davis_square | Bike Friday

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bicycle

Bike Friday

Are there any other Davis people taking part in this month's Bike Friday? Davis Square is one of the points of origins for the various convoys of bike commuters. Last month's Bike Friday was rainy and I chose to skip it so I've not actually participated before (and riding in a police escorted group may prove more annoying than my regular commute) but the timing and the location are right and there are snacks at Gov't Center when I get there so I thought I would give it a try.

http://www.cityofboston.gov/bikes/bikefridays.asp
http://www.bikefridays.org/

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Sorry to be a wet blanket, but I decided it wasn't for me.

I helped escort one: rode to city hall and had some free food, in a gaggle of bikes with police bike escorts. We cruised at a leisurely pace through red lights (with police support), taking entire non-bike lanes, and generally aggravating and holding up commuters. Most of the people there were fairly committed bikers, with one or two people who weren't really skillful or experienced enough to be on the roads on their own. I suppose it may have been nice for them, but I'm not sure how they got home.

I'm afraid I couldn't see the point. Annoyance for car drivers, and some (very) light communing among cyclists. I wish they'd spend the money (police time isn't free) on repainting the cycle lane markings in something other than house-paint or whatever they use that wears off in months (e.g. Willow Ave - though that's Somerville, and this is a Boston thing).

Sorry to be a downer. I'd be happy to be involved in helping people get set up bike commuting, which is why I volunteered to help (once). I don't think Bike Friday achieves this.

wet blankets are sometimes necessary! Thanks for the input. This input, in fact, is very important to me.

I am especially appreciative that you've let me know that the police escorts facilitate the running of red lights and potential traffic blockage as I will not participate in a ride that allows bicyclists to skirt traffic laws just for the sake of convenience.

I can't condone breaking laws to promote safe biking when it makes the streets less safe for bikes when the escort goes home and the lasting impression that bikes are an annoyance and a inconvenience stay with all the drivers that encountered the riders.

As a sometimes biker and sometimes driver, THANK YOU for this attitude!

i'm surprised at this but appreciative!
the vast majority of my fellow bikers fully condone running red lights and riding the wrong way down one way streets.

(on most commutes i wear my t-shirt that says "RIDE SAFE RIDE LEGAL, running red lights is for losers" and the most popular response is a middle finger as other bikes blow past me while i am stopped at a light!)

I've actually heard bike advocates/activists (in our general area) advocate breaking the law.

some of them are members of this lj community, i'm sure they will tell their side.

I did NOT know this, I am shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you.

just sayin'

Thank you for this post.

I rode with critical mass once. I left the convey towards the end when the lead cyclists provoked an SUV into a confrontation near Harvard Square and I just couldn't stand to watch people get in a fight over something as silly as bicycles. To me, Critical Mass was more about blocking traffic and sticking it to the cagers (LOL) than promoting biking as a means of commuting.

I'm not equating Bike Friday with what Critical Mass used to be, but I really don't believe that the best way to promote cycling as a means of commuting on the road is to disrupt commuting and break the rules of the road.

I believe the money from the police escort, as others noted, should be spent improving cyclist infrastructure such as bike lanes and bike signals, and even on police cracking down on cyclists violating the rules of the road.

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