[*BCM*] - Boston t Bike Ride

[Daniel Tepper]

I don't think having a buffer car or cars would make CM that much
safer. It's not going to make other drivers not pissed off. I strongly
belive that having a car ¨ride¨ with the bike deafeats the whole
purpose of CM. The idea of being babysat by a car duinrg a CM ride
just dosen't sit well with me.

The suggestion some posed that a grooup of riders stay at the back of
the ride to make sure no one gets left behind sounds like a much
better idea.

Dan

On 8/5/07, tjvitolo at bu.edu <tjvitolo at bu.edu> wrote:
> I've often wondered about having a volunteer car or two serve as a
> buffer.  It's true that the mass would occasionally "lose" the car due
> to light timing, etc... but I suspect that with cell phones and a
> driver reasonably knowledgeable of the local roads, that he could catch
> up.
>
> By driving a car at mass speeds behind the last cyclist in the lane,
> the car serves as a natural buffer.  It'd be imperfect, but perhaps
> safer for everyone involved.
>
> Like everything else CM, it wouldn't be a formal arrangement, rather a
> happy and safer coincidence.
>
>   - stomv
>
>
> > Here's a rebuttal from another cyclist, worried but for different reasons:
> >
> > 1a. Critical Mass happens on the last friday of every month.  May the Good
> > Lo' help us poor souls on earth if the relevant parties, including cops in
> > Boston (who work regular shifts or regular beats, perhaps?  Just thinking)
> > who may be called to the scene, do not by now have some solid idea that
> > Critical Mass happens on the last friday of every month.
> > 1b. Seems to me, given the reports of police behaviour towards cyclists just
> > recently detailed on this here list (both at our Mass and in states like MN,
> > lest we forget), that the best case scenario of "I can has escort?" would be
> > to be laughed off the phone line.  My worry is that the cops would not
> > escort but patrol the Mass, picking off leaders, stragglers, and anyone of
> > whom they didn't like the look, as it suited them.  That is, if they can be
> > spared from, I dunno, keeping our streets safe from a fate worse than a big,
> > smiling, friendly mass of bike riders.
> >
> > 2a.  I don't have a solution to this one, but I want to be the hopeful type,
> > that the mass remains thick enough, and doesn't spread too far front to
> > back, that anyone at the back has some co-riders around him or her should
> > the unfortunate occur.  I think the best solution might be "in-house," that
> > the Mass as a collective multiperson body aim to move thickly: a bolus of
> > bikers trying a new shape, a new tactic to keep the herd together.  Works
> > for water buffalo...
> > 2b.  It's sad as hell that we have to think about this at all.  "Let's see,
> > how best to deal with getting picked off by cars?"  Like it's an
> > inevitability.  Almost makes you think that there's a listserve of Masshole
> > drivers out there asking "How and where can I hit more bikers?"  Oh, wait,
> > wasn't that a letter to the editor a few months back? *acidic smiley*
> >
> > -NR.
> >
> >
> >
> >> From: "Basil Sharpe" <bsharpe at redcoatpublishing.com>
> >> Reply-To: Boston Critical Mass <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
> >> To: "Boston Critical Mass" <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
> >> Subject: [*BCM*]  - Boston t Bike Ride
> >> Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 11:27:57 -0400
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>      2 observations from last Friday night's ride and it's dangerous
> >> incidents.   1. It may be a good idea to inform the Boston Police of an
> >> upcoming ride and ask for escorts.  At least ask.  2.  AT the start of
> >> each ride should there be a person at the end of the ride and at the
> >> start of the pack in communication with each other to inform each other
> >> of an incident?  This may help keep the group together.  It can be
> >> frightening for a victim of an aggressive driver accident when all of
> >> the sudden the whole Critical mass ride is gone down the road and the
> >> rider is left standing there with his mangled bike in front of a whole
> >> street full of honking cars.  In other words, as a cyclist, rider A
> >> decides to ride for the cause, he ends up at the back of the pack get's
> >> hit.   He then realizes his cause has gone down the road.  NOT a cozy
> >> feeling.  I think communication between front and rear can drastically
> >> improve this scenario.   If one goes down at least 30% of us should stay
> >> with the victim if only moral support.  I know CM is leaderless and all
> >> but, it may be a good idea at the start of each ride to have front and
> >> rear volunteers who'se job it is to just keep the group together.
> >> Perhaps there should even be as many as 15 or so riders who just stay at
> >> the back of the pack.   This can be informally set up at the start of
> >> the ride.  After last weeks ride, I think CM in Boston is going to get
> >> much worse.   This incident with the van really shows what extremes
> >> drivers are willing to go to when upset by cyclist.   Someone may become
> >> seriously hurt or worse.   Just thoughts that's all from a very worried
> >> cyclist.  We have to stick together and perhaps a Police escort is good
> >> way to help us from getting hurt and to give more credibility to the
> >> cause.
> >
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>
>
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