Winter Riding: Lights and Safety

Bell Muni Helmet
This commuter helmet has rear lights and built in mounts for Flea Blackburn rear and front commuter lights. I look forward to being fashionable and visible this winter wearing my new Muni, although I will probably wait until next year to consider the Flea Blackburn commuter lights, which run around $50. The helmet itself is also around $50, although there are always deals to be found online. I found that I've replaced my helmet twice, which equates to every two years, but hopefully this one will last well beyond two years.



Knog Boomer USB Rechargeable Rear Light
This rear light is rechargeable via USB, and it's super cute. I did not intentionally buy pink, but it was the cheapest option on Amazon. This blinky is super bright and I can't wait to get it out on the road. I have difficulty with rear mounts because I have a milk crate mounted on my rear rack, so we'll see how this one fits. I have another rear light (that will probably stay there), but I want to be lit up like a firecracker when I ride. There are three blinky settings and one steady setting) This one costs around $30 on amazon, which is very reasonably priced for a rechargeable bike light.



Cygolite Expilion 350-Lumen USB Rechargeable Headlight
This front light is also super bright and also rechargeable via any micro USB (a fact I discovered when I was able to charge my light with the cable for our Universal remote control after I mistook it for my light charger). It mounts very easily, even with gloves. There are five settings: one blinky setting, and four steady settings ranging from low to SUPER BRIGHT. This one was a birthday gift from J, and I use it in tandem with my Cateye OptiCube when I ride at night or in the rain.

Massholes, Revisited

Some interesting theories put forth by the Boston Biker on his blog:

A normal well adjusted person would be able to take a 30 second delay in stride, a normal person wouldn’t roll down their window and threaten to kill another person, a normal person after they had just nearly killed someone would have apologized (and mean it). It would seem that driving a vehicle in Boston on a regular basis can actually turn you from a normal well adjusted human being into a murderous asshole.

This is stuff I witness on a daily basis, and my commute, from point A to point B has never taken me more than 15 minutes. In 15 minutes, I am threatened multiple times, even if sometimes it's just by accident. Usually it's not. Parts of me just want to move, the parts that value my sanity over the sadness that people can't be better towards one another in my little city.

Bicycles!

Here's a video about Idaho's "Rolling Stop" Law for cyclists. It is highly rational and educational about things like momentum and how a rolling stop is not "blowing through a stop sign."

Bicycles, Rolling Stops, and the Idaho Stop from Spencer Boomhower on Vimeo.

Also Here is an article from Slate about how to get cyclists to obey the traffic laws. Written by a cyclist, of course, and offering no new information, but still well written, presenting both the "vehicularist" and "facilitator" arguments towards cyclist traffic laws.

I Love it When Other People Are Embarrassed; For Once It Isn't Me

I was on my bike today riding home from an appointment when I encountered a near-miss by another cyclist who was running a red light straight into me (I was turning, though, so even if he hadn't had time to stop, I would have been able to avoid him). Because I was in control and in the right, I was completely serene during this encounter, and while I know human suffering is never the answer, I would have been even more pleased with the outcome if he had actually fallen from his bike when he tried to swerve since the street was dead at the time - although I know I wouldn't have been remotely amused if he had run into me or put either one of us in danger of being hit by a car.

Unfortunately, he managed to stay on his bike after the near miss which made sitting at the next red light with him incredibly awkward, yet totally hilarious and satisfying because obviously he didn't try to run that one.

Seen on the Boston Globe

Non-motorists include children, construction workers, cyclists, family pets, farm/wild animals, homeless, illiterate pedestrians, those confined to wheelchairs. Traffic laws were expressly written to protect them. None of them require a license to be on a public right of way. Motorists, however, do. All the onus for safety falls directly upon them. If you don't agree, as you signed on when applying for a license, you should immediately surrender yours

Thoughts On My Bike by Andrea Dorfman

From the NYC Bicycle Film Festival '09:

Bike Accident - For Real This Time

So, earlier this summer I was involved in a "hit and run" of sorts with a Boston cab driver (Boston Cab Associates, for the record - one of their hybrid cars). On the [very busy] Mass Ave. bridge, the cab had "stopped" [for me], but when I took my right of way he decided to go instead. He just hit my back wheel, and I managed to keep control of my bike and more importantly, I stayed on. It all seemed so scary at the time, but it really wasn't. I wasn't even hurt—just shaken.

But I survived it. I survived my first "accident." I felt victory as an urban rider.

Well, I spoke too soon, because on July 25th, I was thrown from my bike here. It was actually kind of funny because there were no cars involved in the accident part of my accident. I was too busy paying attention to the cab (go figure) that had cut me off, and my wheel got stuck in the train tracks, locked, and then I was thrown.

I lost a little bit of blood, but mostly I felt stupid. I felt stupid because it didn't occur to me that coming parallel at the tracks would catch my tire and that it would lock when I tried to turn.

Anyway, I had a lovely array of injuries:

I also had a pain in my shoulder. I couldn't move all day Sunday, but I laid on an ice pack for hours and then went to bed with one, and I felt fine on Monday. Again, I was grateful. Again, I had avoided a "real" accident. Yeah, I fell off my bike, because I'm stupid. I wasn't thrown in traffic. I wasn't hit by a car.

Well, I had my laughs about it, but I'm not laughing today. Mostly because it HURTS to laugh. It hurts to cough. It hurts like HELL to sneeze. I think I have a rotary cuff injury.

Has anyone experienced something like this? Is physical therapy the way to go? I'm running out of Ibuprofen and also the hope that this will heal itself. I thought it was a bruise, but I know I'm not qualified to diagnose my insides.

For My Fellow Bike Commuters

Dear Cyclist-Who-Thought-He-Almost-Got-Hit-By-A-Car-This-Morning:

That car had its turn signal on long before you approached the light, and the light turned green just as you approached his blind-spot. I know, I know - you were in the bike lane, which naturally means that all those mean-old cars have got to stop for you, even when you're not biking defensively* or paying attention to anything, which is why you yelled at him, I presume. God - that motorist was such an asshole. Except...wait...he didn't even honk at you!
*(See Collision Type #3)

I noticed that you had the decency to seem embarrassed when I yelled that you should pay attention, and that the guy had his turn signal on. I probably shouldn't have called you an idiot, though.


Dear People Who Got Tickets After Running The Red Light on Hampshire and Broadway:

I'm sorry. I totally empathize, because it's happened to me before, and half of you did check for cars, although you managed to somehow miss the bike cops (who were positioned in the middle of the bike lane)...but who am I to judge.

I do not, however, empathize with the guy who got exasperated with me for waiting at the red light and ran it even after I said, maybe with not enough conviction, that there were cops ahead. You, sir, definitely deserved that ticket. Perhaps, though, it was a little mean-spirited for me to shout "HAVE FUN WITH THAT" just before the cop held his hand up in your face and pulled you over.

But three cheers to the Cambridge Bike Cops. Thanks for finally starting to do your jobs (for the most part...well...it's a start).

I was reading stories about the bicyclist who was struck and killed by a trash truck in D.C. on Tuesday, and while wading through all the comments on the WP story about drivers vs. "asshole bicyclists", I saw this:

No, the stories about bikers who choose to run red lights aren’t irrelevant. Someone has placed a bike spray painted white at the intersection of Connecticut and R as a memorial to Ms. Swanson. This morning, as I sat in my car on R St. at a red light during rush hour, I watched as a young woman pulled up right next to the white bike. She appeared to be in her twenties, and was wearing a helmet. Having seen the aftermath of yesterday’s tragedy, I wondered if she knew what had happened just 24 hours earlier, at that very spot. Just as I pondered that thought, she glanced quickly in both directions, then rode across all six lanes of Connecticut, rather than wait the extra 30 seconds for the light. Yesterday’s horrible accident may have been entirely the truck driver’s fault, but bikers and drivers alike can do much to improve safety on our streets.

Let me tell you, lady, I will bet you money that this girl was perfectly aware of what had just happened in that intersection, was probably scared shitless to be on her bike at that moment, and used the "extra 30 seconds" to put herself ahead of traffic - which is actually a smart way to ensure you won't be wedged in by the cars waiting at the light with you - provided, of course, you check that all six lanes (omg, so many lanes) of traffic are clear before you go. I get a kick out of the philosophical pondering regarding this girl's safety, when the cyclist likely did make the decision, not out of haste to reach her destination, but out of a desire to not get taken over by a car.

I've gotten a citation for running a red light on my bike before. I admit, fully and freely, that I deserved it, but where are these damn cops when cars are parked in the bike lane? When people are riding their bikes on the sidewalks? Where's the city funding for cops who actually do their jobs? Since that citation, would I run a red light again? You betcha. Especially with the frequency that people use their turn signals out here. It's just safer, sometimes. It's sad that it takes stories like this to make me sit back and think about how recklessly I ride, but with every one I read I try to take a little bit of knowledge away, and hopefully will be more conscientious (and alive) for it.

By the way, the nicest thing a cop has ever done for me in my life, ever, was force a car to remove itself from the bike lane when he saw me coming up the road - I seriously wanted to make out with him for that.

P.S. - the "white bike" she was referring to was a ghost bike.

Weekend Bike Fun

On Sunday, Aaron, J and I took the commuter rail out to Ipswich for some fried clams. I did not have fried clams, but I did try one, threw up in my mouth a little bit, and remembered why I generally stay away from seafood. We went to Woodman's in Essex, and I would go there again in a heartbeat for some more of those onion rings. Mmmm.



After eating our own weight in fried food, we zipped off to catch the 7:51 pm commuter rail back to Boston. Unfortunately, J blew a tire on the way, and had to stop to change it. Aaron rode back to help him after riding the rest of the way to the station with me, where I waited.



A half hour and the train went by and there was still no sign of the boys. I was reminded of how awful life was back in the '90s - when people had no cell phones.

That's right - on a highway bike ride out in the middle of Rural Anywhere, MA, I forgot my cell phone. All I could imagine was that one of them had been overtaken by a drunk or negligent driver, and the other was frantically calling my cell phone while they waited for the paramedics to arrive, blood everywhere. It became so unbearable that after about 40 minutes of waiting for what, in perfect circumstances, might have been a 20 minute tire change, I borrowed a local teenager's cell phone. Fortunately, no one had been run over or doored, but Aaron's tire had also gone flat. There was blood, but it was from mosquitoes and not from a mangled car accident.

Silly me.

We ended up watching the Celtics game at a bar while we waited for the 10:20 pm commuter rail, and polished off a bottle of wine in the process. While I wouldn't have actively chosen to be out as late as we were, and blown tires are never fun, it was actually a successful bike ride - and we will be taking the commuter rail out of the city more often.

Deer Island Bike Ride

J and I went for a bike ride today. It felt nice to be out, and it's not humid enough for riding in the middle of the day to be miserable. Here's the route we took:

That little loop between markers 22 and 28 is the little "detour" we took when we turned right instead of turning left. It was a nice detour - took us right through a Jewish cemetery, which was really beautiful. It was also a hilly detour, unfortunately. 30 miles or so in total.

Bike New York Ride

J and I participated in the Five Boro Bike Tour this past weekend. The ride itself was exhilarating and very, very cool. We started at Battery Park, rode up through Manhattan, over to Astoria and Queens, down through Brooklyn, and finally out to Staten Island. We took the ferry back to Battery Park, and then we rode back to Brooklyn (although we walked a lot of the way once we got over the bridge).





The things we saw during this race...they will stay with me forever. Firstly, and most significantly, we saw someone get maced. While we were waiting in an enormously long queue to get into Central Park (made infinitely worse by the sidewalk jumpers. You know who you are. Each and every one of you is going straight to hell, I hope you know), some homeless guy started causing a ruckus. We didn't personally notice anything until he slammed his cane down onto a car and started screaming nonsense at one of the cyclists. A cop came out of nowhere and nonchalantly maced the guy in the face. I would have been screaming my lungs out, but the homeless guy just leaned over on a nearby railing - defeated. I don't have any social or political commentary about it, I just have never seen anything like this. Then some mentally disturbed and presumably homeless woman started screaming things about cops and homeless people, but it was impossible to tell whether her rage was directed at the homeless guy or the cop. Thankfully, we made it into Central Park unscathed, shortly after she started her screaming rant.

There were several accidents. Whenever there was a ramp and a turn, people would take the turns too quickly, and there were one or two of those. Honestly, I have never seen such blatant disregard for other cyclists, and I have a pretty rough commute (relatively, I mean). There was also a nearly fatal heart attack on the Queensboro bridge, but fortunately, the man made it. It was decently scary, and did not help to ease the anxiety I was already facing when going over two of the major bridges.

A lot of people have noted that this is a great ride to do. Once. Which is what the friend who recommended this ride told us, too.

That being said - in total, it was an amazing ride. Too many people, but riding through NYC (and vowing never to go to that dump again) without any cars was too good an opportunity to miss.

Too bad my jaw is a wreck two days later (my surgeon said I should be good to go as far as riding my bike went, but a little bit of research and a conversation with my OD has indicated that maybe 50 miles was a bit much before my 3 month post surgery mark...).

Death Before Yielding

A very interesting article about the mentality of pedestrians in the Cambridge (&Somerville) area.

I found this buried in a comment section somewhere else, but I felt it was worth reposting here, both in light of yesterday and just because this is a subject of general interest.

Death Before YieldingRenewed efforts to ease the age-old blood feud among Boston’s drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians blow right past a key question: What if, deep down, we kind of enjoy the madness that transpires on our roads every day?

By Joe Keohane

I nearly killed a woman in Cambridge a few years back. I was driving at a reasonable speed through Harvard Square when she stepped off a curb and walked right into the street without looking. I hit the brakes, bringing the car to a hard stop about three feet from her. Since the woman wasn’t even in a crosswalk, I expected some acknowledgment of wrongdoing—a chagrined wave, a “my bad,” anything. Instead, I got a look that suggested I had just taken away her right to vote and buried a meat axe in her adopted greyhound. Clearly, I was the oppressor in this little tableau, and she, as the oppressed, was no longer obligated to follow the law.

The whole encounter was no doubt partly due to Cambridge’s being a monument to the ecstasy of fake victimhood, but it’s more complicated than that. This woman didn’t develop a habit of blindly forging into the middle of the street on her own. Something had to happen to make that behavior seem acceptable. My guess is that she, like many of us, had spent a lot of time marooned in a crosswalk with cars hurtling by on both sides, and at some point just said, “Ah, to hell with it. If you’re not going to recognize the crosswalk, neither am I.”

read the rest of the article here

Hub on Wheels Ride: Cycling for Technology

On Sunday, J and I rode 50 miles around Boston with a co-worker of mine for the benefit of the Digital Bridge Foundation, a completely nerdy and very worthwhile cause.

I'm not going to lie, 50 miles was painful. At one point, I told J I was holding him personally responsible for any. more. hills. When all was said and done, though, there were several feelings I had, and none of them needed to be iced. First and foremost, I was really proud of myself. I know that I did not keep up with the guys the whole way, and I visibly held them back at least twice, but it was only twice. In 45 miles.J and I even rode there and [part of the way, for me - I live twice as far as he does!] back.

I felt a real sense of accomplishment, and it was very cool to share this with J. I had a lot of fun, I got to see parts of Boston that I never would have seen, otherwise, and I won a $50 zipcar credit at one of the booths. I also finally went out and bought the shorts with the padded butt, and let me tell you -- they may look stupid? But my butt?...It has never been more comfortable. Never again will I laugh at nerdy cyclists in their nerdy cyclist clothes. Now I just need one of those shirts with the pockets on the back (although you will notice I made up for this on Sunday by wearing my Nerds 2² Ever T-Shirt...).