Ride Bikes!

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.

Tags: bike, Transportation, Zipcar

Now a Zipster

I recently took my first trip in a Zipcar. Right after signing up for the Boston-based car-sharing service at Altwheels, I won $100 of free driving on the Zipcar prize wheel, and decided to use it to visit a friend in Connecticut.

I reserved a Nissan Versa online, like a library book, and after my reservation time started, the car unlocked for my Zipcard, like a fob. The person who used the car before me left the tank on empty, so I had to figure out how to use their gas card to refuel at 6am. It was so cold! But it was pretty easy. I swiped the debit-like gas card, and since Zipcar pays for gas, there was no need to search for the cheapest price, I just went to the gas station near my apartment.

After not driving for 6 months, it was definitely weird stepping into a car I had never driven and traveling such a long distance, in steady rain. I had to mentally restrain myself from signaling with my arm when I wanted to turn, like I do on my bike!

I returned home, parked, and removed all my belongings, right before my reservation ended at midnight on a Friday. But as soon as I had locked the car, I heard hissing coming from the back right tire. I called Zipcar and spoke with a friendly woman who recorded the issue and said, “you’re all set!” I couldn’t imagine having to deal with changing a tire at midnight after a long day trip. Thank you, Zipcar!

I’m really excited to be a Zipster, and I’m looking forward to my next trip. Next, I’ll reserve a mini-Coop or a Prius for a little more fun.

Tags: Transportation, Zipcar