You were spot on, freedomrider!

Our trip to Boston was more fun than I could have ever anticipated. I would highly recommend a visit to Boston to anyone. What a beautiful city--and if you are lucky enough to have someone as conscientious, thoughtful, and generous as Jim from Boston guiding you through that trip, you'll have it made!

We were able to see some really interesting things in Boston, and Boston has a great deal to offer. We were only there for the weekend, but I wish we had had more time to see the city.

I have met Jim before and knew that he would work hard to make the trip fun and interesting, and he delivered! Meeting miss jean and Marc was a pure delight! They are great people and I truly enjoyed the time we spent together. Though I was disappointed that more 50+members couldn't make the trip, I found that being in a small group made it easier to get to know each other than it might have been with a large group. I wish miss jean had been able to join us for Saturday's ride as I think she would have enjoyed that and been a great addition to our group.

Though not normally a "rain rider", I thoroughly enjoyed Friday night's ride around the Charles River, especially since Jim took us to see Harvard's campus, a location I was hoping I'd get to see. That ride gave me a new outlook toward riding in the rain and I would go so far as to say I found it invigorating! (Of course, the venue and temperature made it more fun than it might have been at home. In fact, we arrived back in NJ at 5:30 this evening to torrential rain and my first thought was "Toto, we're not in Boston anymore!" I had no desire to ride in the rain.)


Saturday's ride was fabulous-one of the best I've experienced! The weather was perfect, the route was shady and the scenery idyllic, with a new surprise around every turn in the path. Even with Tom's flat and my chain falling off, I can find no complaint with anything. I would love to ride there again. As Jim mentioned, Marc has a great sense of humour and had me laughing throughout our visit.

There is something very special and unique about meeting the people behind the posts on the forums. They are not fictionalized personalities, anymore than are the people you meet at work, or church, or through other friends. I would suggest that the majority here are simply people with common bonds--their age and a love of cycling. Some also share an interest in travel, new experiences, and a desire to meet and enjoy the company of like-minded people. IMO if you don't at least see the value of that opportunity, you are missing out on an amazing element of this forum.

Thanks again, to Jim and Marc for scaling back their rides to match the not-so intrepid spirits of the "Kentons."


I will post pictures once my camera has "recharged."