If you can believe it, Boston is a million times better than it used to be but the painting hasn’t been redone for a while. 1) great to see Boston biking from an outsider lens 2) we do have some protected lanes but not a ton 3) we have bike paths not in downtown and a particularly long one by the river 4) the parked cars in the bike lane is normal
It's always interesting hearing the reaction to my videos from a local. After finishing the video and reflecting on the parts of the bike network that we saw, I concluded that it's pretty similar to what we have in Toronto. Many of our older painted bike lanes also were built in the dooring zone, and have never been upgraded to protected lanes. Our network is in bits and pieces and doesn't always connect in a logical way which would be intuitive to a tourist. And of course, there are always cars blocking our bike lanes. I've always been under the impression that Toronto was far behind most other North American cities in terms of safe biking infrastructure, but Boston is not one those cities, at least not yet.
Ok does anyone know what is going on with the two people crossing Beacon Street there just as you're riding to the corner of Beacon and Comm Ave - at the very beginning about 1:19? I am a Bostonian living in VT and w/Covid happening I haven't been able to get back. So I dialed this up and was delighted to see full on Boston oddness right away. Good luck in your travels.
We saw a few other people in elaborate costumes that day. I think there must have been some kind of event on, like a comic book convention, where people like to attend wearing a costume. "Cosplay" is the term they use.
This is my old neighborhood. There were nearly no bike paths when I lived there. One thing about the left-side paths are that you don't have to worry about getting doored. Unless things have changed, bike riding is not allowed in the public gardens but they are allowed in the commons - but I always rode through both. What I do like about bike riding in Boston & NYC is that the drivers are generally aware of bikes and pedestrians. I live in DC now and riding on the streets is quite frightening - lots of enraged fingers and intentional cut offs. You took quite a roundabout route 🙂
@@cjhoyle I hope but those narrow winding roads designed by wandering cows do not lend themselves well to bicycling :) I live in norther VA now and there is absolutely no bicycle infrastructure, and unlike Boston, the drivers here freak out when they encounter a pedestrian or bicyclist.
Thank you CJ, I've been to Boston(nice city). I live in the Province of New Brunswick, I'm about a 9 hour drive from there. Thanks for the tour, hopefully you'll be doing another video soon in Toronto. Take care.
Next time, take the ferry to Portland. Passenger trains take you from there to North Station year round (or Old Orchard Beach in the summer!). I was floored when I heard about the hurricane that crossed Halifax and New Brunswick. Hope you're safe.
That middle park on Atlantic Ave is the Rose Kennedy Greenway which was constructed after the elevated highway was buried, so that park does have the once elevated highway running below it just like you mentioned.
The bike share system was called Hubway, and they have a number of different options that you can read about on their website. We chose the option where you pay a flat fee for unlimited 30 minutes trips during a 24 hour period.
This was Easter Sunday. I'd love to see a video on a regular weekday if you survived. 😂 Though after watching this I'm thinking next holiday might be nice to bike Boston.
I understand you're not FROM Boston and don't know your way around. For others watching though, it's an odd route I believe, there's a more direct route. When I'm working in Boston, and bike in to work on my hardtail MTB on good weather days, about 6 miles from home, I work near Fenway. When riding TO north station from Fenway, it's never taken me that long. I bike all the time and move along at a faster clip though. Biking all the time through Boston and Cambridge I witness SO MANY bike riders that frankly aren't ready to be biking in the Boston area, SERIOUSLY! There should be a free class of orientation offered to newer riders, students from out of town, etc. These folks do very st00pid things. You and your dad though were biking carefully and showed some responsibility out there. In Boston biking skills, I'd rate you both at a cautious "8" lol, but the folks I'm referring to are lucky if I'll even give them a "5"!! And there are so many of THEM. Boston is getting heavier bike traffic every year. In good weather at rush hours, there's considerable traffic in the bike lanes between Boston and Cambridge and sometimes as far as the Arlington border. What's remarkable though is how disrespectful many bike riders are TO EACH OTHER. It's amazing. If I could share what I've referenced you'd see it's no wonder why there are so many bike accidents. Just a few minor alterations to the etiquette and we'd see a dramatic drop in bike casualties. I've done experiments with my friends when they're driving, and we're leaving together--going to meet at the same location. I get to places in and around these cities faster than they do in a car. I'm always waiting for them when I'm going to the same place leaving on the bike, so it IS practical IF you can do it safely. I think it's a nice thing that you posted this and gave people a taste of Boston bike commuting. It's changed a BIT since 2018, but not very much. A few more bike lanes, and traffic on a typical weekday (and the weekENDS) is a different sport though lol! At the end when you're at the Zakim bridge, I'm only a couple of miles on the other side of that bridge. Hope you enjoyed Boston. Don't remember where in Canada you said you were from, but I have many relatives in P.E.I. Wouldn't want to bike in PEI too much... hills, hills, hills, and more hills. ~JSV
Thanks. The route wasn't chosen to be direct or fast. It was chosen with the goal of making an interesting video and also take advantage of bike infrastructure where it existed. I live and ride my bike in a city which is approximately 4 times larger than Boston, so I'm no stranger to urban cycling. That being said, my riding behavior when I'm narrating with a camera rolling is quite a bit different. Anyway, thank you for the Bostonian perspective, I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
@@cjhoyle Oh absolutely. That was great! I'd like to see more Boston ride videos. It's getting better too. In the last couple years they've added even more bike lanes. Just a little chaotic sometimes and I think that has a lot to do with the infrastructure of the streets around Boston is so OOOOLD it gets confusing. Thanks again for the ride! ~JSV
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #30 ДВА В ОДНОМ [Один человек]• Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nrXy15orKhY/mqdefault.jpg)
Wow! I had a completely different idea of Boston, very clean and nice. You and your dad are blessed to be able to bike together. Thanks!
it has been many years since I have been in Boston, I enjoyed seeing some old familiar sights. My Grandfather drove trains for MBTA for many years.
If you can believe it, Boston is a million times better than it used to be but the painting hasn’t been redone for a while. 1) great to see Boston biking from an outsider lens 2) we do have some protected lanes but not a ton 3) we have bike paths not in downtown and a particularly long one by the river 4) the parked cars in the bike lane is normal
It's always interesting hearing the reaction to my videos from a local. After finishing the video and reflecting on the parts of the bike network that we saw, I concluded that it's pretty similar to what we have in Toronto. Many of our older painted bike lanes also were built in the dooring zone, and have never been upgraded to protected lanes. Our network is in bits and pieces and doesn't always connect in a logical way which would be intuitive to a tourist. And of course, there are always cars blocking our bike lanes. I've always been under the impression that Toronto was far behind most other North American cities in terms of safe biking infrastructure, but Boston is not one those cities, at least not yet.
Installation of bike lanes, including some protected, continues in Boston.
Ok does anyone know what is going on with the two people crossing Beacon Street there just as you're riding to the corner of Beacon and Comm Ave - at the very beginning about 1:19? I am a Bostonian living in VT and w/Covid happening I haven't been able to get back. So I dialed this up and was delighted to see full on Boston oddness right away. Good luck in your travels.
We saw a few other people in elaborate costumes that day. I think there must have been some kind of event on, like a comic book convention, where people like to attend wearing a costume. "Cosplay" is the term they use.
I thought the city of Boston would be better after enjoying the rail trail on the cape and bike trail along the cape cod canal. Good job as always RJ!
Very impressive gentlemen, thanks for the tour!
This is my old neighborhood. There were nearly no bike paths when I lived there. One thing about the left-side paths are that you don't have to worry about getting doored. Unless things have changed, bike riding is not allowed in the public gardens but they are allowed in the commons - but I always rode through both. What I do like about bike riding in Boston & NYC is that the drivers are generally aware of bikes and pedestrians. I live in DC now and riding on the streets is quite frightening - lots of enraged fingers and intentional cut offs.
You took quite a roundabout route 🙂
This was filmed more than 5 years ago actually. I wonder if they've improved their bike infrastructure since then.
@@cjhoyle I hope but those narrow winding roads designed by wandering cows do not lend themselves well to bicycling :) I live in norther VA now and there is absolutely no bicycle infrastructure, and unlike Boston, the drivers here freak out when they encounter a pedestrian or bicyclist.
Thank you CJ, I've been to Boston(nice city). I live in the Province of New Brunswick, I'm about a 9 hour drive from there. Thanks for the tour, hopefully you'll be doing another video soon in Toronto. Take care.
Next time, take the ferry to Portland. Passenger trains take you from there to North Station year round (or Old Orchard Beach in the summer!). I was floored when I heard about the hurricane that crossed Halifax and New Brunswick. Hope you're safe.
That middle park on Atlantic Ave is the Rose Kennedy Greenway which was constructed after the elevated highway was buried, so that park does have the once elevated highway running below it just like you mentioned.
Well done. Very brave cyclists have in a busy big city. Boston is a great city to visit if you are a history buff!
Very very nice video. Thank you so much.
Were you able to use your recumbent bike this winter?
enjoyed the video. your dad seems very fit! boston looks like a dull city, probably because of the fall season and overcast weather.
What's the cost for taking/renting bikes and for how many time?
The bike share system was called Hubway, and they have a number of different options that you can read about on their website. We chose the option where you pay a flat fee for unlimited 30 minutes trips during a 24 hour period.
What the? Switching the bike lane back and forth from side to side!
great video! i’m from montreal and i love boston and i was interested in seeing how it is biking there since i love biking around montreal.
Thanks. I've still never ridden in Montreal myself, but would love to some day!
Where you there for opening day at Fenway park?
No, we went on a tour of Fenway though.
This was Easter Sunday. I'd love to see a video on a regular weekday if you survived. 😂 Though after watching this I'm thinking next holiday might be nice to bike Boston.
I understand you're not FROM Boston and don't know your way around. For others watching though, it's an odd route I believe, there's a more direct route. When I'm working in Boston, and bike in to work on my hardtail MTB on good weather days, about 6 miles from home, I work near Fenway. When riding TO north station from Fenway, it's never taken me that long. I bike all the time and move along at a faster clip though. Biking all the time through Boston and Cambridge I witness SO MANY bike riders that frankly aren't ready to be biking in the Boston area, SERIOUSLY! There should be a free class of orientation offered to newer riders, students from out of town, etc. These folks do very st00pid things. You and your dad though were biking carefully and showed some responsibility out there. In Boston biking skills, I'd rate you both at a cautious "8" lol, but the folks I'm referring to are lucky if I'll even give them a "5"!! And there are so many of THEM.
Boston is getting heavier bike traffic every year. In good weather at rush hours, there's considerable traffic in the bike lanes between Boston and Cambridge and sometimes as far as the Arlington border. What's remarkable though is how disrespectful many bike riders are TO EACH OTHER. It's amazing. If I could share what I've referenced you'd see it's no wonder why there are so many bike accidents. Just a few minor alterations to the etiquette and we'd see a dramatic drop in bike casualties.
I've done experiments with my friends when they're driving, and we're leaving together--going to meet at the same location. I get to places in and around these cities faster than they do in a car. I'm always waiting for them when I'm going to the same place leaving on the bike, so it IS practical IF you can do it safely. I think it's a nice thing that you posted this and gave people a taste of Boston bike commuting. It's changed a BIT since 2018, but not very much. A few more bike lanes, and traffic on a typical weekday (and the weekENDS) is a different sport though lol!
At the end when you're at the Zakim bridge, I'm only a couple of miles on the other side of that bridge. Hope you enjoyed Boston. Don't remember where in Canada you said you were from, but I have many relatives in P.E.I. Wouldn't want to bike in PEI too much... hills, hills, hills, and more hills.
~JSV
Thanks. The route wasn't chosen to be direct or fast. It was chosen with the goal of making an interesting video and also take advantage of bike infrastructure where it existed. I live and ride my bike in a city which is approximately 4 times larger than Boston, so I'm no stranger to urban cycling. That being said, my riding behavior when I'm narrating with a camera rolling is quite a bit different. Anyway, thank you for the Bostonian perspective, I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
@@cjhoyle Oh absolutely. That was great! I'd like to see more Boston ride videos. It's getting better too. In the last couple years they've added even more bike lanes. Just a little chaotic sometimes and I think that has a lot to do with the infrastructure of the streets around Boston is so OOOOLD it gets confusing. Thanks again for the ride!
~JSV
Surely. Cut over Beacon hill at the commons and you're right near the gahden.
Good video👍
Thanks.
your digial spedometer is in km/h but your analog scale is in mph and it's driving me nuts
The Analog scale is not in mph. It's not labeled. I believe the software automatically scales it based on what the maximum speed is during the trip.
Perhaps you can get some medication for that.
cool!
Thanks!
so nice
Thank you.
Boston needs to address their bike lanes
I haven't been back to visit since, but their infrastructure seemed to be behind other north American cities at the time.
One can ride bicycles in Boston Common, but not in Public Garden.
Thank you.