Riding Boston’s Bikeshare

I had to take one out for a spin.

I’d never ridden a Bikeshare bike before – Montreal was too cold and wet, in Barcelona I had no idea where I wanted to go, but here in Boston I did know. I organized a ride in April, from MIT to Boston and back through Harvard, plus I grew up in the suburbs here. This morning the weather is perfect; the humidity has broken and it’s in the mid 80’s, perfect for a ride up Commonwealth Ave.

My adventure did have one hiccup – the nearby Hubway on Newbury Street, there must be a bug in the kiosk because me and a fellow enthusiast couldn’t get it to issue a code to release the bike. So I walked Boylston Street, wishing I had pushed the other kiosk button which would’ve shown me exactly where to find the next station, instead I would guess. About 6 blocks away the Public library had a few bikes available; this time everything worked fine and I was on the bike in about a minute.

I adjust the seat in no time and I’m off. The rush follows immediately! I’m pedaling through the narrow streets perpendicular to Commonwealth Ave and traffic seems just fine about it – no one blows their horn. (It’s not until I’m flying home I think that might have been because I wasn’t wearing a helmet. Remember those studies that show motorists are more cautious around cyclists without helmets, especially women?)

The bike has a nice feel; I can tell it’s a little on the heavy side, but it moves along with little effort. The three-gear shifter works smoothly; 3rd gear seems a little low so it’s easy to pedal and since traffic is a little heavy and with traffic lights every other block, it’s easy to keep up.

Residents who sign up get a key to unlock a bike and go, no kiosk buttons to push. Besides the 1-day option I chose, there’s a 3-day plan, for long weekends I suppose, for $20 which is a real bargain compared to what I spent to rent bikes in Santa Barbara on the 4th of July weekend.

Intangibles? The bike has a definite cool-factor. People walked over to take a closer look every time I stopped. When I had that trouble with the kiosk I had 3 passers-by looking over my shoulder with a “nice talking to you,” as we parted.

In a nutshell, I could see a Bikeshare program like this here in Newport Beach. Imagine kiosks on Balboa Island and the peninsula where you could take a bike to the Wedge… Ok, here the bikes will need surfboard racks, but I’m sure that can be arranged.

Boston’s Hubway is modeled after Washington DC’s Capital Bikeshare.