Reader letter #9 - from an ex Boston bike messenger

Here's another letter in response to my Rivendell Reader piece about having been scared off my bike:

Dear Maynard,

I think you should move to the Boston area. No, they don't treat cyclists any better here, but they do treat cyclists like they treat everyone else. The same traffic rules apply to all - drive or ride aggressively, use your advantages, acknowledge your weaknesses.

Would that big SUV have cut you off on the streets of Boston? HECK YES! But, if you were a seasoned Boston cyclist, you would understand that it was your own darn fault. What were you doing, riding in a position which allowed that SUV to cut you off?

You could have been in the middle of the lane, blocking his access. You could have been on the sidewalk, giving you a few extra milliseconds before he cut across your path.

One might say that cyclists have unfair disadvantages in the Boston traffic scenario. Cars are, after all, bigger, bulkier, and capable of inflicting devastating damage to a cyclist in a collision. However, bicycles have extreme advantages on the Boston streets as well. We are far more nimble. We have access to the sidewalks. Traffic laws are not enforced on us. Played correctly, these advantages outweigh the disadvantages most of the time.

I could always get across the Cambridge/Boston metropolitan area faster on a bicycle than I could in a car.

To an uninitiated observer, the streets of Boston are in a constant state of chaos. To those who understand and play by the rules, these same streets are safe and efficient whether you are in a car or on a bicycle. Besides, Maynard, you would have SO many kindred spirits in the Boston area, people who share your outlook on both bicycles and life in general, I think you would feel at home very quickly.

Very Sincerely Yours, FB-B, former bicycle messenger at "Boston Bicycle Messengers"