Latest cycling adventures

The Ravenel Bridge in Charleston, SC

I keep meaning to get on and blog about what I've been up to cycling-wise, so here's a recent round-up:

1. CHARLESTON NIGHT RIDES: Memorial Day weekend I went to Charleston, SC to catch a few concerts at Piccolo Spoleto (where a family member was performing). After briefly considering bringing my beloved but bulky folding bike (and dreading the thought of schlepping it through the airport), I realized the simple solution would be to rent a bicycle once I got there. The Bicycle Shoppe at 280 Meeting Street outfitted me with a good-quality 8-speed city bicycle, helmet, and lock for four days (all for the low cost of $42). The heat, even for late May, verged on oppressive, but I enjoyed many nighttime rides, particularly around the historic district, down King Street (where there are some Art Deco gems), and across the Ravenel Bridge. I can't say enough good things about night rides: traffic is light, air is cool, and one sees another, often romantic, side of cities. Charleston is amazingly intact and--dare I say it?--almost European in feel.

2. MANHATTAN CRITICAL MASS RIDE: Ever since I started cycling a couple of months ago, I've been wanting to participate in the famed Critical Mass ride. Friday, May 30 was my opportunity. The Reverend Al Sharpton was there to make common cause, linking the NYPD shooting of Sean Bell to NYPD harassment of cyclists participating in Critical Mass. I was determined not to get a ticket and as I was riding from Union Square, I already saw cyclists being ticketed at 13th St. and 7th Ave. (While I was watching this, I noticed bicycle delivery guys riding the wrong way up 7th Ave who were, of course, being completely left alone by police.) So I held back a bit to let the police clear and consequently lost the ride. I rode south a bit, then tacked back up to Union Square, where I joined up with a few Massers to ride to Times Square. As we gathered on a pedestrian island, a police car pulled behind us to insist we vacate the space. I rode down to Union Square in another small bunch, at which point we separated. Sadly, this ride really soured my view of the NYPD. It was frustrating to watch my tax dollars being used to selectively harass cyclists and stifle political protest. I felt like a hunted animal on my bicycle.

3. EAST COAST GREENWAY RIDE: Here's a charming sequel to my Charleston adventure. When I was biking across the bridge, I noticed a sign for the East Coast Greenway. My curiosity piqued, I Googled the organization once I got back to New York. Their goal is "to connect cities and towns of the East Coast with a continuous, traffic-free path...from Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida. " (The Hudson River Greenway, along which I ride to work, is part of this larger network.)

To raise awareness for ECG in Westchester, the organization held a ride on Sunday, June 1 from Bronxville to Battery Park. The ride traveled along the proposed Westchester Greenway route, then connected with existing greenways in the Bronx, crossed over Inwood's Broadway bridge, and continued down the Hudson River Greenway to Battery Park. I was particularly delighted to ride through Westchester and the Bronx, as this was new territory. At the end of the ride, I became a member of ECG. Later, I bicycled with a couple of friends from the ride over the Brooklyn Bridge to admire the Telectroscope, then back to Manhattan and up the Greenway to Inwood, Sweet Inwood.

4. CENTRAL PARK MOONLIGHT RIDE: On Friday, I gathered with about 40 cyclists at Columbus Circle at 10 p.m. to enjoy a scenic moonlight ride through Central Park organized by Times Up!. It was a perfect temperature for cycling. The ride led us over several pedestrian paths (normally closed to cyclists) and stopped several times for scenic vistas. I chatted with several riders and was delighted to spot several folding bicycles.

5. TOUR DE QUEENS: Yesterday, I rode in the first-ever Tour de Queens organized by the Queens Committee of Transportation Alternatives. As I had missed pre-registration, I made sure to arrive by 8 a.m. to sign up. The trip from Inwood to Flushing took about 100 minutes by combining the A, D, and E trains and a bike ride from Forest Hills. The day was a scorcher, even at 8 a.m., so I gratefully took refuge after registration in the air-conditioned Queens Museum of Art, where I slathered myself in sunscreen, purchased a vegetarian empanada to enjoy later on the ride, and admired the three-dimensional panorama of New York City that had been marked out with the bicycle route. After some speechifying at 9 a.m., our group of 500 riders kicked off for a tour that covered both ugly, industrial stretches and very charming communities like Middle Village and Forest Hills. Providentially, I had been handed some lightweight reusable towels that I moistened and covered my forehead and neck with to prevent overheating and sunburn (as well as continued applications of sunblock to my hands and nose). Along the way, generous Queens residents would hose us down. At the finish, I gratefully entombed myself once again in the museum to clean up, cool down, eat some sushi, and watch a Streetfilms mini-festival. Crazily enough, I rode home to Inwood, but thankfully the route was down tree-lined streets and mostly pleasant.

5. NEW BICYCLE: I decided to buy a Downtube Mini on Friday, after several frustrating experiences folding and carrying my bike through my office and the subway system. I love the ride my current Downtube provides, but I want to try a more compact folder to see if that makes a significant difference in portability and ease of use. What does mean that two months into cycling, I'm already buying another bicycle? (I'm trying to avoid becoming one of those people with multiple bicycles--I just don't have the space!)

Folding bicycles granted equal access to MTA

Reblogged from Streetsblog: The MTA in recognition of New York City Bike Month has launched the MTA + Bike site to promote cycling in combination with mass transit use. Good news is in store particularly for folding bike riders:

Folding bikes, appropriately folded, are considered luggage and not subject to rules governing standard frame bicycles. Therefore, folding bicycles can be brought on board local buses as if they were a backpack or suitcase. They can also be brought aboard LIRR and Metro-North trains at any time without a permit and are best stored in the overhead luggage racks. Conventional bikes are not allowed on board buses operated by New York City Transit, the MTA Bus Company or Long Island Bus.

A caveat: folding bikes are still not allowed on express buses. Why don't all buses have bike racks?

Now, if only the City Council would pass legislation requiring commercial buildings to provide secure bike parking...

Want to ride your bicycle to work? Tough luck!

Here's a depressing example of a prominent Manhattan building whose management is anti-bicycle to the point of summarily rejecting any changes--even low-cost and free ones--that might accommodate cyclists. All names have been changed.

From: Urbanis
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 11:39 AM
To: John Q. Public
Subject: Bicycle parking

Dear John:

My name is Urbanis and I work at the XXXX Building. As part of your plans to “green up” the management of the XXXX Building, I would like to request a few easily implemented changes that would better support the building’s workers and visitors who commute by bicycle.

Commuting by bicycle benefits everyone—improved air quality and less congested roads, healthier and more productive workers, lower public health costs, and decreased national dependence on non-renewable fossil fuel for transport. Unfortunately, people who would want to come to the XXXX Building by bicycle are currently deterred from doing so by the lack of options for secure bicycle parking. Indeed, there are signs forbidding locking one’s bicycle to the outside fence and bringing one’s bicycle into the building, and there are no bike racks out front. To put this in perspective, a study conducted by the Department of City Planning found that lack of access to secure bike parking was the primary reason cyclists did not ride to work (http://www.transalt.org/files/resources/blueprint/chapter12/).

I would like to suggest the following changes—all of which are low or no-cost—to better support bicycle commuting to the XXXX Building:

1. Provide outdoor bike racks, appropriate for visitors on short errands, messengers, and delivery people. A very low cost way to do so is to request NYC Department of Transportation to install bike racks in front of the building through their CITYRACKS program. DOT pays all the costs of materials and installation. Further information and an online request form are located here: http://nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikerack.shtml. As an alternative, permit people to chain their bikes to the fence, preferably on the inside of the fence (as I understand was the practice in past years) to provide an additional level of security and help keep the sidewalk clear for pedestrians.
2. Provide a secure indoor bicycle parking facility for employees and long-term visitors, which can be a small room that is not currently used. If that is not feasible, as an alternative, permit those employees whose companies can provide storage space to bring their bicycles into the building. At a minimum, permit employees to bring folding bicycles into the building. Folding bicycles, as their name suggests, can be folded into small package, carried, and stored at an employee’s desk. Please note that bicycle wheels are no more “dirty” than street shoes, so permitting bicycles in the building would not likely add additional burdens to regular maintenance and cleaning.
   

I would be delighted to assist the building management in investigating solutions that both support bicycle commuting and help keep the XXXX Building a safe, clean, and pleasant environment to visit and work in.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Urbanis

=============

From: John Q. Public
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 12:34 PM
To: Urbanis
Subject: RE: Bicycle parking

Urbanis,
Thank you for your thoughts. However the exterior of this building is considered landmark'd and absolutely NO changes are permitted without the express written approval of the NYC Landmarks Commission from paint to mortar. The owners of the building do not like to have a clutter of bicycles in front of the building as it detracts from the aesthetics and should any pedestrian slip or trip on someone's bicycle there are liability issues involved.

Your idea regarding folding bicycles is intriguing - but enforcing a folding bicycles policy only in the building might be viewed as discriminatory and could lead to legal issues.

You raise many good points although unfortunately at this time I am unable to implement any of your proposed solutions.

John

My current bike agenda

(Image: Ilene Black)

Here's an update on my first month of bicycle commuting and your chance to weigh in on some of the Inwoodist's burning bicycle questions!

1. Yesterday I managed to bicycle round trip Inwood to Soho (25 miles) and go on a memorial ride. Amazingly, I didn't feel flattened at the end of it and I managed for the first time to climb the rather steep and intimidating hill on the Greenway near the George Washington Bridge without dismounting and walking my bicycle.


2. Although I have a folding bike that I can stash in my office during the day, I'm already yearning to use my bicycle for other trips where I would have to lock my bicycle on the street (for example, visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Does anyone have recommendations for locks and locking techniques? So far I've dug up this page of bike locking suggestions. I would love not to have to ride around with one of those heavy chains around my chest or waist.


3. Spandex shorts--are they worth the investment? I had a bit of sticker shock when I was browsing the rack at Bicycle Habitat.


4. Schlepping cargo: I have a standard rear bike rack. If I wanted to buy some veggies at the farmer's market or some books at the Strand, what's a good way to transport them? A messenger bag? Some kind of bag strapped to the rack? A front pannier?


5. I'm still trying to score a 5 Boro Bike Tour ticket (I can dream, can't I?), so if you happen to have one you need to get rid of, contact me.

The Staten Island Ferry anti-bicycle league, or, adventures in cycling, part III (corrected)

CORRECTION: Oops! It turns out the Staten Island Ferry does let cyclists on board from a ground-level outside entrance reserved for cyclists. Egg on my face, but I'm glad to know that I was mistaken.


I had a breathtaking sunset ride yesterday down the Greenway from Inwood to Battery Park. Upon reaching the Battery, my friend and I entered the Staten Island Ferry station to freshen up and hop on the 1. Imagine my surprise upon being apprehended by security and being told that we could not bring our bikes upstairs (where the restrooms are) because they might be injurious to other patrons (who might, for example, snag their clothing on them). I was flabbergasted--do they make the same statement to individuals with strollers or in wheelchairs? Does the Staten Island Ferry truly not allow bicycle commuters (despite allowing bicycles on the ferry for the 5 Boro Bike Tour)? What kind of green transportation policy is this? Bicycle commuting is not a real option for most New Yorkers unless (a) bicycles can be stored in a safe place when not being ridden (for example, the office) and (b) cycling can be combined with other modes of mass transit (such as trains, subways, and buses).

Conclusion: Fold up the bicycle and stash it in the camo bag before entering unknown buildings. It's a jungle out there.

Have you had similar bicycle-hostile experiences in New York? Report them here.

Victory! or, adventures in cycling, part II

I completed my first official bicycle commute to work this morning, arriving at my building in one piece and having enjoyed the ride from Inwood to Soho. Total door-to-door time (including unfolding the bike, riding, re-folding, and stashing in camo bag) was 2 hours, total distance 12.5 miles.

Adventures in cycling, part I

Two months ago I started thinking about interesting ways to incorporate more exercise into my life and I hit upon an idea: use a bicycle to commute to work. I would get to enjoy fresh air and views while improving my health and using time otherwise spent riding the subway. It would moreover be a more environmentally sustainable mode of transport. After spending several hours surfing the web doing research and talking to cyclist friends, I decided to acquire a folding bicycle I could stash in my closet at home, take on the subway, and carry into the office (I got a Downtube VIIIH, if you're curious). But for my maiden voyage (it had been over a decade since I last rode a bicycle), I borrowed a friend's Dahon.

The beauty of having a folding bicycle is that I can store it easily in my front hall closet. Having to lug it around, however, is an entirely different matter. 27 lbs is, frankly, a lot of weight to manage while trying to get down stairs, swipe a metro card, and squeeze through a full-length turnstile (a grim illustration of why I've almost(?) never seen a wheelchair-bound individual on a subway train). And I have yet to find a good way to roll it around in folded position on sidewalks (although continued experimentation and strategically placed straps may eventually solve this issue). For now, I wait to fold until I'm at my destination (subway stop or office).

My maiden voyage consisted of riding from work (in Soho) to a concert near Grand Central, then over to the West Side Greenway and home to Inwood. The first leg of the trip went smoothly, and a work colleague accompanied me on his bicycle to 1st Ave (which was very kind, as I would have normally avoided Houston St like the plague). After the concert, I cycled over to the West Side Greenway and began heading north.

The ride along the waterfront was stunning: views of the river at night, wind rushing past my ears, a sense of freedom and exhiliration almost as if I were flying. I got lost a few times, where the path took an odd turn in the dark, but I always managed to find my way back. At the George Washington Bridge, I dismounted and walked up a rather steep hill that I just couldn't manage on the bike.

I was feeling rather proud of myself when around 9 p.m. I reached the stretch between 181st and Dyckman when my wheel hit an odd plateau around which the path curved. Suddenly I was rolling on the ground stunned. I had flown over the handlebars and landed smack on my chin and hands. A jogger came along, helped me up, and I managed (although bleeding profusely) to climb back on my bicycle and get home. My roommate quickly patched me up and we grabbed a cab to the ER at Columbia Pres.

The result: 8 hours in the ER (mostly spent in a tiny office as no beds were available), chin sutures, and possible fractures (which miraculously was later discovered to be simply a sprained wrist).

So much for my maiden voyage.