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News, Events, Updates


Bikes Not Bombs Update

Written by Boston Biker on May 31

From the Email:

 


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Ride A BlueBike To Vote!

Written by Boston Biker on Nov 01

From the email:

Election Day in Massachusetts is Tuesday, November 6th, and Bluebikes is hosting a Free Ride Day to help you get to your polling location. Grab a free Adventure Pass from the Bluebikes app on Election Day by using code BIKETOVOTE: gift codes to redeem at a Bluebikes kiosk will be made available from our website before Election Day. The Adventure Pass includes unlimited 2-hour trips for a 24-hour period, so you can #BiketoVote in style on Election Day.

Once you have your free pass, head over to our Bike to Vote Guide to find a Bluebikes station near your voting site.

The early voting period is open until Friday, November 2nd. Head over to our early voting blog post to learn more about how you can cast your vote. You don’t need a reason to vote early, you just need to be a resident of the municipality where you cast your vote. If you have any questions on how to vote early or find your polling location, stop by and speak to one of our ambassadors at our Bike to Vote Pop-up Event next week:

  • Boston City Hall Plaza | Thursday, November 1st | 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Let’s Go on a Boo-Bikes Ride: Halloween Edition 

Celebrate Halloween and take Bluebikes to one of the many spooky events popping up across Metro Boston. From cheese and candy tastings to exploring historic graveyards in Boston, there is so much to do. We put together some of our favorite Halloween events and activities to attend across Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville. Check out our Halloween Guide, and hop on a bike today.

Now in a Neighborhood Near You

You may have noticed our new stations in more neighborhoods across Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville. Here is a look back on some of the major new updates and milestones for the Bluebikes system:
  • 60+ New Stations
  • 2,000+ Additional Docks
  • 800+ Bikes Added to Fleet
Record Day: September 9th, 9,974 Rides
Pop-Quiz Time: Want the chance to win free one-month membership extension? With 800 additional bikes in the field, how many additional wheel spokes have been added to our fleet? Leave your guess on this form by midnight on Thursday, November 8. The closest guess will be announced on Friday, November 9.

Closing Out Women’s Bike Month

Women’s Bike and Brunch

A little rain could not put a damper on our Women’s Bike Month close-out celebrations. The event kicked off with brunch and networking at Lucy’s American Tavern on Saturday, October 27th. With weather in our favor, we closed out the weekend with a leisurely ride along the Neponset River Greenway on Sunday, taking in the peak fall foliage.

Thank you to all the amazing women that came out to support the event: this is the first of many rides to come! Head over to our blog and check out the full recap and see additional photos.

Behind-the-Scenes Feature: Lindsey

Lindsey has been with the Bluebikes team since 2013. With a little bit of experience in every department, she now serves as the Bluebikes Field Staff Manager:

“I’ve been most excited about collaborating with other departments to help make the expansion into Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roslindale a success. It’s exciting to see bike share in Boston reaching different neighborhoods.”

Head over to the Bluebikes blog and check out Lindsey’s full feature. Interested in joining the Bluebikes team? We’re hiring.

As Women’s Bike Month 2018 wraps up, we took some time to recap all of the amazing women that we featured throughout the month. Check out the #WBM2018 blog post to learn more about some of the women who bike in Metro Boston, and staff members that keep the Bluebikes system rolling.

Let’s Go on a Bluebikes Ride

Bike to Vote Pop-Up Event
November 1st | 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Boston


Moving Together Conference
November 1st | 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Boston


Massachusetts Cheese Festival 
November 3rd | 10:30 a.m. | Somerville


Pumpkin Smash!
November 3rd | 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Boston


Somerville Neighborhood Cleanups
November 3rd – 10th | Various Times | Somerville


Roslindale Farmers Market
November 3rd | 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Boston


Election Day & Free Ride Day
November 6th | All Day


Winter Biking Basics Workshop
November 19th | 6:00 p.m. | Cambridge


Community Thanksgiving Dinner
November 24th | 1:00 p.m. | Brookline


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Update From Bikes Not Bombs

Written by Boston Biker on Oct 17

Our Bike Shop is moving out of 18 Bartlett Square.

After more than ten years, our award winning Bike Shop is moving out of 18 Bartlett Square in Jamaica Plain when our lease expires at the end of this year in December. In our recent Letter from the Director we shared our plan to move the Shop into the Brewery building with our Hub at 284 Amory Street providing increased visibility in an established business environment where we plan to build a seamless connection between our Bike Shop and Youth Pathways. By integrating our space, we plan to diversify apprenticeships for teens and increase participation among women, girls, and vulnerable communities in many aspects of our social enterprise beyond mechanics, including retail management, accounting, marketing, and leadership development. We plan to continue providing youth with income, tangible skills, connections to others and a safe space to grow as we recognize our full potential as a Bike Shop and Training Center for Youth, while continuing to feature expert mechanic services, refurbished bicycles, parts and accessories, and increased access to clinics on bicycle safety and mechanics. Please check our Unite Under One Roof FAQs, as we continue to share updates on our plan’s progress.

     Photo by Chris Leong

How You Can Help

Use the bicycle as a vehicle for social change.

It has never been more crucial to take action to stop climate change, and we are proud to be an organization that has been able to put both environmental sustainability and social justice at the forefront of what we do each and every day. Our commitment to keeping thousands of bicycles out of the waste stream by giving these bikes a new life and continued value whether shipped internationally or refurbished locally by our youth and shop staff means that more underserved communities have access to environmentally friendly means of transportation, mutually benefitting both the earth and its inhabitants.

 

Donate now.

Donating to support our mission is the best way you can ensure that Bikes Not Bombs’ Youth Pathways, International Partnerships and Bike Shop programs continue to grow. If each of the recipients of this e-newsletter donated just $10 today, we would be able to realize the dream of our Hub and Shop integration more fully by next year.

 

Shop our fall sale.

This weekend, Friday, October 19th 1pm-6:30pm, Saturday, October 20th 9am-4pm, and Sunday, October 21st 12pm-4pm, we will be having a Fall Sale at the Bike Shop.Everything (except service, repairs and labor) will be 15% off. This includes:

  • refurbished and new bikes
  • used and new parts
  • accessories
  • apparel

The more you buy, the less we have to move. Every dollar you spend at the Bike Shop will help ensure our local youth programs and international partnership work continues to thrive. Every time you buy a refurbished bike, you keep a bike out of the waste stream and give it a new life.

 

Take this short survey about our Bike Shop.

We value your feedback! By taking this short survey about our Bike Shop, you will help us understand what kinds of bikes and gear you’re looking for and how we may improve to serve your needs… and you just might win a BNB T-shirt! Please contact our Director of Learning and Evaluation, René Milet at [email protected] with any questions regarding this survey.


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Hubway Is Dead Long Live Blue Bikes

Written by Boston Biker on Mar 08

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts will pay nearly $20 million to turn the Boston area’s Hubway bike share system into Blue Bikes and expand the program with more than 1,000 new bikes and more than 100 new rental stations across the region.

“Blue Cross is committed to helping Massachusetts residents lead healthy lives, and this program is a way to bring that to life,” said Jeff Bellows, vice-president of corporate citizenship for BCBS. “Being a health-care company, it’s in line with what we want to do.”

BCBS will pay $18 million over six years to be the sole sponsor of the bike share system, which will be renamed Blue Bikes. The money will be used in part to fund a nearly 50 percent increase in bikes — by the end of 2019, there will be 3,000 Blue Bikes on the streets, up from 1,800 today — and add more than 100 new stations across Boston, Cambridge, Brookline and Somerville. The expansion will bring more service to underserved parts of the city, Bellows said.

“Communities like Mattapan, Dorchester, Roxbury, they’re going to get additional access to these bikes,” he said. (via)

While I wish it was more of a public system, maybe tax based, but sure I will siphon off some of the obscene profits BCBS is making to fund bike share programs.

The best part of this is that Hubway/Blue Bikes will continue, and it will expand into areas that have not been served by it so far.


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Hubway Winter Update

Written by Boston Biker on Feb 02

From Hubway:

 

Hubway had a winning January!

This past month, Hubway riders took over 40,000 trips, more than double the January record. Want to try out winter riding? You don’t need to be tough — you just need to be cold-weather ready. Check out our helpful winter riding tips before hitting the road, and get ready to set more champion numbers in February!

Winter Operations Update

The Airport T Stop station and the Harvard Kennedy School at Bennett St / Eliot St station have been relocated due to snow removal management. [Details]

We hope the groundhog predicts an early spring, but until then, stay up to date on winter operations. Use the Hubway app to verify the location and availability of your intended station before your trip.

Rider Exclusive: Save 20% on Adam Trent Tickets

Get your discounted tickets now to The Magic of Adam Trent at Shubert Theatre March 9th-11th. Produced by the creative team behind The Illusionists, the world’s best-selling touring magic show, The Magic of Adam Trent is an immersive entertainment extravaganza of magic, comedy, and music designed to entertain the entire family.

Where to Ride

Frog Pond College Night
Tuesdays, 6pm-9pm | Boston


Boston Winter: City Hall Skating Path
February 11am-11pm | Boston

Thurs, 2/1, 5pm-9pm | Boston

SOWA First Friday 
Fri, 2/2, 5pm-9pm | Boston


Somerville Winter Farmers Market 
Sat, 2/3, 9:30am-2pm | Somerville 


Book Sale at the BPL
Sat, 2/3, 10am-4pm | Boston


Bicycle Maintenance Basics: Free City of Cambridge Workshop
Mon, 2/5, 6pm-7:30pm | Cambridge


Beyond Bicycle Maintenance Basics: Free City of Cambridge Workshop
Wed, 2/7, 6pm-7:30pm | Cambridge


Winter Biker Breakfast
Fri, 2/9, 7:30am-9am | Cambridge


Free! Winter Bike Clinic
Sat, 2/10, 1pm-2:30pm | Boston


Winter Wellness Walks 
Sun, 2/11, 1pm-1:45pm | Boston


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The Word On The Street

  • RSS Here is what people are saying

    • Where bicycles are prohibited in Massachusetts August 16, 2023
      TweetThe main issue you will confront if you get into a dispute with police over bicycle prohibitions is whether the prohibition is supported by law. Often it is not. Example: the ramp from Commonwealth Avenue to Route 128 northbound and … Continue reading →
      jsallen
    • Where bicycles are prohibited in Massachusetts August 16, 2023
      TweetThe main issue you will confront if you get into a dispute with police over bicycle prohibitions is whether the prohibition is supported by law. Often it is not. Example: the ramp from Commonwealth Avenue to Route 128 northbound and … Continue reading →
      jsallen
    • It’s Finally Happening! 5th Annual Hot Cocoa Ride Feb 12! February 8, 2022
      ... Continue reading →
      commonwheels
    • It’s Finally Happening! 5th Annual Hot Cocoa Ride Feb 12! February 8, 2022
      ... Continue reading →
      commonwheels
    • Hello world! June 9, 2021
      Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing! Continue reading →
      thecommunityspoke
    • Run The Jewels Lead Free Pewter Hand Carved And Cast Pin Set January 3, 2021
      Made these lovely RTJ fist and gun pin set. Hand carved in wax, and then cast in lead free pewter.  Because these are made by hand you can do fun things like add an extra small pin so that they sit just so (also means they have “customized” brass back plates to accommodate the extra […]
      Boston Biker
    • My Work In The Wild: Feather Head Badge With Chris King Headset January 3, 2021
      One of my customers sent me this amazing picture of my feather badge installed on their (awesome!) bike.   Check out Manofmultnomah (here and here), apparently Chris King took some interest in it as well.  Want one of your own?  Buy it here, or here... Continue reading →
      Boston Biker
    • Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps! December 14, 2020
      TweetSometimes, the best way to gather ideas and feedback is to let people draw on some maps. Last night, at the Bike Network Open House, pedallovers unveiled a draft for their upcoming plans for a more connected biking network infrastructure … Continue reading →
      greg
    • Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps! December 14, 2020
      TweetSometimes, the best way to gather ideas and feedback is to let people draw on some maps. Last night, at the Bike Network Open House, pedallovers unveiled a draft for their upcoming plans for a more connected biking network infrastructure … Continue reading →
      greg
    • Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps! December 14, 2020
      TweetSometimes, the best way to gather ideas and feedback is to let people draw on some maps. Last night, at the Bike Network Open House, pedallovers unveiled a draft for their upcoming plans for a more connected biking network infrastructure … Continue reading →
      greg