The second half of my birthday in Boston involved a lot of aquatic life.  After having lunch I headed to the waterfront, and the New England Aquarium.  I had bought a combo ticket in advance for the aquarium itself and a trip on their whale watch boat. The aquarium had a new exhibit (though the … Read more

On my birthday bike trip, I spent my birthday itself in Boston and its suburbs.  I decided to give myself a break from the bike seat for the day, so I got around on foot and by public transit.  After breakfasting at my hotel, I walked a few blocks through a residential neighborhood to pick … Read more

Those in the know (and to be in the know, you only need to have read this page) will be aware that I turned 40 last month.  I had been thinking for a while about a special way to celebrate, and I decided that, given my increasing bicycling prowess, that I should take a long … Read more

A while back, I noticed a falcon sitting on the fire escape of an empty building in Holyoke that I pass on the way to work. I took a closer look after work, and saw that there was what looked like a nest in the top landing of the fire escape: In that blurry cell … Read more

Over Memorial Day weekend I took my bike for a longer ride.  I headed for the rail trail in Southwick, MA, which I’d been on once before. I began by riding on the usual trails through Northampton and Easthampton.  I came to what used to be the southwestern end of the Manhan trail, and prepared … Read more

On May 20, I participated in the third annual Hotel Bridge bike ride.  I’ve done this every year they’ve held it, and fortunately this year they planned for possible bad weather.  That is, they scheduled a rain date a week later (last year it rained most of the day of the ride, and I rode … Read more

So this year I decided to get a new bike.  Just as 4 years ago I bought a hybrid because I wanted something faster than my old mountain bike, I wanted to upgrade to something lighter and faster than the hybrid (and that I could take on longer rides).  I visited my local bike shop … Read more

In May I participated in the Northampton LGBT Pride parade with a group from work for the third year in a row.  This year the parade route went a different direction than it had previously.  Instead of progressing into downtown, with the rally in a parking lot there, the parade started downtown and went out … Read more