I had planned to come to the city today, but that was about as far as my plan got. I parked at Center Plaza parking garage, stepped out, and that's when I made my decision: I would try riding Hubway bikes around the city. One problem: no helmet. After doing some research, I learned that there are retailers who sell subsidized helmets around the city. So I bought a subsidized helmet at the CVS across the street from the Hubway station for $9.99.
For $6, you get a 24 hour membership. This allows you to make as many trips as you want within 24 hours. Each trip must be 30 minutes or less, or you will be charged extra. If you're planning a long trip, this would seem to be a challenge. But it turns out this is not a huge problem. Just turn your bike in at another station before 30 minutes is up, wait two minutes, and check out another bike for another 30 minutes! Not sure this is how they intend it to be used, but it worked!
I picked up my first bike at City Hall Plaza, right next to the Government Center T station.Fun fact: the path closest to the pond is for pedestrians only! I did not realize this until I got halfway around, and was told by a very friendly Park Ranger that I should be using the bike path. I took the shame and walked my bike to the proper path, which sadly does not have a nice view of the pond like the pedestrian path. Lesson learned! After this point, I did take note of the 'no bike' signs at the entrances to certain paths, but I honestly didn't see them when I first arrived! I biked the rest of the way around the pond up on the bike trail close to the road.
Returned my bike at the Hubway station in Brookline Village, next to the Brookline Village T station. I ended up paying a bit extra, since there are no Hubway stations around Olmsted Park or Jamaica Pond and it took longer than 30 minutes to get back to this station. At this point I was feeling pretty beat, and didn't feel like biking another 35 minutes to get back to Government Center. So I hopped on the T and enjoyed a nice sit-down. Phew!