on a train home last week, a fellow biker chided me for being scared to bike on the parts of Washington St. that don’t have a bike lane. so this morning I decided to give it a try. I rode from Washington St. in Islington (a.k.a. Westwood) through Dedham and Roslindale (and over Bellevue Hill) to Forest Hills.

scaling Bellevue Hill was easier than I remembered, and heading down the other side was less harrowing than last time. the only scary moment was when a UPS truck came within a foot or so of me on the part w/o a bike lane. other than that I was fine.

this was also my first attempt at taking the Jamaicaway bike path. instead of messing with the awkward transition from the Arnold Arboretum to the pond, I rode up the Pierre Lallement bikeway to Green St and then headed west to Jamaicaway. the bike path is great, with far fewer intersections than the Southwest Corridor so you can really get moving and make some time. the un-fun parts of this were crossing Rt. 9, and heading down Beacon St from the end of the path. next time I may try going to the end of the Emerald Necklace at Boylston, as much as I hate Mass Ave.