[Bent] New commute in Boston

[Alan Weiss]

Hi, folks. I am almost completely settled into Boston. My wife Judy  
and I have gone car-free now that we live in an urban environment. My  
Gold Rush and SatRDay are my main vehicles, but we sometimes take the  
BikeE E2 tandem, and Judy gets around on her BikeE AT. We haven't  
found a recumbent club here, though we do see occasional recumbent  
riders. There's a guy who rides by frequently on a SWB with USS and  
large rear wheel--don't know exactly which bike it is, though, he  
always rides by too fast for me to see. We saw a guy on a Tour Easy  
on July 4 while we were out on our E2. You are so lucky to have each  
other in MARS! I miss the group.

My commute here is almost exactly 14 miles each way, from Brookline  
to Natick and back. Here's the route, along with elevation profile:
http://www.apdoo.org/ToworkBeantown.jpg
Takes about an hour each way. Very pleasant for most of the ride,  
about half the ride is on Beacon Street, the remainder mainly on Rt  
16 and 135, all busy but wide roads with plenty of room for cars and  
for me. Boston drivers are notoriously aggressive, but do two things  
that NYC-area drivers do not: stop for pedestrians, and give way to  
bicyclists! It's very nice, there are loads of bikes on the road, and  
I feel as safe or safer than I did commuting in NJ. There are a  
number of people who live in Brookline or Boston and commute to the  
same work location in Natick; sometimes we ride together, which is a  
fellowship that I never had commuting in NJ.

Here's our contact info in case you are ever in Boston:
1561 Beacon Street
Apartment 1
Brookline, MA 02446-4602
(617) 232-2470
We're right on the trolley line, and would be very happy to see any  
MARSians.

Have fun on the Andover ride, I sure wish I could join you...

Alan