Greater City Providence

No more excuses, back on the bike.

Morning CommuteWe may not be past solstice yet, but it sure feels like spring is here. Now that we have a bit more daylight in the evenings, I’m out of excuses; it’s time to get back on the bike.

Yesterday I did my first bike commute of the season. The morning ride to work wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected despite sand on the roads and a relatively new scrap-metal yard on my route.

I live in Providence, but my office is in Warwick on the oh-so-bicycle-friendly Jefferson Boulevard. This last stretch of ride is the only time I find safety in riding on a sidewalk. No, it’s not ideal, but sharing the right-most of 4 lanes with tractor-trailers, pothole craters, and sand is just too scary for this guy. Instead, I trudge through about a mile of sandy sidewalk, weaving around grossly parked cars in adjacent lots, before ducking into the safety of a parking lot and side street that leads to my building.

I felt great on the ride in, such a beautiful morning. In the evening, it was even warmer. When I hopped back on the bike and headed down the street, I quickly realized which muscles had not been maintained over the winter…

I recently got my first GoPro camera, so I look forward to making some videos of my adventures. This video, by my friend Peter, not only got me interested in these cameras, but seriously makes me realize I need more Rule #5 want to get back on the bike every time I watch it.

Six Days to Glover from Peter Gengler on Vimeo.

Today, am I sore, but I am excited to be back at it. I need somebody to make me a shirt to wear while I’m biking that says “I’m blogging this.”

Matthew Coolidge

Matthew Coolidge is co-founder of Greater City Providence. In addition to the occasional blog post about cycling, sailing, or urban rant, he works as an Electrical Engineer, often traveling to major cities and ports around the globe, or simply Warwick.

2 comments

  • Welcome back to the club! The one time I’ve been on Jefferson Blvd, I felt it necessary to take to the sidewalk as well, so I don’t think you can feel too bad about that. Whenever I ride on the sidewalk, I feel like I need to pay even _more_ attention – watching for cars pulling in and out of parking lots because they are definitely not looking for a cyclist going 10-15 MPH.

  • Thanks carfreepvd! Today one of my coworkers biked in, so my unintentional peer-pressure is working!

    I’d love to see a redesign/road-diet of Jefferson Blvd. Same for Allens Ave… There really is no need for 4 lanes.

    And you’re right, no one expects to see a bike, so no one looks for ’em.

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