Cobbles are fun - right until they aren't. So far, I've never gone down on them, but I suspect if I keep tempting fate on my skinny tires I will regret it one day.

Today, a throwback ride. Over thirty years ago (1983) my spouse while in grad school at Mass Art bought me a Univega for my birthday (knew how much I missed my Schwinn), and that's when I started riding Metro Boston. Back then, not many of us riding out there. Bike lane? ¿Que es eso? Minuteman Commuter Bikeway? About a decade away.

So, taking the longer route I might have taken back then. I'd try to time my arrival to be during a class break, and depending on when I left and how fast I was riding I would swing wide or go more direct. Let's check in with what is the same, and what is different.

Remember when the Capitol was a single screen theater? And a ticket was $1.50?


Arlington in 1983 was still essentially a dry town, with just Jimmy's, Garron's and Shanghai Village having enough seats to qualify for a liquor license. (And all the social clubs.) There was a brief period where BYOB was permitted in Arlington, but that was voted down on the ballot. It would be another decade before Arlington would experiment with beer/wine licenses for small restaurants, leading to a renaissance in dining, the first being Flora.


The Gift of the Wind (1985) was commissioned in 1983 to go outside of the Porter Square T Stop (1984). It was red, not pink. (Since the red line extension, the MBTA has figured out it not only has to commission artwork, it has to maintain it.) Sears and Roebuck dead ahead - now Leslie University.


Memorial Drive is closed to motor traffic on Sundays, and was closed in 1983 too. Much more crowded now.


The railing extension was added a few years later to keep runners from popping out onto the path. My closest call - ever, heading outbound at this bridge.


Somewhat surprised there is not a dismount sign on this bridge. Pretty much nothing has changed here, except the Longfellow is being restored.


Charles Street I think has been in a perpetual state of renovating to look more like Charles Street forever. Quite the historic commission. Always a facade being restored.


The billboard is new, but it would be three years until the 1986 World Series heartbreak, and another couple of decades before the 2004 World Series.


And the humble home of Mass Art studios back then, now Beth Israel Deaconess offices.



-mr. bill