The Cambridge Bicycle Committee Presents

The “Sweet Ride”

Delicious bike design by Britta Hope Carlson

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Orientation at 10:00 AM at the Main Library, 449 Broadway

Ride departs promptly at 10:15 AM

Ride Brochure and Map
Ride FAQ

We all know living in Cambridge is sweet. But did you know we have a sweet history?

Fig Newtons were created in Cambridge and named after our neighboring town. The NECCO building on Mass Ave was for a time the largest candy factory in the world. Fifteen million Junior Mints are still being made each day on Main Street, perfuming Central Square with the delightful scent of chocolate.

On May 18 we’ll wind our way past these and other site representing our sweet history. Staring at the Cambridge Library and high school grounds on Broadway, we’ll cruise east to take in the historic candy factory district around Kendall Square and Area 4. Our route loops back to the library where we’ll stop for treats contributed by the current crop of local candy makers.

There’s a lot that’s sweet about our city but let’s not forget the savory either. It was Zachariah B. Porter’s restaurant in North Cambridge that gave us both Porter Square and the Porterhouse steak. Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” which raised the culinary standards of the nation, was published while she lived on Irving Street.

The second half of our ride heads west from the library, though Harvard Square, pursuing the ghosts of the Tasty, the Wursthaus, and the recently departed Casablanca. After a short stop at the Schlesinger Library, where we’ll be treated to a selction of documents from their Julia Child collection, our route will pass through the city’s fine eating districts, ending with a trip past Julia Child’s former Cambridge home.

Please join us for a gorgeous springtime ride, at an easy pace, on mostly level terrain. No rain date: heavy rain cancels. Rain announcements will be posted here on the morning of the ride. Like all our tours, this ride is free of charge.

Thanks to our sponsors

Locations along the route

See the location descriptions for 40 sites in Google Maps

Send email to info [at] cambridgebikes [dot] org for more information.