Ciclismo Classico Offers Boston-Based Day Rides This Summer
As owner of this Arlington-based biking outfitter, Lauren Hefferon has been featured in a number of my stories, including this article for The Boston Globe on how to get fit before a bike trip. Ciclismo Classico’s specialty is biking in Italy, including fantastic trips to Sardinia, Sicily, and Tuscany. But due to the nature of current events, Lauren is focusing on North American options this summer, with scheduled group trips to the Finger Lakes, North Carolina, and Colonial Williamsburg, among others.
New this summer is her 29-mile day trip from Arlington called the Battle Road Bike Tour that she’ll be offering on select dates throughout June, July, and August. You’ll pedal along the path of battle taken on April 19, 1775 in Lexington, Bedford and Concord. In addition to this Battle Road Ride, Lauren will also be developing several local 3-4 hour bicycle tours for small groups (10-15) with expert local bicycle guides that will immerse people of all ages and abilities in the rich cultural offerings of our own backyard. Each will follow a robust historic and culinary theme and a behind the scenes view of the cultural significance of places like:
The Ports and Harbors of the North Shore
The Mill Towns and Hamlets of Middlesex County
The Grand Tour of Boston By Bike
Additionally, she will be offering cycling instruction and ensure that every cyclist is COVID safe as well as improving their cycling skills to be safe and confident cyclists.
If interested in any of Ciclismo Classico’s trips, please contact ActiveTravels and we’ll help arrange.
Cape Cod is so close to Boston that I often drive there on a day trip, which is exactly what I plan to do a week from today with the family. This is the ride we usually do. We start on Main Street in Orleans in the lot next to Orleans Cycle and head out on the Cape Cod Rail Trail toward Eastham. Soon we pass the velvety marsh, where red-winged blackbirds sit atop the swaying cattails and cormorants dry their wings on floating docks. At Locust Road, we veer right off the CCRT and cross over Route 6 to reach the Cape Cod National Seashore Visitor Center. This is the start of a 2-mile bike trails that sweeps up and down through the forest and marsh, leaving you off at Coast Guard Beach, recently named one of the top 10 beaches in America. However, I think the beach up the road, Nauset Light, is more scenic, backed by towering dunes. We lock up our bikes and walk down the stairs to relax and go for a dip. 
There’s no longer a need to deplete your life savings when selecting a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. You simply have to look beyond the convenience of contacting big name American outfitters who charge exorbitant prices for their worldwide trips (often in excess of $1,000 per day, excluding airfare). Instead, book your journey with highly reputable local outfitters whose sole specialty is their native country. This way, you eliminate the middleman and pocket the huge savings. All five of the outfitters I’ll blog about this week will give you a far more in-depth look at their homeland than any American guide could possibly do, at a fraction of the cost. First stop, Brittany.
Take a chunk of Vermont and plop it down in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and voila, you have Prince Edward Island. This sylvan setting lends itself well to road biking, especially in the spring when the summer crowds have yet to arrive. The Canadian Pacific railroad that once connected Prince Edward Island’s small villages last roared through the interior in 1989, leaving in its wake hundreds of kilometers of track. By 2000, the tracks were pulled and the line replaced with a surface of finely crushed gravel, creating a biking and walking thoroughfare called the 
Hiking from Italy’s Gran Paradiso to the Matterhorn, a multisport African safari in Namibia, Rhine River Cruise bike tour, and hiking in Oman are just a few of the trips