[*BCM*] Friday's Boston Critical Mass Ride

[Rebecca Albrecht]

Reflections from a 57 year old woman after my first CriticalMass ride.

  I have been riding on Boston streets since 1973.I do all of my errands 
on my bike within a 3 mile radius. Within a 10 mile radius I would 
probably take my car if it is available.Otherwise I take my bike. I 
avoid going by bus or T. They take long circuitous routes and trip time 
is longer than by bike. I rode all the way through both my pregnancies 
and it never seemed a problem; I guess because I automatically adjusted 
to the gradual weight gain and body dimension. Some people thought I was 
crazy though I doubt that they would in The Netherlands. My first child 
when she could sit up unassisted sat in a bicycle seat between me and 
the handlebars. I bought the seat in Amsterdam. It felt safer than 
having her behind me. If she fell asleep I could support her head and I 
could talk with her. I see children asleep in rear seats and they look 
like they are going to fall out! After my second child was born we 
bought a bike cart that could hold four children. We would take it down 
to "First Night" with blankets, "Fourth of July" and just general around 
town errands. That cart is now 18 years old and occasionally put in to 
service to go to the Farmer's Market or to the grocery store.

I feel that I don't have to take back the streets for bicycles because I 
have never been away from them. When I ride I am continuously checking 
behind me. I ride an open car door's width away from parked cars when 
ever possible. I assert my right to use the right hand lane when 
necessary. I  make eye contact with drivers when our paths could collide 
and assess the safety of making my move. I do not like the bike lanes 
that I see in Boston and in Brookline where I live. Riding in the center 
of the bike lane means that you are too close to parked cars. Since I am 
also a car driver I pull into that lane to parallel park or to drop 
someone off. The problem is not with drivers in the "bike lane" but with 
the placement of the bike lane. Give us the right- hand lane out far 
enough from the door-zone with room to pass other cyclists or in my case 
to be passed. I also think that by having the kind of bike lanes that we 
do indicates to car drivers that bikes should know their place, stay in 
their lane and not impede their progress. A bike lane should be safe 
enough that a grade school kid could ride in it. What we have now is a 
sop thrown to us bicyclists to show that they are doing something. It's 
really nothing at so little expense as to be laughable. And yet the 
powers-that-be are applauded for these so-called bike lanes. I would 
love to see real bike lanes that are safe along country highways. I 
think riding on those roads are deadly. Especially when cars are driving 
fast and only occasionally see cyclists who must ride on the debris- 
strewn shoulder. At least in the city cars drive slower and are 
accustomed to seeing bicyclists. Many cyclists feel safer on those 
country highways. Go figure! An aside about rails to trails. I think 
it's a shame that we removed our railroad tracks thus killing a good 
alternative to auto travel. Like I said I would rather see excellent 
paved bike paths separated a safe distance from the roads that would 
truly allow us cyclists to travel city to city all across the 
country.Most people drive to a rails to trails path for recreation. I 
would like bicycling seen as more than just recreation but seen as a 
form of serious transportation on an equal footing with autos. This 
would be a revolution!

So about last night's ride. Before I rode with you guys I had heard that 
it was a car mocking Demonstration that flaunted the road rules and gave 
bicyclists a bad name. I realized during the ride that it was really a 
celebration/parade on self-propelled wheels. The harmonica,drum player 
added to the festivities. And then a by-stander on Newbery Street joined 
in on the fun and played his saxophone while we rolled on by. We were 
really a large mobile party more than a demonstration/protest. The 
bystanders that I saw got a real kick out of seeing us especially in the 
North End. Most of the car drivers seemed okay with us. There were just 
a few that seemed put out. We couldn't have held any one up more than 
ten minutes and probably less than that.Drivers can't be surprised that 
occasionally there are traffic tie-ups. At first I thought that we 
shouldn't ride through red lights. Whereas I think that the lead people 
should stop for a red light; once we go through an intersection for our 
own safety it is critical that we stay massed together and not be 
separated. What a good idea that there are riders who take on the 
responsibility of blocking individual cars  preventing them from 
dividing up our group. Concerning emergency vehicles getting through; I 
think that when you get a large group moving together many people become 
oblivious to what is happening around them. They just need to be told by 
the more aware cyclists among us to stop riding and move over to the 
side to let the vehicle pass by.  Once in Coolidge Corner we stopped to 
let a wheelchair bound person cross the street and not be stranded in 
the middle of the street.All it took was one person to notice and to say 
something and then another person noticed and then cyclists stopped. A 
bunch went through at first because they hadn't picked up on what was 
happening but it was understandable and not a problem. The group behind 
them stopped and the person crossed.I don't think we need a rule saying 
that we need to stop for emergency vehicles. It's just common sense to 
stop. So those more aware among us just need to herd the rest of us off 
to the side.

So I had a lot of fun Friday night and hope to ride again in October!