500 Pedal to Rally on Bike Day

To demonstrate that bicycles are a realistic pollution-free alternative to automobiles, more than 500 people biked yesterday from Cambridge, Newton, Lexington and other outlying suburbs to a noon rally at the Boston Common.

"Bike Day's" Cambridge contingent gathered at 11 a.m. on the Cambridge Common and biked to Boston via Mass. Ave, and Commonwealth Ave. Enroute, cyclists passed under the crossed ladders of Cambridge fire engines, which set up their formation at the request of Cambridge Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci.

The sun was shining and the sky was clear, but 50-degree weather stung those who raced along. Bicycles varied from unicycles built-in the 1880's to tenspeed Peugeots.

Rally

At the noon rally, Joseph E. Curtis, Boston's Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, said, "I'm terribly aware of how primitive we are in the matter of bike trails and bike paths."

Curtis said that Boston is applying for grant money to clear a bicycle path around the city. Construction should be under way by next spring, he said.

Dare, Inc., a group that provides residence programs for young people with-out homes, organized Bike Day. A Dare spokesman said, "There's no reason why we shouldn't be riding bikes into the city. We shall return next spring and ask those in responsibility, 'What have you done?"

In an interview at the Boston Common, Vellucci said that Cambridge owns thousands of acres of reservoirs and surrounding land in Lincoln, Weston, and Waltham. "We could make nice bike paths and picnic tables there," he suggested.

Asked if there was any hope for the more congested part of the City, Vellucci grinned and replied, "We should build a nice bike path in the middle of Harvard Yard. And we should use Harvard Stadium for bike racing."