Celebrate the Birthday of Cars by Riding a Bike

On this day 112 years ago, in Springfield, Mass., the brothers Charles and Frank Duryea offered for sale the first commercially successful gasoline-powered car. Were the state of the world a little bit different, Bostonist would expect this date to be the cause of some celebration (at least on the Springfield tourism site, which has absolutely no mention of it) - after all, we are Americans, and cars are what we're about. But gas costs a gazillion dollars, ninety-nine cents, and nine-tenths per gallon right now, making many folks turn to the product that the Duryea boys manufactured before they got into the car game: bicycles. To that end, local do-gooder organization Digital Bridge has put together Hub on Wheels, a bicycle festival with guided rides around town, which will take place in Franklin Park this coming Sunday, September 25. There will be rides around Boston of 15, 25, and 40 miles and various bike-related spectacles in the park - and it's all cheaper than a gallon of gas ('cause it's free). They also need volunteers earlier in the week to help with preparations and such. What better way to celebrate the birth of the American automobile than by doing some bike-friendly work for your fellow Bostonians?