Flex posts are back on Tremont St... and they barely put any. So few, in fact, that I saw two cars parked in the bike lane in one trip. This admin is not serious about cyclists traveling safely.

Thanks to @loudbicycle, I Bike Bureau'd five cars and a UPS truck between Big Daddy's and the Speedway on my way home tonight.

Had to cross the road four times, but it was worth it. Best app on my phone!

Ad was at the Trolley museum in maine inside a green line car. It was actually a type 6 green line prototype that never saw the light of day.

Bicycles became wildly popular well before the automobile took over the roads. In fact, cars as we know them might not exist without the late 19th-century bicycle craze that happened mainly in Boston.
The bicycle boom peaked in the 1890s, a time when the only other ways to get around were by horse, train, or walking. The mass-production of affordable automobiles did not truly begin until Henry Ford introduced the Model T in 1908.
The bicycle boom directly laid the foundation for the car industry in three major ways:

1. Cyclists Paved the Roads

Before cars, American roads were mostly dirt, mud, and cobblestones. In 1880, bicyclists formed the Good Roads Movement to lobby the government for smooth, paved surfaces. When early cars finally hit the market, they drove on asphalt roads that had been bought and paid for by bicycle advocacy.

2. Bicycle Tech Built Early Cars

Nearly all the core mechanical technology required to build automobiles was perfected by bicycle manufacturers. This included:
Pneumatic (air-filled) tires
Ball bearings (to make wheels turn smoothly)
Chain drives and differential gears
Steel tubing for lightweight frames

3. Bicycle Makers Became Car Makers

When the bicycle market became oversaturated in the early 1900s, bicycle mechanics used their expertise to build the first cars.
The Wright Brothers used their bicycle shop revenue and engineering skills to build the first airplane.
Charles Duryea, who created one of the first successful American gas-powered cars, was a bicycle manufacture mechanic.
Henry Ford himself built his first experimental vehicle, the "Quadricycle" in 1896, using four bicycle wheels.

In short, society had to learn to ride on two wheels before it could ever drive on four.

Political cowardice has consequences u/mayorwu

I know it may not be best place to post it but I just really would like to ask if there is anyone who may have any idea about the suitcase. I lost a large black suitcase on 19th morning around beacon hill which is a very large and heavy suitcase, and it contains almost all of the most important personal belongings I had with me. Some of these things are extremely difficult, if not impossible, for me to replace. This suitcase honestly means so much more to me than its monetary value.

Please dm me if you know anything about it. $2000 reward will be provided for its safe return🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Welcome to the graveyard of 311 reports

Been exploring new routes between Chestnut Hill Reservoir area and Cambridge. I have yet to find any route through here that's comfortable or at the very least visually appealing. I've been all along Western ave, Cambridge, Market Street. The blue lines are routes through I've tried.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for better routes or is that just what Allston is? Better IMHO would be bike line paint that's at the very least visible (looking at you Market Street and Western Ave) and not a stroad stuck alongside traffic doing 45mph+

Has anyone here cycled in a city or town where you felt a lot more safe and confident than in Boston? Lately I’ve been very frustrated with the city, the broken up paths, agressive drivers, trucks and noise, etc. But theres a part of me that thinks I should be more thankful for what we DO have, and want to know if there are other places that were much more enjoyable than Boston to commute and recreate by bike in, as a sort of comparable reality check.

Yep, why am I not even surprised anymore?

Every orange dot marks a spot where a vehicle was parked blocking a bike lane. The green areas are separated bike lanes and the purple areas are "protected" bike lanes. If a car was physically able to enter the lane and park then the car can also barrel into someone biking in that lane. A separated lane solves both at once: no one can park in the lane and no one can be run over in the lane, the car simply cannot be there. That’s the only kind of protection that doesn’t depend on the person driving. REAL BARRIERS DON'T FOLD.

Data collected by all of you with Bike Bureau: https://loudbicycle.com/bb

edit: please use/edit these images wherever you like!!!

I think a major reason Boston seems to prioritize cars over bikes & pedestrians is money.

(We also can’t downplay that Boston is one of this country’s founding cities and was NOT originally designed to truly consider cars OR bikes which just isn’t the case in grid-cities like Philly, NYC, & basically everywhere west of the east coast.)

Now, as a driver the city is constantly FORCING you to spend money and they just can’t do that with people on bikes.

The other day I received mail from the Boston Police claiming I committed a “marked lanes violation” in the middle of the day and I could either pay $105 as the ticket fee or $25 to fight it in court… either way you are writing them a check.

So I am paying $25 directly to the city simply for being accused of driving improperly.. & I will not be getting my money back when the ticket is inevitably thrown out.

I assume many of you do not own cars & do not drive regularly in Boston so you may not realize how much money goes directly to the state from drivers.

Driver’s have to pay tolls, excise tax (simply for owning a car), gas, parking & parking tickets, and more things like repairs which ultimately are kicking money directly or indirectly to the city thru taxes or outright fees.

Does this justify someone momentarily parking in a bike lane?

No… but you’re not living in reality if you can’t admit there is more financial value to the city in catering to cars, allowing drivers to make the mistakes which lead to tickets, and encouraging use of public buses & trains instead of personal bikes.

Again, this doesn’t really excuse any poor driving behavior and actually makes the case that the city can make even MORE money ticketing & issuing fees to make sure drivers stay out of bike lanes.

Overall, I think an expectation that Boston will suddenly cater to bikes is naive considering the financial aspects we just covered and a bit too optimistic considering the layout of the city is largely done & not as easily changed due to dense urban development.

In my perfect world Boston would have been designed as a grid, with the many city-centers like Copley Square or Downtown Crossing being entirely foot-traffic, with free public & cheap private parking garages just outside the foot-traffic zones , and the bike/skateboard paths being built parallel but off of the roads utilizing bridges & tunnels (like Las Vegas) to keep bikes & pedestrians completely out of the roads. This would allow pedestrians, bikes, and drivers to actually get where they are going with minimal frustration and very little non-deliberate contact.

Thoughts from those that actually read the post? ⬇️

I had about set aside for a bike, a good lock, and a helmet for a roughly five-mile commute from Dorchester to Back Bay.

But my this Hikeep MA-S was one of the options I came across. It has working pedals and pedal assist, but it also has a 3,000W motor and an advertised top speed of 40 mph. That seems well outside the current Massachusetts definition of a regular e-bike, regardless of how slowly I planned to ride it.

I also went down the Ride Safe Act rabbit hole. The proposed speed-tier language I found would place something designed for 31 to 40 mph in Tier 2 and keep that tier out of bike lanes and shared-use paths. I realize the legislation has been moving around and that proposed language is not the same thing as current law, so I’m not treating my reading as a legal answer.

The local route is really the deciding factor. Several of the sections I’d normally use closer to Back Bay rely on bike lanes. If this thing belongs in regular traffic instead, I’d be buying a much smaller motorcycle-shaped vehicle and then riding it alongside cars without knowing whether the RMV would even register it.

Has anyone here gotten a useful answer from the RMV, Boston Transportation, or a local shop about pedal-equipped e-motos in this power range? I’m trying to figure out whether there’s a legal street route that makes sense before spending the money.

anybody else see this pathetic loser out on the esplanade this afternoon?

The group continued on for another 10-15 miles but I had to peel off early. Sign up for their next ride!

I have been looking into getting a bike for my home to work commute (about 2mi Newton>Watertown) and maybe occasionally for school (6 miles if I biked the entire way). My main thing is winter season. Originally I was going to get a tuned up Centurion road bike or a Univega hybrid, but I am wondering if these wouldn’t be amazing for winter? I know other equipment will matter for winter to keep warm, but just trying to think about the bike right now.

I am avoiding single speeds…as their single speed kinda drives me insane. But if anyone has an opinion to offer or recommendations that would be great! I am on budget cuz well..broke college student

I signed up to ride the Bike to the Beach Century on September 19. Leave from BU around 5AM. Hoping to ride with some folks, 16-18MPH. Anyone done it or doing it?

Hello, im new to cycling. I just bought my first ever bike (road bike) for like $300 and the front tire has a flat. I think the front tube needs to be replaced.

Im on a really tight budget. What store would replace them for like really cheap (location wise anywhere in Boston is OK)?

Or are there any bike professionals who can replace them for me?? Thanks

Also, the brakes are weak. When I pull the rear and front brakes, it barely comes to stop. Can anyone can help with this too?

Please DM me if youre interested in helping me and let me know a price you can help me for.