Just prior to our short internet hiatus (sorry, we were busy getting married, dislocating shoulders and writing a book!) we caught up with our “Where Is This?” #16 contest winner, Graham Goetz. Graham won a pair of Tobruk shoes from Chrome. We caught up with him outside the grand opening party of Chrome’s new store on Mulberry St. He slipped them on out front, a perfect fit! Stay tuned here and at our Facebook fan page. We’ll be back to posting our WIT contests soon.
BIKE NYC took a tour of Manhattan Sunday, with a group of vintage bicycle enthusiasts from across the country. Several high wheelers participated in the ride, which capped off the 2010 National Wheelmen Meet held in New Jersey. Others pedaled a variety of bikes over 100 years old. Check out a few photos from the ride.
Taking a break in she shade near the Boathouse. NYC, 2010.
The City Reliquary knows how to throw a party. Their 6th Annual Bicycle Fetish was no exception. Hundreds gathered on Havermeyer street in Brooklyn last Saturday to ride, race and show off their bikes. BIKE NYC was there to document some of the action, so check it out!
Puerto Rico Schwinn Club and the Classic Riders. Brooklyn, 2010.
After Gordon Lew won his second “Where Is This?” contest, BIKE NYC called a meeting.
“Who is this kid?”
“Is he going to win all of our prizes?”
Gordon seemed to know where everything was.
When we met him, to deliver the Crumpler Western Lawn messenger bag and the EighthInch Track Bars he won, we understood why.
Gordon is a high school student, born and raised in NYC. He lives in Brooklyn Heights and bikes the city often with his Dad. Great to meet you Gordon! Ride safe!
Custom frame builder Johnny Coast and his Campagnolo tools. Brooklyn, 2010.
Hand-built and silver-brazed in a small shop in Bushwick, by a kid raised in his Dad’s custom car shop in Colorado, Coast Cycles are the new classics. Coast’s love for his craft is indispensable.
But don’t just take our word for it, go see for your self! This Saturday frame builders Johnny Coast and his TIG welding shop mate Seth Rosko will roll up their heavy metal door to demonstrate welding techniques and discuss frame design with the public. BBQ and beer will be available and music will be provided by DJs Dirty Finger, Porkchop & James Stacher. Be sure to join the Times-Up! group ride from Manhattan & Williamsburg to the shop, which leaves from Tompkins Square Park at 12:30 PM. Meet up with Brooklyn riders at Washington Plaza (the park on the Brooklyn side of the Williamsburg Bridge), around 1 PM.
Marci and Michael. Governor’s Island Ferry. NYC, 2010.
Can you envision a car free NYC? Despite the DOT’s campaign to expand the "bicycle network" and the growth of our bike community, neither can we. But thanks to an off-season invitation from Elizabeth Rapuano and Ellen Cavanagh of the Governor’s Island Preservation & Education Corporation we can envision a car free destination, five minutes from the Battery.
You’ll be invited too! From June 5th to October 10th Governor’s Island is open to the public. The ferry ride is free and bicycles are more than welcome. If you don’t have one, you can rent one, or save your hard earned dollars for ice cream and visit on Bike and Roll’s Free Bike Fridays. Until then, here are a few photos we took on our recent ride around the island. Thanks again Elizabeth and Ellen!
Historical map. Governor’s Island, 2010.
Riding along Hudson Bay. Governor’s Island, 2010.
Nolan Park. Governor’s Island, 2010.
Riding along the East River. Governor’s Island, 2010.
Did you know that the average animal life lasts a billion heartbeats? The larger the animal; the slower the heart rate; the longer the average lifespan. Mice, four years. Horses, 40 years. Blue whales, 80 years.
Humans live an average of 65 years but we lengthen our lives by slowing our heart rates through exercise.
This is the kind of thing you learn while writing a book about biking in NYC. Or when you spend a few minutes outside a deli in midtown with paramedic and die-hard bike commuter Eli Friedman.
Eli won our 4th "Where Is This?" contest and BIKE NYC caught up with him last week to deliver his Continuum Cycles gift card. Great to meet you Eli!
We caught up with our 6th winner Margarita Morales a few days later at Cake Shop to deliver her Seagull hip bag. She was catching up on some writing after a day of work at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island.
Margarita lives in Newark, NJ and runs a blog called Star Beat Music. She recently took third place in the Brick City Bike Collective Egg-mazing Scavenger Hunt. Go Margarita!
Nigel Sylvester, trash can bunny-hop. Sara D. Roosevelt Park, NYC, 2010.
BIKE NYC took a ride with local BMX great Nigel Sylvester last week. We talked a bit and shot a few photos at Sara D. Roosevelt Park,or the Houston Rails as he called it.
Here’s a teaser from the shoot and a short audio clip from the interview.
You’ll be able to see and here more from Nigel when the BIKE NYC hits shelves next year. Until then, check out his Flick Trix Bike Check here.
BIKE NYC bumped into Ham last week, on standby in Petrosino Square. Between sun showers, the 15-year-veteran messenger ate a two-dollar lunch of noodles and fried rice from a Chinatown cart, enjoyed a hand-rolled cigarette and reminisced a bit. He said work at Flash is good, but he wasn’t looking forward to the dog days of late summer.
We met up with Nigel Sylvester in the square too! More on that later.
In a city where nearly 200,000 people commute by bicycle everyday, it’s not hard to find yourself riding alongside a fellow biker. But you don’t always expect it to happen while riding the ferry to the forgotten borough.
Meredith Sladek, an actor and writer, boards the Staten Island ferry most mornings before dawn and again in the afternoon and pedals to and from her “money” job at a coffee shop uptown. Her messenger bag usually holds newspapers, work clothes, two U-locks, a bag of coffee, perfume, deodorant, and sometimes an extra jacket.
Meredith was no stranger to biking in her native Missouri, but it took a bit of encouragement and a few safety tips from her boyfriend, "Staten Island Pete” (as he’s known on the street), to brave the city’s heavy traffic.
“He was a bike messenger and he helped me realize that as long as I was visible and assertive, there was nothing to be afraid of.”
In spite of dangerous drivers and distracted jaywalkers, Meredith likes being in control of her transportation.
“No trains to wait for, no service changes, no getting stuck in traffic behind a bunch of cars, no worrying about if I have enough money on my Metrocard. Just me and the bike.”
Meredith is an active member of The City’s bike community. She volunteers as a development intern for Transportation Alternatives and though she prefers riding solo, or with a few friends, she does participate in occasional group rides.
“I ride with Bike Staten Island, which does casual group rides every month; kind of like Critical Mass without the name.”
Last year Meredith joined the Five Boro Bike Tour pre-ride, which is typically reserved for the marshals and captains. She got to attend because her boyfriend works for Bike and Roll, who rents bikes to the participants. He had to work the event so he was permitted to do the pre-ride.
“I got to go along. The best part, for me, anyway, was that the pre-ride had beautiful weather, and during the actual event it rained all day.”
Did you know that the average animal life lasts a billion heartbeats? The larger the animal; the slower the heart rate; the longer the average lifespan. Mice, four years. Horses, 40 years. Blue whales, 80 years.
