[*BCM*] - Boston t Bike Ride

[tjvitolo at bu.edu]

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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