Head of the Charles This Weekend

The Head of the Charles Regatta returns this weekend with its exciting boat races, big crowds of cheering fans, corporate sponsor tents -- and inevitable tearing up of the lovely fields along the southern side of the Charles River at Herter Park and Artesani Park.  One major change from previous years:  there will no longer be a Saturday afternoon practice time, since that short time slot had resulted in as many as 700 shells working out on the river in two hour time window!

The Boston Globe has a series of stories on the event, along with a schedule of the Saturday and Sunday races and a viewer's guide.  

Where to watch it?



My favorite spot is from the downstream base of the Eliot Bridge on the Allston side.  At that location, the boats are nearing the end of navigating a hairpin corner -- and this spot is late enough in the race that many faster boats are trying to pass the slower ones.  (The slower boat is required to yield the inside lane to the faster boat...  but that doesn't always happen.)  The result:  inexperienced, slow boats end up close to running aground on the outer corner at the Cambridge Boat Club, and the occasional boat scrapes the supports of the Eliot Bridge; once I even saw a boat make a much harder collision with the bridge.  Fun for spectators, but not for the coxswains who need a stiff drink at the end of the race.

Lots of people like to stand along the top of the various bridges along these corners and peer over the side:  the Weeks Memorial Footbridge, the Larz Anderson Bridge, and the Eliot Bridge.

In case you didn't figure it out:  avoid Memorial Drive all weekend, and also avoid much of Soldiers Field Road while you're at it.

Bicycling Storrow Drive

Someone was bicycling down Storrow Drive recently at 11:30 pm without wearing any bright or reflective gear.

I have to admit that I have ridden my bicycle down Storrow Drive westbound -- twice.

I did so during daylight (not 11:30 pm), always with bright clothing (not dark blue), wearing a helmet, bicycling with traffic (not against it), etc.

I did so legally, but received dirty looks and gestures from the State Police. I don't think they believed someone would ride along there on a bike. Yes, it is legal to ride a bicycle along Storrow Drive (MGL 85-11B):

Every person operating a bicycle upon a way, as defined in section one of chapter ninety, shall have the right to use all public ways in the commonwealth except limited access or express state highways where signs specifically prohibiting bicycles have been posted...

Storrow Drive has no postings prohibiting bicycles, so they are therefore allowed.

Why would I do something so crazy as to ride on Storrow Drive?

I did it in the Esplanade section during massive daytime, weekend events, like something-or-other "Walk For [Against] Hunger." Otherwise I would've had to walk my bike through wall-to-wall people along the Esplanade, whacking people the whole way with my tires and handlebars. I hopped back onto the Paul Dudley White Bikepath somewhere near to the Harvard Bridge (i.e., Mass Ave). Storrow Drive traffic was so slow due to the events (especially with all the cars parked along the right-hand-side) that it wasn't dangerous at all.

Riding Soldiers Field Road west of the Eliot Bridge, and Memorial Drive (or Greenough Boulevard) all along the Charles are actually quite nice rides. Wide lanes, smooth surfaces, great for doing "time trial"-like training in the City. But don't try Nonantum Road eastbound... potholes the size of beavers line the right-hand lane. And I once saw a beaver along the side of the road there, where it approaches Brook Street, though he wasn't trying to build a dam in one of the potholes.