Greg at BuBikes spotted the crews out painting today, hurray new bike lane day!

There are some people who – either due to complete drug burn-out or just plain genetic unluckiness – simply lack common sense. If said people are semi-attractive, it can almost be labeled “adorable.” Like how they might think that a Band-Aid will be sufficient for a gaping wound. With the right bone structure, that’s kind of cute.

But after any kind of prolonged exposure to those kind of people, it just gets sort of annoying. You can’t blame them, but the truth of the matter is, when I accidentally stab myself, I’m not going to need a Band-Aid. I’m going to need some fucking stitches.

And sadly, that’s exactly what Boston can be like.

Freezing New England winters mean asphalt that cracks and forms waves; and when I finally manage to muster up the energy to call the Department of Public Works on it, they usually just smack a patch on the offending hole. A month later, that hole will be back, and then it’ll increasingly get bigger until someone else decides to call the city. And they’ll just smack another Band-Aid on it.

It makes for interesting rides. But apparently enough [rich] people got together and decided that they probably didn’t want to be held liable for running me over after my front wheel fell into some gaping crater. So they’re repaving the entire length of the Comm Ave service lane from Boston College to Newton.

Which is sweet, really. But did they have to turn Comm Ave into some kind of urban ‘cross course where “road rash” will take on a much bloodier meaning?

Granted, they didn’t dig up the asphalt and then leave it that way for the next four months as might be expected. In fact, they’re making good time, considering the constant traffic. That doesn’t mean it’s not killing my cleats, though [yes, I'm too much of a pussy to ride on that, even with a 'cross frame]. In road shoes, I’m jogging through grass and over pavement that resembles a cheese grater.

It’s not that I’m scared of falling on my face [well, okay, I'd prefer to avoid it], but I haven’t wiped out in a while, so I’m probably due for a epidermic disaster soon. And quite frankly, I don’t want to risk losing half of my leg on Comm Ave and then having to gimp/pedal the rest of the way to school and then sit through class, bleeding, because I’ve done it before and it sucks. Seriously. I’m not even kidding.

So in an attempt to avoid said death traps, I’ll be taking Beacon to school for the next few weeks. Of course, with my luck, I’ll probably end up double-flatting, then skidding down that hill on Beacon on my face tomorrow.

Sigh. C’est la vie.

[Also, thank goodness it's Rapha Scarf Friday. Helloooooo weekend!]

I have had a very good problem lately, it has been hard to keep up with all the new bike lanes going in! Seems like they are going to be putting them in on Comm. Ave, and North Harvard, and Columbus Ave. Huzzah! If you see new lanes popping up, shoot me an email.

The latest sightings seem to be new bike lanes on Beacon near BU, spotted by 100psi and pedalstrike.

I also saw what looked like new bike lanes being painted on River street coming over from Allston into Cambridge. At least I think they are new bike lanes there was no markers on them, and frankly I wouldn’t be sad if they were not bike lanes, cause the shoulder on River is really rough, and I would hate to think they were gonna put a bike lane over that mess…sorry no picture yet of these, will keep you posted. We are still very far from a complete system of bike lanes and bike infrastructure, but every long journey starts with single step…I am pleased to see we have taken a couple small steps lately.

Everyone’s heard of the old person that got up in the middle of the night to get a glass of milk, fell down some stairs, and croaked.

I feel like I’m dangerously close to actually being that person. Except I’m not old [in the relative scheme of things] and this is all going to happen on a bike.

Because while it’s only the second week of school, last night I found myself half groping through my usual commute, squinting in the dark as if that’s going to somehow fix my 0/0 vision. It didn’t, obviously, but feet fueled by hunger bordering on starvation and getting crowded out of the lane by impatient cars, it did help that I knew my route well.

Newton likes to keep things dark, but even along Comm Ave – which actually has functioning street lights – the shadows of trees like to hide all the sneaky potholes that are just deep enough to fall into. My trusty Knog light kept the more attentive drivers at bay but I’d still need one of those intense headlights [the kind you actually strap around your head] to actually illuminate the street.

Because I’m as blind as a bat. The only thing keeping me from eating shit on the way home was the fact that I knew what to avoid and where. But cutting across the Boston College undergrad campus, and hopping onto Beacon, I discovered something new.

A bike lane…! Marked off on both sides of the street in bold white lines that I could see even without the aid of sunlight. And while I know the bumps and cracks on that stretch of road nearly by heart, it’s reassuring to know that a couple feet of asphalt have officially been sectioned off for my personal use.

Of course, this has the potential to put me right back into that dangerous old-person-dying-in-her-house scenario. Because the whole assumption behind that is that you know your house well enough to get around with no lights on. But of course you’re wrong and you end up paying the consequences. Which sucks when you have to die for it.

Maybe I’ll stick to taking my chances on Comm Ave…

It’s that time of year: College Move In. This past May I moved out all my belongings from my Myles Standish dorm room in Kenmore Square into my summer apartment in Allston using only my bike. Here’s what that looked like:

This is my homebuilt Xtracycle longtail cargo bike, whose inadequate axle actually broke after carrying the load seen below:

So I used my mountain bike outfitted with wald rear baskets to tow my crippled longtail to my apartment which in turn carried my snowboard:

From then on I used my rear baskets and a baby stroller turned makeshift bike trailer to carry more of my junk:

And here’s my bike carrying my office chair:

It took a total of thirteen trips to move all my belongings out of my dorm and a bit of creativity to affix some irregularly sized items to my bike.

As you can tell I am a huge fan of cargo biking, but less obvious is my fanaticism for the video game Katamari Damacy, so I was less than thrilled to miss last weekend’s Katamari-cat, a Katamari Damacy Themed Alleycat bike race/scavenger hunt that required riders to carry irregularly sized items with them on their bike. Needless to say, that Alleycat would have been right up my alley

Since the BU semester starts in a few days, I’ve decided to bike-move again back into my new dorm room in Myles Standish. What’s a senior doing in a predominately underclassmen dorm, you ask? Why, enjoying the luxury of a spacious single to house me and all my bikes, of course. So for the past few weeks I’ve been borrowing and using an electric powered bike since my knees have been giving me trouble. After attaching my Wald baskets to the rear rack, I began round one of my slow but steady bike move back to the dorm today using my camping dry bags and some bungee cords:

Unfortunately, I almost forgot that college move-in day meant a nightmare of traffic and illegally parked vehicles. While I didn’t see cars parked in the bike lane outside Warren Towers, there were two moving trucks hogging the lane:

It only got worse when I got to Kenmore Square, where the outbound bike lane, the only place I’ve personally ever been doored, was lined with parked cars:

But the real nightmare was the intersection of Comm. Ave and University Rd, where during rush hour even with a green light the bike lane and the green linewas blocked by cars coming off the Carlton St. Bridge trying to get onto the BU bridge and Storrow Drive. Over the summer this was less of a problem since less people were in town, but seeing this intersection today as the new school year takes off was a stark reminder of what I am likely to see on a daily basis all year unless something changes:

As you can see, the cyclist above is not very happy about dangerous mess she has just waded through. And as school will soon be in full swing and swarms of bicyclists and pedestrians pass through bu BU bridge intersection, we can only hope to see something done about it soon, especially when actual BU Bridge renovation begins.

Farther down Comm. Ave at Agganis Arena, Cirque Du Soleil was scheduled to perform, and Boston Police detail was making sure traffic was running smoothly. Giant electronic traffic alert displays were also displaying messages to drivers to expect delays. What if those displays also said to watch out for cyclists? Wouldn’t that be nice?

Check out this article on Newbury Street becoming a pedestrian way during the weekends of July and August.  Mayor Menino is behind this, as are the stores who would love to see the increase of foot traffic and happy shoppers.  Look for expanded storefronts, possible street vendors, music and fashion shows, and good vibes all around.

One Newbury Street shopper had the complaint of :”Where are they going to park? That’s a big problem.”

Please, spare us.  When the choice is between a street that can be used safely and comfortably for the general public all the while increasing revinue (and space) for the stores, or used for leaving one’s oversized SUV tank next to the curb, I personally choose the pedestrian way.  Even if it means I have to get off my bike and walk down Newbury because there’ll be so many people.

This is a great idea, and I hope the city adopts more changes like this.  Here’s one: how about Comm Ave, from BU Bridge to Kenmore, closed to through traffic – which can be diverted through the top part of Brookline, down Park Drive, and channelled out to Beacon Street.  Imagine, students crossing with peace, biking, skateboarding, four-squaring, and socializing in the middle of their own campus?  How could that ever possibly be?!  How radical a thought?!

Or we could just leave that public space for people to park their cars.   I suppose it’s a toss up.