The City Celebrates Bike Week

Got this in the email, lots and lots of bike week events going on:

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Bike Week is here and it’s jam-packed with activities! For a complete list of all bike events happening around the state this week, visit here. Below you will find some important highlights from Boston Bikes!

Mayor Menino’s Bike Week Celebration: May 17, 7-9a

Cap off a great week of biking by joining us and hundreds of others for the Boston Bike Week Celebration on City Hall Plazathis Friday. To get there, you can join one of 10 convoys – including NEW East Boston/Chelsea and Melrose/Malden/Everett routes – or ride in on your own. We’ll start the morning right by enjoying breakfast by Boloco, getting cool free stuff, and saying good morning to each other, including many vendors.

Will you be there? Find your convoy & REGISTER AHEAD!

Ride of Silence: May 15, 7p 

The Ride of Silence, which is being organized by area volunteers, will honor cyclists who’ve been killed in collisions with motor vehicles. Riders must be 16+ and wear a helmet, and are encouraged to wear a white t-shirt or arm band. The route will be completed in silence and go at a slow pace on a 4 mile route through downtown Boston, leaving from City Hall Plaza at 7p. Press coverage and more information can be found here.

 

 

 

Two Wheels, One Fund: May 16, 6p

We are partnering withJerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill to bring you “Two Wheels, One Fund” benefiting The One Fund. With support from the New England cycling community, the event will offer guests an evening of dinner, drinks, live music from Sweet Tooth & the Sugarbabies and the east coast premiere of Red Bull Media’s new mountain biking film, “Where the Trail Ends.” More information and ticket details can be found here.

 

Boston Bikes’ Annual Bike Update, May 21, 6-8:30p

 

Our 5th annual bike update, hosted by the LivableStreets Alliance, will be a presentation on our achievements, challenges, and future goals as we strive to create a “world class bicycling city”. Come hear the latest details about the New Balance Hubway bike share, the Bicycle Network Plan, parking facilities,community programming, and more.

This event is free and open to the public and will be held at the Copley Boston Public Library in the Rabb Lecture Hall. Register!

Visit our calendar of events for more bike events in Boston!

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Ride Of Silence 2011

More from MassBike

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Upcoming Ride Of Silence To Raise Bike Safety Awareness

MassBike will lead the Boston-area Ride of Silence on Wednesday, May 18, 2011, one of hundreds of such rides taking place worldwide in memory of bicyclists killed or injured while riding on public roads. The ride occurs during Bay State Bike Week, the statewide celebration of bicycling.We’ve seen lots of you riding this spring, and we urge as many of you as possible to attend this important ride. We need to send a strong message to the public that bicyclist safety on the roads is an important issue that affects many people. Let us know if you plan to attend by RSVPing to [email protected].

The idea of the Ride of Silence is to draw attention to the human toll caused by roads that are poorly designed for bicycling and by motorists who fail to drive safely around bicyclists. While biking remains a generally safe mode of travel, it is still important to note that we bicyclists do have significant vulnerabilities that may not be recognized or fully appreciated by the general public, and motorists in particular. This ride highlights the fact that as gas prices rise and more people take to the streets on two wheels, we all need to slow down a little and exercise good judgment.

The ride will depart Seven Hills Park behind the Davis Square MBTA Station in Somerville at 7pm (plan to arrive no later than 6:45pm so we can depart promptly), then make its way through Cambridge to Boston where it will conclude at the Charles Street entrance to the Boston Common. The six-mile ride will take place in total silence, at a slow pace, with only signs worn by the riders to explain the purpose of the ride. The route intentionally takes busy streets in order to draw the greatest amount of attention, though the riders take care to follow the law and minimize interference with motor vehicle traffic.

The ride will conclude with brief remarks at Boston Common. If you would like the name of a friend or relative who has been killed or injured in a bike crash to be read aloud, please notify us at [email protected]. Also, if you would like to say a few words at the end of the ride, we welcome your thoughts.

In addition to the Boston-area ride, there are rides in Leominster and Worcester. Check our calendar or the Ride of Silence website for details.

MassBike has led this ride for several years, and the opportunity to ride silently and think about those whose lives have been changed or ended because of a bike crash, and everyone we’re trying to protect by raising public awareness and advocating for better roads, has always proven to be meaningful. Please take some time to join us for this very important event.

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Ride Of Silence: Ride Report

It was a rainy raw evening, about 50 brave riders showed up to show support for those who have fallen while riding. It was a somber occasion, the ride was slow and silent. Pedestrians and people in cars read our signs and you could see them start to contemplate the meaning of what we were doing. Through the rain and heavy mist and cold temps the riders remained stoic. Riding in two perfect lines (when we were able to take a lane) they spread out and two lines of blinky lights announced our presence.

It was a very powerful experience to see riders like this. It reminded me of an honor guard, or a funeral parade. It was also uplifting, to see so many riders announce, “we are here and we ride for those who can not.” No one honked, and no one was rude. It was nice to see people in cars give us respect. Cyclists really do stick together, when one of us gets hurt, it is like all of us get hurt. I was so impressed to see such an outpouring of support, I can only hope that next year the numbers are even bigger.

At the end of the ride Eric Hunts father gave a heartfelt speech about his son. He said that Eric was an organ donor, and explained how tissues from his legs went to fix children with cleft pallets. He said that these children could smile because the sunshine of his life was gone. I found it appropriate that the strongest part of a biker was able to help the most people. I honestly couldn’t help but cry as I saw this man talk about his son. Even now I find it hard to even type this.

A young man also stood up. His face was visibly bruised. He told a tale of waking up in a hospital room with doctors explaining to him that he had been in a bike crash. He told about how he had purchased that helmet 4 days before, and how he had never worn one before then. His father had flown in from the west coast and had gone on the ride with him. It was hard not to think about the recent fatalities and how if not for a bit of luck and a helmet we could have lost one more young person.

There is simply no reason why anyone should die while riding a bicycle. We must understand that when anyone dies while cycling the streets of this city that we all suffer. A failure to protect everyone is a failure BY everyone. Seeing a father talk about the loss of his young son is all you need to witness in order to be convinced of the necessity of protecting everyone.

If you drive a car, remember, no matter what a cyclist or pedestrian might be doing, even if it is illegal, you are in a giant metal object, and that human lives are so easily extinguished. Remind yourself that you are not the kind of person that thinks it is OK to kill someone, remind yourself that everyone is someones child, and please be hyper vigilant. Driving a large automobile gives you a great amount of responsibility towards your fellow human beings. Right or wrong, fair or not, if you are not paying extra attention you can snuff our the life of a pedestrian or cyclists in an instant. Similarly remember on your bicycle you are fast, you are free, you are also not protected by a shell of metal.

Be safe our there people, wear your helmets, follow the laws, keep your head on a swivel.

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Ride Of Silence Tonight

The Ride of Silence (today, 6:45 PM, Seven Hills Park near Davis Sq).

Honor fallen or injured cyclists.

Click here for details on how to rsvp.

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Ride Of Silence

Got this from MassBike, I am going, you should to it is an interesting and powerful ride.

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Ride of Silence: Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Join cyclists around the world on this ride to raise awareness about bicyclist safety and to remember cyclists who have been killed or injured. All rides begin at 7pm.

Boston/Cambridge Somerville: Meet at Seven Hills Park behind Davis Sq MBTA Station in Somerville at 6:45pm. We will ride approximately 6 miles in traffic to the Boston Common. Following the ride, we will lead people back to Davis Sq if needed. Helmets required, lights strongly recommended. Rain cancels. MassBike’s executive director David Watson is leading. Please RSVP to [email protected] so we know how many riders to expect.

For more information about the Ride of Silence, go to http://www.rideofsilence.org/main.php ,

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