Hubway Releases a Unicorn Bike into the Wild

Hubway’s “Emerald Explorer” bike. DESIGN BY AMY FATER OF CHARLESTOWN

In mid-July, Hubway asked its riders to help design a new “unicorn” bike—their name for the rare, one-of-a-kind bicycles that stand apart in some way from the fleet of green and gray. The public voted on five submissions, and now, Hubway will release the victorious unicorn into the wild for you to seek. This is your quest, noble Hubway user, should you choose to accept it.

In an online vote, Boston chose the “Emerald Explorer” bike, one imprinted with a map of the Charles River and the Esplanade. The shape rather neatly fits the frame. And at noon on Thursday at the Harvard Information Center, Hubway will debut it, a lone diamond in the Hubway rough.

What glories await the hero who finds this unicorn? Like those jeans in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, might the “Emerald Explorer” confer greatness on its user? Think of it: For one brief ride, you will be a cycling God. Lights will magically turn green as you roll up to them, and potholes will fill themselves before you. You will not be car-doored; rather, car doors will be Hubwayed. You are the great and mysterious rider of the Emerald Explorer. Thirty-foot-wide bike lanes stretch out before you, and Boston is one glorious downhill, yours for the taking as you coast to your destination, which you will reach long before the 30-minute mark, lest you owe a tribute of $1.50.*

*None of these things will happen, and you should definitely still watch for red lights and car doors. But hey, if you get lost in the Back Bay, at least you’ll have a handy map of Boston painted onto your bike frame. So that’s a benefit.