Best urban bike route
From Bedford to Lexington to Arlington to Cambridge ... no, it's not the car-pool schedule for a Saturday-morning soccer game. It's the path of the Minuteman Bikeway, the 11-mile trail that passes through and is maintained by each of those towns. On any given day, you'll see bikers, joggers, and those brisk-walker types taking advantage of its level course, which snakes along some of the region's most sprawling open spaces. There are openings where you can step off and take a hike, or just indulge in a moment of Zen among birds whose songs aren't interrupted by the blare of traffic. (Arlington's Great Meadow, for instance, is 183 acres of publicly owned wetlands with trails that accommodate even cross-country skiing.) Built along an inactive railway, the Minuteman was honored as the 500th of its kind in the country by the Rails-to-Trails Conservatory. The course finishes off at the Alewife T station, so in addition to its having a historic allure that draws bikers from all over to navigate the land where the Revolution began, it's also an environmentally conscious way for commuters from nearby 'burbs to save a pretty penny on gas as they head to work in Boston. For those already in the Hub who need a place to pedal, the Charles River Esplanade offers 17 miles of a sweeping urban vista - from Cambridge's halls of knowledge to the skyline that Ally McBeal fastened in our collective cultural memory - along its Charles River loop from the Museum of Science to Watertown Square on the Storrow Drive side, then a return trip that winds along Memorial Drive. And there are plenty of bridges in between, should you need to cut the ride short.

The Minuteman Bikeway, www.minutemanbikeway.org.