Boston Biker
Traffic Advisory: BU Bridge
DCR CREWS WORKING ON BU BRIDGE
Cambridge-to-Boston traffic will be detoured to the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge
WHAT: Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) crews will be installing barriers in preparation for the first phase of construction on the BU Bridge, which carries traffic over the Charles River between Cambridge and Boston. During the work, all Cambridge-to-Boston lanes will be closed and traffic will be detoured to the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge. Only buses and emergency vehicles will be allowed in the Cambridge-to-Boston direction. One lane of Boston-to-Cambridge traffic will remain open.
WHEN: Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night October 28, 29, 30 7 p.m. – 5 a.m. each night
WHERE: BU Bridge Between Cambridge and Boston
Related Posts:You Can’t Trust Anyone These Days
Someone said to me the other day “You know you just can’t trust anyone these days.” as they locked up their bicycle with a large sturdy U-lock. The obvious implication was that we needed a huge chunk of hardened steel to affix to our bicycle in order to run quickly into a store because if we didn’t our bikes would instantly be whisked away by the scoundrels just waiting to take them. This got to me thinking about trust, and transportation and bicycles.
The idea of public trust has been stewing in my brain for the last couple of days, something just struck me as wrong about my friends statement. On the way into work a couple of days ago it struck me what I didn’t like about that statement. You can in fact trust people these days! In fact we put more trust in total strangers these days than ever before. If anything our lives are so wrapped up in trusting strangers that I started to get nervous with just how much trust I was putting in complete strangers. First I thought about money (how we just trust that people will take it and that it is worth something). Then I thought about food (how many people touch it before it gets to me and what they could do to it). Finally I started to think about biking, that’s when I really started to freak out.
A few examples:
White paint on the ground
There is a little strip of white paint down the center of the road, on each side cars race by at 50 mph. That little white stripe is about 1 millimeter high, and most likely worn lower by time and tires…it is not going to stop anything bigger than a dust mite. The only thing keeping that massive truck bearing down on you from smashing into you, killing you and everyone in the car, is trust. You trust the driver of that truck not to cross that tiny little white line. Everyone else puts the same trust in you. The little white line doesn’t protect you, it is a symbol of the trust that does.
Light bulbs on wires
There are sets of light bulbs, one red, one yellow, and one green hung off wires at intersections. The light from these bulbs is visible for several hundred feet, but the force of the protons emitting from the bulbs themselves will do little more than tussle up some air atoms. They certainly wont stop the cars traveling in opposite directions about to smash into each other at the intersection. The only thing that keeps the drivers from smashing into each other is the trust that one will stop when they see the red, and one will go when they see the green. Every time you go through a green light you are trusting every other human driver at that intersection to stop for you. The same way they trust you not to run them down when they have the green. The light is only a symbol of that trust, not the actual thing that keeps you safe.
If you think about it almost all of our traffic control systems are either lights, or paint, or other similar “symbolic” control devices. You trust others and they trust you. On an average trip you are placing your very life in the hands of hundreds if not thousands of total strangers. Think about that for a second…I know I was a bit shaken by this revelation (especially considering how stupid people can be sometimes). The reason why you are alive to read this is because no one has crossed the center line, or run a red light, or any of the many other things they could have done easily and killed you.
The story of the boy who cried wolf is a good example. The little boy kept doing things that eroded the shared trust of the village (screaming that there was a wolf when there was none) and when he really needed help (a wolf did show up) no one trusted him and he was eaten. Breaking that shared trust doesn’t just get you eaten by wolves, it ruins the whole system. Imagine if a whole bunch of little boys were crying wolf. How could the village stay safe if they were always getting false reports of danger? The story is a perfect illustration of how shared trust effects a whole community and an individual member of that community. As grizzly as it sounds the community was actually safer after the boy had been eaten…because now they were not getting false reports, or to put it another way the public trust was no longer being eroded.
This is why I think people who drive cars get so upset when cyclists run red lights. It is not because cyclists are breaking the rules (everyone does that, and often), it is because they are breaking the shared trust. It is offensive to the group because that trust is what keeps them alive. If you are a cyclist and you run red lights this is not something you should brush off lightly. People react very badly to this sort of thing.
At the very least you can expect them to be upset with you, in extreme cases some very unhinged people might even try to hurt you for doing it. I think people that threaten violence against cyclists are crazy, but I can understand why they would get upset at you (even if you think you are not putting anyone in danger other than yourself). You are breaking the rules that keep them alive. It is a danger to the village, you are ruining the wolf detection system, you are mucking up the whole system. How can they go through green lights with confidence if they think someone might be running them? The reason they are upset is because you are making the entire system worse for everyone by breaking the shared trust.
This idea works for just about any person driving/riding any kind of transportation. Car drivers run red lights also, they also make turns with no signals on, bikers go the wrong way down streets, pedestrians walk out against the signals…etc…etc. The point is each and every time anyone does this, not only are they breaking the rules, they are breaking down the shared trust. I would say that one of the biggest problems that Boston has transportation wise is that over the years that trust has been severally eroded. Driving or cycling or walking in this town can be stressful because you always have to be on the lookout for trust breakers. Constant vigilance is very stressful. It is like everyone in Boston has been crying wolf for years. Will that car turn with no signal? Is that pedestrian going to go against the red? Is that biker going run that red? Wolf, Wolf, WOLF!!
So how do we rebuild this trust? The same way you build any other kind of trust. Slowly, and deliberately. Stop at that red light, walk with the signal, use your turn signals. It is going to take time, and it is going to happen slowly, and you will not be able to get anyone else to do it with you. You have to set that example. Every time you stop at a red light and you make it clear you are going to follow the rules, the person in a car next to you can see that at least some bikers don’t run reds. Every time you yield to a cyclist when you are making a left hand turn in your car the cyclist gets just a little grain of trust back in drivers. Every time you wait till the walk guy comes on to cross the street you show other walkers how it is done. It is the only way I can think of to make any real kind of steps towards rebuilding the shared trust in Boston. The nice thing about this system is that it is free, and the more you do it the better things get. There are other ways (better infrastructure, better enforcement) but they all cost a lot of money, and can not be implemented tonight on your ride home.
So the next time someone tells you “you can’t trust anyone these days” look them right in the eye and say “I trust you, and thousands of other strangers every day with my life” then smile at them.
Related Posts:Halloween Bicycle Polo Tournament
I heard there was prizes for best costume…just saying. (more info here)
Related Posts:A Reason To Ride
A Reason to Bike from Brighter Planet on Vimeo.
Thought provoking, the real reason that gets me every time is that it is just so damn fun!
Related Posts:Broadway Bicycle School Basic Bicycle Mechanic Classes
Broadway Bicycle School is starting up some new Basic Bicycle Mechanic classes this November. There are two classes being offered on Sundays starting in November. In December, Broadway will be breaking out their Basic Mechanic class into five individual sessions that can be taken on an a la carte basis.
Check out broadwaybicycleschool.com for more info
Also here is an updated flier on their art showing.
Related Posts:Samhain Scramble
This is going to be sick! I cut up a fun little Samhain themed headbadge as a prize for this…check it out.
More info here.
Related Posts:MassBike Spins: Tour De Graves
Another good event submission by Ron! Sounds like a spooky good time, get it! Ha ha.
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MassBike Spins Presents: Tour De Graves
Sat, October 31, 9:30am – 1:30pm
October 31st: Tour de Graves. In honor of Halloween, we will do a tour of
some of the Boston area’s historic cemeteries. We will meet at 9:30 at the
Old Cambridge Burying Ground at the corner of Garden Street and Mass Ave in
Harvard Square.
The ride will be about 18 miles, and will include stops at the following
burying grounds and cemeteries: King’s Chapel, Granary, Central, South End,
Eliot, Evergreen, Market Street, and Cambridge.
At the end of the ride, we will get to explore Mt. Auburn Cemetery. Mt.
Auburn does not allow bike riding, so bring a lock so you can leave your
bike at the gate.
Appropriate costumes are encouraged for this ride!
Ride Leaders: Dick and Roberta Bauer
Steady rain cancels, for more info email dick.bauer@gmail.com
Related Posts:H2H Ride
Another email, another ride! The fun never stops!
——
Host: Harvard University Cycling Association
Type: Sports – Sporting Event
Network: Global
Date: Sunday, October 25, 2009
Time: 8:40am – 2:00pm
Location: Peets Coffee in Harvard Square
City/Town: Cambridge, MA
Email: TBA
The 6th annual Harvard University to Harvard, MA fundraiser fun ride with HUCA!
PLEASE NOTE: This is a no-drop ride with ride leaders and a sag wagon for breakdowns/emergencies, but it is also a ~75 mile loop to Harvard and back, or ~35mi to Concord and back. You MUST bring water and FOOD, and be prepared to ride at a 15MPH pace.
Because it looks like certain rain tomorrow, we are moving the H2H ride to SUNDAY. It will be the exact same thing–a group out to Harvard and a group out to Concord. We will meet at 8:40am at Peet’s and 9am at Belmont Wheelworks. If it turns out to rain (meaning, it is actively precipitating at 8:40am) on Sunday, the ride is canceled with no make up. The ride is no drop, within reason. We will also have cue sheets and a sag wagon for emergencies (call the number on the cue sheet).
What to bring:
–warm clothes
–plenty of water
–food
–spare tubes
–HELMET (required!)
We also could use more ride leaders, so if you’d like to ride lead, please let Eun Young know.
It should be a great day on Sunday, so come out and have fun!
Related Posts:Mother Brook Ride
Got this in the email, looks like fun.
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Sunday, November 8, 2009: Mother Brook Bike Ride 1:00 pm, Fairmount Ave. at Truman Parkway, Hyde Park
MassBike leads the Boston Natural Areas Network and the Friends of Stony Brook Reservation on a tour of the entire length of the Mother Brook, which connects the Neponset River to the Charles River. See old mills and learn some early colonial history. We’ll check out progress on construction of the new Neponset Trail, too. Led by Doug Mink.
Related Posts:A Race Of Sociopaths That Care More About Rapid Transportation Than Human Lives
Think about it…. (via)
Related Posts:Door 3 Gallery Show
Did you know there is a sweet little art gallery at Broadway Bicycle? Now you know! Check out the next show.
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Each night the staff at the Broadway Bicycle School accounts for the day’s finances and saves this data in an envelope that will hold that day’s deposit slips. In early summer 2009 the staff of the Broadway Bicycle School began creating images on the deposit envelopes to the delight of their co-workers. The Door 3 Gallery, in honor of the last show of the season, displays these deposit envelopes now.
Reception October 29th from 7pm to 9pm. The usual dainties will be served.
Can Anyone Help With This? Cross Teams In Boston?
Got this in the email, anyone know the answer?
Hello:
head about beer cupcake moustache last night at the MMRacing kick
off…good times. Looking for a cross specific team in the Boston area.
It’s the cycling sport I’m interested in racing. Any leads? One focused on
local/regional/sustainable biusiness & living would be way cool…like MM,
only for non-”pros”.
Regards,
Wayne
Nicole Freedman Live Interview Today About Bike Sharing
Want to ask Nicole Freedman the bicycle programs director a question? I got this in the email a moment ago.
—–
I wanted to let you know that today @ 3:30pm Inhabitat is hosting a live
webinar discussing Boston’s new bike sharing program. Joining us is former
Olympic cyclist and Boston Bike Czar, Nicole Freedman, and all listeners
will have the opportunity to participate and ask questions. As the driving
force behind the United States’ first city-wide bike sharing system, Nicole
is an incredible resource for anyone interested in greening their city and
improving the urban landscape for cyclists.
Fun And Useful!
Seems a very special and awesome Boston Biker has been using this humble service to give cyclist specific weather updates every day! It makes me feel classy to know that there is a weather report just for me and my cycling brothers and sisters.
Check it out here.
Related Posts:Somerville Bike Auction
City of Somerville Announcement sent to Somerville residents by SHirsch@somervillema.gov Looks like there might be some good deals.
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BIKE AUCTION, Sat., Nov. 14th, 11:00 to 3:00 p.m., Somerville High School Atrium: The City of Somerville will be auctioning off over 300 bicycles. All those interested may preview the bicycles from 10 – 11 a.m. on November 14th at the Somerville High School Atrium. Bikes will be sold to those with the highest offer.
More information will be posted on the City’s website http://www.somervillema.gov/
Related Posts:Street Talk: Design Advocacy, Designing For How We Move Through Space
Design Advocacy: Designing for how we move through space
by Shauna Gillies-Smith, landscape architect / Mark Pasnik, architect
Thurs, Nov 12, 7-9 pm
@ LivableStreets office, 100 Sidney St, Cambridge [ map...]
What do architects, landscape architects, and transportation planners have in common? What role does design have in transportation advocacy? Come investigate the movement of people and the ability of designed spaces to support and influence. See how architecture and landscape architecture can make cities more socially and environmentally sustainable.
Shauna Gillies-Smith ASLA, LEED AP will highlight landscape architecture and public art projects where the design and pedestrian experience determined the space. Shauna is principal of Ground Inc., a landscape architecture firm. Trained first as an architect and urban designer, her shift to landscape practice was motivated by the desire to reveal the potentials of surprise and pleasure in the urban experience.
Mark Pasnik RA, LEED AP will focus on a project that engaged students with alternative transportation ideals, but fulfilled them through facility design rather than traditional advocacy. Mark is the founding principal of over,under, a multidisciplinary design firm located in Boston’s South End, and director of pinkcomma gallery, which showcases contemporary design work from the Boston area.
“We shape our environment and thereafter our environment shapes us.” (Adaptation of a Winston Churchill quote)
Co-hosted by the Boston Society of Architects
StreetTalks are open to the public, $5 suggested donation, beer/sodas provided compliments of Harpoon Brewery and delivered thanks to MetroPed. Sponsored by LivableStreets Alliance. For more information, click here.
Related Posts:9th Annual Halloween Bike Ride!
I have done this a couple of times and let me tell you it is a LOT of fun. Hundreds of people dressed up in costumes riding around Boston with music pumping and lights flashing. I HIGHLY recommend you check this out.
This year’s Halloween Bike Ride is going to be bigger and better than ever!
Come out and join us for a spookily ghoulish evening of cycling around Boston.
Here are the details:
9th Annual Halloween Bike Ride
*Saturday, October 31st
Green Street T Station (Orange Line), Jamaica Plain 8:00 pm Gather 8:30 pm Ride starts
Hear the amazing Stereo Bike with its fully danceable soundtrack!
Ride in costume! Dress up your bike! Be creative!
Everyone welcome!
All ages! Free!
Helmets, lights, and noisemakers encouraged.
*Rain date Sunday, November 1st.
Take a look at the website www.halloweenbikeride.net for more info.
See http://www.truthserum.org/halloweenbikeride for some more pictures and posters.
Related Posts:Lantern-Making Party At The Bikes Not Bombs Hub
This came in the email today, looks like a lot of fun, I was going to try and make this last year but didn’t make it. Going to try twice as hard this year.
Oct 22 2009 – 7:30pm
Bikes Not Bombs is hosting a lantern-making party in collaboration with Spontaneous Celebrations, to prepare for the 26th Annual Lantern Parade at Jamaica Pond. The lantern-making party will happen at the Bikes Not Bombs Hub at 284 Amory Street, Thursday October 22nd, 7:30-9:00pm.
* Please bring a $5 donation for Spontaneous Celebrations to help cover materials (provided) for a lantern that you’ll be keeping. (No donation needed for lanterns which you make for Spontaneous Celebrations to sell at the event.)
* Space is limited so please RSVP to jeremy@bikesnotbombs.org.
Youth and adults of all ages will create beautiful hand made lanterns from recycled soda bottles decorated with colorful tissue paper, and a candle inside. Each year approximately 4,000 people arrive at Jamaica Pond at sunset with their lanterns; many children arrive in full Halloween costume as well. The parade proceeds around the pond, bringing a trail of bouncing lights into the darkness that can be seen from all directions. This beautiful autumn evening ceremony has become an annual tradition in our community.
See more details on the Lantern Parade (happening Sunday October 25th at 6pm … rain date November 1st) here.
Jamaica Pond Lantern Parade
The ritual of the Jamaica Pond Lantern Parade began in 1984 when people gathered to make a journey with their candle-lit lanterns around Jamaica Pond. In preparation for the Lantern Parade, Spontaneous Celebrations and community members host lantern making workshops in which youth and adults of all ages create beautiful hand made lanterns from recycled soda bottles decorated with colorful tissue paper. The festival also involves local businesses who sell hand made lanterns in their shops. By the night of the festival, several thousand people have made lanterns (and anyone who hasn’t can purchase one the night of the parade). Each year approximately 4,000 people arrive at Jamaica Pond at sunset with their lanterns; many children arriving in full Halloween costume as well. The parade proceeds around the pond, bringing a trail of bouncing lights into the darkness that can be seen from all directions. This beautiful autumn evening ceremony has become an annual tradition in our community on the last Sunday in October. The Lantern Parade has it’s cultural roots in Japanese lantern making and Dutch tradition. It reflects our dedication to building community by exploring old and creating new cultural traditions.
Related Posts:Lets Be Like New York
I would love love love to see something like this from the city, it would be great.
Also did you notice, they talk about door zones in bike lanes? A little education goes a long way toward safety.
Also how not to cross the street (this video is completely unrelated to the above, but o..m..g..)
Related Posts:Superb Grand Opening
It is always nice when new bike shop opens in town. Especially one as nice looking as Superb. I have been following it’s progress for a while now and have been very impressed with what they have been doing with the space, and with the product line. If you want some fancy bike bling…look no further. They are having a big ole grand opening Friday, October 23rd. Stop by the store to check out the amazing bikes, the sweet gear, food drinks, a “hot bike contest” with prizes and much more! The cd they send me had all sorts of fun pictures on it, I have selected the most relevant below.
Press release below.
Superb is a concept bicycle boutique poised to supply the growing Boston cycling community with excellence in service and products. A bicycle boutique focused on new & classic road, track, and urban cycling; Superb is a full service shop offering repairs and sales in an environment designed to stylize bicycle shopping. Expanding on the shop’s original 1900’s motif, the retail store is a marriage of Victorian aesthetic and minimalist design. By Taking inspiration from the curving forms of a Velodrome, the design of the shop blends the dynamics of cycling to surfaces that highlight the uniqueness of the product. As the need for alternative methods of transport become an ever-growing reality, Superb responds to the consumer’s desire and simple ways to get around town, while offering tailored components and frames to fit individual personalities. We live in a world where we define ourselves by what we wear, what we use, and today, also by what we ride.
Located in the Fenway area, we are pleased to invite you to our grand opening Friday, October 23rd for a chance to meet the artists, designers, and minds behind Boston’s latest outpost of high design and retail experience. Join us as we celebrate Superb’s opening for a night of interaction with Boston’s cycling community. Food and Drinks will be served while Boston’s top DJ’s provide the soundtrack to the event. If you want to show off your ride, the “Hot Bike contest” registration starts
@ 9pm. Celebrity Judging @ 10:30pm for awesome store giveaways.
Superb Bicycle: Provisions for Cycling Address: 842 Beacon Street Boston 02215
Store Hours: Monday-Saturday 11am-7pm, Sunday 12-6pm Grand Opening Party: Friday, October 23rd 8pm-11pm Visit our website for more info on the shop and what we do: www.superbbicycle.com e-mail any questions to jason@superbbicycle.com or call the shop: 617.236.0752
Hope to see you there!!!
more pictures below.
(Full disclosure, Superb sent me a fun little package with a hat and some stickers and some pictures)
Related Posts:
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