MassBike

Massachusetts Bike Week 2003
Saturday, May 10 through
Sunday, May 19

Bike Week is part of Bike Month, a national event to celebrate and encourage bicycling.

All events are tentative!

Send your Massachusetts Bike Week (or Bike Month) events to Doug Mink, dmink@massbike.org as soon as you have them scheduled. See the pages for previous bike weeks for ideas.

Check out local event calendars in Cambridge and the Pioneer Valley.


Before Bike Week:

Wake Up the Earth Day
Saturday, May 3
Boston
11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Let MassBike's valets watch your bike while you enjoy this celebration of spring along the Southwest Corridor near the Stony Brook MBTA station. There is a rain data of Sunday, May 4. Help is needed at the MassBike booth; contact Doug Mink, dmink@massbike.org
Join the ArtBikes in the parade! Bring your bike (decorated or not) to meet up with the ArtBikes at the Green Street T-stop at 10 am. We'll be leaving by 10:30 to join the Wake Up The Earth parade on its way to the festival.

All Week:

Bike to Work Week
Commuter Challenge

Commuter Challenge Web Page
Check with your local Transportation Management Association (TMA) or fill out the forms on the ABC TMA web site (http://www.abctma.com/events_bikeweek.htm) to participate in the Bike to Work Corporate Challenge during Bike Week May 11-19th. You have to work in Boston or nearby parts of Cambridge to enter.
Click here for help concerning bike commuting from the League of American Bicyclists.
Celebrate with the winners at the Bike Bash, May 21.
ArtBike Show
May 13-16
Cambridge
ArtBikes and bike sculptures, photographs, paintings, and other artwork will be on display and then auctioned off on May 16th. The exhibition is free - stop in any time. This fundraiser for Bikes Not Bombs will be at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, 41 2nd Street, Cambridge, off Cambridge St, a few blocks from the Lechmere T-stop.

Saturday, May 10:

Boston Off the Bike Map
Franklin Park
9:30 am
Roslindale Square
1:00 pm
Meet in the golf course clubhouse parking lot to join Boston's Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator and his Bicycle Advisory Committee for a ride through Dorchester to the paved-but-not-open Neponset Trail. We'll follow the Neponset River to Cleary Square in Hyde Park, and ride back streets to Roslindale Square, where we'll stop for lunch in Adams Park. Riders can buy lunch from numerous stores and restaurants within a block of the park.
We'll leave Roslindale at 1:00 pm for Millenium Park, Boston's newest large park, which has lots of paved paths with great views. We'll return to Franklin Park via the Arnold Arboretum. There will be lots fewer hills than last year, but neither ride will be real flat.
Contact Paul Schimek, 617-635-4606, paul.schimek@cityofboston.gov or Doug Mink dmink@massbike.org.
Trail Cleanup
Maynard
9:00 am - noon
Help clean up the Assabet River Rail Trail in Maynard. Meet at the flower garden on the corner of Maple and Summer streets. There will be a free lunch following the cleanup.
The cleanup will proceed rain or shine. The only exceptions are for continuous heavy rain or a thunderstorm. Call the contact number, 978-897-5853, Saturday morning if the weather looks questionable.
Berkshire Brevet
Pioneer Valley
400-km, 250-mile tour of the Valley
Contact Don Podolski (413)562-5237
Alternative Transportation Showcase
and Bike Week Kickoff

9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Amherst
At Big Y
Contact Karen Jones (413)367-9585
Trail Cleanup
9:00am-Noon,
Noon-3:00pm
Framingham
Meet at "625" Old Connecticut Path, Framingham - the trailhead for Cochituate Brook Reservation Park for Spring Cleanup on the Cochituate Rail Trail. Bring hand-saws, loppers, rakes, and work gloves. Work for an hour - get a CRT-shirt and lunch. Contact: Mara Yale (508-877-1556; CRT-Friends@rcn.com).
Bike Rodeo
10:00 am - noon
Greenfield
At Four Corners School. Children will be instructed in bicycle safety (it's a fun, jovial atmosphere, taught via "courses" that the kids ride their bikes through after having their bikes checked out & adjusted at a maintenance station), presented with free helmets which are fitted individually to them, given the opportunity to register their bikes w/the police dept. in the event of loss & recovery, given a packet of safety-related materials (reflectors, coloring books, etc.), an achievement certificate, a coupon for a free treat (usually a free ice cream from Friendly's)
Contact Chris Pichette cpichette@heat-fab.com.

Sunday, May 11: Mothers Day, Arnold Arboretum Lilac Sunday

Scenic Bike Ride
2:00 pm
Natick
Meet at the entrance to Shaw's Park on Eliot Street (Route 16, just west of Union Street) for a moderate on-road bike ride in South Natick, Sherborn and Dover; about 7 pretty miles with some hills, a lot of history, and the upper Charles River. Leader: Martin Kessel (508/653-5083; Martin@TheKessels.org.

Monday, May 12:

Bike Commuter Breakfast
7:00 - 9:00 am
Holyoke
at Highland Bikes
Contact Rob Gagne (413)539-9314
City Hall Bike Breakfast
7:30 - 9:30 am
West Springfield
Contact Jeff Lockwood (413)732-3556
Bike Commuter Breakfast
7:30 - 9:30 am
Cambridge
At University Park on Mass. Ave.
Sponsored by the Charles River TMA
For more information contact them at 617-324-6118.
8th Annual Bike Party
5:00 - 10:00 pm
Davis Square, Somerville
Redbones, 55 Chester St., Davis Square, Somerville, MA
$10.00 includes great food, a pint of beer, lemonade, or soda, bicycle valet parking and a raffle ticket. There are a lot of raffle prizes, and proceeds benefit MassBike and NEMBA. There is more info on the Redbones web site.
Bike Movie
Greenfield
at People's Pint
Contact Dan Young (413)773-0333

Tuesday, May 13:

Pancake Breakfast
7:30 - 9:30 am
Cambridge
Broadway Bicycle School, 351 Broadway, Cambridge
Meet your fellow bicycle commuters over free coffee and pancakes.
See the faces behind some of the names you see on the Internet.
Bike Commuter Breakfast
7:30 - 9:30 am
Westfield
at New Horizons Sports
Contact Don Podolski (413)562-5237
Bike Commuter Breakfast
8:00 - 10:00 am
Chicopee
at Mickey's Bike Shop
Contact Hank (413)592-4282
Pizza Ride
6:00 pm
Westfield
Meet at New Horizons Sports
Contact Don Podolski (413)562-5237
Easy Bike Ride
6:30 pm
Natick
Meet at the parking lot for Pegan Cove Park, on Washington Avenue across from Cochituate Street to ride through downtown Natick, Pegan Cove Park, Middlesex Path, and Dell Park Cemetery, complete with historic commentary.
Leader: Dick Miller (508/653-6136, 9am-9pm; TheMillers@millermicro.com.

Wednesday, May 14:

Bike Commuter Breakfast
7:00 - 9:00 am
Easthampton
at the gazebo on the Common
Contact Bill Burgart (413)527-9080
Bike Commuter Breakfast
7:00 - 9:30 am
Northampton
at the corner of Main & King
Contact Craig Della Penna (413)585-9853
Bike Commuter Breakfast
7:30 - 9:30 am
Cambridge
Sponsored by Harvard's Commuter Choice Program in Harvard Square at the Au Bon Pain in front of Holyoke Center. Coffee, juice and assorted pastries will be served to any Harvard affiliate who brings their bicycle helmet to our tables. Bike commuters will also receive free front and rear bike lights if they register (or have registered) their bike with the Harvard University Police Department, who will be on site for bike registrations. Also featured will be free bike tune-ups on a first -come-first -served basis from Quad Bikes (what's Quad Bikes? Come find out!).
Transportation Fair
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Cambridge
On the lawn in front of the Harvard Science Center, this fair will include representatives from the Amtrak Downeaster; MassBike; MBTA; City of Cambridge; Quad Bikes; Harvard Shuttle, Mail, Police and Parking Services, and the staff of the CommuterChoice Program.
Employees from Harvard Shuttle Services will be available to demonstrate how to mount your bike to the front bike racks on the shuttle buses. Harvard Mail Services personnel will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the transporting of University Mail and their new metering services, as well as parcel delivery. Quad Bikes will continue their program of free tune-ups on a first-come-first-served basis. If you know of anyone who is thinking about carpooling to work in the near future, we will be offering them the opportunity to receive a free stainless steel coffee travel mug if they enroll on-line with the Harvard affiliated carpool database within one week of the Transportation Fair. Anyone who attends the fair may enter the raffle for great prizes, including roundtrip tickets on the Downeaster train (which runs from Boston to Portland, Maine). Refreshments will be provided.
Sponsored by Harvard's CommuterChoice Program

Thursday, May 15:

Bike Commuter Breakfast
7:00 - 9:00 am
Hadley
at Valley Bicycles Trailside
Contact Karen Jones (413)367-9585
Bike Commuter Breakfast
7:00 - 10:00 am
Northampton
at Northampton Athletic Club, with wellness check (blood pressure, etc.), day passes offered for non-members, and bike checkup.
Contact Heather Skinn (413)585-8500
Bike Commuter Breakfast
7:30 - 9:30 am
Amherst
on North Common
Contact Mark Lerch (413)256-8440
Kendall Square
Bike Commuter Breakfast

7:30 - 9:30 am
Broadway
btwn. 6 & 8 Cambridge Center
Join us between 6 and 8 Cambridge Center on Broadway for a free breakfast. Boston Properties and the Charles River TMA are the sponsors. For more information contact the Charles River TMA at 617-324-6118.
Back Bay Breakfast and
Bike Week Celebration

8:00 - 10:00 am
Prudential Center, Boston
Join us at the Boylston Plaza of the Prudential Center for free breakfast, bike tune-ups, vendors, exhibits, and more. Extra bike parking provided. Brought to you by the Prudential Center merchants , Boston Properties, and the Artery Business Committee TMA. For more information contact the ABC TMA at 617-557-7322.
Easy Bike Ride
6:30 pm
Natick
Meet at the rear left of Memorial School parking lot, off Route 16 in South Natick for a ride through South Natick, including the Sudbury Aqueduct and Natick Community Organic Farm.
Leader: Dick Miller (508/653-6136, 9am-9pm; TheMillers@millermicro.com)

Friday, May 16: Bike to Work Day

Bike Commuter Breakfast
7:00 - 9:00 am
Springfield
at Civic Center Esplanade
Contact Tina Manos 748-3495
Boston Bicycle Commuter Breakfast
7:30 - 9:30 am
City Hall, Boston
Come to Boston's City Hall Plaza for breakfast and a celebration of bicycling in the city on National Bike to Work Day.
Contact Paul Schimek, 617-635-4606 paul.schimek@cityofboston.gov
Contact Doug Mink if you want your group ride to City Hall on the calendar.
Bicycle Commuter Appreciation
7:30 - 9:30 am
Cambridge
As part of National Bike to Work Day, the Cambridge Bicycle Committee and the City of Cambridge will be thanking commuters who bike to work by presenting them with a small giveaway. Members of the Bicycle Committee will be stationed at locations throughout the city to catch cyclists on their way to work and give them their gift.
Contact: Stephanie Anderberg - 617-349-4671 / sanderberg@cambridgema.gov
Bike to Work Day
Morning rush hour
Somerville
The Somerville Bicycle Committee will be handing out all sorts of bicycle goodies to cyclists around Somerville during the morning rush hour. Look for them in Davis Square, Union Square, and elsewhere while you enjoy a refreshing ride to work on the most efficient vehicle on the planet.
Bike Commuter Lunch
Noon
Greenfield
On the Town Common
Contact Dan Young (413)773-0333
ArtBike Show and Auction
7:00 pm - midnight
Cambridge
This fundraiser for Bikes Not Bombs will be at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, 41 2nd Street, Cambridge, off Cambridge St, a few blocks from the Lechmere T-stop. ArtBikes and bike sculptures, photographs, paintings, and other artwork will be on display and then auctioned off. The exhibition, which runs from May 13-16, is free - stop in any time.
The Reception costs $20 for adults, $15 for BNB members, $10 students/seniors, free for volunteers working the event. The entry price includes a full dinner by Redbones Barbeque, ice cream by Toscanini's, and music by True Life Bluegrass. Harpoon Brewery will be there with drinks.

Saturday, May 17:

Bikepath Cleanup
9:30 am
Somerville
Join neighbors and Friends of the Path to clean the future "Community Path" in Somerville at the Lowell Street Bridge. Bring pushbrooms, gloves, old plastic grocery bags, recycling bins and other cleanup supplies. Our event is part of the city's Somersday spring cleanup.
Historic Somerville Bike Tour
10:00 am
City Hall
Somerville
Presented by the Somerville Historic Preservation and the Somerville Bicycle Committee, the Second Annual Historic Somerville Bike Tour will celebrate both Bike Month and Preservation Month with a bike tour of many of Somerville's historic treasures, hosted by members of the Somerville's Historic Preservation Commission and the Bicycle Committee.
Sites on the tour will include Prospect Hill Tower, Bow Street Historic District, Walter Durrell House B&B, Oliver Tufts House, Powder House, Somerville Theatre, and the Somerville Museum.
The ride will start and end at City Hall, will be about three hours long and will include a snack stop halfway through. Families are welcome, helmets are encouraged, and the ride will be paced according to participants' skill levels.
Registration Fee $3 - $1 for students and seniors
For more information contact Ron Newman at 617-628-8895 e-mail: rnewman@thecia.net
or Brandon Wilson at 617-625-6600 ext 2500
GoGreen Bicycle Tour
10:00 am
Cambridge Common
Members of the Cambridge Bicycle Committee and the City of Cambridge will be leading a bike tour of Cambridge. The tour will progress at a leisurely rate, and will include short stops at points of interest along the route. We will have a few intermediate gathering points (check here for updated route information), so feel free to join us for all or part of the route.
Contact: Tim Ledlie - 617-493-6578 / ledlie@post.harvard.edu who has posted the cue sheet and some pictures of the ride here.
FPC Annual Meeting
9:30-11:30 am
Franklin Park
Boston
At the Franklin Park Coalition Annual Meeting, the Boston Park Rangers will be honored for their dedication and service with the annual Park Preserver Award and there will be a "Park Fair" with booths describing different Franklin Park issues and projects. This is your opportunity to offer input, ideas, and concerns. There will be a children's corner; families please join us!
Make it a full day of park activities! At the close of the meeting there will be a variety of park tours - walking, bicycling, or in a van to the woodlands, around the golf course path, to different entrances and historical sites, or to play in the tot lots. Discover an area of the park you've never known before. The Kite Festival will take place in the Playstead all afternoon. Wander over to the FPC face painting table staffed by youth volunteers.
Please RSVP so breakfast refreshments can be planned - call 617-908-4002 or send an email reply to franklinparkcoalition@yahoo.com.
If you are not an FPC member, please consider joining by making a contribution of $5 or more, whatever you can afford.
Bike Rodeo
10:00 am - Noon
South Deerfield
At the police station. children will be instructed in bicycle safety (it's a fun, jovial atmosphere, taught via "courses" that the kids ride their bikes through after having their bikes checked out & adjusted at a maintenance station), presented with free helmets which are fitted individually to them, given the opportunity to register their bikes w/the police dept. in the event of loss & recovery, given a packet of safety-related materials (reflectors, coloring books, etc.), an achievement certificate, a coupon for a free treat (usually a free ice cream from Friendly's), and an opportunity for children to be fingerprinted and entered into a Safe Kids database.
Contact Chris Pichette cpichette@heat-fab.com
Bikepath Cleanup
1:00 pm
Cambridge
Meet at the John Wald Memorial on the Minuteman Bikeway just over the Little River/Alewife Brook bridge from the Alewife MBTA station for a general cleanup of the site and some landscaping.
Easy Bike Ride
1:30 pm
Natick
Meet on the south side of parking lot for "Especially for Pets", on Route 27 just south of Route 30 in Cochituate for an unusual and bumpy bike ride on the Snake Brook Trail in Cochituate State Park (North Natick and Cochituate). We might have a walking group, too.
Leader: Jill Miller (508/653-6136, 9am-9pm; TheMillers@millermicro.com)
Bike Repair Clinic
3:00 pm
Westfield
Contact Don Podolski (413)562-5237
Trips for Kids
"Rock Your Soul"
Benefit Concert

7:00 pm
Sons of Italy, Quincy, MA
An evening featuring an opening speech by Dan Pallotta and a concert by Cindy Bullens.
Dan is the creator of the AIDS Rides, Breast Cancer 3-Days, AIDS Vaccine Rides, among many of his productions. His inspirational story and belief that kindness can change our world will be something you won't soon forget.
Cindy is a two-time Grammy Award nominee who gives soul to rock and roll. Her dynamic music and lyrics promise a concert that you'll be talking about the next day.
This event is being produced to support the programs of Trips For Kids-Boston, Inc., (TFK), a volunteer led non-profit organization that provides mountain biking outings and environmental education to inner-city children at no cost to the kids. TFK provides everything from a bike, helmet, and food, to the volunteers who lead the way.
Tickets are $28 each or two for $50 and $35 at the door.
To get your tickets or for more information, visit www.tripsforkidsboston.org or call 508-747-6691.

Sunday, May 18:

CRW Spring Century
7:00 am for 100
9:00 am for 62 and 50
10:00 am for 25
Meet at Wakefield High School, 1 mile east of Wakefield Center on Rt. 129 East. There will be 25, 50, 62, and 100 mile rides. Sponsored by the Charles River Wheelmen. Preregister for lower fee.
Bike the
East Coast Greenway

10:00 am - ?
Boston
We'll try out Massachusetts first designated stretch of the East Coast Greenway from the Boston Museum of Science to the Charles River Museum of Industy in Waltham. We'll start by the Schrafft's building on Sullivan Square in Charlestown and check out an entire route through the cities of Boston, Newton, and Waltham, returning through Watertown, Cambridge, and Somerville along and sometimes on the eastern end of the Mass. Central Rail Trail.
Contact Doug Mink, dmink@massbike.org.
Yahoo map to start of ride
BIKE-Arlington Tour
9:30 am
Arlington
The 6th annual BIKE-Arlington Tour is an easy-paced bicycle tour around town organized by the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee (ABAC) in local celebration of National Bicycle Month. The family-friendly tour will pass on both the Minuteman Bikeway and local roadways, featuring scenic rest stops at Cooke's Hollow, Mill Brook, Meadowbrook Park, Alewife Brook Reservation, and Spy Pond.
The tour is free of charge, and all participants will be responsible for their own safety. Bicycle helmets required. Bring something to drink. Meet on Sunday, May 18, 9:30 a.m., at Hurd Field parking lot, off of Drake Road (behind Trader Joe's) in Arlington Heights. Steady rain will cancel. The tour will cover about 8 miles and end around 12:30pm.
For more information, see the ABAC website.

After Bike Week

Wednesday, May 21
Commute A Better Way Day
All Day
Cambridge
Cambridge's voluntary car-free day to encourage single occupant vehicle commuters to try a different mode of transportation. Participants will take the "Commute A Better Way pledge", stating that they will try walking, cycling, taking the T, carpooling, or another option, instead of driving to work. Commuters who take the pledge will receive a recognition packet in return. To take the pledge, send an email, including your name, commute mode choice for May 21, usual commute mode, and round trip commute mileage.
Contact: Stephanie Anderberg - 617-349-4671 / sanderberg@cambridgema.gov
Wednesday, May 21
Bike Bash
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Boston
Celebrate the end of Bike Week and honor the winners of the Bike Week Commuter Challenge at the first ever Bike Bash at The Rack, near Fanieul Hall, sponsored by the Boston area TMA's, City of Cambridge, and Harvard University. The event will feature an Awards Ceremony honoring the winning companies of the 2003 Bike Week Commuter Challenge, free raffles, food, and free pool.

For additional information please contact David Straus at the Artery Business Committee TMA at 617-557-7322 or dstraus@abctma.com.


Here are some good reasons to ride a bike from the League of American Bicyclists.


Send event notices or corrections to Doug Mink, dmink@massbike.org.
[MassBike Events] [MassBike]
Past Boston Bike Weeks
[1995] [1996] [1997] [1998] [1999] [2000] [2001] [2002]