Boston Cafe Bikers hosts weekly rides to cafes and other destinations around the Boston area, with many rides starting or ending in Cambridge and Somerville. The group has been to cafes including New Leaf Espresso in Spring Hill, Somerville, Asaro Cafe in Mid-Cambridge and La Saison in Neighborhood 9, Cambridge. It visits a different cafe each week. This weekend features two rides to Michette in East Somerville and Tilde in North Cambridge.
“I started to think, what are the reasons someone would feel prohibited against getting on a bike and going places, or using one for commuting?” said the group’s founder, Aman Shankardass, after riding with a new Boston resident. “I hope to leave people with more confidence and understanding of how to get around Boston and the surrounding neighborhoods, where their friends might live and where they might move to, and to know that they can get around anywhere in the Boston area safely.”
Boston Cafe Bikers hosted a recent ride that started at Fresh Pond in Cambridge and ended at Portico Brewing in Boynton Yards, Somerville, in a collaboration with Cambridge Bike Safety. “As someone new to riding in the city, Boston Cafe Bikers was very welcoming and supportive. Riding in a group helped me feel so much more comfortable,” attendee Avery Hamlin said. It was their first ride with Boston Cafe Bikers. “I’m looking forward to taking the bike out more.”
Weekly cafe rides are usually 3 to 5 miles long and involve a mix of multiuse paths, quiet streets and the occasional harder intersection or road. Starting locations, destinations and routes are friendly to the Bluebike rental system. “I feel like most people who are just casually biking are going to just use Google Maps, so I like the realistic nature of it [for route planning]. It has a mix of protected bike paths, weird intersections, great intersections, bike boxes, and no path is going to be the same,” Shankardass said.
The group is named for its weekly cafe ride, but is expanding its offerings. It hosted a ride to the Boston Pride parade, a family ice cream ride to Lizzy’s Ice Cream in Harvard Square on Mother’s Day, and is starting weekday morning commuting rides.
“It’s been fun to see how close-knit this community is. There are a lot of people who want to be involved and want to grow this community,” Shankardass said.
Several programs are welcoming to community, including newcomers. The City of Cambridge hosts learn-to-ride workshops for beginners and about on-road skills and road readiness. The City of Boston hosts similar workshops. The Somerville iCan Bike program helps people with disabilities ages 8-plus gain confidence and independence while learning how to ride a bike. The Bicycle Riding School in Somerville teaches people, 5 years old and older, to ride.
Boston Cafe Bikers posts its ride schedule on Instagram, WhatsApp and Partiful. A website is coming soon.
Bike activities calendar
A Better City TMA guided ride (recurring). Join the A Better City transportation management association on a guided ride around its urban loop. This 1 p.m. Saturday ride is led by Meet Boston star Matthew Dickey (@streetscapecurator). The loop takes approximately 90 minutes. Sign up to reserve your free spot.
Boston Cafe Bikers (recurring). Boston Cafe Bikers ride at 11 a.m. Saturday from Fenway to Michette in East Somerville for croissants and coffee. Free. Register on Partiful. The group starts at 10 a.m. Sunday in Watertown and takes the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway to Tilde in North Cambridge. Free. Register on Partiful.
Healthy Aging: Cycling series for adults 55 and older. The City of Cambridge hosts this series, with June 18 and June 25 being the final dates listed. Rides move at an easy pace, with dedicated social time before each outing to foster conversation and connection. Free, but register.
About The Author
