A Sunday Bike Ride on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, MA

Photo Credit: Frank Hebbert

Photo Credit: Frank Hebbert


The city of Cambridge closes Memorial Drive
 during the warm weather months on Sundays from 11 am to 7 pm. Along the Charles River between Western Avenue and Mount Auburn Street, a closed off Memorial Drive provides an urban, but car free, biking experience with wide, flat lanes that are great for children and adults of all ages. Kids on tricycles will be about. There’s no reason to be afraid to bust out your single gear beachcomber or campus cruiser. Memorial Drive offers fantastic views of the Boston skyline. Spotting the rowers and kayaks floating down the Charles is likely to have you soon plotting a day on the river. Make it a great day by purchasing sandwiches and related picnic supplies at Cardullos in Harvard Square. And don’t be afraid to select a craft beer or two from their wonderful selection.

That’s the good stuff.  The bad stuff is you that there aren’t any public restrooms along Memorial Drive. And if you need to rent a bike or a carrier to tow the kids, the nearest bike rental shop is 1.3 miles away from the intersection of Western and Memorial. That’s not terribly far. But if you’ve got little kids to watch over, it might be.

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