Hey That Was Me!

Written by Boston Biker on Feb 26

I am pretty sure I can now die happy, I made BikeyFace. I do tend to ride past her (we have opposite direction commutes), and I do recall a rather “whaaa” look on her face when I was all bundled up in a scarf. If you are reading this BikeyFace, mystery solved.

Read the rest of this great comic here.

Tags: bikeyface, comic, fun, winter commuting
Posted in Commuting, fun | 2 Comments »

Why Is That Cyclist In The “Middle Of The Road!?!?!!”

Written by Boston Biker on Dec 05

Bikeyface does it again with an amazing comic:

What you are not already a huge fan of Bikeyface? Get over there and check out the entire comic. Its great.

Tags: bikeyface, comic, middle of the road
Posted in advocacy, fun | 1 Comment »

See And Be Seen

Written by Boston Biker on Nov 16

More awesome light awareness campaigns from A Better City, and Bikeyface:

Read more about this awesome campaign here (excerpt below):

People Who Bike

As bikes increasingly share the roads with motorists and pedestrians, awareness and visibility become all the more important. These tips will help:

Be predictable. “Be predictable and visible” is the mantra for preventing a bike accident.
Install lights.  A white light in front and a red light in back is the law, and highly effective at night and in stormy weather.
Use turn signals. Use your arms to indicate your intention to turn left or right, or if you plan to stop.
Stop at all stop signs and red lights.
Wear eye-catching clothing.  This is why I like biking in skirts!
Hone your Sixth Sense. Over time, cyclists develop an almost zen-like awareness of what’s going on around them. BikeyFace has a great post illustrating this.

People Who Drive

As Mayor Menino is fond of saying, the car is no longer king in Boston.  Here are some basic guidelines to help you be aware and stay visible in your vehicle. You can also try this fun awareness test video.

Use turn signals. Signals are imperative to communicate your intention to all road users.

Avoid cell phone use. Studies have found that talking on the phone while driving can have a negative effect “as profound as those associated with driving while drunk.” Texting while driving is illegal in Massachusetts.

Don’t stop in a bike lane. It’s illegal (unless you are parallel parking) and causes people who bike to veer around you into car traffic that may not expect them coming.

Check for oncoming bike traffic after parking.  The Dutch are taught from an early age to reach across their bodies to open the car door, which forces them to look back for oncoming bikes. It’s a good habit to get into! And remember: cyclists are allowed to bike outside of the bike lane.

People Who Walk

We’re all pedestrians after we’ve parked our bikes and cars – and when we’re taking the T. Be aware of your surroundings and make it easy to stay visible while you walk around town.

Be predictable. Follow pedestrian traffic signals. If you choose to jaywalk, make sure that there is zero approaching traffic in the form of motorists or people on bikes.
Avoid cell phone use. Cell phones can be as distracting on foot as behind the wheel, so why not sit at a park bench or wait until you’re not navigating precarious city streets to have a phone call?

People Who Lead

In a perfect safety world, our elected officials and city planners would enjoy multi-modal lifestyles to better understand the needs of our fellow road users. The Commonwealth has a premier example of this in our Secretary of Transportation Rich Davey, who lives car-free and routinely takes the T to work.

Under Davey, MassDOT recently announced a first-in-the-nation mode shift goal to triple the share of trips taken by bike, walking and transit by 2030. Government can play perhaps the largest role in creating safe road conditions by investing in infrastructure that supports safe interactions among people who walk, drive, and bike. Changing our streets will be well worth the time, investment, and continued advocacy.

Tags: a better city, bikeyface, lights
Posted in advocacy | 2 Comments »

Bikeyface Bike Week Picnic

Written by Boston Biker on May 16

This looks awesome, might even go myself!

 

Bikeyface Bikenic · May 20 · 12pm

Are you curious about biking? Or maybe you’re experienced and want to share? Come to the Bikenic!

What is a Bikenic? It’s a picnic where people share information and discuss biking to work. Bring a lunch, yourself, and your curiosity. No bike riding involved or bike required (you can take the subway or drive for all we care!)

This is not a workshop. This will be a group of people in the community curious about biking, or with tips to share. There is no agenda, set topic, or structure. The idea is that no single person can know everything about what you want to know about bike commuting, but perhaps a group of people do. It will be kind a community knowledge-sharing social event. Hopefully you’ll make new friends and find practical answers to your biking questions. All backgrounds, experience levels, and questions welcome and encouraged!

Details:

Date: Sunday, May 20, 12 noon

Location: Boston Common Frog Pond, Boston MA

Bring: A lunch, picnic blanket

Weather: Rain cancels

For updates/additional info: Stay tuned to the event page on Bikeyface (http://bikeyface.com/events/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bikeyface), or Twitter (@bikeyface)

Invite your friends! Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/410288945658274/

Tags: bikeyface, picnic
Posted in fun | 2 Comments »

The Bikeyface Guide To Being A New Biker

Written by Boston Biker on Apr 20

Once again Bikeyface has crafted a wonderful and informative comic. Here is a taste.

Get the rest here at her amazing site.

Tags: amazing, awesome, bikeyface, comic, guide
Posted in education, fun | No Comments »

Spring Rebirth Of A Hubway Bike Share Station

Written by greg on Mar 21

Greg Hum has been a “Boston Biker” since 2008, leading a bicycle-centric life and caring deeply about building communities and thinking about ways to make biking in Boston a better, more magical experience. You may know him as the guy behind the Boston Midnight Marathon Bike Ride, a co-founder of BU Bikes, or that crazy guy who plays the drums on his bike. When he’s not contributing to BostonBiker, he’s sharing stories and more on his personal blog, The Humble Cyclist, and over at CommuteByBike.com.

____________________________________________________________________

It’s only the second day of spring here in Boston, but it felt more like mid-summer; people and bicycles were out and about, emerging from the indoor confines of a (not-so-brutal) winter to enjoy today’s sunny high-of-79-degrees-Fahrenheit breeze. Rolling outbound on my bike on Comm. Ave by Boston University, I stumbled upon two friends, Galen Mook and Graham Conway, who also happen to be part of the awesome Hubway crew installing bike share stations all over Boston.

Graham tidied up the inner cabling and positioned the panels, while Galen used a power drill with a socket wrench to tighten the bolts on the panels. Both of them were focused on the job at hand: to assemble and prepare each nut and bolt on these Hubway station with speed and precision to prepare them for the thousands of students, tourists, and commuters who will be using it for the year. Galen explained the process. ”An hour to drop it off with the crane and an hour to install it.” Graham looked up for a few seconds to clarify: ”We’re rolling out five stations a day, and it’s a lot of work.”

After installing the cabling and all the panels, Graham grabbed his handy spray-bottle of tri-flow lubricant and greased up the locking plates the Hubway bikes lock into.

In the top-secret control panel behind the kiosk panel, Galen flipped a switch that was on the mainboard and pointed his finger to the tiny green LED on the circuit board, indicating the power was on. “Soon they’ll start blinking, and we’ll be in business.”

Galen then ripped off an inch of scotch tape to stick on a partial-service notice to the Hubway map and snapped into place the last panel to install: the one that sits atop the map with the name of the station’s location.

Finally, in the pickup truck next to the station, Galen picked up one of the two Hubway bikes to be left at this station.

And soon, the station popped up on the online Hubway station map, showing the fruits of Galen and Graham’s labor:

Last year whe Boston rolled out the Hubway bike share system, the bicycling landscape of Boston was changed forever. Tourists, students, commuters, and everyday folk were  riding Hubway bicycles everywhere. Hubway closed up shop and put the stations away for the winter, but now they’re back. Friends, this year’s seasonal bicycling epidemic is now officially underway, and with no doubt Hubway will be exploding even more than it did last year. As blogger and artist Bikeyface observed last year, morning commutes on the esplanade with Hubway riders will become more common:

Happy Spring, Boston Bikers!

Tags: bikeshare, bikeyface, hubway, springtime
Posted in Commuting | 4 Comments »

Seeing Vs Looking

Written by Boston Biker on Feb 23

I was waiting for an appointment the other day when I struck up a conversation with another woman in the lobby. She noticed my bike helmet and the conversation quickly turned to a discussion of cars versus cyclists.

It was just on of those casual conversations you have with a stranger in passing. After voicing the usual complaint about cyclists never stopping for red lights she added that she just “was not looking for cyclists.”

I started thinking about the word “looking.” Do drivers only see what they are looking for? And are they only looking for other cars? Which would mean, to a driver, a city intersection looks like this:

This is possibly the greatest visual example of this phenomenon I have ever witnessed.  From the always amazing Bikeyface, if you are not reading her comic you should start today!

I created the gif, go to the bikeyface website to see it in all its glory.

Tags: animated, awesome, bikeyface, comic
Posted in fun | 1 Comment »