It has been a good run, for the last 33 years MassBike has been fighting hard to make bicycling better for everyone in Massachusetts. We worked day and night to make sure that there were equitable bike laws, pushed for improved and expanded bike infrastructure, and strove to educate as many people as we could about bike safety, but now we have a new love. While bikes are still cool (we guess), we have found an entirely new and amazing way to get around.



The trebuchet!

For those of you who have yet to hear about this super sweet invention:

A trebuchet or trebucket (from the French: trébuchet) is a siege engine that was employed in the Middle Ages either to smash masonry walls or to throw projectiles over them. It is sometimes called a "counterweight trebuchet" or "counterpoise trebuchet" in order to distinguish it from an earlier weapon that has come to be called the "traction trebuchet", the original version with pulling men instead of a counterweight.

Isn't that music to your ears! I mean imagine the kind of untapped transportation power that is sitting around being wasted! This might be the most radical change in transportation policy since the invention of the speed bump! Why cycle when you can Trebuchet!

We have already set one up at our office and have gotten pretty good at hitting the inflated Trebuchet landing sites around downtown Boston (T-Stops for short). Don't worry, we used interns for most of the dialing-in process.

[caption id="attachment_1422" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="You've got to wait 'til the wind is just right...."][/caption]

Sure, biking is fun, practical, cheap, good for the environment, healthy and fast. But nothing compares the the thrill of launching yourself through the air at high speeds aiming for a tiny little inflated target hundreds of feet away!

Here is David Watson, our executive director, announcing our plan to set up launching stations all over the state:

[caption id="attachment_1441" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="These highly trained trebuchet technicians support us."][/caption]

Biking was just too easy. Sure, you could get around town quickly and parking was a breeze. And, yes, it was a healthy, cheap, and easy way to get to work, but we wanted a challenge. The thrill of flying hundreds of feet through the air at hundreds of miles per hour with a 50/50 chance of hitting your target really gets the blood pumping.

MassBikeTrebuchet Coalition will be spending all of its time and efforts setting up giant wooden siege engines throughout the state and installing large inflated landing pads near them. Be sure to check our calendar for upcoming trebuchet flying safety courses, and check our flight listings for our upcoming "MassTrebuchet Flies" flights.

Be sure to check out our store to get your own safety aviators helmet (pictured below).



We welcome comments on our new direction.  We are really excited about our new program and hope to see you all out at the trebuchet launching sites!

P.S. What do you think of our new tag line: "MassTrebuchet Coalition: Making flying through the air screaming for your life better for everyone!"