When In Doubt Do It Yourself

Written by Boston Biker on September 9, 2015 – 3:46 pm -

Johnathan Fertig is amazing!  He was sick of seeing the slow progress of adding divider pylons on Mass. Ave. so he went and did it himself!

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Inspired by a book about “tactical urbanism” and what he called the city’s slow response to making certain roadway improvements, cyclist Jonathan Fertig took matters into his own hands and constructed a separated bike lane along one of Boston’s most dangerous thoroughfares using house plants and orange traffic cones.

Now he’s raising money online to create more “flower lanes” just like it to keep cyclists and pedestrians safe on the same corridor.

On Sunday, Fertig, who commutes daily from his home in Dorchester to Cambridge, placed six potted plants and cones on a portion of Massachusetts Avenue near the Beacon Street intersection, the site of a fatal crash in August that claimed the life of endocrine surgeon Anita Kurmann.

“I went to Home Depot, bought the mums that were on sale for $6, and then just put them down and walked away,” Fertig said.(via)

The article also shares a tweet from our own Greg Hum.

These sort of improvements are not rocket surgery, there are many well tested and well implemented examples of good bicycle infrastructure from both American Cities and the rest of the world all we have to do is copy and implement!


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Boston Bike Party TONIGHT! Back Bay To The Future!

Written by Boston Biker on January 16, 2015 – 4:50 pm -

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From the always awesome Greg Hum

 

Tonight’s Boston Bike Party involves a short ride followed by Harpoon Beer donations and free pizza from All Star Pizza at Hub Bicycle for the after-party.
Y’all are welcome to show up to the after-party if you don’t think you’ll ride, but you’d better be rocking some sweet 80s attire.

Greg Hum

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14th Annual Boston Halloween Bike Ride Is Tomorrow!

Written by greg on October 30, 2014 – 1:38 pm -

stay a kid thumbGreg Hum (Contributor) plays drums on his bike, gets people together for really big midnight and monthly bike rides, and is easily distracted by shiny things and fried potatoes. He shares stories and more on his personal bike blog, The Humble Cyclist.
Connect with Greg on  Twitter | YouTube 

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hbrbanner

Tomorrow is Boston’s 14th annual Boston Halloween Bike Ride, by far my personal favorite group bike ride in Boston. Last year over 500 riders showed up in costume. This year’s Halloween Bike Ride includes a NEW starting location in Copley Square, neighborhood convoys to the starting point, and a pretty epic after-party in Allston’s Wonderbar. Let’s get spooky. Description below:

*Official Website
*Facebook Event Page (680 attendees an counting!!)

2014 Halloween Bike Ride: October 31st at 7:30 PM

Join us for a scary ride around Boston on Halloween night! Jaw dropping costumes! Ear popping trailer tunes! Traffic stopping magnitude!

RSVP and invite your friends to the Facebook Event!

Official starting location at Copley Square:

    • Friday October 31st, 2014
    • Meet at 7:30 pm. We roll at 8:00 pm pronto!
    • Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts

    Convoys to the start

    • Allston – meet at 6:30 pm outside Jackson Mann Community Center, 500 Cambridge St
    • BU campus – meet at 5:00 pm in STO 442 for a pre-party
    • Cambridge – meet at 6:45 pm near Toscanini sqaure, Mass Ave
    • Dorchester – meet at 6:30 pm at the Fields Corner Playground
    • Jamaica Plain – meet at 6:30 pm at the Green St T stop
    • Somerville – meet at 6:30 pm in Union Sq by the Hubway station
    • South Boston – meet at 6:45 in the parking lot at 480 West Broadway near Perkins Square

Route

Details to be released soon

After party

Bring your bike lock! (Everyone will be locking their bikes to the abundant fences near the venue.)

Wonder Bar
186 Harvard Ave, Allston, MA 02134
10 pm – 2 am
21+
No cover!
Free food, thanks to our sponsors!

    • Bike Safe Boston
    • Hub Bicycle Co.
hbrsharkweek

Every Halloween Bike Ride is Shark Week! Photo courtesy of Mikk Olli


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Fall Foliage Musical Mystery Ride!

Written by Boston Biker on October 14, 2014 – 1:34 pm -

I personally know this event is going to be awesome, because our own Greg Hum is involved, anything he touches is pure magical bicycle fun!

From Facebook:

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The air is getting crisper. The days are getting shorter. The grocery aisles are filled with candy corn and decorative gourds don your neighbor’s front porch. Yes! Autumn is upon us! Come join us to view some lovely Fall colors on our spookiest, most colorful, warm and coziest Musical Mystery Ride yet! We’ll meet at the Longwood T stop at 12:30pm and head out at 1pm. The route is a mystery with several stops along the way for lovely musical acts. We will end at Franklin Park around 6pm. Bring delicious seasonal snacks for sharing with any ghouls we meet along the way and warm, toasty beverages for sipping while listening to the bands play! And remember those mittens–it might get a bit nippy out there!

As always, the pace will be leisurely and friendly. See you there!


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Boston Bike Party! This Friday!

Written by Boston Biker on August 5, 2014 – 9:37 am -

Our very own Greg Hum, besides making it into just about every local media outlet (serious way to go man!), has also been integral in organizing the Boston Bike Parties.  This Friday the theme is Boston T Party (get it, MBTA… Boston T Party…so good).

 

From Boston Magazine:

Community event organizer Greg Hum said throwing an MBTA-themed bike ride together for this Friday, the same month that the transit agency celebrates its 50th birthday, wasn’t intentional.

“It’s a coincidence. But it’s a perfect coincidence; while they are celebrating, we will be out celebrating too,” he said.

Hum helps bring together hundreds of cyclists every month as part of the ongoing “Boston Bike Party” series, which got its start in the city just over a year ago.

On August 8, Hum expects the usual crowd—and possibly more—to show up for a free tour of some of the group’s favorite T stations, dressed head-to-toe in transit-specific attire. “We are going to encourage people to come and dress appropriately as their favorite T line,” Hum said of the event, called “The Boston ‘T’ Party.”

Get your costumes ready and be sure to be at Copley sq. at 730 Friday Aug 8th!


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