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Friend Steve and his riding partner Naomi are riding next weekend in the Best Buddies ride from Boston to Hyannisport. They invited me to join them for a training run. "We'll go see the flags on Boston Common -- then we will improvise".

Memorial Day was grey with rain in the forecast, but our commute into Boston was aided by little traffic. The sight of 37,000 flags, commemorating the Commonwealth's losses in battle dating back to the Revolution -- memorable. The photo gives you a sense, but it's definitely worth the visit.

Steve then suggested that we take advantage of the light traffic to go places we wouldn't normally want to cycle. We worked our way through downtown, into South Boston and down the waterfront to Dorchester. We paid our respects David Farragut ("Damn the Torpedoes - Full Speed Ahead") and to JFK (today marked his 100th birthday!), and then took advantage of a new bike path running along the Neponset River back to Mattapan Square - easy to forget we were in the "big city". Steve, who grew up in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, then led us on a wild ride through his old stomping grounds. Naomi and I felt a little like Mrs. Mallard's ducklings as Steve charged through intersections on yellow, but we all emerged safe. Up and over the Blue Hills -- back in the suburbs and headed home.

As I saw last Labor Day, holidays can provide opportunities to go places you normally wouldn't.