The GIA group has been busy. Check out the sugar bowl, halloween decorations, Botanical traipsing and the elusive albino squirrel sighting! Link to the photos is on the Blogroll.

To finish out the summer, Bikes Not Bombs youth programs headed out to Martha’s Vineyard for a weekend of riding and relaxing.

The trip was a cornucopia of transportation methods, beginning with a commuter rail ride to Providence. From there, the group biked 20 miles (!) to the Quonsett ferry.

From the ferry in Martha’s Vineyard it was another 8 mile ride to the hostel. A lot of riding you say? Yes! certainly was. Some folks put in over eighty miles on the weekend. It was a real accomplishment for many of our young people who had never ridden any more than a few miles at one time. Bike-a-thon 62-miler, here they come!

On Saturday we RELAXED, went to the beach, kayaked about, ate s’mores, and played some foosball and monopoly. There was a family of ducks that lived in the backyard of the hostel, and they graciously quacked us to sleep at night.

The next day it was all of that exciting travel from Friday, except in reverse. It should be noted that ferry travel is particularly well suited for letting your hair or hat fly in the wind.

When we got back, everyone was thoroughly exhausted. The trip was great for team bonding and community building amongst youth programs staff and participants. It also gave way to the invention of the peanut butter, trail mix, and jelly sandwich, or the PBTMJ and the realization that Tofu dogs can be delightful when prepared raw.

On the whole, a very delightful trip and a great way to end the summer.

MYRIDE, Multicultural Youth Riding in Diverse Environments, is a youth-led bike tour of Boston’s South End, Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods, followed by a celebratory barbecue. Is a wondereful bike ride through the landscapes of Boston as we explored the history of people who have created the parks that we all enjoy in the Boston area. MYTOWN and Bikes Not Bombs youth leaders have led the ride and the tour stops.