Author Topic: Badass Bikers in Boston  (Read 2987 times)

James

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Badass Bikers in Boston
« on: February 26, 2015, 04:55:49 PM »
Thought this was interesting, Boston bike commuters dug a tunnel through snow to allow traffic on a bike path...
http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-videos/video-riding-bikes-through-snow-tunnels-in-boston/


To be honest, here in northern Wisconsin that much snow isn't really all that extreme... but for them it's a ton, and awesome to see them keep biking through it!

rainslie

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Re: Badass Bikers in Boston
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2015, 05:58:03 PM »
Hey James,

It's been a wild ride! I live in Boston (and have been biking to work irregularly depending on the morning ice situation). One of the biggest issues is that the city streets are really cramped. It's not just a matter of running a plow down the street. Almost all cars park on the street and the city wasn't designed (it just happened as people built), so it's effectively a series of horse paths that got turned into roads around the year 1680. There is literally nowhere to put the snow (and I use the word literally literally). There were 4 big storms separated by about a week each, so there was more snow on the ground before the last storms snow could effectively be cleared from the sides of roads. So, the already narrow streets became even narrower...and narrower...and narrower...

gimp

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Re: Badass Bikers in Boston
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2015, 06:43:22 PM »
Thought this was interesting, Boston bike commuters dug a tunnel through snow to allow traffic on a bike path...
http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-videos/video-riding-bikes-through-snow-tunnels-in-boston/


To be honest, here in northern Wisconsin that much snow isn't really all that extreme... but for them it's a ton, and awesome to see them keep biking through it!

Boston's 30 day snowfall is a record for a very large area. What's your area's record 30 day snowfall?

Vertical Mode

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Re: Badass Bikers in Boston
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2015, 11:51:36 AM »
Thanks for the link!

Roads narrowing was a big problem, had to take a more central position on the road than I'm used to. Might just be perception, but it seemed like drivers were being more careful about passing under these conditions, so a little silver lining.

James

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Re: Badass Bikers in Boston
« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2015, 09:01:57 AM »
Thought this was interesting, Boston bike commuters dug a tunnel through snow to allow traffic on a bike path...
http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-videos/video-riding-bikes-through-snow-tunnels-in-boston/

To be honest, here in northern Wisconsin that much snow isn't really all that extreme... but for them it's a ton, and awesome to see them keep biking through it!

Boston's 30 day snowfall is a record for a very large area. What's your area's record 30 day snowfall?

I thought I replied to this the same day, just realized it must not have gone through... :D

I don't know our 30 day record, but our yearly average is 86 inches, and Boston yearly average is 50 inches. We are under average this year, and were over average last year, it obviously varies a lot, but we are more like Rochester NY in snow fall average, which is much more than Boston. Which simply means we sympathize a lot with Boston snow fall this year, it's a lot to deal with!!!

James

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Re: Badass Bikers in Boston
« Reply #5 on: March 02, 2015, 09:07:53 AM »
Hey James,

It's been a wild ride! I live in Boston (and have been biking to work irregularly depending on the morning ice situation). One of the biggest issues is that the city streets are really cramped. It's not just a matter of running a plow down the street. Almost all cars park on the street and the city wasn't designed (it just happened as people built), so it's effectively a series of horse paths that got turned into roads around the year 1680. There is literally nowhere to put the snow (and I use the word literally literally). There were 4 big storms separated by about a week each, so there was more snow on the ground before the last storms snow could effectively be cleared from the sides of roads. So, the already narrow streets became even narrower...and narrower...and narrower...

I live in a smaller town, so while the streets do fill with snow, I can just ride down the lane without any issues most of the time. I was in Boston about 10 years ago and loved it, would live to come back some time and continue exploring. Would be a fun town to bike in, so much nicer to be outside and feel the atmosphere and history rather than being hidden in a car.

 

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