Hey guys,

I've been racing road and MTB here in Arizona for four years now. Next year, I'll be going to Northeastern uni in Boston.

What's the racing scene like in Boston? I would imagine there's alot of traveling to other states for bigger races. Also, are there any cool rides you can do, starting in downtown Boston? In other words, how hard is it to get out of the city on a bike?

Anything else I should know?

Lots of good riding, and yes, going to other states to race. Look at the "Charles River Wheelmen" site. Buy Velo News for race schedules. I live 50 miles south. There is a huge area south and east of Boston with rural and suburban riding. Look at a map and see the area towards Plymouth, Cape Cod etc. If my memory is still working (?) there is a pretty good way to ride out of town from Northeastern. There is a state bike map I believe. I think that school is on or near a mapped bike "route" that heads to Plymouth, or at least out that direction. I have done possibly a hundred or more century rides in that area southeast of Boston. From Providence R.I. to Plymouth, the Cape Cod Canal and that general area. And also up to Boston on rt 138. A pretty good way out of Boston, if you don't mind dealing with traffic in some places.

Look for a Boston., or Mass. bike map on line. There are a couple somewhere. "Short bike rides in Mass."
is a handy book, but all you really need to do is grab a map and just go.

I don't race, but there is one I could easily drive too every weekend in the nice weather.

What's the racing scene like in Boston? I would imagine there's alot of traveling to other states for bigger races. Also, are there any cool rides you can do, starting in downtown Boston? In other words, how hard is it to get out of the city on a bike?

I don't race but the pointer to the Charles River Wheelmen is a good one. Northeast Bicycle Club (http://www.northeastbicycleclub.org/home/) also tends to be a little more race oriented than CRW. You can also look into what Northeastern sponsors as far as cycling goes. There are a lot of collegiate teams in the area and most of the major universities (BU, MIT, Harvard) have their own school teams.

As far as getting out of Boston by a bike -- take a look at a map of Boston and eastern Massachusetts. Look at the highways You'll notice two orbitals -- Rt. 128 and I-495. Rt. 128 encompasses Metro Boston and the nearest suburbs. Generally, it's a lot of stop-and-go and you won't really be able to let 'er rip until you get outside of 128. I-495 encompasses all of the intermediate suburbs and bedroom communities near Boston. Between I-495 and 128 is a sweet spot of easy country roads and slight rolling terrain. Once you go beyond 495, you get hills. If you like hills -- aim for the towns of Harvard, Upton, Sutton and Sterling. Then just keep going west.

Once you move to the city, go to a bike shop and buy some Rubel Bike Maps. Get the waterproof versions, if you can. You won't find a bike map online. At least not one that's useful. The Eastern Mass one will be your bible. The Central Mass one, you'll have to buy next spring, as that sells out fast. The maps will highlight, in green, the best routes out of the city and they won't lie; but if you're starting from Symphony/NEU, expect your first twenty minutes of any ride to be spent going from red light to red light. You're not going to be able to really cruise until you get out beyond 128. If you don't have a car, you can leverage the commuter rail to get you out to 128.

Your best bets for riding from your school would be to head southwest towards Jamaica Plain and Roslindale, then west to Dover. From there, you've got a lot of options. You can also try to head to the Cape, and ride through the Blue Hills to get to Quincy, but keep in mind that does require through a few shady neighborhoods in Dorchester and Roxbury. Generally the bark of those places is far worse than their bite, so you shouldn't have much to worry about aside from traffic.

Alternatively, you could follow the Charles River out and go west to Waltham, then angle north from there towards Lincoln and Sudbury. That's fairly nice, too, but the river bike paths aren't great for fast riding and the main roads that follow the Charles (Storrow and/or Memorial) aren't great for bikes in general.

oh, yeah, and coming from Arizona -- things you should know and get comfortable with

-- riding in the rain
-- riding in the snow
-- riding with summer humidity
-- Boston traffic (it's a relatively special breed)

oh, yeah, and coming from Arizona -- things you should know and get comfortable with

-- riding in the rain
-- riding in the snow
-- riding with summer humidity
-- Boston traffic (it's a relatively special breed)

And potholes.

And potholes.

And frost heaves, the cousin to potholes. And piles of sand/salt/random debris on the roadsides after the snow melts. And people giving you directions based upon Dunkin Donuts or Cumberland Farms locales. On the bright side, we don't have rattlesnakes.

This post once contained information, the author has chosen to remove his intellectual property: web 2.0 is a *****.

I actually go to Northeastern. 1st step would be to join the NU Cycling team. Can check out the website nucycling.com. The easiest way out is down huntington (Rt. 9) towards Brookline and go anywhere in the southwest area of Boston, it quickly changes from Cityscape to more suburban areas. Another tip would be to buy a bunch of Rubel bike maps and mapping out some routes based on the preferred roads they suggest.

<whisper>
Go here (http://www.terramiaristorante.com/). Yum.
</whisper>

And frost heaves, the cousin to potholes. And piles of sand/salt/random debris on the roadsides after the snow melts. And people giving you directions based upon Dunkin Donuts or Cumberland Farms locales. On the bright side, we don't have rattlesnakes.

:beer: :lol:

I knew there had to be a bright side, somehow !!

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Actually, there are timber rattlesnakes... but not many. Cottonmouths too... but they're all shy so it would be really rare to actually see one.

I saw my share of cottonmouths (or water moccasins, whatever) when I lived in Florida. If I see one here, I'm moving to Antarctica. I'll take my chances with the polar bears.

also removed...

Polar8 - racing scene is quite active. There are several racing clubs based in/around Boston, in addition to the slew of collegiate teams. CRW (http://www.crw.org/), as suggested by others, is a very active recreational club but does not have a racing program. Here are a few area racing clubs:

Boston Road Club (http://www.bostonroadclub.com/) (sponsors the Wells Avenue training crit (http://www.bostonroadclub.com/wellsave.asp) series, which you can ride to from NEU campus)
Blue Hills Cycling Club (http://www.bluehillscycling.com/Home.html) (gotta plug my club. small though it is)
Minuteman Road Club (http://www.minutemanroadclub.com/)
Northeast Bicycle Club (http://www.northeastbicycleclub.org/home/)
Mass Bay Road Club (http://www.massbayroadclub.org/)

In the CT/MA/NH/VT area it's possible to race once or twice a weekend from March into June (not that I've tried) within a 2 or 3 hour drive from Boston. There aren't too many races in Boston proper, though there is the Beanpot Classic (http://www.beanpotclassic.org/) collegiate race weekend in April. Race calendar is lighter in mid-late summer, but that's stage race season (Fitchburg (http://www.longsjo.com/Longsjo_Home.html), GMSR (http://www.gmsr.info/)). There's a full cyclocross calendar for fall, too. See Bikereg (http://www.bikereg.com/events/?et=1&rg=8)and NE-BRA (http://www.ne-bra.org/) to get a feel.

t's not too hard to get from the city to good riding, especially from the NEU campus. The southern and western burbs have all kinds of good roads for riding.

I'll probably see you this fall!

JLS

Hey guys,

I've been racing road and MTB here in Arizona for four years now. Next year, I'll be going to Northeastern uni in Boston.

What's the racing scene like in Boston? I would imagine there's alot of traveling to other states for bigger races. Also, are there any cool rides you can do, starting in downtown Boston? In other words, how hard is it to get out of the city on a bike?

Anything else I should know?

Northeastern has a road team.

Be prepared for the College Schedule being during the WINTER Months. They race in the cold weather and have the final races in APRIL.

Tufts, Harvard, BU, MIT, and several other local schools have teams. You would compete in VT and other places such as West Point.

Bill

Lots of good riding, and yes, going to other states to race. Look at the "Charles River Wheelmen" site. Buy Velo News for race schedules. I live 50 miles south. There is a huge area south and east of Boston with rural and suburban riding. Look at a map and see the area towards Plymouth, Cape Cod etc. If my memory is still working (?) there is a pretty good way to ride out of town from Northeastern. There is a state bike map I believe. I think that school is on or near a mapped bike "route" that heads to Plymouth, or at least out that direction. I have done possibly a hundred or more century rides in that area southeast of Boston. From Providence R.I. to Plymouth, the Cape Cod Canal and that general area. And also up to Boston on rt 138. A pretty good way out of Boston, if you don't mind dealing with traffic in some places.
I don't race, but there is one I could easily drive too every weekend in the nice weather.

You are referring to the ONLY OFFICIAL BIKE ROUTE in the state, currently. It is the Saltonstall route. It is numbered #1. Maps are available online. There are signs, but they are not well organized. There are not many confirmation signs(ie it does not have signage like a regular state route).

It is definitely not the BEST route out of town. I have seen plenty of people take alternatives and incorporate some of the route. Some people bypass a good section of Brockton, because it is LONGER and FULL OF TRAFFIC. They go right by my house, but they go through some pretty tough intersections.

The Bike Route actually uses a bit of Route 138, which is a pain in crossing the Route 128/93 North section of the highway.

Bill