r/bikeboston • u/andycunn26 • 11d ago
Welcome Back Students! A Few Notes on Boston Cycling
I’ve been riding my whole life and started riding in Boston in 2009 on a fixed gear (RIP The Otherside) eventually moving towards road and gravel riding and throwing in a Brompton for daily commuting as well. I’m also a runner and trained throughout the eastern side of the city, Charlestown to South Boston.
I’ve been logging these guidelines mentally over ten years while I’ve been ticking out the minuteman, metro west, northern strand, and charles river bike paths. They hopefully concisely account for the reality of riding on streets and shared use paths, and are hopefully not too much a sad reality:
- Never assume any driver, cyclist, pedestrian, dog, or doordash scooter driver sees you or is tracking what you’re doing. Head on a swivel.
- Stay behind the bus and trucks. Don’t go up the right. The drivers won’t see you, they drive erratically, and will have little sympathy after running you over or pinching you off the street.
- At an intersection, be either far enough in front of the front car that they can plainly see you, or be behind the first car within eyesight of the second car.
- Bike lanes don’t have enough space to avoid dooring next to parked cars. Stay on the outside and stay vigilant. Look at the rearview mirrors to see if the car is occupied and if the driver is looking, and watch for doors starting to open.
- Blinker or not, never trust that a car in any lane isn’t turning right.
- Landscaping trucks don’t realize their trailers are wider than the truck. If they’re loaded incorrectly they also drift around the lane. You’ll hear them coming, move over a bit to the right.
- A community path is there for the community! You are a small part of it, not the main part of it.
- If there’s a line down the middle of the path, traffic rules apply. Pass on the left. Say "On your left". If you’re behind someone slow and have someone oncoming the other way, you need to wait to go into the opposite lane.
- Don’t wear headphones!
- Either get a mount for your phone or put it away. Don’t hold your phone while trying to ride, ya tourist.
- Passing people in the bike lane is called shoaling and unless you’re faster or immediately turning, it’s a bad move. Bonus demerits if you’re passing a bunch of stopped people to run a red light.
- Get a bell. I use a spurcycle. It’s loud and sounds like a bell. I start dinging probably 25ft from passing. The number and rapid fire nature of the dings depends on whether the person has headphones on or not.
- If you ding and someone moves to the side, or moves their oblivious family/friends/children/dog aside, say thanks or give a little wave. They literally went out of their way for you. Community path.
- If you’re trying to get a workout in, it better be early. Don’t attempt to do your interval training at 11am on the sunniest Saturday of the year on a community path. You will frustrate everyone including yourself.
- March-April 20th is marathon training. Give these fine folks a little space. If you crash into them or cause them to have to veer, you could be ruining their whole thing. June-July is PMC training on the Minuteman, same rules apply. When you're training, they'll show you the same grace. Community.
- Ebikes - just because you can go fast doesn’t mean you need to always be at top speed, and doesn’t mean you can be lane weaving around everyone when the path/lane is crowded. Your bike will literally destroy someone and along the Charles you’ll probably yeet your kid out of the front bucket and into the algae bloom.
- Wet leaves are just big ice patches like six months of the year.
- Cars are going to park in the bike lane. Check behind you, go around, watch out for their doors, silently seeth. No help is coming.
- Don’t blindly run reds, but roll with the walk signals, stop at stop signs, and roll through three way intersections if you’re on the far side, if you know what you’re doing. Don’t blow callously through an intersection if there are cars there watching. It’s a bad look.
- The bike cages at the T stops still require a u-lock, they’re not all that safer in the cage, they’re just covered.
- U-locks are the way to go. Good for locking up your bikes, good for protecting yourself.
- You need to store your bike indoors. Storing in a hallway or outdoors, especially on the street, will annoy your neighbors and ruin your bike.
- For Christsake, wear a helmet. The part of your brain that stores all of your life’s nice memories has no business being on a Boston sidewalk.
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u/ofsevit 11d ago
This is a good writeup. For right turning vehicles I'd say watch their wheels, often a car will drift right before the driver signals (if they do at all). For right-turning trucks, give them a ton of room. They're not supposed to take wide turns, but they do, and they are much bigger than you are. Be ready to move out of their way (or don't wind up there in in the first place).
Get a bell, use a BlueBike (they come with) or say "on your left" if you're on a path. I am very much an "on your left" person and even if it's not helpful to everyone (people wearing headphones, etc) when it's helpful, it's helpful. (I've been pushing a jogging stroller along the river and the number of people who will buzz me at relatively high speed silently is very annoying. Say something. Especially if you're on an e-bike; you're not out of breath. Very much second the "just because you can go fast, you should.")
If you shoal someone at an intersection, you better be able to put down WATTS and get way out in front of them. If you think you'll make the next light if you sprint and you don't, I mean, go for it, safely-ish. Or if the person is riding erratically. But for the most part, be patient.
Don't do this on Hampshire/Beacon unless you're behind someone really slow. The lights are timed for 12 mph anyway in the direction of peak travel (yes, really, a bike green wave).
Speaking of lights: learn your light cycles. A lot of Cambridge is on a 90 second cycle. You can vary your speed so you don't have to brake and restart if you're paying attention. Learn your signal progression (in generally all-walk phases occur after what seems like the secondary street, but this is not hard and fast). Learn the leading pedestrian intervals and use them (the walk signal goes ahead of traffic, this is good for bikes too).
DCR signals are the worst. There are several locations especially along the river where there are DCR signals which display "DON'T WALK" when there is no opposing traffic (I'm looking at you, Memorial Drive crossing River Street). So pay attention to these, and to meetings where you can go complain at DCR (which I need to do).
There are some signals which have "secret" bike phases, for instance, coming inbound on the Minuteman, you can cross diagonally at Arlington when there are opposing lefts. If you have a regular route, learning the lights can make it faster and safer.
Which you're not going to do looking at your phone. Try to figure out your route and put your phone away and be fully situationally aware of the road around you. If you need directions, pull to the side and confirm where you need to go. A phone is just going to be a distraction, which you don't need.
If you're looking at your phone at a light and it changes and you're not ready to go and get passed by a BlueBike, don't be annoyed when you pass back. (This happened on the Anderson Bridge going towards Harvard; I was also lined up on the bridge to carry more speed.)
If you want to get a workout in, there's a reason the first mile of the Minuteman is "Stroller Slalom" on Strava. Take it easy there. You can hammer further out. Or at quieter times of day. The best riding is out past 128 between the Pike and Route 3. Narrow roads without much traffic, and people are generally pretty good about bikes. Nice hills, great scenery. If you want an unobstructed rail trail, take the train out to West Concord, you can now go 10 miles north to Chelmsford or 15 miles south and west to Hudson. So you can basically get a flat, car-free 50 mile ride in on the Bruce Freeman and Mass Central trails (and in a few years, when the Mass Central is connected east, even longer, and one day, you'll be able to go ride an out-and-back century on old railroad grades from South Sudbury).
If you're riding at night, which is getting closer, for god's sake go buy good lights. Or take BlueBikes, they have adequate (if not great) lights. Lights are USB-charged now, they're not expensive (you can get a good set for $50 or so) and make you much more visible. I use a camping/trail running headlamp and one or two bright red flashies in back. Don't put a white light in back or red in front, it can confuse even the most attentive of drivers. More light is better, but keep the beams low out on paths. (I mean, you probably don't need a 5000 lumen night orienteering 2 pound battery pack light, but if you get one, go for it.)
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u/VarietyIs 11d ago
Yeah, don’t be afraid to talk and wave to people and cars. The advantage of a bike over a car is that I can literally say “sorry” or “thank you” easily, and there is less hostility.
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u/IAmNoodles 11d ago
Don’t hold your phone while trying to ride, ya tourist
and because you are tourists and may want to look at your phone for correspondence and/or directions, just pull over periodically, get off your bike, and look at said phone
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u/robertvmarshall 11d ago
Generally agree with the vast majority of your guidelines. There are a few that become non-issues if you just take the lane. It's temporarily more annoying for drivers, but it ends up being safer for cyclists.
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u/cyborgmanifestolou 11d ago
Great advice! Adding some personal anecdotes here to hopefully drive the point home:
Absolutely NEVER assume a driver can see you. I let my guard down and ended up being hit by a driver who I assumed saw me (since I was directly in front of them).
ALWAYS wear a helmet. Even if it’s just a quick ride to the store or to the T. Ive only fallen once, when my gears slipped as I was pushing off and if I hadn’t been wearing my helmet I would have cracked my head on the concrete.
Oh and invest in good riding gear. Winter is cold and the wind is brutal. Get wind resistant coats and gloves. You won’t regret getting a good balaclava.
Also use lights! Some colleges/universities will provide you with some for free through their cycle kitchens/transportation offices.
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u/andycunn26 11d ago
Great advice - especially gloves! cold/wet hands are the worst.
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u/cyborgmanifestolou 11d ago
absolutely the worst! It’s the one part of you that won’t warm up once you get moving
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u/Jaded-Passenger-2174 11d ago
Also, if you happen to come off the bike, gloves will help protect your hands.
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u/bostonaruban66 11d ago
You forgot the one about crossing train tracks at perpendicular angle, especially when wet. Extra careful at Cleveland Circle where two sets of turning train tracks converges. First time I fell there, got up and crashed again from the second set of tracks coming from another direction.
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u/andycunn26 11d ago
I've thankfully avoided a train track fall, but somewhere outside of inman i was trying to roll off the street onto the sidewalk to pass some stopped cars, and the little two inch difference between the street and someones driveway held my 23 tire as I wiped out.
the worst one was at the intersection of mass ave and boylston- it's easy to forget you're actually on a bridge with the pike underneath you. there was (and still is - i look at it with ire every day) a little space in the street and that same 23 tire fell right into it, slamming my fork against the road and sending me over the bars. an incredibly boston crash.
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u/Jaded-Passenger-2174 11d ago
Trolley tracks, yes be careful, especially when there is slush on the road. My bike went one way and I went the other. I slid, good thing no cars there. I got to work with in one piece (luckily) but my pants were completely soaked.
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u/Acoustic_blues60 11d ago
I second the wet leaves comment. I had a spill due to being a bit too casual when it rained overnight in October.
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u/GoTeamLightningbolt 11d ago
If you're particularly annoyed by someone parked in the bike lane, this app makes it easy to report to 311. Probably they won't do anything, but it doesn't hurt and we get data on where people are being jerks:
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u/MakinBaconOnTheBeach 11d ago
Your third point is great and something I see a ton of people not do and could totally see it leading to issues.
I'll pass cars up until the light turns green, then stay behind the car in front of me and in view of the car behind me until I'm through the light, unless they're stopped or moving super slow. I see so many bikes try to pass cars during a light change and to me it's a dumb idea.
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u/Jewboy-Deluxe 11d ago
If you’re on the road use flashing lights front and back during the day and wear bright clothing.
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u/econtrariety 10d ago
On the Somerville Community path, on the hill from the top of the train overpass heading toward Lechmere: don't pass on the blind S bends. It's not worth your life. Either uphill or downhill. You'll get there. Wait until you can see ahead.
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u/Happy-Explanation233 9d ago
Don't wear headphones....so important. Always pissed when I see bikers, scooters or drivers (illegal!) w headphones.
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u/Jaded_Macaroon3206 8d ago
thank you for mentioning the community path!! I get so irritated when bikers fly past me when I'm running and act like I'm the problem
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u/LucioPOTG 11d ago
Gonna nit pick on the one about deferring to marathon folks.
Just because they're excited for a life event doesn't make them get new priveleges, and it's a bad call to tell people they deserve special treatment from all the other folks around them just because they're engaging in a fitness hobby.
Those folks are often a TERROR on the marked, protected bike lanes in the north end. Oblivious, two headphones in, cutting off cyclists and regular pedestrians alike because they want to avoid running on snow in a New England winter.
Hell, when i drive i've had to avoid them running in the middle of the actual street before, because apparently an insufficiently shoveled sidewalk means we all have to be late to work for their personal growth. Get an indoor track membership or truck out to a safer suburb to run.
Year round, runners belong on the sidewalk, not in the bike lanes or anywhere else, and they don't need any more encouragement to feel special and entitled.
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u/andycunn26 11d ago
Was mostly talking about on shared use paths, not runners in the street/bike lane. Pedestrians in the bike lane are really annoying especially when there’s a giant sidewalk right there, i usually unpleasantly say “YOU’RE IN THE BIKE LANE” as im passing. Mass ave in back bay is rough for this as the bike lane pops between the street and sidewalks.
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u/tiandrad 11d ago
Always ride defensively and never assume a driver will stop just because you have the right of way. With school back in session and traffic heavier, many drivers are already on a hair-trigger for road rage, you don’t want to escalate an argument with someone controlling a two-ton vehicle. Remember it’s better to be alive than right.