Livable Streets Recap

Register for Bike4Life, Sept. 15     Join us for a beautiful fall bike ride and BBQ celebration on the Charles. Sign up to ride 24 or 40 miles or join the 4 or 8 mile volunteer-led family and kids’ routes. Bike4Life starts and ends in Auburndale Park, Newton. Register today. Bike4Life is a fundraiser for LivableStreets. Fundraising minimum $100. First 100 people to register and raise $100 get Bike4Life t-shirts.   This is our most important event and an all-around favorite! Bike4Life helps us fund the change we all want to see on the ground. By registering and raising at least $100, you are helping create safer streets for all people in the Boston region!                                               Can’t ride? You can still volunteer, fundraise or donate to help reach ourgoal of $50,000 for more livable streets. bike4lifeboston.org #Bike4LifeBoston $600 Million Transportation Bill – Yes, it’s a Bill!  The T is finally getting part of the upgrade it needs. On July 24, the Massachusetts State Legislature secured the biggest investment for state transportation in decades, thanks to you! You stepped up to our multiple action e-lerts and personal emails. You sent petitions, called your reps and showed up at Transportation Day on the Hill. You listened, responded, and took action to help move this bill forward. Thank you for helping take our most important transportation systems out of debt and disrepair and move us on the path to having a 21st century transportation system in the Commonwealth. The bill: Invests a dedicated $600M/year in MA’s transportation system a year for the next 5 years Closes the MBTA’s structural budget gap for 2013, which was over $100M this year Caps fare increases at a 5% increase every two years And more – see more on the bill here Now it’s time for LivableStreets to ensure the bill’s funding is spent wisely and fairly. Become a member today to support making sure this new funding goes to much-needed biking, walking and transit projects. Mayoral Candidates Forum on Transportation & Livable Communities, Sept. 17    Do you want to know where the Boston mayoral candidates stand on issues of transportation and livable communities? Save the date for the Boston Mayoral Candidate Forum on Transportation & Livable Communities, where we’ll hear candidates for Boston mayor address the vital transportation issues affecting our community.  Tuesday, September, 17, 6-8pm @ the Boston Public Library RSVP on Facebook for next updates. Longfellow Bridge construction and long-term vision   Longfellow Bridge construction has begun. Here’s what you need to know: Construction is projected to take three and a half years as MassDOT takes apart the bridge and puts its back together. But, the wait will be worth it as the final design is a huge win for everyone using the bridge!   LivableStreets’ long term vision for bridge. If you support this vision donate $10 to our Better Bridges campaign today. What does the construction mean for my commute? For now, one lane of motor vehicle traffic from Cambridge-to-Boston is open with bike lanes in both directions for use during the week (including a wide, buffered bike lane from Boston-to-Cambridge!). The sidewalk on the Boston-to-Cambridge side also remains open. The Red Line will continue service in both directions. There will be 25 weekends over the next three and a half years, including this weekend, in which buses will replace the Red Line between Park St. and Kendall Stations, and the motor vehicle lane and bike lane will be closed. The sidewalk will remain open for pedestrians and people to walk their bikes.   What will it look like when construction is done? What the bridge will look like after construction, including wider sidewalks and a buffered bike lane! The original designs for the Longfellow Bridge were only to repair the structure of the bridge. However, thanks to all your support, and the success of the Better Bridges Campaign, repairs now include surface improvements with YOU in mind! There will be wider sidewalks and bike lanes in both directions, including a buffered bike lane from Boston-to-Cambridge! Are you excited about the long-term vision for the Longfellow? Want to see more bridges improved? Support our Better Bridges Campaign today with a $10 donation.  What do you think of the plans?  Let us know on Twitter #BetterBridges or by emailingbetterbridges@livablestreets.info. We will pass your comments to MassDOT. They have been testing traffic patterns now before starting demolition. Circle the City photos and next event, Sept. 29 See more photos from Circle the City, Huntington Ave here   Thousands of Bostonians flocked to car-free Huntington Ave on July 14, despite the heat to enjoy the opportunity for a new, innovative use of our public space. The outbound lanes between Brigham Circle and the Prudential building were closed to cars and open to people walking, biking, dancing, skating and playing! More open streets are coming soon! Save the date for Circle the City: Open Streets on Blue Hill Avenue,Sunday, September 29 from 11am-4pm. RSVP on Facebook and spread the word. Email Jessica Parsonsto sign up to volunteer! Welcome Alice and GreenRoutes update   The GreenRoutes vision is a network of connected paths which allow people to experience parklands, waterfronts, and great green streets through walking and biking. This summer we are analyzing thefeasibility of linking greenways in the urban core. With grant support from the Trustees Collaborative and the Lillian & Lawrence Solomon Foundation, we have hired Alice Brown to produce a map of existing, planned, and proposed GreenRoutes between the Neoponset andMystic Rivers. Alice will also conduct an analysis of individual gaps in the network and write a case statement that summarizes the potential for creating a comprehensive vision for a seamless and legible series of green routes.   We are so excited to have Alice join our team for the next two months. Alice recently earned a master of urban planning degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and has worked with Boston Bikes. Her thesis research focused on non-automotive uses of Boston streets. “I am delighted to be part of connecting the most beautiful parts of the region for people who travel on two feet or two wheels.” You can reach her at [email protected]. LivableStreets in the news: Boston Globe, Forbes, WBUR, WGBH   Big week for LivableStreets in the news! Executive Director Jackie Douglas was on WBGH Greater Boston, WBUR’s Radio Boston, in Forbe’s “Consumers are ‘Driving Light'” article and on the Boston Globe’s Bicycle Safety panel. Listen to the WBUR segment on rethinking our reliance on cars and check out the rest of our press center here.

Volunteer Spotlight with Mike Sanders   “I learned a lot about advocacy and local government during this process and really appreciate the knowledge and educational support provided by the LivableStreets community.” – Mike Sanders Where are you from? Now, Washington Square Brookline. Originally, near Albany, NY. What do you like about volunteering with LivableStreets? I like learning about everyone’s advocacy efforts. Conversations with other volunteers and members are the best. It’s also fun to chat with people on the street and help bring their voices into the public process through LivableStreets’ Street Ambassador program.   What is your favorite LivableStreets advocacy project? My favorite advocacy project is the contra-flow bicycle lane project in my neighborhood in Brookline. A street with a contra-flow lane has one-way car traffic and two-way bike traffic. Contra-flow lanes provide more convenient connections for people biking where other alternative routes are less convenient.   Contra-flow bicycle lanes were proposed more than five years ago by the Brookline Bicycle Advisory Committee. When they came up for funding at the May 2012 Town Meeting, there was some resistance. A small group of elected Town Meeting Members proposed a by-law prohibiting the lanes. LivableStreets members attended and presented at a number of public meetings and New contra-flow bicycle lane on Essex St in Brookline that Mike helped make happen.  helped inform residents and Town Meeting Members on the benefits of contra-flow bicycle lanes.   In the end, hundreds of residents and elected officials learned about the effectiveness and design of contra-flow bicycles lanes. The by-law did not pass at Town Meeting and the lanes were approved for funding last year and installed over the past couple of months on Essex, Ivy, Park and Dudley Streets.   What would your bumper sticker say? My other car is a Hubway.   > Read more Mike’s efforts with the contra-flow bicycle lanes and his full spotlight here. > If you are interested in volunteering with LivableStreets, come to our Volunteer Fridays from 12-2pm at our office, 100 Sidney Street, Cambridge. The next one happens August 16. Other events and meetings   Proposed Bike Lanes on Hemenway Street Public Meeting Wednesday, August 14, 6pm-7pm @ Boston Conservancy, 31 Hemenway Street, T401, Boston This could be for Boston’s first contra-flow bike lane! Attend and speak out. Meeting details here>>   Bikes Lanes on Broadway Public Meeting by Southie Bikes Tuesday, August 20, 6pm @ Condon School, 200 D Street, South Boston The City of Boston will have a design for East and West Broadway for the public to provide feedback on. Attend and speak out. Meeting details here>>

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Pedaling Every Inch Of RAGBRAI

RAGBRAI 2011 On A Fixed Gear

About a year ago I got this crazy notion, “I should ride my bike across Iowa with my long lost relatives!”, and then in a fit of even greater madness I decided “I should do it on a fixed gear!” Hence my plans to do RAGBRAI on a fixed gear were born.

The longest I had ever gone before on a fixed gear was 168 miles in one day, as this was going to be a multi day ride, I figured it would be no sweat. Plus Iowa is flat right…right?

The next time anyone you meet tells you that Iowa is flat you have my permission to very politely punch them right in the face. Iowa is WICKED HILLY! This years route was the 14th hilliest in RAGBRAI history, and had 23,000 some feet of climb…more than the Ride The Rockies has this year (its the same 300 feet you climb over and over and over again, but whatever).

Before I had a chance for any of this to sink in I had purchased my tickets, and shipped my bike off to Iowa, what follows it a day by day recap of the event followed by some general thoughts.

Click below for the entire thing, its a bit long.

You can also see the day by day updates I did here.

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Pi Day Race Recap

Any race where you are drenched to the bone just riding to the start line is going to be a good one. On apocalyptic streets littered with dead umbrellas, and hidden pot holes 35 racers crazy fuckers, showed up to do battle with mother nature and each other, all for the glory of celebrating PI day. I am not sure I have ridden in worse weather, driving rain, fierce wind, road slop being thrown into your face from the fenderless bike in front of you, ass hole drivers, and to top it all off at one checkpoint we all got hit in the face with a shaving cream pies. (barbosol burns the eyes!)

You might be tempted to use words like “epic”, “awesome”, “torrential”, “stupid” and you would be right to succumb to that temptation. This race was all of those and more, I nearly met my end several times, and my back wheel not looks slightly less than round. In a sadistic turn of events the 15 mile course took us over the Charles not once by twice. I nearly lost my shit going over the Mass Ave bridge just from the wind. Slippery expansion joints, metal plates, slick road paint, and hidden pot holes (pot holes completely under water) were plentiful.

Don't worry she is ok, and also got second place ladies...tough as nails.

There were many crashes, some grizzly, but everyone made it through more or less safe and sound. I was in the front pack most of the race but got lost near the end in china town, nearly taco’d my back wheel on a HUUUUUGE pot hole, lost my blinky and ended up in 6th place.

By the end of the race all of our manifests looked like wet confetti, many people were shaking with the early stages of hypothermia, and a lot of people looked like drowned rats, but everyone even the people bleeding had pretty big smiles on their faces. The after party was held in a quarter inch of water as 40+ drenched biker showed up looking for beers, and warm clothes.

This was by far one of the shittiest, windiest, nastiest, wettest races I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of, not since the 90+ degree Katamari Kat have I suffered like this. Numb fingers, raw faces, drenched toes, all of it seemed to float away (pun intended) as the fun of the race swept over everyone. At points I could barely concentrate on anything but the guy in front of me, or trying to blink enough to get the rain out of my eyes. At one point I even had sand under my upper lip thrown up from a puddle. This race was a sloppy mess, in every sense of the word. As my friend Tammy put it “cheers to anyone who can handle the cold, wet, horizontal 55MPH windy fucktard of a storm outside.”

As fun as it was next time maybe we can schedule some sunshine!

More pictures from Karol’s awesome photo shoot.

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Samhain Scramble Recap

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KatamariCat Recap

So I wasn’t really sure how this race was going to go. My expectations were that it would involve carrying stuff, perhaps even a lot of stuff. With that in mind I emptied my bag of all but the essentials, threw in a couple old tubes to use as tie downs, and even went so far as to attach a rack to the back of my bike. I was so not prepared for the epic amount of sheer awesome this race would turn into.

Let me say that again…EPIC. I know that people on the internet like to use terms like epic and awesome casually, but boy howdy this was a fantastic race.

Just ridding over to the starting point I was a dripping sweaty mess, it was about 90 degrees outside with about the same humidity, riding was more akin to swimming through hot water covered in a wool blanket. Before the race started I stopped at a gas station, got two frozen snickers bar ice cream things, and a giant Gatorade, the ice cream didn’t make it past the end of the parking lot, and the Gatorade disappeared shortly after…it was hot.

I got to the starting point early, and was disappointed to see so few actual racers (mostly check point workers), but that soon changed as I sat under a tree and though cool thoughts about 50 other racers showed up! A fantastic turnout for such a geeky themed alleycat, on such a devils nut sack kind of day.

Once everyone was collected we were given the following manifest:

(this is going to be a long post, click below to read the rest)
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