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[xenophobe]

So I commute to work. Not just me actually, I carpool with my brother and Sarah. It's not a particularly long commute.. or at least not in geographical distance. Going an average speed of maybe somewhere between 65 and 70, and assuming normal-ideal traffic conditions, it would take us maybe 35 minutes to get to work. Not bad right

Comments

[number18]

What I wish Massachusetts had more of, when I was living there, was a public transit system that extended into the suburbs. The state struck me as so small. My actual distance from Boston (40 minute drive), versus the time it took to travel there via regional rail (1.5 hours) was absurd to me.

Anyway, I notice the same things about drivers on roads here, as a cyclist... although slightly different due to the nature of city driving. The bottleneck thing sounds absolutely infuriating, and I would make it a point everyday to have something funny to focus on while being stuff in obnoxious traffic...

The thing about wanting to speed up simply because you're in front is too fucking true. There's a lot of one-way, two-lane streets in Center City, and the right is designated for cyclists and buses (another story). Often time I ride in the center of the right lane in heavy traffic, because it moves at such a slow pace that my 15-mile-an-hour ass doesn't screw with the flow. Still, people get furious that I'm in their way, even though they can't go faster than me, and funnier still, when it's a red light. People have switched lanes to speed angrily ahead of me, only to hit the red light, and have me pull right up in front of them again. Fuckers.

I think everyone should be forced to spend a week's training of bicycle commuting, before getting a car. It teaches you to really look at the road itself, watch for pedestrians, and I think pay WAY more attention to the habits of car traffic (so they don't crush your flimsy human body).

[xenophobe]

Yeah bicycle training might not be a bad idea...

And yeah, for a major US city, the public transit system is a little lacking. If you're talking about the "greater boston area" it's not so bad, but anything outside of Route 128 (which essentially forms a ring around the city and surrounding area) and it gets a little tougher.

I really think the most important factor in safe driving (and i think this would apply to biking too) is anticipation. People seem to think that if they're tailing someone at 75 mph, and something goes wrong, that they'll actually have time to react, which is ludicrous. Being aware of your surroundings, and sensitive to what could happen is critically important.

FOAFing

[discreet_chaos]

It isn't cheap, but there is a commuter rail line that starts in Franklin and runs through Walpole.

Re: FOAFing

[xenophobe]

mm, i'm aware of the commuter line, I used it when I worked in the city proper (and you're right, it's not cheap). It can be handy from time to time, especially when you share a car with 2 other people...