

At last I arrived at my cousin Audrey's house in Lexington where my mom welcomed me! Thanks Audrey and Phil for letting us use your house!

I needed to meet my wife Patty at Logan airport, so I was soon back in my saddle again and riding the Minuteman Bikeway to Boston.

The Kickstand Cafe provides sustenance for bike commuters.

There I talked to Marlene and June who were working to preserve woman's rights over their own bodies.

Further down the Minuteman there was a nice dog park.

Also passed some soccer and field hockey fields.

Nicely done bicycle route with bicycle specific signals.

This section of trail was "closed" but when have I let that stop me?

The trail on the other side was in great condition!

Here are the recommended detours, but this sign was inside the closed section and not where the closure began.

More trail in the "closed" section.

At the Davis Square T station...

...there was double decker bike parking.

And some interesting sculptures.

On the other side there was a very complicated intersection with a sign to show which road was which. I was headed down Elm Street.

Biked by some Harvard buildings...

...past Memorial Hall...

...and the Science Center...

...where a tour guide was introducing visitors to the wonders of Harvard.

I met my friends Erik, Alena, Tod, Margaret, and John for brunch at the Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro. I had the Salmon Eggs Benedict. Yum!

Thanks for treating me folks!

Then off to the New England Aquarium in advance to scope out the situation for tomorrow's concluding ride with the Charles River Wheelers. As a ride leader I needed to preview the ride to make sure I knew all its twists, turns, and surprises. At the Aquarium, this location looked best for my talk tomorrow as it had a great view and an educational station about how trash travels down streams, rivers, and around the ocean. We ALL must reduce our plastic trash!

Olivia agreed!

Then I popped down the Aquarium stop on the T, over to Mavericks, and back up to hop on this wonderful bike path to the airport.

It had some marvelous murals. Motorists miss so much art and nature!

At the car rental terminal, there was covered bicycle parking.

Covered parking is a start, but it would be nice to have secure bike lockers so pieces of our bikes don't go missing. Cars carry heavy security cages with them but bikes are exposed. Bicycle tourists are in a particularly tough spot in big cites and it is very time consuming and hard to unhook all their gear and carry it with them. This super light bike has 2 heavy U locks to secure it to the rack.

The car rental building had some nice rocking chairs in which to relax and watch people walk by.

While I am bicycling most places, my wife needed a car to visit friends and relatives.

At least we were able to get a Toyota Prius for her. And I was able to lock my bike securely inside this vehicle while going into the terminal to meet her.

When I met her, she gave me this beautiful card from her and my 2 sons.

Back at Audrey's house, a neighbor took a picture of me, Patty, Lupe, Diego, Mom, and Esther.

If you are reading this, please also see ZeroW.org and donate to my Climate Ride! I'm living Zero Waste and bicycling 5000 miles across the US to talk with people about saving our planet. All funds raised go to 4 bicycling organizations and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Real science gave us all our modern miracles and is crucial for our survival. Bicycling is the most efficient form of transportation yet known to man as well as a great way to stay healthy, meet people, and keep our world green. Thanks!