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Biking
Even expert cyclists who feel comfortable with Boston's layout (a tiny group) will be better off in Cambridge, which has bike lanes, or on the Boston area's many bike paths. State law requires that children under 12 wear helmets. Bicycles are forbidden on buses and the Green Line at all times, and during rush hours on the other lines of the subway system.
On summer Sundays from 11am to 7pm, a flat 1 1/2-mile stretch of Memorial Drive in Cambridge, from Western Avenue to the Eliot Bridge (Central Sq. to west Cambridge), closes to cars. It's also popular with pedestrians and in-line skaters, and it can get quite crowded. The Dr. Paul Dudley White Charles River Bike Path is an 18-mile circuit that begins at Science Park (near the Museum of Science) and runs along both sides of the river to Watertown and back. You can enter and exit at many points along the way. Bikers share the path with joggers and in-line skaters, especially in Boston near the Esplanade and in Cambridge near Harvard Square. The DCR (see the introduction to this section) maintains this path and the 5-mile Pierre Lallement Bike Path, in Southwest Corridor Park, which starts behind Copley Place and runs through the South End and Roxbury along the route of the MBTA Orange Line to Franklin Park. The 11-mile Minuteman Bikeway (www.minutemanbikeway.org) starts at Alewife station at the end of the Red Line in Cambridge. It runs through Arlington and Lexington to Bedford along an old railroad bed, and is a wonderful way to reach the historic sites in Lexington.
Rental shops require you to show a driver's license or passport and leave a deposit using a major credit card. Most charge around $5 an hour, with a minimum of at least 2 hours, or a flat daily rate of about $30. Rental companies include Back Bay Bicycles, 366 Commonwealth Ave., near Mass. Ave. (tel. 617/247-2336; www.backbaybicycles.com), and Community Bicycle Supply, 496 Tremont St., near East Berkeley Street (tel. 617/542-8623; www.communitybicycle.com). Across the river, try Cambridge Bicycle, 259 Mass. Ave. (tel. 617/876-6555; www.oldroads.com/cb.html), near MIT, or Ata Cycle, 1773 Mass. Ave. (tel. 617/354-0907; www.atabike.com), near Porter Square. For additional information, contact MassBike (tel. 617/542-BIKE; www.massbike.org).
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