The Power of Two Wheels
September 15, 2006
There is no feeling more undervalued than that of riding a bicycle—feeling the wind in your face, the air whooshing through your clothes, the utter smoothness and freedom of the ride as your legs exert just enough pressure to keep you rolling.
For those who aren’t avid cyclists, becoming reacquainted with a new or used bicycle can be a mind-blowing, life-changing experience, especially when you’re in college. However, when living in a city like Boston, where the drivers are less than renowned for their courteousness on the road, riding a bicycle can be one of the most frightening experiences of your life. The challenges posed are greater (so many cars, so little space to roll alongside them), the concerns heightened (Am I going to be hit by this car? Is someone going to steal my bike even if I have two locks securing it to a sign post?).
We all know that Boston is an amazing college town. Full of history and architectural prowess, and overflowing with restaurants and shops, quaint streets and beautiful neighborhoods, it begs to be explored. If I ever gave one piece of advice to readers, this is it: do not wait until your junior year (speaking from experience) to discover what this town has to offer. How to do it? By bicycle, of course.
Enter Urban AdvenTours, a small company based in Fenway specializing in guided bike tours of Boston. The staff at Urban AdvenTours, made up of bike-loving urbanites (some who have full-time jobs in addition to leading tours—they love it that much), is committed to showing off the beauty and historical wealth of their city while increasing (a) your appreciation for cycling, and (b) your confidence in biking through traffic.
Founder and ChiefWheel Officer Andrew Prescott also emphasizes the environmental mission of his three year old business.
“I was an accountant for four years and I biked to work. There got to be a point when I realized that the environment was more important than crunching numbers and making money. Urban AdvenTours isn’t just about tourism. We have a mission, to get people thinking more about riding and helping the environment,” he said.
This zeal for environmentalism can be seen in the recent acquisition of an old ice cream truck, which Andrew uses to drop off and pick up bike rentals from hotels and homes across the city. The vehicle, which runs on vegetable oil collected from the restaurant Prezza in the North End, is plastered with not only the Urban AdvenTours logo, but stickers from various other partnerships: Bikes not Bombs, Hub on Wheels, Livable Streets, and Mass Bike.
“It’s added a lot,” Prescott said. “It’s great for advertising, and just getting the word out.”
Combining fitness, environmentalism, and sightseeing into one exciting outing, Urban AdvenTours is an amazing opportunity to see the city in a more comprehensive and intimate manner than say, riding the trolley or going on a Duck Tour.
Prescott likes keeping the groups small (never more than ten people) to ensure personal attention and safety. My Saturday afternoon tour group consisted of two female friends from Miami, and a young British couple. Patty Freyre, one of the women from Miami, had been to Boston a half a dozen times but had never done a bike tour.
“It gave me a different view of the city,” she said. “Walking is too slow, driving is too fast. You miss things. But biking is a great way to see Boston. I really enjoyed it. It was great.”
Lasting about two and a half hours, the City View tour in which I partook on a gloriously sunny and mild Saturday afternoon was an excellent introduction to Boston’s neighborhoods and hot spots. Our guide, Ed Ballo, who works at MIT and has been a Boston tour guide for twenty years, was a fountain of knowledge. Every four or five minutes we would stop and Ed would spew forth facts on the area’s history and architecture.
“Boston is a very enjoyable city to see without a car,” said Ballo. “Moving fast, moving smoothly is what attracts me to biking. I like the people who do it too. They have active bodies and minds; they aren’t afraid of dealing with the city.”
Before we got under way, I wasn’t so much afraid as nervous. But by the end of the tour, my nerves had been completely quelled and my beaming face proved it. Never had I imagined covering so much ground in less than three hours, not even noticing the time go by, and having an amazing time doing it. What a wonderful way to spend a weekend afternoon.
Here is a brief overview of spots we hit: the Fens Park and Fenway stadium, Back Bay, the Christian Science Center, the Prudential Tower, the South End and Copley Square, the Mall along Commonwealth Avenue, the Public Gardens, the Commons, Park Street, Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, the North End and the site of the Old North Church, the Boston Shipyard, Cambridge and MIT, and the esplanade along the Charles River.
Urban AdvenTours caters entirely to its clients, as is evidenced by the various types of tours offered (Photography, Art and Architecture, City View), and by its willingness to accomodate groups of any size and to customize tours on the basis of skill level, sights of interests, and time constraints. Each of the nine tour guides is unique in their knowledge of and relationship to the city, which guarantees a distinctive experience each time.
If at any point during your college career you are able to obtain a bicycle, do yourself a favor and get one. It will change your life. Not just to ride around campus, but to get off it too!
Prescott’s words on the Urban AdvenTours website state it perfectly: “Boston is notorious for its vast history and quaint community districts. Don’t just drive by! Truly experience all that this city has to offer, up close, the way it was meant to be seen…by way of bicycle. “
Well said.
Tours cost fifty dollars, but group discounts are available. Prescott encourages any student groups or organization to try the tours as a team-building, leadership experience. Rental bikes cost twenty-five dollars per person, helmets included. Check out their website at urbanadventours.com.