Boston Night Rides I

I love this city and I thought it would be interesting to see what I could see when the roads weren’t clogged with cars… Overall rating: 2 1/2 stars (out of 5). It’s interesting but not very relaxing. Don’t get any ideas about attempting this during the day either. The traffic would be evil. The Route Note: I’d actually recommend going to the end of Storrow Drive and following the curve around as it becomes the start of Memorial Drive but I couldn’t convince Google Maps to do that. All said, it’s about 20 miles, and a little over an hour of driving. What you’ll encounter:

• Boston Garden
• U.S. Coast Guard First District
• Glowing pillars (they were green this time)
• James Hook+Co Lobster This eyesore of a building has been here so long it has ingrained itself into Boston’s subconscious.
• Boston’s World Trade Center
• The Bank of America Pavilion
• A working sea-port (they never close)
• The sweet view from Fort Independence, but not Fort Independence itself, because the trees hide it in the dark.
• The Big Dig (you’ll ride above, and within the tunnel)
• Boston Museum Of Science
• Two State Police stations Not that State Police stations are particularly notable. I just found it interesting because of the low probability of directly past two of them on such a short ride.

What you’ll need:

• The ability to memorize the route. This shouldn’t be hard. A lot of the roads you just follow until they force you to turn, or it’s simple to know you should turn. Consulting a map en-route is simply not safe without pulling over.
• To consult Google’s Street View images so that you know what the turns look like in advance.
• A good sense of direction in case you miss a turn, or they’ve blocked one off.
• No fear of rotaries (roundabouts). I think there are 3 and one is busy and not slow.
• To make sure there isn’t a big event at the Garden when you go by it. It’ll slow you down to a crawl for about 4 blocks if there is.
• To pray they’re not randomly blocking off three lanes of the tunnel for no apparent reason… again.

When to go: Late. No, later than that. Midweek nights are probably best because there’ll be less people out partying. The route goes directly in front of approximately four bars, so keep your eyes open around them (not hard to spot) and remember that the MBTA stops running at midnight and the bars close at two. I’d say this encouraged drunk driving except for the fact that no-one can park anywhere in Boston… Highlights:

• Driving Storrow Drive at night with no traffic ( although I prefer it in the other direction).
• Getting off your bike and listening to the sound of the sea lapping against the rocks at Fort Independence.
• Finally getting to open your throttle when you get onto I 93 north.
• Entering Boston from the south on I 93. I’ve always loved that, but I love this city so maybe it’s just me. I actually liked it better before the Big Dig.

Would I do it again? Meh, probably not. But it was interesting once, and now I’m curious to see what Fort Independence is like during the day.