She should consider getting an ebike. Or moving to Indiana

Genuinely amazing to me that anybody actually needs to learn this firsthand. It seems extremely obvious.

If only there were a transportation option that allowed you to exercise, transport things, and was only 1-2x slower than driving. Alas.

Riding a bike is almost always faster than driving in Cambridge.

If only she weren't the leader of the business group fighting against bike lanes...

What an inspired individual...

She could have stopped after the third point and would have sounded much more pleasant.

I love to park my ebike right in front of her shop when I make my appointments at the masseuse next door. I am always on time for those appointments along with my many other responsibilities.

In Cambridge. If you only need to ever do things in Camberville.

That’s one of the most entitled things I’ve read here. My god. “I’m late all the time cause I can’t stop walking." Leave sooner? Her store is in Porter. It’s got a T stop and two bus routes. Take one of those? Also, it takes me longer to drive to work than walk if I also have to park.

It’s okay that Lee doesn’t like other modes of transportation besides driving - but why be so negative about it in arguably one of the most bicycle/pedestrian friendly and progressive cites in the United States? Just shooting her own foot here yet again, have an open mind!

Read her Google Map review responses. She's insane. No reasonable business owner publicly responds to reviews with "you're not a customer in my database, you must be a member of the bike cabal!!".

Counting parking, it's faster for any trips under 30min in greater Boston. Usually 2x as fast as the T.

And bus lanes. The bitching and moaning about parking in North Cambridge got those bus lanes turned into rush hour lanes and off hours they're parking and loading zones. The 77 bus could allow this business owner to live north of Cambridge, easily commute to her shop and walk around and catch the bus when they need to get somewhere faster than walking.

It's a good thing there's a whole system for getting around the metro without needing a car. A system which could be more reliable if business owners embraced bus and bike lanes rather than fight against them.

They could move their shop to the Burlington Mall. They'd get:

• ample free parking
• 0 bike lanes
• all the walking they could want around an indoor shopping mall

They'd probably lose half their customers who don't own a car and another chunk who do but won't drive to Burlington to listen to bike cabal rants, but hey, they could live out their dream of walking a bunch.

If only one of those responsibilities or obligations she had was to leash her obnoxious fucking dogs in Danehy Park. Instead, she walks around yelling into a phone and ignoring them while they make aggressive runs at leashed pups. I feel like I've really missed out on all those "smiles and comments with strangers" as she ignores everyone asking her to pay attention and leash her (ehhh, perfectly average lookin') dogs.

Lol also the fact that she digs up customers'records and posts that in her responses...sounds like she has too much time on her hands (guess that's why she's walking so much?). Also loves to mention that they are short staffed it seems.

In the context of this post, we're talking about the relative benefits of walking vs driving. Camberville is walkable with enough time. And bike able every time, right on time, almost always in less time than driving.

Ignorance, or insanity. If you browse their Google Map review responses, they strike me as someone not mentally well. A reasonable business owner responds to 1 star reviews with "I'm so sorry you had a bad experience, let me make it right - email me at <first.last>@<business.name>.com. Next glutten free muffin is on me too". An insane business owner responds with the following (directly copied and pasted from a 1 star review response):

> Not a customer. Slander and violation of Google terms. Clearly one of the bike cabal threatening small businesses if they speak out about public parking removal.

Personally I love this gem about how buying a cookie doesn't make you a customer at her shop either:

> NOT A CUSTOMER. FAKE BIKER REVIEW.FAKE BIKER REVIEW. The city is trying to take out public parking from the commercial centers in Cambridge. Merchants are of course, fighting this, as without parking, no customers. No customers, you fold. Cyclist who LIVE in Cambridge agree that parking MUST remain. . Bike orgs, with members outside Cambridge are pushing this. IN A VERY FASCIST, Anti-democratic fashion, bikers are trying to CHILL DISSENT by the business community by writing these kinds of fake one start reviews, for anyone who speaks out, when they aren't customers. Since i've been saying this they buy 1 cookie to say they are customers. One cookie does not make you a customer. You all have zero understanding of how businesses operate or the economy for that matter. One day you will be ashamed if you are able to prevail in decimating commercial areas.

Where is this comment from?

Some other gems:

• buying 1 cookie does not make you a customer
• accuses a negative reviewer of being an ex-employee or friend of an ex-employee
• apparently her staff can't handle phone calls, so you should email/text their business. oh they don't answer phone calls either apparently LOL
• someone drove an hour to pickup a cake a half hour early and the owner's response wasn't "so sorry, we should have made that right" - it was to defend their "10am saturday pickup NO EXCEPTIONS" policy. Wacky considering they love to talk about how much people drive to their store.

The arrogance they show in their responses is just... insane.

Oh no the bicycle wars are back. Please no. I thought they all moved to a different sub or something.

LOL. There's always an excuse for each bad review.

Also saw this (edited from a 5 star to 1 star review): "...to the point of personally insulting customers and spam emailing their Violette subscriber list with matters completely unrelated to the Violette business (such as giving away their personal items and furniture)."

And from another response, apparently if you're from Western mass you can't possibly be a customer there?

Wait, disliking cars means I have no responsibilities or obligations anymore? Awesome! I thought I would have had to walk, bike, or take the bus to my full time job today but nope, I’m in the clear! /s

I moved away from Cambridge in the summer, but still visit this subreddit to see what’s shaking and baking in Cambridge. Good to see the bike wars persist!

If only winter didn’t exist.

And notice most of the commenters don’t even live here.

So far there have been 0 days this winter that I couldn't bike. A few days ago was close, but I also wouldn't have driven if it were any worse.

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Wait until she finds out about buses...

It's like a car, but it's bigger and you walk to it, and then get off and walk to where you want to go... like say a gluten-free bakery.

Trains are the same... but bigger and don't run in traffic... except in Brookline.

&gt; Fourth, maybe people who dislike cars should take on more responsibilities and obligations

Wow, some real "Ok Boomer" energy there...

She is a menace to society

Nextdoor. The cesspool of the internet.

And Somerville, and Brookline, and most of Boston. And especially if you want to go east-west through Camberville or across the river.

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It’s because she’s a dumb asshole

But you obviously missed that

So busy running a bakery that never has customers!

I don't know but it's hard to contemplate bicycle wars in late January. The troops should call a truce when the ground is frozen.

If only there were bikes with wider tires. Idk why they wouldn't make such a bike... Maybe even stick an electric motor on one of those, some fenders and a rear rack so you could ride it year round.

Lee?

I rode my bike to work yesterday.

Exactly

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It’s funny how your little child ego always resorts to that dumb comeback

Ooooo good one bub

Did conservatives just freeze at elementary school level emotional development? It’s fascinating

Funny part is she’s the one who’s triggered, we got our bike lanes and it’s fuckin great. Cry bout it

Nothing in her statements is wrong.

In the context of her original post, it’s not realistic for people who have responsibilities outside the city/area to change transportation methods immediately when they get back to the city. Mostly referring to her forth point.

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And lose the remaining, driving, customer base to Twist Bakery, which offers a larger variety and better baked goods.

It's absolutely realistic to manage all routine needs within a 10mile radius for most people by bike. I'm just an average person and I do so! Nothing special - honestly, like the post, I didn't realize it was realistic until I started doing it because of the oppressive cult of car culture. But, it's absolutely doable for nearly everyone.

She's lucky no one has kicked her dogs to get them to stop

Have you ever gone food shopping by bus? It's not fun.

You'll probably have a significant walk on one or both ends (hope you have a good folding cart). That assumes your house and the store are within walking distance of the same bus route.

You have a limited choice of stores. Porter Star Market is ok, Market Basket or Trader Joe's not so much.

And even a route that's frequent by T standards like the 77 can easily leave you waiting 15-20 minutes.

That's why I got a bike. But that doesn't work for everyone.

Real walkable cities have affordable grocery stores right there in all residential neighborhoods. Like Cambridge used to.

On the plus side, having the Daily Table, Target, and H-Mart right there near transit in Central is a positive change. I hope we can see more of this.

Grocery shopping is the only time I use my car on a regular basis. Dealing with bus routes and scheduling is just not worth the trouble. Come spring, I'm hoping to add some storage on my bike.

I like bikes but I’m not driving one without physically separated bike lanes. I’m not offering my life to mercy of drivers

Only in Cambridge is this cause for alarm

Shame it's often broken, early, late, on fire, or some combination thereof.

Or she could get a real bicycle.

Lemme just store a bike for all occasions in my small apartment

Lemme just store a 4000lb car on the street for all occasions too. Total enough space for all (checks notes) 100k people of driving age to do so within a 7 sq mile City.

Ah yes and Boston's roads are famously free of pot holes and traffic.

No room for a bike, better save space and get a car. Big brain thinking

Yes, it's totally unrealistic that you consider alternatives. Obviously the Commuter Rail and the 170 bus routes that the MBTA operates throughout the State are unrealistic. It's not like tens of thousands of people within Cambridge do not own a car or do not regularly have access to a car (this site suggests 15,000 households are car free, and another 29,000 only own a single car). I'm sure ebikes and walking and transit are too difficult for people to figure out too. Cars are notably easy to get - you only need to throw $30,000 into the car, spend hours buying it, getting a license, getting registration, insurance, taxes paid, etc. A bike obviously is unrealistic since it's like $3/ride on Blue Bikes or a few hundred for a cheapo beater bike. And ebikes, oh my, so expensive when you can pick on up for like $1500. That's obviously unrealistic, I should go spend $10,000 on a used car with 100k miles instead.

^(/s)

It's not even just about bikes. We have a damn transit system that covers all parts of the eastern part of the State. Plenty of people take the Commuter Rail or buses around. Does it require a wee bit of planning? Yeah. Fortunately most of us are capable of some basic time management. It's not like driving doesn't require factoring in travel time, traffic, etc either. Or the weather or costs or whatever excuse you come up with.

OH and if you do want to just use bikes, you can STILL bring them on most transit options when needed. Buses have bike racks on the front, all heavy rail trains allow bikes during off peak hours, many Commuter Rail trains have a bike car, and really just the Green Line is a hard "no bikes" area but that'll likely change in a few years once we get the new modern light rail cars with like 7 cars a train and completely level boarding with larger interiors.

Hell yeah. Walking. Biking. And all forms of public transit are all on the same team. They all have the same interests in terms of infrastructure improvement. And everyone gains when any one of them is focused on. It's just cars vs everyone out here.

It's like the people who baulk at $1500 spent on a ebike (example) but spend $40,000 on this. Obviously $1500 is too much, let me go and buy a 4,000 lb car that costs 25x more.

Call animal control next time. They’ll come right down.

Left a review earlier today after seeing this. Waiting for my “fake biker review, checked our databases you’re not a customer” response

Imma be honest there's more spaces for me to park my car than there is to fit another bike in my apartment

my SIL bikes to work every day here (doesn’t own a car). I commute solely on foot and by train as my SO uses our household car to get to work out of the city. We basically never use the car within the Camberville or Boston area…i’ve lived in Cambridge specifically for over 6 years and have never had an issue not having a car

One or the great benefits of living in a dense and progressive city is the specialization of business towards those with other needs/wants then the general population, for example, a city like Cambridge can have a popular gluten-free bake… oh wait

yeah, she could have left it at a nice message about how walking is a nice option and it’s good to live in a walkable community. She just HAD to throw in a jab at people who don’t use a car.

On top of being obviously ridiculous as a whole, I’d bet many of the people unable to afford cars at all likely deal with more responsibilities and challenges than those who can afford one.

same here. Our household car is basically used for one job commute out of the city and groceries. Pretty much everything else in the metro area we do on foot or with the T.

Of course a car can be more convenient at times (I’d argue less convenient at other times!). The issue is this woman is so nasty is her comments about people without cats not having responsibilities or obligations, while many people who choose not to have a car or simply can’t afford one have a shit ton going on in their lives.

But also, this women is pretty crazy and says wild stuff about bikers, public transit, etc all the time and harasses people who post negative things about her business. This is just one nasty comment in a pattern of behavior and people are sick of her.

So you’re telling me you are both lucky and don’t have children?

I mean, while I don’t have children, many of my fellow residents in my building/neighbors have small children and don’t own cars. it’s not that uncommon. My SIL doesn’t have children but is a teacher who bikes a few miles to work each day and works odd hours.

I have a good life and I’d like think i’m lucky to enjoy where I live and the people around me, but I don’t think that’s really tied to our choice to have previously lived without a car / currently choose not to use a car much of the time

Oh my god, she really looks every reviewer up, compares it to her database of credit card sales, gift cards, etc, and denies that they could have come in, or has some excuse after deducing exactly what day they must have come in ("there were only two unverified latte sales in December, and we were short-staffed on both those days," etc etc etc.)

Seriously unhinged.

She actually gives off vibes of that viral restaurant owner that Gordon Ramsay ripped into in Kitchen Nightmares, who only wanted Ramsay to come in to prove that all the negative reviews of her restaurant were just haters and liars.

Four-season bike commuter here. The bike is faster than a car and faster than the T (a low bar I realize). Get a bike.

I avoid gluten and didnt know about this - thanks for the recommendation!

Yes, famously children cannot walk, bike, or use transit. There's definitely no method of getting kids around without a mini van. It's fake news that they're capable of walking alongside a parent, riding a bike in a kids seat or even on their own once capable, and obviously teenagers never ride transit.

Actually, kids under 16 can't drive either, so maybe we should petition the State to let 10 year olds drive. Honestly some of them might be better at following traffic laws than many motorists I see around here. And yes, before you say bUt CyClIsTs RuN rEd LiGhTs!! I'll point out that literally no one follows or enforces traffic laws around here.

Interesting, never heard of that bakery. I like that they respond calmly to negative reviews, offering to talk or make things right. I saw no mention of bike cabals influencing their Google maps page. A+ business skills. 👍

Next time I have a craving for mall food court food and I'm too lazy to bike over to Cambridgeside I'll check them out.

I finally caved and bought this Burley Nomad bike cargo trailer to hitch to my organic (lol, I mean non-electric) bike. It lets me bring a whole week's worth of groceries for two people home from whichever store I want. Previously, I was using pannier bags, but that's more like picking-up-a-few-things or shopping-for-a-party sized. I love it! Plus it has a cute orange flag that reminds me of the Schwinn I rode as a kid.

…it makes Reddit look like a Sunday Church Social.

Er, not to put too fine a point on it, but… have you been outside this month? The ground is, most decidedly, NOT frozen! There have been 0 days so far that were non-bikeable.

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Interesting that I have a full time busy job and lots of other responsibilities and manage to not own a car.

Super shitty person

The T is somewhat safer, though, so there's that.

That’s a long, sarcastic answer for something about convenience and transportation/responsibilities. I hope you find peace.

It's surprising they haven't ticketed her already, they sit in the parking lot by the fenced dog run in the afternoons.