Rhode Island Coast RIde

Tandem ride on Saturday June 12 2010. The Rhode Island coast is a great place to bike: smooth roads, flat, relatively little traffic. Rural seacoast towns, the Westport city signs even saying "A Right to Farm Community". Starting at Westport Elementary School we went south to Gooseberry Neck (photo above), then north to Tiverton. South along a beautiful srip along the Sakonnet river, then on to Little Compton for lunch, including fantastic local strawberry shortcake. Route is shown below. Click on "Show Details" for more, and you can even vicariously share the ride by clicking on the "Player" link once you are at the Garmin Connect page.

Got lucky with the weather. Despite threats of thundershowers, we only had brief periods of real rain, and temps were warm enough to avoid a chill depite our blazing speed.

Photos show views of Sakonnet river and an example of the many types of beautiful stone walls seen along this route. Could do a full photo album just showing these walls, and surrounding plantings. Hydrangeas are abundant, at this time of year just beginning to show mature flower blooms (should have taken a photo!). Also saw lupines, and of course the ubiquitous invasives mutliflora rose and honeysuckle.

The dock at Westport Point combines commercial and pleasure uses. Saw a sign "Shellfish Hatchery" and these lobster cages.

Central Square, MIT, Harvard Square; March 2007

Some photos from around Central Square, MIT, and Harvard Square, Cambridge MA.

Early March 2007.


You can't say we don't take Saint Patty's day very seriously here in the Boston area. This countdown started well in advance of the big GREEN day, displayed prominently in the window of a liquor store just outside the Central Square T station.

The MIT Prajnapaya (and others) sponsored the creation of the "Wheel of Life" sand mandala in the Simmons residence hall at MIT. The sand mandala can be viewed at http://web.mit.edu/metta/mandala/stillshot.shtml

(this page also features some beautiful chanting by Tenzin Priyadarshi).

Surrounding the sand mandala were beautiful flower and natural object arrangements like the one shown above, by Faxon Green www.greensgardens.com.

The mandala was created over a period of about a week by Lobsang Samten, and dismantled in a "dissolution ceremony" on March 10 and poured into the Charles River. Talk about an excercise in letting go!

This very cool bike was spotted chained to a gate near Harvard yard. A famous Kronan bike, very cool, very heavy. Design originates with the Swedish army. I do wish all armies would limit their equipment to bicycles, picnic baskets, musical instruments and the like.