Commuting - Boston bicyclists

As I wrap up my week in Boston and prepare to return home, I am sharing my observations and thoughts regarding Boston-area bicyclists, who contend with high-density, generally low- or moderate-speed traffic and some very rough roads every day. I saw a fair number of wrong-way cyclists, alot of red light runners, numerous sidewalk cyclists, and lots of transportation cyclists. About 30 percent of the cyclists I saw were riding fixed gear, both genuine track bikes and conversions, which I suppose is a response to slippery roads and a lack of steep hills.

I see the cycling scene has not changed in the 20 years since I was there. There were no rules other than trying to stay alive.

As I wrap up my week in Boston and prepare to return home, I am sharing my observations and thoughts regarding Boston-area bicyclists, who contend with high-density, generally low- or moderate-speed traffic and some very rough roads every day. I saw a fair number of wrong-way cyclists, allot of red light runners, numerous sidewalk cyclists, and lots of transportation cyclists. About 30 percent of the cyclists I saw were riding fixed gear, both genuine track bikes and conversions, which I suppose is a response to slippery roads and a lack of steep hills.
When I was in Boston I saw cars doing the exact same things: wrong-way driving, running red lights, driving on sidewalks. In fact, I saw a cop car stopped at a red light, the car behind him layed on the horn until the cop ran through the light.

When I walked around Boston I thought it was a great place; when I tried to drive, I hated it with a passion.

When I lived in Boston, I neither drove or biked. Unfortunately I wasn't into transportation biking back then, but as far as driving was concerned I hated it. I sold my car when I moved there. The insurance, the parking, the traffic, the drivers...Boston is a hard place to own or operate a car, especially in Back Bay. It was a nuisance I gladly avoided. I miss it there; trying to get the woman to check it out, maybe whet her appetite for a move. :D

Mmmmmm........bicycling in Boston. Just moved from there last September to San Diego. I commuted to work 2 days a week from the Fenway area, in addition to a stint as a messenger. Staying alive is definitely a main priority. As to running red lights, going the wrong way down the street, riding on sidewalks; I guess you just take the same attitude cagers do. I commute by motocycle here in SD, and I'm thankful for the "hyper-attention to what's going on around me" skills cycling in Boston taught me. Man I miss that place.......

Ah, Boston, the great city. I battle everyday with impatient motorists, speeding buses, aggressive trains, carelessly double-parked cars, suicidal pedestrians, perennial constructions, crater-size potholes... all on one street: Huntington Ave. Such a great training place for cyclists... if they manage to stay alive.

My recollection of Boston is that "One Way", in effect, only means you have to be pointed that way. People reverse down one way streets for significant distances, even several blocks, making it effectively a two-way street; they "get away" with it because the car's not actually pointing in the opposite direction. Is that still common practice there?

I've never seen anyone reverse MORE than a block in the wrong directon....


Re. CrimsonCyclist's comments on the hazards of Huntington Ave: excellent description! I would also include high curbs, interestingly angled train tracks, taxis (around the hotels), and crowds of oblivious arts patrons (outside the MFA, Symphony Hall, and the Huntington Theater). Mass Ave can be fun; Huntington is a royal pain. Tried Columbus Ave? It's wider & in better shape. Of course it also has those amazing cars legally parked on the center line (!)

I've never seen anyone reverse MORE than a block in the wrong directon....


Re. CrimsonCyclist's comments on the hazards of Huntington Ave: excellent description! I would also include high curbs, interestingly angled train tracks, taxis (around the hotels), and crowds of oblivious arts patrons (outside the MFA, Symphony Hall, and the Huntington Theater). Mass Ave can be fun; Huntington is a royal pain. Tried Columbus Ave? It's wider & in better shape. Of course it also has those amazing cars legally parked on the center line (!)

And who could forget the spring/summer with the mobs of tourists around the Common?....with their heads either buried in a map or looking up. Good times, good times.......

Re. CrimsonCyclist's comments on the hazards of Huntington Ave: excellent description! I would also include high curbs, interestingly angled train tracks, taxis (around the hotels), and crowds of oblivious arts patrons (outside the MFA, Symphony Hall, and the Huntington Theater). Mass Ave can be fun; Huntington is a royal pain. Tried Columbus Ave? It's wider & in better shape. Of course it also has those amazing cars legally parked on the center line (!)

Have you seen Martin Luther King Blvd in Roxbury on certain days when people park on left lane?!!! Yes, parking on the left lane!

One more crazy thing about Mass traffic: I was shocked to learn that it was legal to drive on the SHOULDERs of the freeway during certain hours. Can you believe that? That narrow stretch of asphalt. I almost got into an accident when I was exiting the freeway from the (normally) rightmost lane, unknowingly cutting off a car speeding on the shoulder!