What a beautiful August morning in Boston! I met up with the Bike Friday convoy and biked with the crowd all the way to City Hall Plaza. The weather was perfect, I met lots of other bike enthusiasts and I enjoyed a free bagel, banana and coffee. My convoy started in Lexington and picked up people along the way. We were the largest convoy so we each won a T-shirt. What more could a girl ask for? Well, a photo with the Mayor of course.

Lorelei from D2E with Mayor Menino. I love this guy. Besides all the great work he is doing with Boston Bikes, he is working to make the urban affordable housing green as well. This guy is the real deal.

Erin Ailworth reports in today’s Globe:

“The mayor is the leading mayor in the country in the creation of affordable housing,” O’Connell said. “And now he has become the leading mayor in the country in the greening of affordable housing.”

A big congrats to Nicole Freedman who is heading up Boston Bikes. She organized the event and we had a great turnout this morning. I’m still all pumped up on adrenalin and ready to conquer the work day.

Above: Boston at sunset. Taken from a friend’s roof deck. It’s always fun to crash friends’ houses in different areas of town – just be good and bring a host gift.

When I started my own business my budget was tight, so there was no chance of a big vacation in a far-away exotic place. When I took time off I would venture into Boston or take the bus to NYC for an urban day off, and travel up to VT and NH for hiking and fresh air. I have recently learned that the high price of gas (and therefore air travel) has affected tourism in the US. Staycations, vacations close to home, are in.

After googling staycations I was surprised to see how much chatter is happening about this subject. It really is hot this summer, so there are many resources and opinions out there. The article in the Globe today by Nicole Wong instigated this blog entry and below are some of D2E’s favorite local attractions.

D2E list of Boston area stuff-to-do
- Walk Boston
Check out this website to find events that involve walking and Boston. The group has a higher mission to make Boston more walkable, and while doing this they offer some fun Boston walks. It is well worth checking out.

- Boston Public Library
Julie visited the library last night and saw two great exhibits. One on WWI posters and the other was called Movingline. According to Julie it is well worth the visit. The library offers something for everyone, at every age, so definitely check out their website. You will be pleasantly surprised.

- The New England Aquarium
What would a tourist day in Boston be like without a stop at the aquarium? My husband and I like to go on late night urban bike rides and we always stop at the aquarium to say hello to the seals. They are definitely distant relatives of Lucy, our labrador.

- Lobstah!
A few weeks ago my husband and I decided to explore the north shore after work. We had never been to Gloucester and wanted to check it out. While driving around we discovered The Lobster Pool in Rockport and loved having our steamers outside while the sun was setting. If you want to stay in metro Boston, there are plenty of options.

- Urban Bike Rides
Get out your bike, your helmet and tour the city. Check out Boston Bikes to see what the city has going on. And Urban Adventours will take you on a guided tour with other bicyclists. If you do not have a bike, you can rent one from Urban Adventours – so no excuses!

For a more comprehensive list, visit the City of Boston’s website. It is amazing how much this city has to offer.

On my way to work this morning I stopped at a local gas station to put some air in my front bike tire (see photo above). I had to take a photo since the garage had a little moped in it instead of a car – sign of the times.

While there I got into a conversation with the station owner about the price of oil/gas. He had an interesting tip for those of us that heat our houses with oil: you can hook up your hot water heater with electricity so that you don’t have to use any oil until the cold months come.

Obviously this is not a solution – but every little bit helps these days. Since I do not drive much, the price of gas does not make a big impact on my daily life. But my apartment is heated with oil and I felt the price increase this past spring when I had to re-fill the tank – OUCH! And like everyone else, I have felt the ripple effects with the increase in food costs and my vendors’ fees.

Below are some excerpts from today’s Globe article by Erin Ailworth.
 

The increase will have an especially dramatic impact on the nearly 1 million households that are heated with oil, which now sells for about $4.70 a gallon, up from $2.59 a year ago, according to the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.

Heating costs are expected to keep rising, the report says. The state’s average household oil bill next year could top $3,000, according to the report by the UMass Donahue Institute, a university think tank. All told, consumers can expect to spend $4.45 billion for gas and oil heat in 2009 – a $469 million increase from 2008.

….

“Maybe the people who are very, very wealthy won’t bat an eyelash. But for the regular people who are working from paycheck to paycheck and week to week, and don’t have anything in the bank account, this is devastating,” said Joseph P. Kennedy II, chairman of Citizens Energy Corp., a Boston-based nonprofit. Kennedy’s company provides discounted oil to low-income residents and senior citizens. To help reduce bills, he said, the state should create an energy bank to finance energy-efficient home improvements.

 

An energy bank – that is an interesting idea. I also like the carbon taxes. We have a lot of work to do – time to get busy!
 

As always, if you have any interesting programming ideas, please let us know. We are booking speakers and workshops for the April Down:2:Earth event.

Today is officially BIKE FRIDAY! So I grabbed my bike at 7am and made my way from Arlington to City Hall Plaza where Nicole Freedman, Boston’s Bicycle Tzar and head of Boston Bikes, met me with some great bike schwag and breakfast. It was a perfect morning for riding to work, and I was joined by hundreds of other Bostonians, Newtonians, Lexingtonians, etc.

Cities really are just a bunch of neighborhoods, and this event made me feel like I was part of a community. I loved it. I met the people from Greenstreets, a great grass roots organization that is promoting alternative forms of transportation. They were happy to see that I wore green and I was happy to support their cause.

The next Bike Friday event is August 22nd, but don’t wait until then to get out your bike. It feels great to get into work with your adrenalin pumping. Ride bikes!

Zipcar was represented – we love Zipcar.

One week from today – Friday July 25th – Boston will host an official BIKE FRIDAY! Tell all of your colleagues and choose your best bike/casual-Friday outfit for work. I am already thinking that my black and white checkered Sara Campbell dress (local designer) will be perfect with my circa 1970 red three speed (as long as my wrench husband can fix it next week since I rattled it a bit on my commute home the other day and had to McGiver it with one of my hair bands). The skirt is full so I can easily ride my bike with it, and it has spaghetti straps for these hot summer days.

Let’s celebrate not using gas – exercising our bones – and good local fashion all in one day. Okay, not everyone has to wear a dress, but this is a great way to get into the habit of riding your bike to work. The website asks people to wear green – so I will have to look into my wardrobe to see what I have. I may end up with a green bow tied onto my black and white dress. Nobody’s perfect.

I know you have been thinking about it, so you have one week to get the tires checked, grease the chain and make sure you can find your lock (I have no idea where I left my lock). If safety is your concern, we will be escorted by police! Do it just to feel like a president – it is an election year after all.

If you are riding from Lexington or Arlington, I will see you on the ride! Read the website for all the details – ride bikes!

Sustainably yours,
The D2E team

We had to share this great innovation that has been making it’s way around the web. We discovered it on inhabitat, which is a great blog on sustainable innovation and design. They found in on flickr and unfortunately we do not know who created this wonderful contraption.

Boston is embracing the bike – and it is about time. (Above photo is from my bike commute to work yesterday. This is the traffic at Fresh Pond. I love riding past cars on my old three speed.)

I have never lived in such a car centered urban environment and I have lived in Washington DC, Budapest, Switzerland, NY NY and Portsmouth NH. Boston is the worst. I did not even need a car in any of the other cities. But when I moved to Boston it was a real challenge to go on job interviews in Watertown, Waltham, Boston and Cambridge without a car. The US in general makes it tough to live without a car, but that is a whole topic of it’s own for another day.

Let’s get back to the warm-and-fuzzy bike week celebrations. You can check out the Mass Bike Coalition site to keep up-to-date with all things bike in Massachusetts. I recommend becoming a member and getting on their mailing list. That is how I heard about the pancake breakfast this morning at Broadway Bikes. Unfortunately I could not attend the breakfast. My dog Lucy demanded that it was her turn to join me at work, so I took the bus. But tomorrow I bike!

Definitely read today’s article in the Globe – you have to see Mayor Menino in his track suit riding with all the other enthusiasts. It really is a sight to behold. He bought a Trek last year and has been focused on making Boston a bike friendly city every since. We love that!

“In July, the city plans to unveil its first designated bike lanes, on Commonwealth Avenue between the Boston University Bridge and Kenmore Square. The city may also add bike lanes to Massachusetts Avenue between Albany Street and Huntington Avenue, Tremont Street along Boston Common, and on American Legion Highway, which runs past Franklin Park.By year’s end, officials plan to install 250 bike racks across the city and 750 over the next three years.”

 

Wohooo! Beat traffic – get in shape – arrive to work in a great mood -
GET ON A BIKE!

I have been trying to bike to work 1-3 days a week. I will admit, I am a fair weather bicycle commuter. I don’t like to arrive to work with a mud stripe down my back. And Lucy, my dog, likes to accompany me to work at least 2-3 days a week. So I split my days between the bike and the bus/dog. But one day, my handy husband Ted will make a customized dog trailer for me so that Lucy can come to the office when I bike to work. Ahhhh… that will be sweet and I will be in great shape.