NYC: Bicycle Friendly? & The Bike Rack Challenge?

Photo by: Megan H.

So good news to all bikers in the city (and of course Brooklyn & Queens), NYC is trying to become a more "Bike Friendly" city (according to the NY TIMES), and has released a proposal to its increasing bicycle commuters. Among some of the highlights listed in the proposal are 200 miles of new bike lanes, and the addition of bike shelters (whoa, get into it!) and 5,000 bike racks by 2011. This is a major improvement, esp. for those who commute to work in midtown Manhattan. If you have ever tried to park a bike in Midtown, it's the pitt's...... i think it's easier finding a job! This is an interesting article, esp. since they give out so many tickets, and hassle the bikers of Critical Mass each month, yet it's a "bike friendly" city?! i have to quote the Black Eyed Peas, "Where is the Love?!"
(for more on the article, click on the title of this post)

Finally! A Bike Rack Makeover!!!

It seems as though it is time for NYC to make a move forward with the image of the bike rack. According to the article in the NY TIMES, “New York deserves a bike rack that is worthy of the city, that’s unique, exciting and modern”. They are holding a competition for best design of the new Bike Rack, and the winner will be announced at the Cooper-Hewitt on Oct. 19-25 2008. The image shown is of a bike rack on 58th btw 3rd and Lex. This is the only rack i have seen in the area besides the park!

Photo by: David Y.

Smart Bikes: Bicycle Sharing in the US

Photo by: NY TIMES
According to the NY TIMES, Washington DC will be the first in the US to have a bike sharing program. 40$ a month will get you a bike from any of the 10 designated bike spots, and will run much like the Zip Cars in major cities.
(for more on the article, click on the title of this post)

Riding In Prospect Park

Photos by: David Y.

Now that the weather is finally warming up, it's time to start taking advantage of all the parks for riding. i have recently moved from the quiet streets of Carroll Gardens, to the moderately loud streets of Park Slope. The benefit to moving here is the park itself, and it's 3 mile perimeter track. it's an easy meeting ground for my friends and i to cruise a few laps with its great views of the cherry blossom trees, lake, horse grounds, and the many playing fields. The track is not flat by any means, so your legs get a great workout, esp. up the last hill (Nellie's Lawn, which is shown in the image here). if you get tired of riding there are plenty of things to do including, the carousel, boathouse, botanical gardens, a zoo, picnic house, the many hotdog vendors, and of course the long meadow for resting. This past Sunday my friend and i were lucky enough to catch a marching band practicing, which drew a pretty healthy crowd. If time permits and you find nothing better to do, i highly recommend checking out and riding Prospect Park.
(for a full map of the park, just click on the title of this post)

!!National Bike Month!!

So time to suit up, this next month is "National Bike Month". Among some of the events going on i will be joining the Central Park: Moonlight Ride, and Brooklyn's Critical Mass. Sadly i missed the last Critical Mass in the city, but will definitely be joining the next at the end of May. See you there!

Meet Griffin....

So this is the bike that i purchased off Craigslist a year ago, in fact the only thing different in ths photo than when i originally purchased the bike is the seat and handgrips. Since this picture has been taken, i have also replaced the front fork with a vintage fork, and added a bell, as you can see below.

God Bless This Bike...

Wow, where do i begin? i guess i should start by saying that i am very excited to now enter the world of blogging. This blog will be dedicated to the bikes of NYC. If you are a local to the city then you know that most of the streets in Manhattan are populated with yellow cabs, pedestrians, and bikes. I moved here to NYC in August of 2004, with big dreams of becoming a designer, and working for a major design house. As most of you know NYC is a very expensive city to live in, esp. if you are new to the city and don't know all the "in's and out's". So it comes to no surprise that most of the young New Yorker's are in debt. I myself fell victim of this when i was putting myself out there, going to all the parties, making sure i was in all the right clothes (you get the picture). So in May of 2007 i decided to make the move to pay off all my credit card debt, but at least have some sort of life. I was looking on Craigslist for a vintage bike that i could fix up, and use as my sole entertainment. Within a day i had found a "vintage 50's Schwinn beach cruiser" for the price of 175.00, upon seeing this i met the guy in Union Square and paid him on the spot. The bike was in good condition (minus the blown out seat, and gold sparkley hand grips) and came with a lock. I was so excited about it i rode it home to Brooklyn that day straight from work. Since that day this bike has opened my eyes to a whole new world of the biking community which i am getting more and more excited about. Thus the debut of the blog....

To begin this blog i wanted my first post to be called, "God Bless This Bike" simply because me and a friend took part in the "Blessing of the Bikes" this morning in Harlem. I got up and left my house at 7:00 am and rode over to a friends place in Chlesea and together we took the train up town to 125th st. and Amsterdam to have our bikes blessed with holy water to protect us from the dangers of the streets of NYC. The event was great it started at 10:00am, and was about 30 minutes. There were probably about 100 bikers present in full biking gear as we stood in the middle of the cathedrals main aisle. It was an impressive site for sure. Afterwards we rode down the west side hwy. to Battery Park City, and back up to Union Square and parted ways. To say the least the experience was amazing.

Photos by: Megan H.