Rolling in Boston

Did Momo Strike the SW Corridor Bikepath?

2010-09-19T17:11:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago, a skinny stripe of paint appeared on the SW corridor path. I assumed it was someone who felt like riding around dribbling paint from their bike, and that maybe it was the beginning of something bigger.

Then yesterday I read this article in the NY Times about a Brooklyn-based graffiti artist named Momo that has scribbled his name along the sidewalks across Manhattan in a very similar fashion. His tag stretches from one side of the city to the other. I have not had a chance to explore whether the paint here extends much past Mass Ave. Has anyone else noticed this paint on bike paths (or sidewalks or streets) in the city?
Here's a map from the Times:

And here is an image from the Times of his paint drips, looks pretty similar to the image above:

Boston Bike Share Bummer

2010-07-10T12:44:00.003-04:00

I made the following comment in response to a post on BostonBiker, but I'm reposting it here for people who do not read the comments on his posts:

For background, this article appeared in the Globe yesterday.

As much as I want to be excited about this, I can only react with disappointment. As I noted at the end of May (http://rollinginboston.bostonbiker.org/2010/05/28/wheres-the-bike-share/) it’s been pretty obvious that the bike share program is getting off to a rough start. I’ve been willing to give Nicole and the rest of the Boston Bikes people (including I guess Mumbles) the benefit of the doubt that there was a good reason for the delay. Their inclination to hold off on starting the program until it can be launched with an adequate number of bikes is a good one, but 500 bikes is not even remotely close to enough.
I spent last July in Paris and used Velib on a daily basis, and I have reports of my experience on my blog. At every station, at least 10-20% of the bikes were not functioning due to flat tires (which are not user repairable as it takes a special tool to remove the wheels in order to deter theft), wonky drive-trains or any of the other myriad number of things that can happen to a bicycle. Assuming the same conditions here, that would leave 400-450 bikes in circulation at any given time.

According to Wikipedia, Paris covers an area of around 41 sq. miles, with a population of ~2.2 million. Boston on the other hand, covers a similar geographical footprint (48 sq. miles) but contains a much smaller population (~600,000). If Boston were to implement a program with a similar bikes/population ratio, that would imply ~5,000 bikes here. The proposed bike share is an ORDER OF MAGNITUDE off. The geographical similarities however, remain. Paris has 750 stations. Boston is proposing 50. Again an order of magnitude difference. I noticed that the real benefit of the Velib system was the ability to return a bike nearly anywhere in the city, and that will be plainly impossible with the current proposal.

If this is going to be a system intended primarily for tourists, with bikes primarily located downtown, then Nicole needs to just state that. But don’t try to say that we’re going to have a city-wide system; it’s just not feasible unless a complete commitment is made.

If this is going to be tied to MBTA subway stops (not a bad starting point) then there are very few bike stations left for areas that are not at a subway stop (I’m thinking large swaths of Dorchester, Roxbury, JP, Roslindale, etc).

In summary, I completely support the effort to bring bike-share to Boston, but it is another case of Boston half-assing an infrastructure project that will ultimately leave many people disappointed and left out.

Critical Mass bike ride tonight

2010-06-25T09:45:00.002-04:00

Come on out to Copley Sq. this evening to ride with ~300 cyclists through the streets of Boston. People generally start to arrive around 5:30, and the ride usually leaves by 6 pm. If you have never ridden in a CM before, a few details:

-There is no pre-established route
-It is easily the safest cycling experience you can have in the city, as cars are forced to wait for the large group of people
-It is extraordinarily liberating, and a fabulous way to enjoy the company of friends, and fellow cyclists.
-Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to ride a fixie, have tats, or be in college in order to fit in (in fact, I think one of the most common occupations of riders that I've encountered is lawyers...)
-It is a rolling celebration of everything cycling

see you there!

More SW Corridor Bike Path Improvements

2010-06-14T10:32:00.000-04:00

The work that was done on the SW Corridor last spring was pretty half-assed, so I was happy to see markings all along the path (at least from Stoneybrook to the South End) on my commute this AM. This work is particularly crucial for 4-season users of the path, as it is in the rough areas where ice tends to form in the winter.

Also, I came across the aftermath of a bike accident on the SW corridor this AM. I didn't see the rider, as he/she was already loaded in the ambulance, but the bike looked fine and the cop told me they were OK. Let's hope that's the case, feel free to post any updates if you have them.

Ride Safely.

Scrapertown in Oakland

2010-06-04T16:58:00.003-04:00

Check out this video of some kids in Oakland that put colored tape in their spokes, creating neat patterns as they ride. It's great to see that bikes are being used to promote peace in the community, and give kids skills that they can employ in their future if they so choose. Maybe these will overtake Lincoln '64 lowriders and Toyata Priuses (Prii?) as the vehicle of choice in the Bay Area...

I haven't seen this phenomenon in Boston yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

Scrapertown from California is a place. on Vimeo.

Melnea Cass Blvd Bike Path (partially) Re-paved

2010-05-31T16:44:00.000-04:00

The bike path along Melnea Cass is one of those routes in Boston that was somehow created years ago despite any larger provisions for bicycles in the city at the time. It's also in been in awful condition ever since I first rode on it 4 or 5 years ago. I don't ride on it too often, so I'm not sure how recent a development this is, but I noticed yesterday that a small portion has been recently re-paved. There are still many areas that need A LOT of work, but hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Melnea Cass is one of those streets that you really don't want to ride on, so the integrity of the path is crucial here.

Happy Riding

Where's the bike share?

2010-05-28T10:38:00.002-04:00

I was really excited about Boston's plans for a bike share program. There was news a while back that the city had selected Bixi, the company that operates Montreal's program, as the vendor for Boston's program. According to this post, the program was supposed to start in May. Well, May is about to end, and I have not heard a single thing about the program in a long time, nor have I seen any site work around the city preparing for the installation of the bike kiosks.

Something fishy is going on...

Recent Cyclist Death in Newton Remembered

2010-05-21T11:02:00.004-04:00

Jonathan Simmons, a psychologist in Brookline, has written a beautiful piece today in the Boston Globe. (Article)
Another cyclist was recently stuck and killed (this time in Newton), and the author describes happening upon the immediate aftermath during his afternoon ride. This young man, Andrew Von Guerard was only 21.
We must all remember that it could just have easily have been us, and that we must always be vigilant and ride safely.
Dr. Simmons reminds us that there is no reason why Boston can not compete with cities like NY & Portland when it comes to a radical rethinking in how our streets are designed.

Back from Paris with lots of bicycle pictures and tidbits

2009-07-31T16:29:00.000-04:00

I have just returned from a month in Paris studying architecture. I was blown away at how pervasive cycling is within French culture, and it is spread across all generations, economic classes and races. The cycling scene is not the binary one that exists in Boston of single-speed hiptsers and hot-pants wearing weekend warriors.

Over the next few days and weeks I'll be writing and posting lots of pictures, but I thought I'd post a great piece of architecture by Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller. This is a dome that he designed that I saw while visiting the Vitra Design campus in Germany. The first picture is particularly "bottom-brackety", no?

First Impressions of the Paris bike share program (Velib)

2009-07-03T16:14:00.000-04:00

I arrived in Paris this morning and had the day to kill in order to adjust my internal clock after the previous evening's red-eye from Boston. As I have mentioned before, I was unsure what my access to the Velib system would be due to many things I had read online. I was even told by the person who is responsible for my accommodations while I am here that I would not be able to use the system. Below are my initial impressions:
Firstly, I am happy to report that Americans and those without credit cards with a chip CAN use Velib, with the following caveats: you MUST have an AMEX, as MC and VISA don't work; then you MUST have a Navigo Metro card. This is the same rfid card that is used for subway trips (similar to the Charlie Card in Boston).
Parisian drivers are worse than those in boston.
Almost no one wears helmets here, and as such I have not been wearing one either. Considering that the whole point of Velib is that you can just pick up a bike on a whim, it's hard to imagine how one would always wear a helmet. It would be really inconvenient to carry a helmet with you everywhere just in case you decide to ride. (I know, not nearly as inconvenient as a brain injury, but this is coming from someone who has seen a friend saved from said device and who has a neurologist for a father-in-law, and I still don't see myself carrying one around everywhere).
The stations for drop-off/pick-up are EVERYWHERE and they tend to be on secondary roads rather than main drags.
The bikes all roll on Schwalbe Marathons.
The bike use Shimano Nexus 3-speed drive trains.
The one place where they have obviously skimped is on the seat collar/quick-release. While this may seem to be no big deal, it's actually a huge problem as at least half of the ten or so bikes I rode in one day had seats that would twist and inevitably fall into the frame.

This is my first blog post from my phone, so it may come out with fucked-up formatting, for which I apologize.

Off to Paris

2009-06-30T12:50:00.005-04:00

I am now 24 hours away from my month-long stay in Paris. I've been busy packing, and assuring that I have as many art supplies that I can fit in my bag, as I'm going to be spending a majority of my time there drawing. I've also been preparing for my cycling adventures around the city, and came across a great bike map of Paris. I will be living at the southern edge of the city, and there are three bike paths in the immediate area. The first appears to be a ring road that encircles the city along the Périphérique, the second is a N-S route that terminates at the Pte de Clichy, and the third is also a N-S route that terminates at the Musée des Sciences et de l'industrie at the NE corner of the city. The bike route network appears to be very logical, with multiple ways to get around or through the city. As I don't know Paris very well yet, I'm not sure why this is, but the Eastern portion of the city does not have much in the way of radial paths toward the center of the city, and instead has a number of circumabulatory paths. It will be interesting to see what it is about the part of the city that has resulted in this differing bike route development. I'm guessing that it is related to the socioeconomics of the area, but it may also be related to the manner in which the urban fabric is constructed here. We shall see!

Four Bikes, Three Locks

2009-06-27T13:15:00.001-04:00

After enjoying the sites of Boston during Critical Mass last night, a few of us wound up at the Other Side Cafe. The primary problem was that we had three locks and four bikes, and this was compounded by the fact that there were so many bikes locked up in the area that we had limited options for our steeds. The picture to left was the solution that we arrived at; quite beautiful if you ask me.

I appreciate all of the new bike racks that have been installed in Boston over the past year, but there are way too few. Especially in the Back Bay, where the parking meters have been removed in favor of the window stickers, it can be very hard to find a place to park your bike. Why on earth they decided to remove all of the parking meter poles, and then install a limited number of bike racks is beyond me. They could have just taken the meters away, and installed some sort of loop at the top of the poles in order to turn them into racks rather than having to buy entirely new racks, and pay for the labor required in order to affix the new racks to the sidewalk. Bizzare.

A highlight of the ride was rolling into Central Square were there was some sort of Summer event going on, and the DJ who was spinning music in the street suddenly started playing the Rocky theme as the mass rolled through.

Boston Critical Mass Today!

2009-06-26T10:12:00.002-04:00

It's warm and (partially) sunny; perfect weather for bicycle riding. Critical Mass meets at Copley Square on the last Friday of every month at 5:45-ish and generally leaves to ride around Boston at 6pm. It is loads of fun, and contrary to what you may have heard or read elsewhere, is completely un-intimidating. Come on out and ride.

Roof that utilizes bike frames for truss system

2009-06-25T14:21:00.003-04:00

The perfect combination of my interest in architecture and bicycling was captured in this roof that was designed and built during the 2009 Design Build Challenge that took place in Boston last week. My friend Andrea was involved with the project; go Andrea!

SW Corridor bike path paving has begun!

2009-06-25T09:18:00.005-04:00

I was riding from JP to downtown yesterday, and came across a paving crew that had finally begun to fix all the cracks in the paving. The funny thing is that the one and only crack that I almost wish they did not fix was one of the first to get attention. This picture is of the workers repaving that area. There were a bunch of roots that had really messed up the path here, and in response cyclists had created a 5-foot long piece of velodrome along the embankment where one could get the sensation of riding your bike against a slope, just like at the track in order to avoid all the bumps...

Dirty Bike

2009-06-23T16:33:00.000-04:00

SW Corridor bike path improvements

2009-06-08T12:59:00.004-04:00

Over the past week of riding between JP and downtown, I've notice some orange paint striping on the SW corridor bike path between areas where the roots are messing up the paving. As anyone who rides these paths often knows, this is a long overdue improvement on the part of the city. I just wish they would begin to look at the access to Forrest Hills Cemetery, as my walk there yesterday was along completely unmaintained "sidewalks". It is positively treacherous to attempt to fight against the traffic in order to ride to the cemetery, and walking in only modestly better.

and it began with pants...

2008-10-03T14:46:00.003-04:00

...on a brisk, blustery autumn day in Boston. This is where I will begin blogging about bikes, boston, and probably my cats.

Upon the recommendation of one of my favorite blogs, ecovelo, I decided to check out some pants from cordarounds.com that were just introduced at interbike. They have reflective tape on the interior seams of the legs and the back pockets, and are handmade in San Francisco. I just got them in the mail, and I'm so psyched. They fit great, even though I ordered them in the size with which I like to identify myself, rather than the size that I've become over the past year or so. I can't wait to get out of work and ride around downtown to try them out. Hopefully the crotch of the pants will be more resilient than many of my other pants which have taken on a bit of an odd worn-in pattern twixt my legs...