It’s still one of the best parts of my day.
I’ve been commuting to work by bicycle for 10 years now — not every day and less so as the kids get older and need to be shuttled around more — but as regularly as I can manage. I live in Newton near the Brighton line and work at the Globe offices in Dorchester; my various routes, each around 10 miles, take me along the Charles, or through Allston and downtown, or through Roxbury from Longwood to Savin Hill. It’s hardcore urban bicycling, and I love it.
Comments
I get it. The Globe has an agenda. Or maybe it's just that the people who work at the Globe have an agenda. There will be a pro-bicycle riding article every week. It will never end. There is a bike lobby with a lot of power and the opposition has no voice. And there is a lot of opposition to the out of control bike crowd.
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Sadly, many bike riders are fools or worse, and they create a lot of hostility among car drivers, but as this commenter demonstrates, they have plenty of company behind the wheel. Unless you're on your way to the hospital, no place you're going is all that important, so slow down, pay attention to what's around you, and have some respect for others. And if you think where you're going is all that important, then leave five minutes earlier, fool.
Truth
Thank you Ty
Thank you Mr Burr for a great article. It reflects my attitude about biking. Biking does reconnect one with the city we live in. And you do need to understand the survival rules of biking. It's amazing and sad to see that such an article brings out the muddy61 (conspiracy theorist) and capejack (nasty people). I hope we never see them on the road, but at least we'll be prepared if we do.
Nice article, Ty, only in a couple of details would I beg to differ, like dissing the Charles River bike path. That, along with the Emerald Necklace bike path, are the jewels of Boston. As your article infers, urban bike riding is a frame of mind, and the lively mix of joggers, geese, roller bladers, baby carriages, and lovers along the Charles puts a smile on my face while demonstrating my biking skills. I also disagree with the helmet thing, and the recent NY Times article criticizing the American fetishism with dorky safety measures was a welcome counter-argument. With decades of urban bike riding behind me, I can concur that helmets are useful in only a small fraction of accident types, and certainly do not justify the paranoid obsession with them in this country (they are hardly used in virtually all other bike-loving countries). Helmets can also lead to a false sense of security (most people I see wear them incorrectly anyway). All that aside, the main point that Boston is best experienced on a saddle is 100% correct, what an exhilarating, beautiful city to bike in!
People in other countries riding without helmets don't need to deal with American drivers.
The author's own words "blows through an intersection without looking" and "didn't realize the cross street had a delayed green" show that the author belive the that bicyclists should not be "encumbered" with complying with the traffic regulations that they are required to obey. Mr Burr, your contempt for the other vehicles on the road only generates more hostility.
Uh, did you actually read the article? The whole sentence is "That any cyclist who cuts off a car or a pedestrian or blows through an intersection without looking isn’t a free spirit but a self-absorbed twerp." The guy who "didn't realize the cross street had a delayed green" wound up dead. / / / You need to pay more attention when reading, and that lack of focus sure makes one wonder about your driving.
I did read the whole article. The implication of the first quote was that all one needs to do is look before blowing through an intersection and the implication of the second was the fact the bicyclist had a red light was not as important as the delayed green that the motorist had. Unfortunately, your inabiltity to grasp the point of statement means that you are a typical self-absorbed bicyclist who is unable to appreciate the fact that other people might have well-grounded reasons for having a different perspective. I will spell it out for you. Respect begets respect. If bicyclists want other people to respect their rights to use the roads, they need to understand that the responsibilities of using the roads also apply to them. If you want to question my driving, you should see how often I have stopped to allow pedestrians cross in cross walks only to have tham almost struck by a bicycle.
hi Ty - thanks for writing this! Tired of the trolls in the comment sections, too. I bike almost every day, and would love to see it safer to ride a bike around town, especially for women and families, because that's when you know things have really changed for the better. It'd be great to have more infrastructure for cycling. Maybe then the ghost bike memorials would go away. Here's a post I wrote last week -- an open (respectful) letter to the Mayor. Thanks. http://jenniferbruni.com/2012/10/02/reflections-of-an-urban-cyclista-part-2/
Thanks for sharing your commuting experience. I couldn't agree more and it's validating to see it put down in words. I'm a transplant to Boston. I've lived here for almost half my life. But it's city cycling and commuting that made me proud to call Boston "Home". The commute, in the sun, rain or snow, is the best part of my day. It's an opportunity to connect with the city and the neighborhoods.
Unfortunately helmets make a pretty bad fashion statement. But it seems a small price to pay for reconnecting with one's home.
Great article Ty, thanks for writing it. We share many of the same beliefs and valued about why we ride bikes, and how we try to minimize the risks of sharing the road.
I would add one item to your list of accidents that a cyclist can't plan for (besides dooring and hit-from-behind), which is an oncoming vehicle that unexpectedly turns left (at an intersection, at a side street, into a business or home) directly in front of your path. I have had more of these "left hook" close calls this year than I care to remember. In many cases, the driver jerks forward then slams on the brakes after lunging forward halfway, giving me a near heart attack. It's also happened that the driver sees me coming but turns into my path anyway -- do they wrongly believe I should (could) yield? Or maybe I just don't register at all, because I'm not a car?
Good story. I'm a new bike-commuter. I only work in Boston two days a week so I've been riding in from Dedham to Brigham Circle for the last three months. I'm learning the rules of the road by watching other cyclists to see what they do in intersections and in hairy situations—like when buses and big cars drive way too close to the right. It's true that you have to be a mind reader because cars (a lot of them) don't use their turn signals and many motorists and pedestrians are clueless—but the benefits are worth it so many ways. I find the biggest problem is in the cooler months. Cooler weather affects my office fashion because carrying boots and sweaters in my backpack are too bulky and heavy!
I think the bicycle is a great way to get around. However, I am typically on foot and take the subway. Too often (unfortunately), when walking to and from the subway, I am put in danger by bicyclists who, either cluelessly of arrogantly (the middle finger I often experience suggests it's more likely the latter), believe they can bike through a red light (yes, that's illegal), yell at me for moving in a cross walk (yes, the pedestrian has the right of way), or bike down foot-only trails. I wish these bad riders were a smaller minority than I perceive and experiencce it to be.
It's very hard to know what percentage of riders are bad (meaning inconsiderate, rule-breaking) riders, since you only see those who interact with you on your commute, at the time of day you are commuting. That said, I agree that there are too many such bicycle riders -- but there are also too many bad drivers and bad pedestrians. This city seems to breed insouciance and the attitude doesn't come from, and is not limited to, riding a bike, in my experience (as a practitioner of all three modes of transportation). I have been yelled at, swerved at and been given the finger by drivers when I was walking in a crosswalk, and I've had pedestrians stroll out from between parked cars in the middle of a block without looking to see what may be coming towards them when driviing and biking. I have also had cyclists cut me off and nearly hit me in an intersection where I had the green while biking. It's not the bike or biking that makes for bad attitude.
Great article! I ride year-round from Newton to Boston and have for over 10 years. There are good drivers and bad drivers. There are good cyclists and bad cyclists.
We are at a tipping point (NOT a "critical mass") where there are more cyclists than ever. If it is going to further increase, we need to get to a place where the rights and responsibilities of cyclists are clear to drivers and followed by cyclists. There's plenty of room on the road for everyone. I, for one, am always happy to read about enforcement of traffic rules by Cambridge Police and, more recently, the Northeastern Police. I would like to see the BPD do more.
Two things missing from Ty's article are:
1) Lights: it is getting to be that time of year. Don't be a biking ninja.
2) Mirrors: my mirror helps me achieve that "360-degree zen-like hyperawareness" you need and, indeed, is part of the attraction of riding in Boston.
Happy riding!
Amen to both additions, and a third: clearly visible, bright clothing. I am amazed that people (pedestrians and cyclists both) think that if they can see, they can be seen, even when they are wearing dark clothing.
Great article for so many reasons. One nitpicky clarification: Charlie's, the wonderful penny candy store on Weld Street, is in West Roxbury, not Rozzie. We in West Rox are always told Rozzie is so much cooler so needed to get credit for that local institution.
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Great Article! I cycle all over the city, for me it's the most intimate way to get around town. I'm like the author, I cummute every day on two wheels. I don't think bad cyclists are the majority at all, they just stick out more. Cyclists who obey the rules, written and unwritten, tend not to be noticed.
It was great to read about the pleasures of commuting in intimate contact with the people and neighborhoods of the city. I live a stone's throw from Ty Burr, and have ridden many of the same routes for decades. I share his sentiments for the most part.
I do think he should have stuck to aesthetic observations and soft-pedaled the bike safety issues, or at least should have done a little more homework. Some numbers might have put relative safety in a more objective context. The most glaring missed opportunity to enlighten was in the topic of "dooring". Doorings are entirely avoidable, simply by riding far enough away from parked cars. More cyclists need to understand this, and more drivers need to understand why saavy cyclists ride so far out into the lane.
How can you possibly "soft pedaled the bike safety issues"? If you ride "far away enough away from parked cars" you risk other problems like rear-ending, right turns, bicycle arrogance.
jme36, rear ending is extremely rare, and riding further to the center reduces the risk of a turning car not seeing you. Not sure what your argument is there. I am much more concerned about dooring than I am of someone driving up behind me and purposely hitting me.
Nice job; you really caught the spirit of what makes biking in Boston so great. This should be copied and handed out on Bike Fridays.
Great article! I agree with everything you've said. I used to bike commute through Cambridge and occaisionally in Boston, and I liked it so much better than my current ride out to the western suburbs. I've developed a much better sense of when a car is going to turn than when a cell phone distracted teenager is going to veer into the middle of the bike path. It's so much more exciting to bike in the city, and really wakes you up and gets you thinking on your toes for the day. I really hope people read this and note what you said about wearing headphones while riding. It is extremely dangerous and something I see every day. It is worse than not wearing a helmet because not wearing a helmet doesn't *cause* you to crash and won't hurt anyone but yourself. It is illegal to drive a car while wearing headphones, and I would argue that biking requires an even greater use of all the senses. With respect to helmets though, is anyone else concerned that Hubway encourages helmet-less riding?