To balance the dialogue a little.....<br />My experience of biking in Boston for
the past two years has been positive! I live in Somerville and bike to work in
downtown Boston daily. This daily commute involves a ride from Somerville,
through Cambridge, and across the bridge to downtown Boston where I bike
through some pretty hectic traffic in front of Mass General Hospital. Prior to
moving to Boston, I lived and biked in small towns (no prior city biking
experience). My lack of city biking experience might be why I'm fine with
Boston - I don't have anything to compare it to in regards to cities;
however, small town biking also has its own unique challenges. Anyway, I think
the key to safe biking here is to use your defensive driving skills while on
the bike, follow traffic car-driving rules, and watch out for doors on parked
cars! Also staying off pedestrian sidewalks...as pedestrians have yelled at me
more than auto drivers....hahaha! In summation.....Like all minority groups, we
too are at risk of harassment and discrimination from majority culture.<br
/>Peace & Joy,<br />Shannon :)<br />
<br />
On Wed, 20 Jun 2007 09:37:43 -0400 Boston Critical Mass wrote:<br />
<blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid #000000; padding-right: 0px;
padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px">
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Before anyone scares people away from
biking
in Boston. Does Boston have more accidents-per-mile-ridden than other
cities? Did that magazine article a few months back (declaring Boston
dangerous) use statistics to back up their perceptions? Or did the
magazine derive the danger from our lack of bike paths?</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">I clearly have my own perceptions - but doubt
they
completely represent
reality.</font></div><pre>_______________________________________________
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