Gearing Up

Illustration by Michael Cho

Bikes! Bikes! Everywhere! Six hundred shiny silver ones, to be specific, are set to descend on Boston this month, emblazoned with the logo of Mayor Menino’s latest signature initiative: the Hubway bike-sharing program. Forget the T or trying to park downtown — for a small fee, tourists and residents alike will be able to rent the two-wheelers and pedal them among 61 stations across the city. It promises to be the biggest visual splash to hit our streets since the duck boats rolled out 17 years ago. The bikes are designed to be durable — they sport extra-thick tires, reinforced aluminum frames, and encased gears — but the people riding them may not be. So how will all those new riders fare on Boston’s wild streets? City bike czar Nicole Freedman says newbies ought to be extremely careful on — or just avoid altogether — Huntington, Massachusetts, and Commonwealth avenues. Oh, and for you out-of-towners: The drivers behind you beeping and single-finger saluting? That’s just their way of saying “Welcome to Boston.”