An Autumn Ride Through Metro Boston Saturday, October 20, 2012

After an 8:00 am meeting and my weekly visit to the Roslindale Farmers Market, I headed off across
the city to see fall colors on big trees in the Cedar Grove Cemetery in Dorchester. Then I rode north
along the Neponset Trail, through Port Norfolk, around Columbia Point, down Old Colony Ave. to the
South Bay Harbor Trail along the Fort Point Channel and the Rose Kennedy Greenway (including missing
bits) and a food truck crepe for lunch to Paul Revere Park in Charlestown and under the Zakim Bridge
to North Point Park in Cambridge for an exploration of the route of the Community Path toward
Davis Square in Somerville. Then, after a quick visit with a friend, it was another ride across the
city back to Neponset Circle for the annual Pumpkin Float on Davenport Creek, an after-party at
the nearby, recently-renovated house of a friend, and a bike ride across Dorchester home to Roslindale.

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All photos are by Jessica Mink, Masspaths.net
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The Trees of Cedar Grove Cemetery The Urban Forest Council of the Boston Natural Areas Network sponsored a walk through the glorious fall colors of the Cedar Grove Cemetery in south Dorchester, near the Neponset River.

Along the Neponset Estuary to Columbia Point and South Boston Picking up the Neponset Trail at Granite Avenue, I continued along its present and future route along the shore to Columbia Point, then via Old Colony Ave. to the Fort Point Channel and the South Bay Harbor Trail.

Port Norfolk Detouring briefly off the route of the Neponset Trail, I toured the tiny but cute Port Norfolk neighborhood in Dorchester between the Southeast Expressway and the Neponset River Estuary.

North along the Harbor The off-street Neponset Trail ends in Tenean Beach, but pieces will someday be assembled into a continuous path on to Columbia Point.

Columbia Point The most beautiful stretch of the Neponset Trail is at the northern end of the estuary as an existing path wraps around this penninsula along the shore past UMass/Boston and the Kennedy Library. The north coast has gorgeous views of South and Downtown Boston across the bay.

Fort Point Channel I left the Harborpath at Carson Beach in South Boston and took Old Colony Ave. across south Boston to join the South Bay Harbor Trail along Fort Point Channel following that path, up and down stairs along the Channel, to the Old Northern Ave. Bridge into Boston Proper.

Rose Kennedy Greenway If you slow down, the Greenway is a pleasant place to bike and stop for a quick crepe or cheese sandwich for lunch.

Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge I wandered around beneath Boston's iconic bridge, checking out the paths which almost cross the river next to the Commuter Rail tracks as well as the river crossing over the locks at the dam and the new bicycle/pedestrian bridge which crosses the tracks between Paul Revere Park in Charlestown and North Point Park in Cambridge.

The Community Path The Somerville Community Path will eventually be the most direct off-street link between the Minuteman Bikeway in Cambridge and the Charles River and downtown Boston. The Friends of the Community Path led groups by bike and on foot along the trail from North Point in Cambridge to the current end of the trail at Cedar St. in Somerville.

Millers River Path The bike group split to see the new North Bridge and visited the quirky Millers River Path as well before heading toward Somerville.

Neponset Greenway Pumpkin Float After we finished the Community Path tour, and visiting a Somerville friend, I zoomed across Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston to Davenport Creek in Pope John Paul II Park on the Neponset River, at Boston's southern edge, to help float a record number of jack-o-lanterns for our 11th year. There are more pictures, including one with me launching pumpkins, at Boston.com.