We got this question from Theo about riding in the rain:

Hello MassBike!

I have started riding for Bay State Bike Week, and unfortunately every time I go outside I manage to bike when the rain starts pouring! This makes it super stressful, not to mention soaking wet and potentially dangerous. What can I do to rain-proof my ride?

Wet and frustrated,
Theo

Hello Theo,

Your concerns about riding in the rain are definitely understandable, especially as a beginner. However, with the right gear and riding strategies, riding in the rain can be just as easy and safe as riding on a nice, sunny day.  Our tips for rainy day riding fall into three categories:

Maneuvering

• Brakes don’t don’t work as well on wet rims. It can take much longer to stop (up to ten times normal distance!). Start braking earlier than usual, and be sure to periodically “wipe the rims” applying the brakes lightly for a short distance, ideally a little bit before you need to make a stop. Alternately, if you are interested in getting a new bike or some new parts, disc brakes provide much better stopping power in wet conditions than rim brakes.
• Paint is slippery. Try to stay off pavement markings and lines – they can be extra-slippery when wet.
• Metal is slippery too. Avoid manhole covers, grates, construction plates, and other metal objects. These things can be tricky to ride on in the best of conditions, and can act like ice when wet.
• Tires lose traction when wet. Take turns more slowly than usual, don’t lean into turns as much, and avoid quick maneuvers.
• Stay out of puddles. Innocent looking puddles can conceal wheel-swallowing potholes, so you’re better off going around any puddle you can’t see the bottom of.

Above all, though, Slow Down! Motorists cannot see you as well because of the rain on their windows, and you probably can’t see as well either because of the rain coming down on your face. It’s even worse if you wear glasses. Be sure to wear bright colors and use a front white light and rear red light to make yourself more visible.

A Rain Cape. Courtesy of www.catoregon.org.

Clothing

In addition to bright clothing, getting rain-specific clothing will make biking in wet conditions much more tolerable. A rain jacket, rain pants and shoe covers are a good way to go, as is a rain cape. There are also helmet covers to keep your head dry. Try to get materials that breathe pretty well, otherwise you will keep the rain out but get soaked with sweat.

Maintenance

Getting your bike ready for the rain is crucial to a pleasant journey. Fenders are a great place to start, as they keep water from kicking up your back, reduce the amount of spray from the front wheel, and also can protect the person behind you from getting a face-full of dirty water.

A rusty chain. Courtesy of steel-cut.blogspot.com/

There is a lot of salt and sand, not to mention dirt and muck, on the roads at this time of year. Be kind to your bike:

• Wipe it down. Or spray it with a garden hose (gently, never with high pressure) once you get home to keep your bike from rusting and making all sorts of annoying pops and clicks.
• Lube your chain. Lubing your chain keeps it cleans, prevents rust, and keeps things moving smoothly.
• Clean your rims. Dirt and sand grind down your brake pads and rims much faster than normal use.

Riding in the rain doesn’t have to be stressful or dangerous. If you follow some of the tips above, we think you will significantly improve your ride and will even enjoy the trip.

We got this question from Kristen about riding on Memorial Drive in Cambridge.

Hi,

I was out for a ride this morning and was riding my road bike (in the road) on Memorial Drive. I was headed east towards Harvard Sq. riding in the right hand lane when a state trooper pulled up beside me and informed me that I needed to be on the bike path and not in the road. He said that Memorial Dr. is a state highway and that bikes are prohibited since it is too narrow. I am wondering if he is correct, or do I have every right to be in the road?

Thanks for your help,
Kristen

Hello Kristen

This is absolutely incorrect. Bicycles are only prohibited from limited access or express state highways (such as I-93 or I-90) where it is posted, according to MGL chapter 85, section 11B. Memorial Drive is neither limited access nor express (it has numerous cross-streets and driveways), so bicycling is allowed. Many roads are “state highways” but are not limited access or express. Mass Ave is a state highway, but no one would argue bicycles are not allowed there.

Memorial Drive is narrow, and cars go way too fast there, so you might not want to ride in the road. But you can if you want to.

If anyone ever gets a ticket for something like this, we want to get a copy of it so we can investigate.

Hope this helps.

We got this question from Scott about riding in crosswalks.

Hello,
In crossing a zebra crosswalk, where cars must stop for pedestrians, does the law prohibit you from riding your bike across. Must you walk it?

Good question Scott, and unfortunately one with a bit of a confusing answer. Massachusetts law does not expressly address the issue of vehicles (remember, bicycles are legally vehicles) using crosswalks to cross the street. The law does require “drivers” to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks (Mass. General Laws, chapter 89, section 11), which gives us a clue that whoever wrote the law was thinking about cars. And cars, as a practical matter, cannot physically use a crosswalk (unless they are somehow driving on the sidewalk), so lawmakers probably did not think it was essential to write a law prohibiting something that cannot happen. But, taking everything in context, we think the intention is pretty clear that vehicles should not use crosswalks. What does this mean for bicyclists? Here is a common sense approach, where you choose whether to act as a vehicle or as a pedestrian and then stick with that choice:

If you are riding your bicycle in the road, then you are operating as a vehicle, and should not use crosswalks to cross intersections. You should remain in proper position to cross the intersection with other vehicular traffic. Sure, you could dismount, walk over to the crosswalk, walk your bike across, then walk back over into the road and remount, but we do not advise that because it puts you at risk from turning vehicles while in the crosswalk, you may have to merge back into moving traffic on the other side of the street (and cars are not expecting you to do that from a crosswalk), and it makes you unpredictable – no one will know for sure what you intend to do. The little “jog” to the right (into or near the crosswalk) that we see many bicyclists do before running a red light does not somehow make it OK – it is still running a red light (as well as being dangerous for all of the above reasons and potentially conflicting with pedestrians). A mounted bicyclist in the roadway is a vehicle and must obey the rules and signals.

If you are riding your bicycle on the sidewalk where it is legal to do so, then you are effectively a pedestrian, and it may be legal to ride in a crosswalk (although we do not guarantee it). Even so, we think it is safer to walk your bike across the street to avoid conflicts with pedestrians and turning cars that might not be looking for bicyclists in crosswalks. Sidewalk bicycling is illegal in all business districts statewide, and each city or town can further restrict it. Some towns prohibit all sidewalk bicycling. You need to check the local rules to know for sure.

If you are riding your bicycle illegally on a sidewalk, you are breaking the law, and riding in the crosswalk is probably also illegal.

We got this question from Diane about an incident she had with a cyclist.

Can you tell me who is at fault if I open my car door and did not see the bicyclist. We avoided an accident but he got off his bike and yelled at me in the middle of the downtown street. I do not think I was wrong. I was parked on the side of the street and getting out of my car.
Thank you
Diane

Hello Diane

According to the law in Massachusetts, the driver of a vehicle is responsible to check to make sure no other road users are approaching before opening the door (this includes other cars, bicyclists, and pedestrians). You were at fault, but luckily no one was hurt. If you would have caused an accident you could have been sited on the spot with a ticket, and most likely would have been taken to court for damages.

You can read the relevant parts of the law here or here, or see below.

No person shall open a door on a motor vehicle unless it is reasonably safe to do so without interfering with the movement of other traffic, including bicyclists and pedestrians. Whoever violates the preceding sentence shall be punished by a fine of not more than $100. MGL chapter 90, section 14

While I do not condone people yelling at motorists, and I would hope that in the future whoever yelled at you would be more civil, getting hit by an opening door is one of the most painful and terrifying things that can happen to a cyclist. I am sure they were just full of adrenalin and not acting in the nicest manner. In the future I urge you to check carefully for cyclists and other motorists before opening your door.

We got this question from Alison about where to get good bike lessons for her daughter.

Hello,

I have a 7 year old girl who has still not learned to ride a bike. She is
a bit fearful. I am looking to hire someone to help her learn to ride. She
is a healthy, active kid but needs some help from someone other then her
parents. Do you know of anyone who can offer these kind of lessons? Any
advice is appreciated.

Kind regards,
Alison

Hi Alison,

In Somerville there is a place called the Bicycle Riding School. We have sent people there before and have heard great things about it. They have taught almost two thousand people, from ages three to eighty years old, how to ride a bike. I highly recomend that you check them out.

For more information on their programs go to bicycleridingschool.org Once your daughter has learned the mechanics of riding you can also check out our bike safety classes.

We got this question from Jim about a crash in a bike lane. While we do our best, we are not lawyers, and the following shouldn’t be taken as legal advice, in fact we recommend you talk to a real lawyer, Andrew Fischer is a good one in the Boston Area

Good afternoon,
I was cycling westbound in a bike lane and an inattentive runner entered the bike lane causing me to crash into him. I called the police and filed a report, yet the responding officer stated there are no laws stating people cannot run in the bike lane. There was significant damage to my bike (thankfully both of us are ok physically),though without any law stating the runner was at fault being in the bike lane (which he is arguing), I would essentially have to take this individual to court to get compensation for damages instead of going through insurance or having the police cite him etc. Was hoping you might have some info on this?

Thank you,
Jim

Well Jim first let me say I am glad both of you are alright. We asked around to Walk Boston, and some other people and were unable to find out much more about this but we did dig up the following.

I don’t think there is a state law that specifically prohibits pedestrians from walking (or running) in the roadway, although most people prefer to walk on the sidewalk for obvious reasons.

State law defines a bike lane in MGL chapter 90E, section 1:
Bike lane, a lane on a street restricted to bicycles and so designated by means of painted lines, pavement coloring or other appropriate markings.

This implies that only bicycles are supposed to be in bike lanes. But I think it is really left to local ordinances. For example, Boston passed an ordinance last fall that prohibits parking in bike lanes.

It may be that the only recourse here is a civil lawsuit. Anyone entering a roadway, regardless of whether they are driving, biking, or on foot, has a duty to exercise reasonable care, and a failure to do so that causes damage or injury to someone else is negligence.

Again I would say that we are not lawyers, and that you should contact one. We hope that this information helps and that you are back out on your bike soon.

We got this question from James about riding from Alewife to Seaport district in Boston. We are not always able to answer route questions but we chose this one because so many people use the Minute Man Bike trail and it ends at Alewife.

HI,
At the transportation event today a work I was told by that someone at your office rides from Alewife to the Seaport area. Is it possible to get the names for the streets used?
Many Thanks,
James

Hello James

I don’t ride from Alewife to the Seaport area exactly, but I do ride from Arlington to the Financial District. So most of this route is what I do every day. It’s almost all on-road, in traffic, but there are bike lanes most of the way between Porter Sq and Boston.

From the back of Alewife Station (the side where the elevator exits near one of the bike cages), follow the path through Russell Field to the Linear Path (it’s a little confusing so you may have to look around a bit). Take the Linear Path out to Mass Ave. Take Mass Ave to Porter Square. At Porter Sq, bear left onto Somerville Ave (to the left of the T station). If you don’t want to merge into the left turn lane at Porter Sq, stay in the bike lane and there is a ramp on the right onto the sidewalk to wait for a bicycle signal to cross the intersection. From Somerville Ave, take the first right onto Beacon St, which immediately curves to the left. Beacon St turns into Hampshire St at Inman Sq. Follow Hampshire St to the end, then take a left at the light onto Broadway. Take Broadway through Kendall Sq to the Longfellow Bridge. At the end of the Longfellow Bridge, go straight onto Cambridge St and follow to Government Center. Cambridge St turns into Tremont St. At Park St station, turn left onto Winter St, and continue straight onto Summer St. You can take Summer St all the way into South Boston, or turn left at South Station onto Atlantic Ave, then right at Congress St or Northern Ave to go directly into the Seaport area.

Hope that helps!

We got this question from Scott about art bikes.

Do you have any leads on art bike groups that can be hired for a festival in Boston?

Hello Scott

I am pretty sure what you mean by art bikes are bicycles done up in awesome/outrageous/artistic ways, including custom built bikes (low riders, tall bikes, etc). The only organization I can think of are the wonderful folks over at SCUL, while I am not sure you can “hire” them as they are a quote “an anti-elite band of pilots testing out experimental ships, exploring the Greater Boston Starystems and occasionally other galaxies. We are an organized battalion of funk.” they might show up if you asked nicely. Learn more about SCUL here.

Below is some examples of their work

If you know of any other groups like this that could help Scott out leave the link in the comments.

We got this question from Pascal about what streets are ok to ride your bicycle on.

I am a student from the Netherlands and I will be doing an internship at MIT. I have a question about cycling in Boston. Is it allowed to cycle on all boston streets (except interstates)? For example, is one allowed to cycle the boston university bridge? This bridge has no dedicated bicycle lane, so I’m wondering.

Thanks in advance for your response!

Kind regards,
Pascal

Hello Pascal

Yes you can cycle on all streets in the entire state except for, limited access highways or express state highways where it is posted off limits for bicycles. You can most certainly cycle the BU Bridge, but as you mentioned it doesn’t have bike lanes, but will after the current construction project is completed.

Hope this helps

We got this question from Farzad about a crash he had on the esplanade.

hello massbike,

i’m a cyclist living in cambridge and i use the paul dudley white bike path along the charles to get to work. i’ve noticed that the city seems to plow the path but does not salt it, and, as a result, the path becomes a sheet of ice in the winter. i’m upset because on my way to work on friday i hit a huge patch of ice as i tried to go around a runner by the longfellow bridge, and i hit the ground hard and badly fractured my clavicle. i go back in two weeks for more x-rays to determine whether i’ll need surgery. i’m writing to get your help in determining what my rights are, if i have a case. thank you so much for your advocacy and for helping make MA a better place for cyclists!

cheers,
farzad

Hello Farzad

Yikes! I hope you heal up fast, I have broken a collar bone before, and while painful doesn’t always need surgery. Good luck with the recovery.

The bike path on the Esplanade is maintained and plowed by the DCR, not the City of Boston. We would guess that the DCR probably limits or prohibits the use of salt and deicing agents on the Esplanade due to the proximity to the river and risk of contamination from runoff, however we do not know for sure.

For information about how the DCR clears the bike path in the winter, we recommend contacting Samantha Overton, Director of Urban Parks and Recreation Samantha.Overton@state.ma.us.

Unfortunately MassBike is unable to give legal advice. For legal advice, we recommend consulting a lawyer. We recommend Andrew Fischer of Jason & Fischer, 617-423-7904, is very good, other lawyers also handle bicycle cases.

Hope this helps