UPDATE: Bikers leave one man unconscious after mob-style beating.
Cambridge Police report two guys, apparently fed up with a motorist who "swerved into and encroached upon" the Mass. Ave. bike lane around 11 p.m. on Saturday, caught up with the car, dragged the two people out and began beating them - one into unconsciousness - in front of 250 Mass. Ave.. Both alleged perps arrested.
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Comments
OK, so they WERE bicyclists and they WERE assholes
By adamg
Tue, 05/13/2008 - 2:43pm
The Cambridge Chronicle fills us in:
But, wait, it gets even better. The Chronicle quotes police on the attack and adds:
But really, click on the link to read the entire story. And, yes, of course, innocent until proven guilty, etc., but Christ on a stick, people.
Yee Haw
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 05/13/2008 - 2:49pm
Sounds like a real Masshole Rodeo to me!
Were the police there and witnessing all of this from inside the car, or did the paper only show interest in the motorist's account? Interesting how the cyclists "just started acting up and riding around the car"
I certainly won't say that the cyclists aren't jerks for the beatdown ... but I wonder if the motorist and passengers were doing/saying stuff not reported here? Their halo seems a little plastic and frayed.
Hey, thanks for including me in your omnibus reply!
By Rozzy Biker
Tue, 05/13/2008 - 2:55pm
[quote]@Rozzy Biker
"cyclists thinking they are using a morally superior transit mode"
Simple fact is the bicycle is clearly morally superior to the automobile. There's no need to act smug about it but I think everyone can agree the bicycle causes a lot less harm to society than the automobile. If everyone rode bicycles, gas would be cheap for when we need it, ambulances and fire trucks would have a much easier time getting around, we'd have much less pollution, food would be a ton cheaper, and we wouldn't have wars for petrol-resources. Even when I was a car driver I could admit bicycles were better for society. [/quote]
You don't need to sell me on this, I'm on your side. I bike to work when I can, which used to be all the time, but now the kid's school schedule has made that a difficulty. At any rate, it is superior to car for those of us who can do it, but you've fallen into the trap I was cautioning against -- irritating the "car fan" by disputing their legitimacy.
Many people cannot bike to work for reasons of distance, time, sweat, fitness, or safety. We shouldn't be smug about it, but should instead advocate for better conditions and act responsibly as we wait for them to develop.
We are the
By anon
Tue, 05/13/2008 - 4:38pm
We are the cyclists!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAOHhV1EFe4
Wow, what a bunch of lunatics
By Jenn
Tue, 05/13/2008 - 2:49pm
Apparently everyone's an asshole, bikers and car-drivers alike.
Here's the way it works:
Everyone obeys the rules. Yes, that means bikers have to actually stop at red lights and stop signs, use hand signals, etc. (Yes, I ride a bike and yes, I do these things.)
Meanwhile, car drivers aren't allowed to cut off bikers or swerve toward them any more than they are allowed to do the same with pedestrians or other cars.
How about everyone stops being a fucking jackass? I think it would make all our lives easier. Just a thought.
Thanks Adam
By Adam Pieniazek
Tue, 05/13/2008 - 3:10pm
Thanks adamg for the clarification. Reading the new article, if what they say is true these people certainly aren't true cyclists. Swerving into and out of the driving lanes is a bad idea (though the bike lanes could have had obstacles) but popping wheelies in front of cars is just plain stupid. Though I've only been biking again for about a month (again because for the majority of my life before I was 16 I was a biker) I can see this isn't good cyclist behavior.
First off, if they're traveling in that big of a group they should have taken a lane to themselves and kept it or stuck to the bike lane the whole time. Second, there's just no reason to pop wheelies on Mass Ave. Doing so incites car drivers, other bikers and even pedestrians, especially on a Saturday night. I wish we could get the unbiased true version of this story but in either case the bikers got at least two strikes against them, biking like idiots asking to be hit and assaulting two people.
@ Rozzy Biker
I wasn't trying to question the legitimacy of cars, they certainly have their purpose though many people "abuse" and extend that purpose way too far (driving a half mile to buy a half gallon of milk when they're a perfectly healthy person for instance). Sure, there are good reasons to drive (people with arthritic knees aren't going to bike/walk for instance) but there's also tons of good reasons to not drive and bike, walk, skate, T (ugh..the T), etc. You summed up and corrected my feeling perfectly:
"it is superior to car for those of us who can do it,"
Thugs
By anon
Tue, 05/13/2008 - 4:34pm
If the second report is accurate, these were delinquents on bicycles.
Effers. Total effers. I hope I don't run across them anytime soon.
If it turns out that they are responsible for that violent action, I'm glad they were arrested.
re: Thugs
By anon
Tue, 05/13/2008 - 4:46pm
Kickin a person in the face after they are down and out?
That's a sickness. I have no idea what the victims may have said, if anything, to engender such a response from a fellow (in)human being. Scary out there.
So ride faster and more carefully!
More info...
By Tom
Tue, 05/13/2008 - 4:46pm
A very quick google search later...
Greg Doliber apparently works (or rather worked) in the bike section of the undeground skate shop on Comm Ave. (at Mass Ave.)
His MySpace page states that he's leaving Boston, "middle of may" due to "life changes".
You don't say? If by life changes you mean an assault rap. Dumbass.
excuse me
By eric
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 10:13pm
you're a prick. you don't know him, so shut up.
ok so i think its terrific
By anon
Wed, 05/14/2008 - 12:15am
ok so i think its terrific that people ride bikes instead of driving, good for you for exercising or saving the environment or whatever reason. but i am a mailman, i walk through boston all day and i gotta tell ya, im more afraid of being hit by a courier than a car. i know if im crossing at a red light unless the guys drunk or not paying attention im prrrobly not gonna get hit by a car. but the bikes around boston seem to pay NO attention whatsoever to the rules of the road, and they are endangering themselves and others. there are 2 mailmen who have been hospitalized this month from being hit by bike riders. i know it can be tough out there, cars dont exactly make it easy for them. but seriously they need to smarten up and watch where theyre going and not assume everyones gonna get out of their way.
Adam G, let me see if I get
By Rabscuttle
Wed, 05/14/2008 - 10:39am
Adam G, let me see if I get your point: If bike riders are all high salaried then only high salaried bike riders can afford to pay high gas prices...because bike riders all secretly own SUVs and only ride because they are effete, or...what ? You lost me there. Your logic falls completely apart and I suspect you are just trying to further stir up a tempest. After getting a more accurate report of the incident we know the perpetrators are just delinquints and hated equally by both sides. Why not let it end there instead of trying to start a class war too?
Mwa-ha-ha, my evil plan is working!
By adamg
Wed, 05/14/2008 - 10:50am
OK, I'm not sure what you're ranting about here, but, hey, this is the rantiest thread on the InterWebs, or, at least, on Universal Hub (at least, in the last couple of days), so make yourself at home.
Initially, I posted about the incident because it's newsworthy - bicyclists drag guys out of car and beat them senseless (yes, we now know that one of the guys was already out of the car when he was beaten to the ground).
Not sure how you discern an attempt at class warfare there.
My only other "opinion" post here was basically ranting about some guy who seemed to enjoy the prospect of gas at $10 a gallon because people should be biking to work like his precious little self.
Please show me where I've come anywhere near suggesting bicyclists are all closet Hummer owners.
The original post was
By Rabscuttle
Thu, 05/15/2008 - 10:49am
The original post was relevant, but then Adam G wrote:"And it must be nice to be all smug and green and bike to your $100,000 office job and not worry about $10 gas because you don't live in the inner city and so have no other way but to drive to your job out in the suburbs, thanks to our creaky transportation infrastructure. Gosh, I hope you don't choke on your soy latte today, you sanctimonious prig."
Ok then, so what are you trying to say here? Please clarify because none of it makes any sense! It's not constructive, it's not logical, it's not accurate, it's not reasonable, and it is divisive and prejudiced. I still don't know where you are coming from on this issue. Are you against suburbanites who ride bikes or are you against iner city residents who drive or are you against anyone who doesn't use the T? Maybe you just hate anyone who makes 100k? I don't get it. It is the type of warped us-versus-them conspiracy nonsense you might expect to hear at an anarchist rally or whatever. Take of your aluminum foil hat and divert your attention from the Rush Limbaugh show long enough to make a cogent argument.
Yes, that's it, I hate people who make $100,000 a year
By adamg
Thu, 05/15/2008 - 11:05am
Let me try to make it even simpler:
This discussion is full of stereotypes. A guy posts something about how he's looking forward to $10-a-gallon gas.
The whole stereotype thing annoys me. That somebody is looking forward to $10-a-gallon-gas annoys me even more. So I reply with a stupid stereotype-filled rant about the sort of person who would look forward to $10-a-gallon gas. I didn't look at the clock, but I believe I spent less than two minutes composing and writing the whole thing.
No, I don't hate suburbanites who ride bikes. I'm not a self-hater, so I don't hate people who don't ride the T. Nor am I an anarchist. And I don't listen to Rush Limbaugh (do any anarchists?).
So you might want to make your delicious free Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee a decaf, unless you're in training to become a rightwing radio host (ooh, there I go again).
$10 a gallon gas also means
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 05/15/2008 - 11:16am
The cost of home heating going up
The costs of business going up and making raises less possible
The cost of food going up - including all those lovely organic veggies shipped from California ...
The cost of MBTA service going up
Sure, it would change transit priorities - but it makes a lot of other things get expensive too. Those of us who have low energy-use lifestyles still feel the pain - less pain, perhaps, but it eats into the budget nonetheless.
This is assault, and nothing else.
By Robby
Wed, 05/21/2008 - 12:19pm
The fact that these people were bikers isn't even relevant to the story. Two people were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got beat up by a group of assholes who are now facing charges. Who cares about the bikers vs drivers crap?
Bicyclists and Motorists
By Hiro
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 1:13pm
I'm a motorist and I love what bicyclists are doing to contribute to the environment. I always try to look out for the little guys because I feel it should be the motorist's responsibility to look after the bicyclists so everyone is happy. It isn't very hard to leave enough space for the vehicle and the bicycle while driving. Safety and caution should always be used on the road. Now that that is out of the way, motorists need to get off that cellphone and sip on the lattes at work. Bicyclists need to take off those headphones and stop at the stop lights. I understand weaving through stalled traffic but seriosuly? I almost hit one of you guys at 11pm at packard's corner because you ran the red light. Missed you by a foot. Please becareful. Maybe blinking lights and reflectors would've helped me see you. Give me something! You didn't have a helmet, you had jean shorts, flipflops, and a red jersey. Please bicyclists becareful. Don't be afraid to slow down and walk the bike past a vehicle. Especially around the losers that don't use blinkers or at those crosswalks. You guys really don't need to worry about bikers flow of traffic so taking your time to avoid the idiots might pay off in the end. Thanks!
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