Dot Bike

Being apropos of little related to DotBike or Dorchester – although I did meet a rider who lived in Savin Hill and know another DotBiker who has previously done this ride but an injury sidelined him this year – here is a brief report on my experience doing the Harpoon B2B ride on June 20th.

This ride goes from the Harpoon Brewery in Boston to the one in Windsor, VT.  That’s 148 miles  for those who are counting.  They tell you that you need to be able to average at least 16 mph over this distance.  And there are a couple of pretty significant climbs involved.  So this is no ride in the park.

I had been training quite a bit prior to the ride but with the chilly and damp spring and a late April vacation (that did include some riding but not tons) I was worried that I might be under prepared as  this was certainly the longest ride I have attempted.

At the start at 5:00 a.m. for the briefing and queuing up at the gates I managed to get in the second 16 mph group to start.  They start you in order by predicted speed with the 16 mph riders leaving first and the 22+ mph riders departing three hours later, the idea being everyone finishes around the same time.

The weather was overcast the entire time but not a drop of rain so it was actually ideal riding weather.  The start was very organized and our group of 25 stayed together for the first 15 miles or so.  After that people went at their own pace and I managed to latch onto a group of five or six others who were going at near my speed.   Riding with a group paceline for much of the ride was key.

The hills were indeed hilly and the course was long but the main thing was that the ride was really well organized with well placed rest stops and fun people.  And the best part was the finish.  There is a short climb right before you turn into the Windsor Brewery and boy was it a joy to crest the hill and see the Brewery grounds appear before me.

Your entry gets you free beers and BBQ and boy were they appreciated after a day of goo, energy bars and powerade.  And they had showers and massages were available.  So after a shower, a few brews and some food I got on the charter bus back to Boston.

So if you want a challenging ride you should definitely give this ride a try and sign up for the B2B next year.  Registration is limited and sells out fast (within hours)  but it is well worth it and get’s you a very cool jersey too.

Join DotBike and RozzieBikes for a Saturday bike ride to several area farmer’s markets.

Saturday July 11th meet at the Dot2Dot Cafe, 1739 Dorchester Ave. Dorchester at 9:30 a.m.

Note that there will be a 9:00 a.m. meet up at the Forest Hills T station for JP and Roslindale folks to ride over to the Dot2Dot together.

The ride will visit at least 4 farmer’s markets including Fields Corner, Mattapan Square, Roslindale and Jamaica Plain and may visit an asian market as well.

Bring paniers or baskets and go home with some fresh and tasty produce.  Or just ride along for fun.

The ride will be at a relaxed pace with experienced leaders.  Helmets required.

Contact Melissa at melquirk<AT>gmail<DOT>com or Laura at laurasmeaton<AT>mac<DOT>com to RSVP or for more info.

Come on and ride your bike down to the Beach.

The second annual Dorchester Beach Festival will be taking place on August 8th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Malibu/Savin Hill beach.

There will be lots of free fun events including sailing, canoeing, field sports and lots of interactive exhibits.  DotBike will park your bike for you for free and have demos and info available.

What we can learn from Spain: urban mobility planning in Barcelona

by Marius Navazo, Urban Planner, Barcelona, Spain

Thursday, June 25, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

@ LivableStreets office space, 100 Sidney Street, Cambridge  (directions: www.livablestreets.info/node/530)

This event is free and open to the public, donations suggested, beer/sodas provided compliments of Harpoon Brewery and delivered thanks to Metro Pedal Power!  

What are the results of implementing better transit networks, traffic calming zones, and a bike sharing program? Are these measures always environmentally-friendly? Are they enough to create better places to live and enjoy? Learn about thedevelopment of urban mobility plans in Greater Barcelona and Catalonia, Spain. See what the Catalan Government is encouraging municipalities to do.

Marius Navazo is a geographer who has been working for the last 10 years in town and regional planning, focused on transportation and its impacts to improve cities from a social and environmental perspective. He has been working at the Catalan Government for the last 4 years, and now he is a freelancer working for different municipalities in the Barcelonaarea.

(Photograph: a typical day on Les Rambles, Barcelona)

For more information, go to www.livablestreets.info/node/2154

Here is a story about one DotBiker’s effort that took a long time to pay off but with continued hard work finally has born fruit.

The winter before last, not long after the inception of DotBike, Phil who is a year round commuter from Dot to JP wondered why the Parks department didn’t plow the path connecting Pierpont and Glen roads which is the quickest way to cut through Franklin park.

He started making inquiries and was passed back and forth between several people.  As the weather improved he relented but if the Parks department was hoping he was going to go away they were sadly mistaken.

This past winter Phil, realizing he had just been getting lip service started  a full fledged campaign to get the Parks department to plow Glen Road.  He enlisted the aid of fellow DotBikers, the Franklin Park Coalition and other Park users including dog walkers who frequently use that path.  A letter writing campaign, a petition and finally talking directly to the mayor at his coffee hours made it clear to those in power that this issue had many vocal advocates who were not going to go away.

Finally last week Phil received a letter from Parks Commissioner Toni Pollack from which I quote:

“The Mayor has forwarded your letter to me for response. At his request we will include Pierpont/Glen Road in our Tier 2 snow removal plan for the interior park pathways.”

Congratulations to Phil and all who helped him in his effort!

And thanks to the Mayor for his directive that made this happen.

Save the Date and join in the fun on Saturday July 18th from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

They’ll be activities for kids, teens and adults including short and long rides, bike decorating and demos.

The Festival will take place in Franklin Park.

More details and info as it becomes available so check back regularly.

Over the past year DotBike has taken up a number of advocacy efforts with the intent of making Dorchester a better neighborhood for us all to cycle in.   We’ve reported in the past about some of the more visible efforts that have born fruit – like the new city bike racks that have been springing up all over town and our participation in several community events.   However, we’ve continued to work on several other projects and kept our eyes out for ways to influence and guide policies that will make Dorchester a better and safer place to cycle.  The progress on most of these efforts has been much slower but is still moving along.

We have met with project managers at the MBTA about improving bicycle parking facilities at T stations in Dorchester.   I just received a report that a new rack was installed at the Fields Corner Station in a visible and convenient location, so this is good.

But as Ashmont Station is nearing completion we need to make sure that adequate facilities are included and certainly there can be improvements at other Dot stations.

The Dot Ave. intersection redesign project is reaching the final stages.  There was a recent meeting where designs were presented and it was clear that while some bike accommodations had been included they were given short shrift.  In response, we asked for input from DotBikers and wrote up extensive comments and suggestions as to how bike boxes, lanes and minor curb reconfigurations would not only make these intersections safer for cyclists but could also be thought of in the context of a continuous bike lane along much of Dorchester Ave.  We’ll have to wait and see if these suggestions get incorporated into the final designs.

There has also been a group of us working with BNAN to close the gap between the Neponset Greenway and the Harbor Walk with an off road bike path.  We’ve had several positive interactions with many interested parties and we have recently heard that National Grid who had previously refused to even consider allowing a path to pass by the gas tanks is now having discussions with DCR on possible options.

These are just a few of the things we are keeping tabs on.

Small steps forward.

Discover Roxbury Bicycle Tour – Saturday, June 27th 11:00am-1:00pm

Ride includes Malcolm X’s home, the Museum of Afro-American Artists, many famous Franklin Park sites, and the Forest Hills cemetery, created as a public burial ground by the Mayor of Roxbury in 1848. There’ll be a rest at the Franklin Park Golf Clubhouse where you can purchase lunch. Helmets and an RSVP (info<AT>discoverroxbury<DOT>org) are required. Tour leaves from Roxbury Heritage State Park, 183 Roxbury Street in Eliot Square and ends at Roxbury Crossing / Soutwest Corridor Park.

Join us for a ride from the Boston Common – meet at Brewer’s fountain near Park St. Station at 5:30 p.m. – down Dot Ave. and home to Dorchester.  We ride as a group and take a leisurely pace.  There is often an after ride stop at a local eating establishment where food and good conversation is to be had.

See our Ride Home page for the route and more info>

Monday June 8th 5 – 9 p.m. at Redbones BBQ 55 Chester St. Somerville

Come for the party, come for the cause…
come for the prizes!

$15 gets you food & drink, bicycle valet parking, and a raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets are $2.00 each or three for $5.00 – and you’ll want extras because our sponsors are donating some awesome prizes including the Grand Prize – a cargo bike from Alernative Needs Transportation! Also maps, swag, t-shirts, gift certificates & more swag.

Live music by The SAPS – 2nd Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band: we aim to please if the cause is true and the time is right.

Party proceeds go to NEMBA & MassBike.

Special thanks to all the sponsors for their generous donations!

For more info check out the Redbones site.