14th Annual Boston Halloween Bike Ride Is Tomorrow!

Greg 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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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.

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

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Monthly Bike Parties Roll Into Boston; First Boston Bike Party Next Tuesday!

Greg Hum plays drums on his bike, organizes the annual Midnight Marathon Bike Ride, and rides bikes after eating too much. He shares stories and more on his personal blog, The Humble Cyclist. Tweet at him, bro: @thehum. 

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Back in 2009, BostonBiker reported back on some observations from adventures with the monthly San Jose Bike Party group bike ride:

1. 

   San Jose Bike Party

   1500 people, no joke this thing is huge

2. People stop at stop signs and red lights (mostly)
3. People in cars are nice to the party members
4. All ages (family, child, old, college, high school etc)
5.  People love their cruisers/low riders/choppers/old shitty mountain bikes out there.
6.  It is done at night
7.  Music is provided by several bike trailers, and a musical couch
8.  BIKE PARTY!!!!
9. Seriously…BIKE PARTY!!!!!

Fast forward four years, and I’m very pleased to announce that Shane’s observations are soon going to become a reality in Boston:

Bike Parties are coming to Boston, and the first one is next Tuesday night, May 28th! 

From the Boston Bike Party website:

Bike Party is a phenomenon which has grown out of San Jose, California and spread across the country.  Massachusetts has a vast and diverse biking community with a lot of potential for some great social rides, and it’s about time we got a Bike Party of our own!

The idea is simple: we have fun while riding around together on bikes.  It’s a monthly social ride to make friends, hang out with fellow bikers, and promote biking in the Boston/Cambridge area by showing all the walkers and drivers how we have a good time!

There is no cost to join us, and no obligation.  It’s just an informal bike night out around town to have fun and socialize.

Hopefully we’ll see you at the first Boston Bike Party!

1. Keep to the right lane and off of sidewalks
2. Never ride against traffic
3. Stop at red lights
4. Ride straight and predictably
5. Ride smart. Don’t ride inebriated or unsafely.
6. Remind others to be safe. Help remind others who aren’t following the rules.
7. Stick together! It isn’t a race to the end, it’s a social ride together. If the group is held back, wait. If you’re falling back (which is hard) catch up!

You are each responsible for your behavior! All participants ride at their own risk.

• Meeting location: Dewey Square Plaza
• Date: May 28th, 2013 
• Meet time: 7:30pm
• Ride Departure: 8:00pm
• Facebook Event Page | Boston Bike Party on Facebook
  

Elodie, Boston Bike Party’s founder, a recent Boston transplant and France native, felt inspired to bring Bike Parties to Boston after participating and falling in love with DC Bike Parties while living there.

The DC Bike Party Experience from Charles Pulliam-Moore on Vimeo.

I imagine an amazing party on wheels akin to the closest thing Boston has to a Bike Party: the annual JP Halloween bike ride:
.

I’ll have the Hum Drum out for this one. See you on Tuesday!

-Greg

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Kelsey Rennebohm Ghost Bike Install And Remembrance Ride Tomorrow

A few folks in the JP biking community are organizing a ghost bike install and rememberance ride around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir for Kelsey Rennebohm who was struck and killed by a bus last week with the support of Kelsey’s brother, who is also a bicyclist. (Please see Shane’s comprehensive coverage on Kelsey from earlier this week)

More info from the Facebook event page Please spread the word, and ride safe.

Huntington Ave & Forsyth St, Boston, MA 02115
Please join the greater Boston area bicycling community at Huntington and Forsyth at 8:15PM to place a Ghost Bike for Kelsey Rennebohm.

Following that, we’ll ride to Chestnut Hill Reservoir. Details on the ride are tentative and dependent on some logistics and scouting the planned area, so please check back soon.

Independent of your RSVP status on Facebook, we request you privately RSVP here for an approximate headcount for logistics: http://www.doodle.com/x4smimtinvs8dwn6

Attendance on the ride requires respectful, non-confrontational conduct and following traffic laws wherever possible; on multi-lane roads, please stick to the right-most travel lane, and leave some room on the left side both as a buffer from cars and for corkers to pass. We are in the process of seeking assistance from Boston, Brookline, and Northeastern Police.

Please have at least a front light – ideally front and rear lights.

The family is unable to attend but has requested that we record photos and video, and post descriptions of the ride for them to see. You are invited to share your photos, videos, and comments here, on youtube, etc.

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Upcoming Rides

Got this in the email, its that time a year again, when organized rides start happening!

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Sun March 18, 2012 – Neponset Greenway End of Winter Ride.  10:00 am Castle Island We’ll ride along the Harbor south to the Neponset River, up it to the Blue Hills, and back again.  We’ll look at pathways which are new since our last ride and discuss what is happening next along the Neponset Trail.  People who live closer to Hyde Park than to South Boston are welcome to split off if they need the time, though much of the ride back will be on a different route than the ride down.  Led by Jessica Mink of the Neponset River Greenway Council.

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Sun, Apr 1, 2012 – Spring Middlesex Canal Bicycle Ride. Meet 9:30 AM at North Station (commuter rail) and take our bicycles on the 10 AM train to Lowell. (Riders can also board at West Medford at 10:11 or meet the Train when it arrives in Lowell at 10:43). Route visits Lowell canals, river walk, Francis Gate, and then Middlesex Canal remnants in Chelmsford. Lunch at Route 3A minimall in Billerica. Quick visit to Canal Museum, then on to Boston. Long day, but sunset is late. Riders needing to leave early can get the train to Boston at 1:07 at North Billerica or at 3:14 at Wilmington. Participants are responsible for one-way train fare [$6.75 from Boston to Lowell]. Complete Lowell line schedules can be downloaded at www.mbcr.net if anyone wishes to plan a rail travel itinerary specific to their needs.For any changes or updates, see middlesexcanal.org. Leaders Bill Kuttner (617-241-9383) & Dick Bauer (857-540-6293).

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Save the Dates – Other upcoming rides:

Sunday April 8th – Bike Rides for Ordinary People Easter Sunday ride, leaving from Arlington Center (morning). See http://boston.bikeridesfop.org/BikeRidesUpComing.htm

Saturday May 12th – National Train Day Ride, leaving from South Station (all day)

Sunday May 20th – Somerville History Ride, leaving from Somerville City Hall (afternoon)

Sunday June 3rd – Bike to the Sea (morning).  See www.biketothesea.com

Sunday June 10th – Boston Jewish History Ride, leaving from Franklin Park Zoo, Giraffe Entrance (all day)

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