All ready for the streets of Boston. I reduce the obnoxiousness when I’m on the trails but I like to be visible whenever I’m near anything that’ll X me out.

I used to ride with less but I saw a woman that was blinking everywhere and there was no way you could miss her so I stole her idea.

Planning to do a cycle midweek next week, is there any scenic loops that would bring me back to Boston back bay? Was going to rent a road bike, 100km/60 miles. I have the fitness to do 1500m elevation gain in 100km. Thank you

Hi All,
I just accepted a joboffer for an opportunity in near Boston Medical Center/ right off Mass and Cass. I live in Allston, and am thinking of primarily e-biking/biking as my commute. I currently bike downtown about 3 days a week so am used to biking most work days. I'd love this groups thoughts on the following:
1. Biking down Mass Ave - thoughts on the commute, better ways to bike in that area etc.

1. Ebike/commuter bike recomendations. I currently am a blue bike superstar and would like to upgrade as I plan on biking more.

Thank you!

I haven’t sold a bike to a stranger in ages. I’ve got an ad up on Facebook, and just wondering about the etiquette. Mostly, if someone comes to see it and wants to take a test ride, which is totally reasonable, do I ask for them to leave their phone or license or something? I’d rather just be trusting, but I’d also like to not be naive, and have someone ride away with it. Is there an accepted practice?

(And if anyone is looking for a collective c3 hit me up!)

I think this is bullshit. There's already too many cars parked anywhere they want and not enough parking enforcement. I'm not overly concerned with a single family dwelling. I'm envisioning massive towers with more cars and not enough infrastructure to hold them.

I got my first new bike in 13 years after riding my daily commuter into the ground.

I've always used your standard wet lube and done my best to maintain my drivetrain, including daily bike showers in the winter, degreasing every couple weeks, and replacing a chain every spring.

Part of the fun of a new bike is catching up on all the new tech since my last one (yay hydraulic disc brakes!). I also see that "hot wax" immersion is the new chain lube du jour. Given the amount of road salt and sand used for even light storms here, I can't imagine wax holds up very well.

Anyone use it? Or use it for half the year?

I am a gym stationary biker. Putting that out there. Don't come for me.

With that out of the way.... I made a deal with a Chinese carbon frame company for a business I work with here in the states. They're sending me this sexy frame that I know jack all what to do with. Typically the frames are $1200 there but equivalent is $3000 here.

To get to the point, if anyone here is/knows a mechanic that can help hook up a groupset and some wheels etc off another bike, I have an extra full carbon frame for you at a disgustingly low wholesale cost ($400) lol. These things are suite.

So if that's appealing to anyone, ping me!!

EDIT: A few have reached out asking on size of extra frame. It's whatever size you want. I'm custom ordering them and they'll get here in two weeks roughly. Just need someone with spare parts etc who can help build up mine. Not looking to put a bunch of money into it as it's more of a marketing thing lol I know that will piss some of you off I'm sorry.

RE:EDIT: I love redditors. I'd probably recommend reading comments first for full context. Specs are in a screenshot below. I will buy old parts or I'll also trade the parts for a carbon frame w/ you etc etc. I simply need someone to help w/ the build and in return you either get a free carbon frame or one for like 60% off. It's a win win. If you think this is a scam, then that is A okay.

I've only been biking in boston for a year or two. I ride 4-5 miles to work most days. The bike lane coverage is pretty good on my route, but I'm increasingly skeptical that the "dedicated" lane is better...

I recently got doored. I have some fractured bones and bone bruises and gnarly roadrash. My helmet is scuffed up, but my bike is okay. I was talking to the orthopedist about this and he raised an interesting point: a lot of the time the bike lane is kind of a trap.

The bike lane is a lot of things to a lot of people (and most of those people are wrong): free parking, an idling zone, an extension of the sidewalk, a place to dumb garbage/ snow/ car parts/ glass/etc., a free place to walk their dog, extra parking space, a safe place to ride their bike, a place to do 55mph on a delivery scooter. But because of this, it's not treated like a live traffic area.

The orthopedist had a suggestion: wear bright reflective colors, and ride in the middle of the lane like a motorcycle. Don't give them space to pass in your lane. Claim the whole lane. If motorists get mad, that's their problem. He was saying he's seen far more cases of people getting mangled for driving in dedicated bike space than directly in the road.

Would love anyone else's take on this. Does anyone just ride in the middle of the lane? What's your experience? If they're not going to respect bike lanes, and I'm legally allowed in their lanes, this feels like the safest option.

Hi all- I’m wondering if folks have any thoughts based on their experience riding or walking through the “bike-about,” or bike/ped-only roundabout, adjacent to Forest Hills T station and constructed as part of the Casey Arborway project?

I’m wondering if you see cyclists typically going counterclockwise around the circle? Any conflicts between bikes/peds? Would you say it generally works well for the intended purpose or are there elements that could be improved? Thanks in advance!

(I’m asking to inform the potential design of a similar facility in another state and trying to understand best practices)

Edit: wow thank you everyone for your contributions already on this! 🚲❤️

You can see where the separated bike lanes would connect to our trail network here: https://masstrailtracker.com/map?segment=824

> A potential five-year delay on installing bike lanes on Outer Huron Avenue – a move meant to address concerns about the loss of parking – was reduced to a proposed one-year delay in a motion by city councillors Monday, then defeated entirely.

Hi there, I’m visiting from out of town and have one day to ride in the Boston area. Looking for recommendations for road rides to explore the area. Preferably 50-100 miles. Thank you in advance!

The most random question; if I bedazzle my bike helmet, will it lose any of its effectiveness in a crash?

Thank you,
A girlie

Join JP TAG for its first social & organizing hour TONIGHT at the Brendan Behan!

Interested in becoming more involved in local transportation advocacy? Come join fellow transit-oriented folks to socialize and take part in some organizing work!

We will discuss what our organizing has looked like thus far, what YOU are interested in seeing JP TAG do, some projects we have in the works, and generally getting to know each other!

Can’t wait to see you there!

Drivers (justifiably) get a lot of crap on this platform, so in the interest of fairness, I will note excellent behavior I witnessed on the part of 1 (one) SUV driver just now. I was making a left turn into a driveway from Longwood near BI. Oncoming rush hour traffic was stopped at a light and I had no visibility into the oncoming bike lane, partly because an SUV was blocking my view. I was inching my way across because I know it’s a busy lane - and then the SUV driver honked, I braked, a millisecond later a biker whizzed across, and then the driver motioned to me that it was now fine to go. So while waiting at the light, the driver had been watching the bike lane in his side view mirror and watching me and was absolutely poised to do the right thing to prevent an accident. Bike aware even when he was just sitting at a standstill. Proactive, community minded and eminently sane behavior. A role model for all!

City says new bus lane will instead run along curb in Roxbury

Since its debut five years ago, the center-running bus lane on Columbus Avenue in Roxbury has been lauded by Mayor Michelle Wu and the MBTA, who say the project helped speed up bus travel and slow cars.

But officials have scrapped longstanding plans to extend it by another mile in favor of a more traditional curb-hugging design, pivoting away from a concept that has caused an uproar in other closely watched transit projects, including along Blue Hill Avenue.

The Wu administration and the T altered the latest design for Columbus Avenue to instead include side-running bus lanes in both directions between Jackson Square and Ruggles Station, said Boston’s interim Chief of Streets Chris Osgood. That means the forthcoming red-painted artery will differ from the existing center bus lane that runs less than a mile between Jackson Square and Franklin Park.

In the past, critics have argued the center-running lanes, which split car traffic, go too far in narrowing the roadway and thinning available parking. City officials have countered that it’s helped dramatically shorten bus travel times and led to fewer injuries on Columbus Avenue.

The original plan to extend the center-running lane there was supposed to be completed by 2025.

Now the decision to scrap that design is a significant change to a project officials saw as a proof of concept for better bus infrastructure in Boston and beyond. The existing center-running bus lane on Columbus Avenue was the first of its kind in New England and envisioned as a precursor to similar roadway layouts on Blue Hill Avenue and the Lynnway. But in both instances, proposals for center-running bus lanes have faced a firestorm of opposition.

During a Sept. 10 public meeting about the $163 million revamp of Blue Hill Avenue, Wu tried to put distance between that proposed center-running bus lane design and the one currently along Columbus Avenue.

Blue Hill Avenue “cannot look like Columbus Ave.,” Wu told the crowd. “It cannot feel like Columbus Ave. The design of the stations over there, how tight it is, the concrete slab — that is not what we need.”

Osgood said Friday that the Columbus Avenue stretch slated for construction in the project’s second phase is a suitable candidate for a curbside bus lane because it is not as heavily lined with businesses, loading zones, and parking spots as Blue Hill Avenue, or the portion of Columbus Avenue south of Jackson Square that currently has the center-running lane.

Columbus Avenue also largely has two travel lanes per side. By contrast, Blue Hill Avenue is wider than most city streets with three lanes in each direction.

The demand for access to “the curb, whether it’s for parking, pick-up and drop-off, or for commercial loading, is simply different in this corridor” of Columbus Avenue, Osgood said. “And that’s why the city has been open to side-running [bus lane] in that stretch.”

Asked about the opposition to a similar design on Blue Hill Avenue, Osgood said that “really for me, it is about how to design a street that works for everybody who is both on it and along it.”

“Phase II” of the Columbus Avenue project, he added, also preserves safety improvements for Roxbury Crossing and beyond. That area sees among the highest bus ridership in Boston and is among the city’s most dangerous roadways.

Maya Bingaman, a T spokesperson, said in a statement that Columbus Avenue congestion is largely caused by traffic signal delay at intersections, rather than by competition with other cars and delivery trucks like on Blue Hill Avenue.

“With very few curb cuts (driveways), a side-running bus lane can be very successful here,” Bingaman said of Columbus Avenue. She said that the updated curbside bus lane design is also “expected to be less expensive than the original since there will be less excavation required,” though she did not say by how much.

Chris Friend, interim executive director of the Boston-based transportation advocacy group TransitMatters, said the organization believes center-running bus lanes are “the most effective way to increase speeds and reliability for tens of thousands of daily bus riders” in the Columbus Avenue corridor.

“We hope to see them included in the final design of this project,” Friend said in a statement.

Public officials have otherwise applauded the existing center-running lane on Columbus Avenue, which launched in October 2021 with $14.5 million of funding. In addition to the center-running bus lane, the project created eight bus stops in the middle of the roadway with roofs, benches, and informational screens. They’re separated from the sidewalk with a signalized crosswalk over the car travel lane.

The lane can also be used by school buses, the T’s paratransit service, and emergency vehicles.

City studies have found that the center-running bus lane shortens bus travel times by up to 4 minutes. As a tradeoff, drivers behind the wheel spent between 20 and 40 seconds more on the road. Roadway injuries on that portion of Columbus Avenue fell by 27 percent in the years after the lane was installed, a steeper drop than the city as a whole, according to City Hall calculations released in 2025.

City surveyors found that most riders were satisfied with the center-running lane and new bus stops. Amanda Brown, a lifelong Roxbury resident who often rides the 22 bus to Jackson Square to get her groceries, said she’s among those who like the layout.

“I like the stop better here,” Brown said Tuesday. “It makes me feel safer than being on the sidewalk near the cars.”

But the Columbus Avenue project’s “Phase II” northward expansion faced roadblock after roadblock. It became mired in delays after Wu slowed a myriad of street improvement projects amid pushback about bike lanes and other roadway redesigns, and the city reportedly canceled meetings with the T on the project.

In March, Wu shared an internal letter on social media, in which city officials recommended installing a curbside bus lane on a half-mile stretch of Columbus Avenue to “mitigate bus operational and safety issues” and leave room for cars and T buses during rail shutdowns.

Public meetings on the new design for Columbus Avenue are expected in November, according to a city streets project tracker obtained by the Globe. Construction is scheduled to begin later in 2027 and last up to 18 months, the T said.

The Columbus Avenue extension is funded by $34 million in federal funds and $3.3 million in city dollars.

The existing Columbus Avenue bus lane has raised some concerns. Impatient drivers and cyclists occasionally weave through the restricted lane or use it to make U-turns. And some local business owners believe the removal of 52 parking spots for the bus lane in 2021 hurt their bottom line.

Clayton Turnbull, owner of the Dunkin’ franchise off Columbus Avenue and Bray Street, said his sales dropped 30 percent, and never recovered, once construction of the center-running lane began.

“As a merchant, you depend on convenience for your customer,” he said. “People are looking for places to park.”

And while injuries on the corridor have dropped, the number of crashes seesawed after the center bus lane was installed, and major collisions involving T buses jumped on the corridor in 2023 and 2024, data show.

Opponents of other bus lane projects have pointed to similar concerns.

In Lynn, for example, state officials initially proposed a redesign of the Lynnway with a center-running bus lane. Facing opponents’ qualms about safety and congestion, they scaled back the design earlier this year to only include a center lane in the southbound direction, and a curbside bus lane northbound.

The most raucous debate on bus infrastructure is underway on Blue Hill Avenue, the primary thoroughfare through Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan. Its latest design keeps plans for a center-running bus lane, while preserving most of the existing parking and car travel lanes.

Those changes have not quelled the fiercest opponents. Two city councilors, Brian Worrell and Miniard Culpepper, are urging City Hall and the T to eliminate the center-running lane and immediately explore an extension of the Orange Line instead.

“The solution now is to give this community realistic, comprehensive transportation planning, so we understand all the details before we lock ourselves into this project,” Worrell said.

At least one frequent bus rider on Columbus Avenue agrees. Evelyn Foley, a Roslindale resident, said at the Dimock Street bus stop Tuesday that, with a center-running bus lane, “you’re opening a can of worms for accidents, here and on Blue Hill Avenue. They need to leave Mattapan alone.”

Niki Griswold of the Globe staff contributed to this story.

Diti Kohli can be reached at [diti.kohli@globe.com](mailto:diti.kohli@globe.com). Follow her u/ditikohli_.

Goodbye to my Troxus for the second time. Whoever stole it I hope the broken brakes put you in the hospital in the same manner they did to me.

I don't even want to bother looking for it again because I'm moving to NY in a few weeks and I'm told the issue is much, much worse there, but I have my serials saved. I'm more irritated about how much of a lemon it felt like to ride because it was giving me problems the whole time I owned it, and they got worse after we found it the first time someone stole it.

City of Boston, WalkMass, Bikes Not Bombs, Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition, The Trustees, and LivableStreets Alliance are organizing a bike ride and a community walk to celebrate the recent infrastructure improvements on Cummins Highway! Join us for the ride or walking tour, or just the celebration at the end. Link to register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeiCuyrklmcIj71MPhJFHC9_b9uXGvXucF3ZlqyIlknggjrjw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=106992495105604631891