Sad.

A 70ish-year-old cyclist was killed today in downtown Boston.

It’s getting messy out there for us winter cyclists. I lost a rim to a rain-covered pothole last Tuesday so my winter commuter bicycle is down until the new rim arrives. I threw some snow tires on a beater Huffy, liberally doused the chain with tenacious oil, and it’s getting me places but the road conditions are terrible.

Furthermore, the bicycle lane is obstructed along most of my commute, either by cars or snow. And when I ride in the car lane, I get verbal abuse and horns, even though it’s not taking any longer for the vehicles behind me to get to the next red light.

What happened to ticketing cars that park in travel lanes? If this law doesn’t apply in the winter, it should be reworded to say so. Imagine if I parked my bicycle in the car lane, but only in the winter. What would that be like?