Nice Ride shut down rentals of its communal bikes on November 4 this winter season. As crews moved from block to block to haul away the docking stations, they signaled more than the end of easy access to cheap, convenient, eco-friendly transportation for novice bikers, visitors, or bike owners with a ride on the side. No, they foreshadowed something more ominous: the end of outdoor activity. For the next four months, the only travelers in our Cities' hard-won and well-loved biked lanes were the die-hard, goggle-wearing type (or the wayward car), as the rest of us looked out on gray perma-snowbanks where the Nice Ride stations had been. By April, though, those snowbanks started to melt. And as they did, joggers, bikers, and unicyclers began appearing on our streets and trails again, along with flashes of green: tree leaves, flower sprouts, and the distinctive bright lime of the Nice Rides, back for their fourth season.