She had a job along the South Boston waterfront, but no parking space, so she parked in other companies' lots for eight months until she got caught and threatened with towing. Now she's commuter from the South Shore, pedaling on some of the worst, most bicycle-unfriendly roads in America!
At Neponset Circle while waiting for the light to turn green, I met a young guy who was running his commute home. He had his back pack on and we struck up a conversation. He was running from Brookline to Quincy and then he said he takes the Quincy train to Braintree where his car is and then a 45 minute drive home. "Wow" I thought, "he looks really pale with dark circles under his eyes."
Via Boston Biker.
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Comments
Um, better idea?
By anon
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 1:09pm
Bike to station, take train to South Station, hubway?
Bike to Braintree, fold bike, unfold bike, bike to work?
I feel bad for her
By anon
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 1:37pm
She has such a rotten outlook on life. That blog depressed me. The visual aspect of it first but then I read her writing about the 'asians' and 'women drivers.' Also how the sidewalks in the 'world class city' are nothing but Dunkin's cups and cigarettes. I did not see one positive thing said about anyone or anything.
Maybe biking will raise her endorphins and cheer her up. Or she'll find a job in the suburbs.
Pay for Parking?
By Allen R
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 1:40pm
If there's one thing not lacking on the South Boston waterfront, it's parking--there are huge lots,I park in them every day.
its expensive to park there
By anon
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 2:12pm
i think its up to 13-14 dollars a day. that's up to 70 dollars a week just to park, not including gas.
Yes ... and no.
By SwirlyGrrl
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 4:28pm
It is $60 to $70 a week now that the commuter rail got so expensive that people are driving.
However, we pay only $14 to $28 a week ... because we share the ride with another couple and another coworker. We drive one day in three.
Boat, Move
By JohnCostello
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 2:06pm
A few observations;
1. Take the boat. $16 round trip, better than getting T-Boned in an October drizzle at twilight in front of Lambert's. Takes you, wait for it, from Hingham to Rowes Wharf. I take it at least once a week. Worth every penny. One of my favorite Billy Bulger quotes was to Bill Weld on his thriftness - "Things cost money. Spend a litte."
2. Hingham - Not often mentioned in the same sentence as Athol for cheap housing. If you are trying to save money perhaps you could save more money by living in in an SRO in Brockton or Lynn.
3. Morrissey Boulevard is a commuting artery. However, if it is narrowed for bike lanes the resulting decrease in capacity will force traffic furhter back into Quincy on QSD and Hancock Street, increasing commuter costs and decreasing any social benefit for the rest of society at your niggardly actions.
4. I used to bike on the sidewalks on Morrissey Boulevard all the time in the 1980's. I didn't exactly run over a lot of people becuase I was on the sidewalk with my bike. (It's ok. We won't tell on you.)
"[I]ncreasing commuter costs
By Eoin
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 3:34pm
"[I]ncreasing commuter costs and decreasing any social benefit for the rest of society at your niggardly actions."
Give me a break. Commuting via motor vehicle imposes vastly more negative externalities on society than riding a bike. Gas and excise taxes don't come close to covering road maintenance, auto registration and traffic enforcement, tax breaks for oil companies and our government's efforts to secure access to foreign oil fields, or for the health costs associated with reduced air quality. We're all paying for that, and those who drive less, or not at all, are subsidizing those who drive more.
What's more, cars tend to greatly complicate the lives of every class of commuter, from pedestrians and cyclists forced to cross busy roads, to public transportation users who have been inexplicably saddled with the cost of increased automotive access to the city. And motorists in this town do a terrific job of getting in each others' way, as well.
Drive to work if you must, but don't pretend that you're doing society a favor by doing so.
Still, that blogger really needs to stop at red lights.
Minimzing cost seems to be one of her objectives.
By issacg
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 2:16pm
It appears that one of her goals is to minimize cost, which presumably explains the bike commute.
(Otherwise, didn't we recently build a very expensive, not-very-well-traveled train line to her town, replete with tunnel under her downtown so as to preserve its beauty? Isn't there also a boat?)
Frankly, I think that the most interesting thing here might be that driving into the city was previously the cheapest option for her - what does that say about our transport network (other than she probably didn't account for anything more than out-of-pocket costs as opposed to true costs)?
For $70 a month you can buy a
By anon
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 2:48pm
For $70 a month you can buy a link pass and take the MBTA route 220 bus from Hingham to the Red Line at Quincy, and then the Red Line to Boston
It's too easy, just too easy to mock her
By Nancy
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 2:16pm
The spoiled suburban Hingham lady biking through Neponset (the HORROR!) is just too easy a mark for an OFD like me.
oh yeah, she's a real hero alright
By anon
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 2:20pm
This is what we need, more operators of vehicles not stopping at red lights.
http://dailygrind25.blogspot.com/2012/07/im-gettin...
FIGHT WITH A FATTY
Yesterday on my commute home some fat guy driving in the same direction as me yelled out at me from the comfort of his fat road-hogging SUV.
I really didn't hear what he said, I just heard "blah, blah, blah, idiot".
Taking my life in my hands, wondering if he had a gun on him and he would pull it out on me, I pulled up next to him at the next red light and asked if he were talking to me.
He started sputtering and yelling with his big fat mouth that bikes are suppose to stop at red lights.
Now I know that, and if it where a danger I would have stopped.
But if he had ever been on a bike he would know that its much easier to keep pedaling than it is to stop and then go. So when the coast is clear I keep going, always careful. I'm the last person to want to get hurt.
The whole point of bike riding in traffic is to try beat the traffic, not ride with it.
He was a fat angry angry ugly dude.
I asked him why it bothered him so much what I did? I wasn't near him or bothering him. He didn't answer he just gassed it, I hope he wondered about why it did bother him so much.
Some people just don't like it when someone else gets away with something even if it is just a bike riding through a red light when there are no other cars around. It probably annoyed him that I got to go and he sat there at a red light.
Or maybe he has bigger issues at home. Like, no one loves him. He a fatso and an a-hole.
But.... aren't bikes supposed
By anon
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 2:54pm
But.... aren't bikes supposed to follow the rules of the road?
So are motorists and pedestrians
By SwirlyGrrl
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 5:54pm
This is a Masshole problem, not a choice of vehicle problem.
Get over it, or demand full enforcement on all modes and meaningful jaywalking fines.
Now don't every one panic
By fibrowitch
Wed, 09/05/2012 - 3:21pm
But I agree with SwirlyGrrl we need to stop just whinnying about it and start enforcing all the traffic laws.
We already do pretty well with car enforcement, but we could do better. We currently do no enforcement any laws on pedestrians or bicycles. We should do better.
Personally I feel bad for her horse if she owns one, or the horses she may rent for riding. I doubt she treats a horse any better than she treats the rest of the world.
If true, 10 steps back for the reputations of bicyclists
By issacg
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 3:15pm
I wasn't about to read all of the woman's posts, but if the one that you posted is unadulterated, I agree that it is 10 steps back for the share-the-road campaign (and I say this as someone who bikes to and from work several times a week).
It is precisely because of encounters like this that I scrupulously follow all traffic laws on my bike, just as I do when I'm driving. I set a good example with the hope that a least a few of the drivers who look at me totally shocked that I have stopped for a stop sign will tell others about it. Everytime someone acts like this woman, it negates the tales of 10 of the drivers who see me.
Following the rules and riding with courtesy also has the nice benefit of putting me on the moral high ground when someone driving a car does something stupid right in front of me. (Yeah, I'm talking about you, jackass in the white BMW with the South End resident permit sticker who tried (and failed, for the love of God! How can you suck so badly at driving?) to take an illegal U-turn across Beacon St. in Newton Centre last night about 7:45, and who put the front right portion of the car right into the bike lane directly in front of me (and my flashing lights) whilst I was traveling at 15-20 mph, all so you could try and get a parking space opening on the opposite side of the road).
If most discussions about
By Eoin
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 4:43pm
If most discussions about cyclists' accommodations contained anything approaching rationality, the behavior of one cyclist wouldn't have such power to shape people's perceptions of all cyclists.
Here's a novel way of looking at it: Individuals who routinely break laws, regardless of their mode of transportation, deserve to have reputations as lawbreakers. And individuals who obey traffic laws deserve to have reputations as law-abiding road users.
To assert otherwise, to say that there exists some mechanism by which individuals, simply by virtue of their choice of locomotion, are assigned collective responsibility for the actions of people they've never met, is nothing more than magical thinking.
Yet this insane assertion dominates every discussion about the road rights of cyclists. Every single one.
Typical entitled attitude of the cyclist
By anon
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 4:32pm
I love this excuse for blowing through red lights:
"But if he had ever been on a bike he would know that its much easier to keep pedaling than it is to stop and then go."
And this is a doozy:
"The whole point of bike riding in traffic is to try beat the traffic, not ride with it."
In other words, ignore all rules of the road, fly through every red light, and all others on the road be damned. Unfortunately this is the typical attitude of the cyclist. The other day, I, as a pedestrian, was crossing when I was supposed to, with the red light as the cars were stopped. But a cyclist, tyical of many, flew threw and actually yelled curses at me for being in his way! I had the right of way.
Go stand in the bike lane on Seaport Ave at Rush Hour
By SwirlyGrrl
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 4:31pm
I think you would rather quickly discover that "entitled" goes with "motorist" and "taxi driver" as you jumped out of the way of speeding vehicles driving down the bike lane as their special "just for me now get out of MY way" lane.
I'm sure you would learn a lot as they hurled curses at you and threatened you with their vehicle THAT IS DRIVING IN THE BIKE LANE for stopping them and photographing them and their front license plates.
I hate to break this to you, anonymous,
By anon
Tue, 09/04/2012 - 7:38am
but you were both in the wrong; the fat, ugly dude for being such an asshole, and you for running a red light on your bicycle, in any case. A bicycle is also a vehicle and therefore subject to the rules of the road just as any motor vehicles, including cars, are.
Nancy - what a coincidence
By anon
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 2:58pm
The blogger is OFD, too. Note to know-it-alls: Not everyone who lives in Hingham is wealthy.
Not everyone in Hingham is wealthy but
By Nancy
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 10:44am
did you see her list of "likes"?
"Horse back riding, artistic oil painting, weights, travelling to horse back riding adventures, snoozing and eating Black Forest brand gummy bears or black licorice bears from CVS for 88 cents."
Gimme a break. That's so goofy that it's almost a caricature of a Hingham resident. And yes, I know not everyone in Hingham is wealthy which might explain that she's a cheat (parking for free in lots she shouldn't be in) and a whiner (why is it so hard to get over the Neponset River Bridge?).
She might have spent time in her childhood in Dorchester but she doesn't seem very OFD to me.
What does OFD stand for?
By anon
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 11:52am
Even using The Google and Urban Dictionary
I am unable to ascertain the meaning of "OFD".
Originally from Dorchester
By adamg
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 11:55am
As opposed to DBC.
From another entry A
By anon
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 5:01pm
From another entry
http://dailygrind25.blogspot.com/2012/08/beautiful...
You mean this doesn't scream OFD to you? :D
Forgotten option: motorbike or scooter
By Markk02474
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 3:48pm
Have you ever considered a motorcycle or scooter? They are much easier to park than a car, much less work and faster than a bicycle, and safer in being able to keep up with traffic speeds. 50cc scooters are considered motorized bicycles and only cost $20/year for registration fees - far less than the gouging done to motorcycle owners by the state.
North America is one of the few continents where motorbikes are ignored as a viable and popular mode of transportation. They take little more room on roads and parking spots than bicycles, offer similar safety, longer distances, more cargo and seating, and speedier movement.
My scooter was a gateway drug
By Eoin
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 3:58pm
My scooter was a gateway drug to cycling! I used to ride a 50cc Honda before switching to a bike. It was great fun to ride around on, to the point at
which I stopped walking everywhere. Let's just say that the odometer readings were highly correlated with those of my bathroom scale...
I agree that it might be a good transportation option for those with long commutes or who are not physically able to ride a bike (although safely operating a motorbike or scooter does require some level of athletic ability).
Motorcyclists and scooterists stand to benefit greatly from certain types of cycling infrastructure, such as traffic calming measures and sharrows. And more cyclists on public roads will condition drivers to be more alert, with obvious benefits for all types of road users, particularly those not encased in cars.
When I'm on my bike, I like sharing the road with my motorized two-wheeled bretheren. As a whole, they strike me as far more polite and safety conscious than those driving cars and trucks.
Your next task
By SwirlyGrrl
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 4:54pm
Find parking for a motorbike in Boston.
Boston doesn't seem to have a concept of it besides "pay for a full car spot", which your motorcycle may be plowed out of by a motorist if you try.
Is there any good way to bike through Weymouth?
By Ron Newman
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 5:02pm
Route 3A from Quincy Center to the Fore River Bridge, especially the section in Weymouth, is one of the least pleasant highways I've ever had the misfortune to try to ride a bike on. Is there any good way to get between the Back River and Fore River bridges without riding on 3A?
The road gets a lot nicer as soon as you cross over into Hingham.
Routes through Weymouth
By dga
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 8:45am
Being from Weymouth (been 30 years since I lived there) and having biked to North Weymouth last week, I know there aren't many ways across the Back River / Fore River. If you want to avoid 3A, your next way across is Weymouth Landing (Rt 53 IIRC). From Hingham I would go through Jackson Sq and over to the Landing (High St Hingham / Broad St Weymouth). But then you have to decide whether to take the car sewer of Rt 53 through "Quintree" to the shipyard, or head more to the West, maybe Commercial St to Burgin Parkway.
Frankly, if I was living in Weymouth / Hingham these days and felt I couldn't afford a (T) pass, I'd be taking a Motorcycle Safety Foundation class and getting a scooter or small motorbike for that commute. Once you get over 50cc you need to have a license and pay for insurance, but it's still cheaper than a T pass. And potentially faster than bicycling / riding a 50cc scooter. But also potentially slower given that you can't really pass on the right with a real motorbike.
What does this person have
By anon
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 4:54pm
What does this person have against paying for parking, not just expensive city parking, but parking in general. S/he's got more than one entry about avoiding paying for parking. WTF. You choose to own a car and then drive it into the city where you choose to work. Wah wah get over it. Someone needs an serious attitude adjustment.