US cyclists build 40ft snow tunnel
Boston cyclist Ari Goldberger discovered his favourite route blocked by the bad weather - so he asked a few friends for help
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Your support makes all the difference.An American cyclist has built a 40ft snow tunnel after the extreme weather in Boston disrupted his route to work.
Ari Goldberger, a 29-year-old guitar technician, posted a photo on Facebook of the 15ft mound of snow blocking his cycle route to work on 12 February. With the help of a local cycle group he tunnelled through and created a 40ft tunnel.
"It was definitely a fun thing…haven’t you always wanted to make a giant giant snow tunnel?" he told Mashable.
Footage of Mr Goldberger’s creation (and him riding through it) spread rapidly: a YouTube video of the completed tunnel has been viewed almost 100,000 times.
The idea for the tunnel came after Mr Goldberger discovered his usual route between Malden and Boston blocked.
“Anyone know who I could contact to see about having something done?” He asked friends, tagging local cycle group the Boston Bike Party.
After a back-and-forth with a number of other local cyclists, they hatched a plan to gather on Monday night and tunnel through the mound, recording their efforts as they went.
But, as Mashable first reported, their efforts took much longer than even they anticipated, eventually finishing the now 40ft-long tunnel on Thursday.
Despite safety concerns – which Mr Goldberger says were unfounded – most of those passing were complimentary.
Their fun didn’t last though as only a few days after completing the tunnel, the cyclists found that their hardwork had been destroyed leaving a giant snow boulder in place – and blocking the cycle-route once again.
Another group effort saw the route cleared once more, but sadly without the tunnel.
Mr Goldberger added: "Given the opportunity, I might do it again, but I really hope that the opportunity doesn’t present itself."
Boston is currently in the midst of some of the coldest weather yet experienced by the city, approximately 100 miles north of New York City. Since 23 January the city has endured almost 100inches of snowfall, bringing with it icy winds and traffic chaos.
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