Dot Bike

DotBike “Winter” Meeting

Wednesday March 24th 6 p.m.

at VietAid 42 Charles St. Dorchester MA – right next to the Fields Corner red line station.

The weather is turning and the fair weather riding season is upon us.  And it’s time for a meeting.

Do you have ideas on what DotBike should be working on this coming year? How would you like to be involved in advocacy, outreach, events, and organizing?

For the past two years DotBike has been working to make cycling more fun, convenient and safer for all in Dorchester.  We’ve held community rides and participated in community events.  You’ve hopefully noticed more city bike racks around the neighborhood.  And this year we expect to see concrete results of our ongoing advocacy including a bike parking cage at a Dorchester T station, bike lanes on several Dorchester streets and bike riding officially allowed in Franklin Park.

But there is still lots more to do.   We need to hear from you.

Spring ahead DotBike commute ride home.

Wednesday March 17th meet on the common by the Brewer’s fountain at 5:30 p.m.
View
View dotbike ride route in a larger map
In celebration of impending spring and the extra hour of evening light we’re having a ride from the Boston Common down Dorchester Ave. to Peabody Square.

We will be passing the Blessed Mother Theresa Church on the corner of Dot ave and Columbia around 6pm if you are in Dorchester and want to meet up with us.

Some of us will likely go for a bite at a local restaurant.

If you want to be part of our ride you have to have a helmet.  Everyone of every skill level is welcome and we won’t leave you behind.

Here is a story from last night’s local news about the poor behavior of MBTA bus drivers.  I think we all could attest to some pretty reckless MBTA bus drivers.  The cool thing – if anything can be said to be cool related to reckless Bus drivers – is that this story was spurred by a cyclist who continued to follow through with her initial complaints by escalating and publicizing the problem.  You can read all about what led up to this on the ‘Zero Combustion’ blog.  For those of you who may have followed the struggle to get Glen Rd. plowed during the winter this strategy should sound familiar and hopefully this case will also result in a positive change for cyclists in the city and region.  The take home lesson is that old saw about the squeaky wheel.

The Mayor’s Boston Bikes Program is getting ready to produce the first update to the Boston Bike Map and they want your input.

Here is the section of the map that includes Dorchester.  Lot’s of Blue and Red meaning streets for intermediate and advanced riders, respectively.  Do you think they got it right?  Do you have routes that were not included and you think should be?

You can download the full map as a PDF file here.

If you have comments you should submit them using the survey available here.

Urban Adventours Open House this Saturday, February 20th from  12-5, at 103 Atlantic Avenue downtown.

We’re selling a TON of used bikes (quality ranging
from $100-1000) (our own fleet but also various *hybrids, high end road
bikes, cruisers, bruisers, kids’ bikes, women’s bikes, mountain’s, and more*!),
and we’re showing sneakpeeks of our new expanded space (2 doors down), the
new shop (full service repairs), and out hand-picked choices for our 2010
bike line. There will be giveaways, gift certificates for raffle, and
discounts on accessories and “I ‘bike’ ____” t-shirts. If anything,

Saturday will be 42 degrees and sunny, so why not come hang out in the North
End with us? We’ve got a great view of the boats in the harbor.

Yep, another opportunity to vote in MA.  This time the special election for the U.S. Senate.

If you haven’t decided who to vote for and bicycle related issues are important to you the information below in response to inquiries by a member of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee may be of interest.

“Hi All – For the US senate election tomorrow, I queried Scott Brown and Martha Coakley to find out their positions or support for bicycle transportation in the Commonwealth and nationwide. I got a response back from Martha Coakley, but not from Scott Brown. I contacted Scott Brown in multiple manners by email and phone, but he neglected to respond with any statement of his support or his position.

The response below is from Martha Coakley’s campaign committee. She even mentioned the Minuteman Bikeway!”

From: Issues Issues <issues@marthacoakley.com>
To:
Sent: Sat, January 16, 2010 4:18:32 PM
Subject: Re: bicycle transportation: seeking Martha Coakley position for Bay State and nationwide

Dear Mr. Roth,

Thank you for writing into the campaign about this issue. We appreciate hearing from you.

As a person who cares very much about the environment and public health, Martha’s interests and priorities are in line with the Massachusetts cycling community. Martha cares deeply about developing alternative forms of energy and about energy conservation, both to promote a healthy environment and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. (see her energy & environment plan here: http://www.marthacoakley.com/about/Issues/details/22). She understands that a commitment to protecting the environment and a commitment to alternative forms of transportation certainly go hand-in-hand.

In short, Martha agrees that promoting cycling as a transportation alternative is good for the Commonwealth’s economy, businesses, environment, and public health. She is proud that Massachusetts is home to the most used rail-to-trail bikeway in the country (The Minuteman Trail) and she knows that we need to make main thoroughfares, not just dedicated bikeways, safer for all.

If she is victorious on Tuesday, she looks forward to working with your group and others with similar interests to see what kind of federal support and policies will be productive — for example, you mention wheel friendly draining gates. We admit that is not on our radar screen, which is why dialogue like this is so important.

Also, we agree that having something on the website about this may have been useful, but at this late date with the election so close it won’t be possible to put your suggestion into action. Thanks for it nonetheless.

Thanks again for writing.

Please don’t forget to vote on Jan. 19.

Cordially,

The Martha Coakley for Senate Committee

So get out and vote if you haven’t already!

As you hopefully have heard there is a bike cage at Forest Hills Station in J.P. for secure bike parking.

This is the second cage installed by the MBTA – Alewife station getting the first.  The MBTA has dedicated some resources and has plans to install a number of additional cages across it’s system and DotBike has been pushing hard to get one if not two of them installed on the Dorchester redline.

In anticipation of getting our own Dorchester line bike cage one DotBiker decided to get himself a Bike Charlie Card so he could use the Forest Hills cage.  So he rode down to the station and asked the attendant on duty for a card.  He was informed that they didn’t have any on hand and that he would need to call the MBTA’s main number and request a card and that one would be mailed to him.  So he did.

After navigating a few “press #1″ for this, “press #2″ for that, he reached the right person. She informs him that the only place to get the card is at Alewife station.  Being at the other end of the red line he expresses a disinclination to make the two hour round trip to Alewife just to get a Charlie card.  The initial response is that there is nothing else that she can do since this is the only place where it is available.  After he tells her that the station attendant had indicated that getting a card by mail was an option she remains adamant that that was not the case.  At this point he politely indicates that he finds the situation unacceptable and asks to speak to her supervisor.  After a moments wait on hold she comes back on the line and says they just found some bike-cage Charlie cards, and that she will mail one right away and takes his mailing address.

When asked if his friends could get a card the same way, she answered with a weak yes.  I for one am planning on making sure that this is true.

We heard from MassBike that they had been working with the T to make sure that Bike Charlie cards would be available at the stations with cages.  It seems obvious that this is the very least that they could do to encourage use of the cages.  Perhaps they weren’t so worried about it because it’s winter but in fact the time I would be most likely to use a cage would be during the winter (otherwise I’d just ride my bike where I was headed). In any case DotBike will work with other advocates to make sure that Bike Charlie cards are more accessible.

This could be you.

I freely admit it – I’m not much of a winter cyclist.  I am not a fan of riding on snow, ice, streets narrowed and cluttered with snow plow crud, dark evenings etc …

While there are many DotBikers and other city cyclists who ride the year round I am not one of them.  But that doesn’t mean I become a total slug during the winter.  I do a bit of indoor spinning and other workouts and more enjoyably I make use of that snow that is unconducive to cycling for cross country skiing.

It’s fun, easy to stay warm and great exercise.  Snow permitting there are some great local places to ski.  Here’s my quick take on a few options.

First off is Dorchester’s own Franklin Park.  The golf course makes for some fairly flat and easy going and you can be virtually guaranteed that someone will have laid down some tracks if there has been any significant snow fall.  It is also quite fun to explore the ‘wilderness’ and some other paths that go through the more wooded and hillier sections of the park.  Join the Franklin Park Ski and Snowshoe club on facebook where members can plan meet ups and post upcoming events.

Also nearby are the Blue Hills.  There are some really great trails and paths that are perfectly suitable for skiing or snowshoeing.  As you might imagine from the name you can certainly find some pretty hilly expertish terrain but there are also plenty of easier options.  A couple of good places to launch from are the small lot at the intersection of route 28 and Chickatawbut.  Follow the logging/utility road that exits the back of the lot for a nice wide flat warm up before you venture into more challenging terrain.  If you park at the Houghton’s Pond Lot there are some nice flat loops out past the pond.

You will need to have your own skis or snowshoes or rent some (REI does rentals) for either of these options.

If you don’t have equipment and/or aren’t sure you will want to take up XC then you can check out the Weston Ski Track where they have groomed trails, a lighted loop for night skiing, lessons and rentals.  I hear it’s a good place to get started.

Another fairly local option is Great Brook Farm in Carlisle.  I’ve skied there and they do quite a nice job.  Again grooming, rentals, lessons and night skiing are all available.

I have peripherally touched on snowshoeing, which is an activity I am less familiar with having only tried it once.  I did enjoy it.  It was very much like a hike in the woods but in the winter where I didn’t need to worry about post holing in over a foot of fresh snow.  If you are interested in trying this DCR and BNAN are holding several events in January and February where you can try out snowshoeing.  I include the details such as I have them below.

Well enjoy the winter weather as best you can and hope to see you on the trails.

Bigfoot Stomp: A Blue Hills Snowshoe Hike
Sunday, January 24, 1:00 p.m. Call DCR at 617-698-1802 x212 for registration and meeting place.
Did you just get a new pair of snowshoes or looking to get a set? Join a DCR Ranger and an REI Outdoor School Instructor for a guided romp through the Blue Hills. REI will also have a limited number of adult size snowshoes to loan. No experience is necessary! Sponsored by DCR.

Fowl Meadow Snowshoe/Winter Walk
Saturday, January 30, 1:00 p.m. Meet at parking area on Neponset Valley Pkwy & Brush Hill Rd. Hyde Park/Milton
We’ll saunter through Fowl Meadow with Dave Hodgdon of Blue Hill Adventures and learn about this lovely site in winter. Bring your own snowshoes or skis, or call to borrow a pair of snowshoes. Without snow, we’ll enjoy a walk. Registration required. Contact BNAN at 617-542-7696

Stony Brook Winter Wildlife Discovery
Saturday, February 6, 1:00 p.m. Meet at parking lot on Enneking Pkwy opposite Smithfield Rd., Hyde Park
Join the Friends of Stony Brook and BNAN to explore the woods and look for signs of creatures that make Stony Brook their winter home.

February Break Snowshoe/Winter Walk
Thursday, February 18, 1:00 p.m. – Ryan Playground, River St., Mattapan
The riverside trail just behind Ryan Playground is a lovely place to walk and view the winter landscape of the Neponset. We will snowshoe if there is a good layer of snow on the ground, otherwise, we’ll go for a walk. Snowshoes to borrow are limited, registration required. Contact BNAN at 617-542-7696

You can also contact BNAN via email at info<AT>bostonnatural<DOT>org.

MassBike and Livable Streets has just reported some good news regarding MassDOT and that they have modified their plans for the Longfellow Bridge reconstruction project. You can read all about it here. But needless to say perhaps this bodes well for other projects including several in Dorchester that are under MassDOT control and that we have provided input on including the Dot Ave. intersection redesigns.

Here’s hoping you get lots of fun new toys for your bike this holiday season and remember during these oh so short days of winter – from now on the days are getting longer and it’ll be no time until spring riding season is on us.

image courtesy of feuillu’s flickr photo stream