Hi folks,
I think today's post is one of those best jumped right into...
The next post will go up early on Christmas Day.
Thanks as always for reading.
Tim
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08/08/2015
Charles Circle - Charles St. at Cambridge St. (5:16 pm)
Newbury St / Hereford St (5:28 pm)
On August 1 of last year, I started a three-day trial of Hubway, the Boston metro area's bike share system. A week later, I signed up for an official membership.
The shrinking of the city since I started using these bikes is beyond measure. My newfound mobility using the bike system enabled me to explore new neighborhoods, participate in new activities, and meet new people.
At the same time, my experience confirms the truism that no matter how far you travel, you always bring yourself with you. The journey through life is a constant collision of past and present, always charting a trajectory for the future that is subject to change, with or without due warning. It is hard at times to tell if everything or nothing is before you.
I took my sweet time in getting around to all that philosophical stuff, though. On August 8, my official first voyage as a Hubway customer brought me straight to Newbury Street, arguably Boston's most pointless destination in terms of new experiences, places, or people. I have no interest in anything that occurs there.
We are off to a great start!
08/18/2015
Yawkey Way at Boylston St. (11:09 pm)
Charles Circle- Charles St. at Cambridge St. (11:24 pm)
On a volunteer night with colleagues that eventually segues into a (Tuesday) night out, I mention for the first time in public that I'm using Hubway. It's hardly news. Everyone is much more interested in my impromptu approximation of a 'man bun', also a public first.
The ride from Fenway is taken at a full sprint. I'm astonished to be home in just fifteen minutes. Some of the Red Sox players take about as long to trot in from the bullpen.
I'm reckless in these early days- no helmet, no reflectors, no qualms about running a red or going down a one-way street in the you-know-what direction. I must have combined all of the above to make it from home from Fenway Park in just fifteen minutes. I suppose my hair could have cushioned me in the event of a crash.
08/22/2015
Charles Circle - Charles St. at Cambridge St. (7:43 am)
Boylston / Mass Ave (7:59 am)
Boylston / Mass Ave (8:00 am)
Mass Ave at Newmarket Square (8:15am)
I read recently that a city is a collection of stories, intersecting with one another at all the small junctures of life and influencing the untold stories of the future in ways large and small. I could not help but think of all these stories I've seen since I stared on these bikes.
Boston is a big city, over six hundred thousand in total population, but despite nearly five full years in the area I barely know any of the neighborhoods beyond South Boston and Beacon Hill. The minimal footsteps left by my story and its influence on the trajectories of others covers well-worn pathways of commuting patterns, standing engagements, and 'keeping in touch' with familiar faces.
A friend of my invited me in July to volunteer with his alumni group at a food bank in Newmarket Square. My first reaction was that Newmarket Square could literally be anywhere, my second that perhaps it would be beneficial to try something different.
The group in charge of the food bank puts in an extraordinary effort. The commitment of the volunteers is best summarized as 'total'. I was hooked.
On that first day a month ago, I went down on the Red Line. On this day, I return on what soon becomes a weekly bike routine. Rides exceeding thirty minutes result in a fine of $1.50 but all rides shorter than thirty minutes are free (and unlimited). My sprinter's fire of a week ago since extinguished, I avoid the charge by stopping halfway on my ride to Newmarket.
09/08/2015
Rowes Wharf - Atlantic Ave (8:13 pm)
Washington St. at Waltham St. (8:36 pm)
Washington St. at Waltham St. (8:38 pm)
Agganis Arena - 925 Comm Ave. (9:00 pm)
Agganis Arena - 925 Comm Ave. (9:01 pm)
Boylston / Mass Ave (9:28 pm)
Boylston / Mass Ave (9:30 pm)
Central Square at Mass Ave / Essex St (9:41 pm)
Central Square at Mass Ave / Essex St (9:53 pm)
Charles Circle - Charles St. at Cambridge St. (10:06 pm)
Brighton is a common starting point for the stories of young college graduates living in Boston. Brighton (or perhaps Allston) is close to downtown yet with cheaper rent, space for parking, and a similar enough bar scene. These factors make the neighborhood attractive for (some) young professionals. It's hard to let go of rent money, cars, and two dollar drafts, you know?
My friends did not move here, though, so I missed out on all that. No standing around for the Green Line, carrying thirty-racks of Bud Light down Harvard Avenue, or eating heartburn inducing pizza slices at 3 AM for me.
My history means bike rides through Brighton take on an exploratory element. My history always influences the nature of my bike rides.
Collisions of stories are not just an analogy in these bike lanes. A careless bike rider will find it all too literal, especially on the always chaotic Comm Ave. I'm reminded of Bruce Springsteen lyrics- 'It's a death trap'- though 'Born To Run' is hardly about cars and ride-seeking pedestrians taking up residence in the bike lanes of New Jersey.
Perhaps the Uber drivers swerving in front of me are making their case for a transportation method far superior to pedaling government-subsidized Hubway bikes. Faster is nice but I'm in no hurry. On these warm nights, the journey takes priority over the destination.
09/20/2015
Cambridge St. at Joy St. (10:45 am)
South Station - 700 Atlantic Ave. (11:06 am)
South Station - 700 Atlantic Ave. (11:13 am)
Back Bay / South End Station (11:35 am)
Back Bay / South End Station (11:37 am)
Buswell St. at Park Dr. (11:50 am)
Buswell St. at Park Dr. (11:51 am)
Buswell St. at Park Dr. (12:19 pm)
Buswell St. at Park Dr. (12:20 pm)
Stuart St. at Charles St. (12:42 pm)
Stuart St. at Charles St. (12:43 pm)
Cambridge St. at Joy St. (1:09 pm)
Cambridge St. at Joy St. (1:10 pm)
Cambridge Main Library at Broadway / Trowbridge St (1:31 pm)
Cambridge Main Library at Broadway / Trowbridge St (1:35 pm)
Central Square at Mass Ave / Essex St (1:45 pm)
Central Square at Mass Ave / Essex St (2:01 pm)
Charles St at Beacon St (2:24 pm)
My comfort on a bike returns quickly. I'm exhibit A for the old adage- 'you never forget how to ride a bike'. It's in my blood, which makes sense. I learned just a couple of months ago how my late mother used to ride her bicycle around Tokyo during her twenties.
I wonder if I'll ever get used to the way family stories drop in from the past to mingle with the present. I wonder if its worth getting used to. Generally, surprise visits are pleasant.
No matter how comfortable or destined I am to ride a bike, there always comes a time when you just need to work on your skills. In addition to fine public schools, Brookline provides wide lanes, easy sight lines for left turns, and the occasional Green Line trolley for cyclists to chase after. I find these lazy autumn mornings ideal for slow wanderings along the 'C' branch, practicing lane changes, hand signals, and looking two-ways before rolling through red lights.
09/26/2015
Washington St. at Rutland St. (12:41 am)
Charles Circle - Charles St. at Cambridge St. (12:58 am)
Charles Circle - Charles St. at Cambridge St. (7:56 am)
Mass Ave at Newmarket Square (8:20 am)
What makes 'a good influence'? Usually, influence references change. I know I've influenced someone when they respond and grow into something new or improved. Influence, in a way, is an active thing.
But we do not refer to this type of influence as 'a good influence'. Rather, in most such cases, 'a good influence' is one who helps another maintain their stability. The function of 'a good influence' is passive.
Hubway, so far, has proven to be a good influence. I've yet to lose my balance during a ride.
My brother is a good influence on me. We uniquely know what the other has lost and try our best to keep each other on the path without over correcting.
Guinness helps.
My brother, unlike me, is not a bike rider but, like me, is a beer drinker. That one might be in our blood, as well. Naturally, the collisions of our stories almost always involve a drink, or ten.
There is talk of a concert, or perhaps just aimless wandering under the fullest moon since July, but eventually we sit and laugh over the absurd, the mundane, and the still-open wounds of the past few months.
My ride home from his neighborhood is the closest to drunk I've been on a bike so far. The bike lane is wide, often wide enough to tempt the hurried into passing, but on this night I'm the only one on the road. I'm sober enough to know that alcohol tends to make us cross the line. I focus on pedaling just inside the left-hand side, keep my balance, and make it home.
The next morning, this hungover volunteer arrives at Newmarket. On average, volunteering is proving to be a good influence.
The ride is a direct trip by this point. I've shaved five minutes off my time since August. Any sign of progress is welcome.
09/27/2015
Back Bay / South End Station (9:32 pm)
Charles St at Beacon St (9:43 pm)
Sunday night dinner became a bit of a tradition while my mother was very sick. The train to (from?) home always arrived at Back Bay around nine-thirty or so every Sunday night. From there, I would walk home and clear my head a little bit.
My brother and I usually rode the same train together. Most weeks, the same conductor went around collecting or selling tickets. He usually saw us, nodded in recognition, and waved his hand in our direction before moving on. We rarely paid.
I'm still mystified by what happened on those trips. Was he someone from my past, a changed face attached to a story long-forgotten? Perhaps he possessed a level of emotional intelligence rarely seen in public interactions, especially on the 'T'. I suppose the most likely explanation was that he was merely mistaken, confusing us for monthly-pass wielding weekday commuters, but that doesn't feel right to me.
The bike cuts a thirty-five minute stroll down by a third. This means less time to clear my head. But I also have less to clear my head of these days.
11/02/2015
Beacon St / Mass Ave (10:54pm)
Charles St at Beacon St (11:07 pm)
The final trip of the day's riding caps off three months of city cycling. The approaching Boston winter means all kinds of fun things- cold winds, snowy conditions, icy roads- and each is sure to demotivate even the most enthusiastic Hubway member. As long as the weather holds, I'll get my bike rides in while I can.
The Beacon Street at Mass Ave station is marked with a ghost bike. A ghost bike is something new I learned this year. Whenever a rider is killed, an old bike is painted white and placed at the location as a memorial.
The day I finalized my Hubway membership, August 8, was exactly one day after a bike rider was killed at this very intersection. Clearly, I was not deterred by the tragedy. But some friends and family were less than impressed by my new commuting preferences.
Three months on from that day and yet, no visible changes to increase safety at this intersection. I'm sure the budget is stretched thin in the city. All those Christmas decorations due in a month aren't free, you know? No rush, Boston.
11/11/2015
Inman Square at Vellucci Plaza / Hampshire St (6:31 pm)
Porter Square Station (6:45 pm)
My first trip connecting my two favorite 'squares', both located in Cambridge, both shaped like anything but a square. Unlike Boston, Cambridge is a city with a recent history of developing cycling infrastructure. Naturally, my bike rides begin to drift north as I learn to appreciate the city's bike lanes and leisurely yellow lights.
My fondness of Porter Square goes back to my first days in America. My approval of Inman is a more recent development. As with any favorite locations, these invoke the feeling of safety in me. I'm not exactly sure why this is the case. Perhaps it has something to do with good memories, familiarity, or anticipation of another good time.
These safe feelings disappear as a bike rider, though. These are among the worst intersections in the two cities I ride in. I suppose one obvious issue is that each intersection is actually three intersections closely bunched together. Going through one traffic light is difficult enough.
The details of the problems with these intersections differ. Porter Square's main issue is pedestrians. They tend to cross the street whenever they determine it is safe. That's a problem because one of the three traffic signals is located below the others, allowing bikers and cars to pick up speed as they turn a somewhat blind corner onto a sharp slope.
Inman Square's difficulty comes from cars. The left turn from Beacon Street onto Cambridge Street comes at a 135-degree angle. This means cars must travel further into the intersection to make a left turn than is required for a more traditional 90-degree angle. The result is congestion, 'forcing' cars to swerve into the bike lane to pass other cars waiting for a chance to turn left.
The accident in the summer made headlines but the response has been, predictably, slow. It's a typical story of such things. Before big changes take place, there must be discussions, studies, proposals. Meanwhile, people continue to try and make their living, sometimes zooming through intersections on foot, bike, or car in the process.
It's possible that, if I understood the true extent of the danger in riding through parts of Boston and Cambridge, I would never have bothered to make that first trip in August. But I think back to my only other adult experience riding a bike, back in September of 2014. On that day, I rode with two friends on New York City's counterpart to Hubway, Citibike. And even though New York's reputation for poor drivers and jaywalking enthusiasts is well earned, I never encountered intersections like those here at Porter and Inman.
My realization is simple. Most of the cycling in New York takes place on one way streets. Life that flows in one direction is simple. Instead of looking both ways, you look one. Parts of downtown Boston that appear difficult to navigate at first glance (such as Boylston Street) are actually far easier to ride on than streets with bike lanes (such as Mass Ave) due to this reality.
Of course, my realization is admittedly unhelpful in these cities. I suspect Cambridge is unlikely to convert all of its roads into one-way streets anytime soon. It's back to the drawing board for the cities, back to swerving around minivans for the bikers.
11/19/2015
Rowes Wharf - Atlantic Ave (8:20 pm)
The Esplanade - Beacon St. at Arlington St. (8:41 pm)
I learn around eighty-thirty that the reliable 'Charles Circle' station, located a one minute walk from my front door, is now locked away in some warehouse for the winter. I'm not on the station update emailing list so I learn the 'Good Will Hunting' way- one day I come by and, no note, no nothing, it's gone.
I pedal around Beacon Hill until I find an empty rack just past the Cheers bar. When life changes directions, all you can do is handle it. And get on the right emailing list.
Apparently, the Beacon Hill stations are stored first every winter. This creates an interesting effect on the station map- a small disk of white circles (closed stations) surrounded by the green circles (open stations) in a vaguely rounded shape. I guess I live in 'the eye of the storm', so to speak, for the next couple of weeks. The eye of a real storm, total calmness in the middle of swirling turmoil, would probably be more interesting.
11/21/2015
Cambridge St. at Joy St. (6:10 am)
Mass Ave at Newmarket Square (6:33 am)
My earliest Hubway ride to date takes me to the food bank for its annual Thanksgiving distribution. The food bank opens an hour early on this day to accommodate the surge in clients seeking a turkey. By the time we shut down (also an hour later than usual) we've served over sixteen hundred families, around three times the usual amount for a Saturday. It is an incredible day.
The ride down is spectacular. The sun casually emerges in front of me as I pedal southeast down Mass Ave. The sky above brings together all the perfect colors of early morning in a slow-moving collision of gray, purple, pink, and eventually blue. I haven't seen the sun rise like that in months.
11/25/2015
Cambridge St. at Joy St. (7:28 am)
Mass Ave at Newmarket Square (7:59 am)
(31 minutes, 15 seconds = $1.50 fine)
Mass Ave at Newmarket Square (11:14 am)
Lafayette Square at Mass Ave / Main St / Columbia St (11:37 am)
Lafayette Square at Mass Ave / Main St / Columbia St (11:38 am)
Harvard Real Estate - Brighton Mills - 370 Western Ave (11:53 am)
My first fine! A clear indicator that I need a vacation. It is a well-timed one, though, for this is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I can't wait but, as always, I have no choice.
One August morning, I woke up to realize that I still retained my full allotment of time off. I arranged a slow trajectory of half days, one per week, to allow me to volunteer at the food bank each Wednesday morning until the end of the calendar year. I'm not sure what I'll do next year.
On some weekdays, the food bank is seriously shorthanded. This is not one of those days. I skip out early to join my father for his annual reunion with many of his college friends (though as my own presence confirms, the attendees are not limited to that group). My brother joins us as well, making it a full family affair in the context of November 2015.
Though not all in attendance are close friends of my father's, many offer the kindest condolences to him and to us for our recent loss. Surely, many of these men are suffering through their own challenges yet still muster the words to lighten our day.
I note my own inability to do this at the moment- I'm still almost completely locked into myself, a world of my own thoughts and feelings. I resolve to build up my own ability to serve as a healing presence, at some point. I'm just not quite ready yet.
The day is a break from the routines and demands of everyday life. Much of the time is spent catching up on old stories, amending and fact-checking recollections, and comparing notes on the new interactions and influences that marked the year since the last get-together.
It's a full buffet style meal at the reunion, a significant contrast to where I started the day. Most things don't change that quickly. The process is often frustrating, sometimes enough so to make you want to stop or change directions. In these moments, it seems time goes by so slowly. But time can do so much. It's hard to wait, but, as always, I have no choice.
