DESIGNER BIKES: Tziporah Salamon, Stylist + Dresser Extraordinaire

image via Advanced Style

Armed with an incredible wardrobe (filled with vintage and designer finds), her bicycle and a lust for life - Tziporah Salamon might very well be the most attention grabbing cyclist riding in NYC. You may recognize her from the NYTimes Style pages (through Bill Cunningham's lens) or Advanced Style which documents 'the most stylish and creative older folks'. 

Tziporah recently shared with for the LOVE of bikes how she ended up riding a Bianchi in garments from the l800's...

via Racked / NYTimes Bill Cunningham / Anon.

I've been riding in the NYC for:
around 15 years

What I love most riding is: 
the freedom of getting around quickly - the being out with the elements especially exhilarating when I am cycling down the bike path along the Hudson River on the West side of Manhattan, with the river, the sky, the birds, the trees, the sun or the moon and stars - there's nothing like it - sheer joy!

I ride a Bianchi Milano since (that color scheme must have been a factor!):
I saw my first one parked in the streets on Madison Avenue and left a note in the basket asking the owner where she got it - I knew I had to have it - it was love at first sight - based entirely on what it looked like - the color, the red on the tires - it was just the coolest bike I had ever seen. As a bonus, it rides like a dream!

Other bikes I've owned:
Growing up in Israel, I always had a bike. In NY, my first bike came about when my friend Graziella moved to California from NY and asked me if I wanted her bike - a great old Schwin - I had it for years before I started to ride it because I was afraid of riding in the city. Then one day, I just got on it - and I've been riding ever since. I've had 2 Schwinns stolen and one Binachi, - but it doesn't stop me. I love riding!

Favorite clothes to cycle in:
All my outfits - from my l800's Chinese embroidered coats to my Victorian whites to my contemporary designer garb. It doesn't matter because I make it work - I am always in pants so it's not a problem. I must confess, I have ruined some of my coats by having them get tangled in the wheel - but I keep on doing it. I try hiking them up if need be.

Words of wisdom for any apprehensive/new cyclists:
Just do it - once you get on the bike and experience the freedom and joy you'll never go back.

via Turin: think fast

With so many cities jumping on the biking bandwagon, it is always fun to see ways they are going about promoting cycling. While I didn't get a chance to visit Torin while in Italy last month, reader Simone Gallina sent over a snap shot (and video!) of one of the city's newest Metro stations and bike paths. Just so happens that in this instance the bike path leads STRAIGHT into the escalators leading down into the Metro! While this is not to say that all the bike paths in Torin require cyclists to think fast - hopefully this one will be remedied soon...

Grazie, Simone!

via Florence: sites + cycles

Piazza del Duomo

the car free Via Dei Calzaiuoli

along the Mura di Firenze - the ancient defensive walls of the city

next to the Uffizi, facing the Arno

bike path along the Arno

I have finally gotten around to tackling (umm, organizing) my photos taken in Italy last month. So, Florence, compared to fast-pace scooter-centric Rome, is a serene bicycle-mania city. It was impressive how much cycle-chic-watching could be done right in the cultural heart of the city in the Piazza Di San Giovanni, adjacent from the Duomo! Mind you this was February - so I can only imagine what it's like when the temperature is higher then 50°F/10°C. Aside from the large number of college (exchange) students in the city core, like in many European cities, there is great diversity among the ages of bicyclists. So refreshing to see!

Another remarkable thing about Florence is its progressive and young (born in 1975) Mayor, Matteo Renzi. Soon after taking office in 2009, Mayor Renzi transformed one of the most famous squares in Italy, the Piazza del Duomo, by closing it off to motorized traffic making it 100% pedestrian and bike-friendly. The last century of smog did leave a lasting impression -- the blacked facades are still totally visible on the Baptistery and Cathedral and have yet to be fully cleaned/restore. Mayor Renzi has a lot more wonderful plans for the city including many new bike lanes, more restricted traffic zones, making the city center easier for mothers and pregnant women, and is considering allowing only electric cars into the city center! If you are fluent in Italian, you can read his 100 pledges, check out his website, and social network via his Twitter and Facebook.

these two images are from flickr 
of Mayor Renzi (in the blue blazer) touring the city by bike

fabulous, at any age

from the Advanced Style: Age and Beauty video on Nowness.com

I adore the older set - particularly those who embrace colour, pattern, flamboyant accessories, and fun-loving attitude in their 'golden years'. The best place online for a daily fix of the sensational style of fearless older ladies is, hands down, Advanced Style. Thank you ChrisHabana for getting me hooked. The photo above is from this short documentary by Lina Plioplyte and Ari Seth Cohen... which is preceding a 'grand documentary' in the works!

'Bikelash' hits the newstands

this week's New York Magazine cover

Read about the "newest urban culture war" sensation: BIKE LANES
... in this week's New York Magazine article {link} written by Matthew Shae.

Nicely titled 'Not Quite Copenhagen' sums up the host of issues surrounding one touchy topic in NYC well before the Bedford Avenue lanes were laid down (and then removed). From business associations lobbing against them back in the 80's -- to the reality that bike lanes calm traffic making streets safer while infuriating drivers who don't want to be slowed down. A conclusion the writer comes to is noteworthy:

The DOT can put in bike lanes by the thousands, but the more important transformation will be internal: We are going to have to learn to accept a decrease, however minuscule, in our individual freedoms. For bike lanes to really work, New Yorkers are going to have to learn to share.

Sharing can mean a lot of things. It can mean stopping a red light. Signaling when making a turn. Giving pedestrians the right of way. Using a rear and front light at dawn, dusk and night. Staying to the right hand side. Passing on the left. Using a bike bell. Ahh, I know - know it is not fair to compare one city with the next, but having cycled in Copenhagen, these behaviors are second nature and they are doing one fine job keeping their bike lanes. Sure NYC has a huge learning curve ahead, but I have to say that as of late I haven't been the only one waiting for the street light to turn green -- and it feels great.

Two in One: rack + mirror

Once you've gotten hooked to cycling for years, one bike is rarely enough to fit all your needs. James Breaux is a designer and recent business school grad who after getting into riding commuter, mountain and time trail bikes ran into this issue. Finding most freestanding racks on the market so industrial looking they belonged in a garage rather then living room, James designed this bent wood Modern Bicycle Rack to take care of displaying two bikes elegantly. The rack is slick enough to blend in with your furniture and includes a 40 inch mirror "making sure you look good before you go out for a ride".

Thanks for sharing, James!

Two in One: U-Lock Wrench

Designed in San Francisco, Mission Bicycle Company carries this U-Lock Wrench which fits onto the end of Kryptonite Evolution and Series 2 U-Locks. While I love having tools at my disposal, can't say that I'm always psyched to carry them around. Pretty nice that this add-on wrench component becomes one with your U-lock and weighs in at only 5 oz.

With the leverage of the "U" removing a wheel has just become impossibly easy.  No extra tools needed to change a flat on the fly.

Smart stuff!

Oh, Mr. Cunningham

shots from Bill Cunningham New York

... how you are adored! Could anyone not love this NYTimes photographer (in his 80's) who rides his Schwinn bike around the city wearing a blue worker’s smock photographing both the fashion elite -- and the ordinary Joe? The fact that he is also a fan of Iris Apfel - makes me admire him even more.

The much anticipated documentary Bill Cunningham New York is now playing nationwide - watching the trailer almost brought tears to my eyes.

at Bergdorf Goodman on September 10, 2008 in NYC / Getty Images

Peter Fong's (before + after) bike

 

Custom paint jobs can be difficult to pull off as a DIY project, but Peter Fong's bike is exquisite. Rather then going the $100++ route to get a custom powder coat paint job on his bike, Peter (an Australian Illustrator) took matters into his own hands and revamped an eBay purchase. Disassembled the bike, sanded the frame and fork down to the metal, applied spray can primer, a lovely green paint (which goes great with the leather accents), hand painted characters -- including those awesome owls using black acrylic, and added a clear coat to seal. I asked Peter how the paint job was holding up after a month...

It's held up pretty well so far. There are a few chips on the fork where it leans against poles when I park it but I think that's from me not spraying enough clear coat over it. I was more worried about the the other parts of the frame I think I neglected the fork haha.

You can check out more of Peter's illustrations + projects {here}

via Florence: one bike-centric automobile

For car owners who love their bikes above all else! Wish you could buy these decals to fit any car.

folding clothes

Imagine your clothes folded naturally due to their construction - like these by Ziccheddu via FashioningTech.com It would make commuting with your work clothes a snap.

Prospect Park West: showing support

It was so nice to see how many of last night's Community Board 6's Public Hearing on Safety Improvements to Prospect Park West attendees wore the brightly coloured stickers in support of keeping the current PPW (Class I) bike lanes. Transportation Alternatives, thanks for making and distributing them!

The hearing's format allowed attendees to give 3 minute testimonies and the two groups who have filed a lawsuit against the city to have the street return PPW to a three-lane road without bike lane, Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes and Seniors for Safety, took there turn to speak. I can't say that every single point they made was not valid but most of it was absurd. (That said the only points I personally agree with is simply better signage and light placements for both peds and cyclists - but more on that later.) Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes feels that "the historic character of the street is being threatened" with the inclusion "historically inaccurate traffic signals and streets signs" and such safety improvements as the white/reflective buffers placed near Grand Army Plaza and pedestrian crossings. Umm, what about the "historic character" of having Fresh Direct trucks parked idling their engines and the fact that we don't ride around on horses anymore -- as their flyer at the event depicts. Don't get me wrong, how lovely would it be to have cobblestone streets without cars all together - but is not a city a constantly evolving and growing nebulous of people and activity? Supports cited how bike lanes improve the liveablity and quality of life for all residents while the fantastic NYC Councilmember Brad Lander made the point of how the bike lanes "extends the park". And what a wonderful addition that is indeed.

Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes flyer at hearing
- click to enlarge -

I found it impossible not to notice was how many young families (with babies and kids in tow - esp. during an evening time slot) showed up in support of the lanes. This might very well be a sign of Park Slope's youthful renaissance.

PPW bike lane being threatened w/ lawsuit

Do all good things really need to come to an end?
Is this happening elsewhere?

image from the NYTimes

The NYTimes published this article today about a civil suit being filed against the city to have the Department of Transportation remove the (less then one year old) Prospect Park West bike lane. The suit is backed by a small group of well connected people "with close ties to Iris Weinshall, the city’s transportation commissioner from 2000 to 2007 and the wife of Senator Charles E. Schumer". They argue that statistics of the benefits from the path are skewed in favor of pro-bike path community activists.  Sure, statistics can be tricky and difficult to distinguish from a grey lies but COME ON. I'd really like to know the if the opponents have:

• ever tried biking along 8th Avenue during rush hour - the alternative to the PPW path going north
• noticed the traffic Prospect Park West traffic flowing just fine -- amidst one less lane
• experienced Prospect Park West as a terrifying mess with speeding car, taxis, and Fresh Direct delivery trucks BEFORE the bike lanes were there
• notice how much calmer the traffic is with one less lane
• watched cyclists yield for pedestrians (though I do admit there is a learning curve, which seems natural)
• realized that many cyclists use the bike path daily - even in the heart of winter
• seen local parents bike their children to school using the path
• that a few less parking spots lost does not justify the removal of a world class protected bike lane in the heart of Brooklyn

Well, I have.

Prospect Park West, which was once impossible to bike along, runs along the corridor which one must crossed to enter the park from the residential Park Slope neighborhood. A protected two-way bike lane running along a park sounds completely reasonable if not completely necessary. If you also agree PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help save a vital NYC bike path by attending Community Board 6's Public Hearing on Safety Improvements to Prospect Park West

When: Thursday, March 10 @ 6:30PM
Where: John Jay Educational Campus Auditorium
237 7th Avenue, between 4th/5th Streets)
Brooklyn, NY 11215

Previous posts:
Save Prospect Park West,  19, October 2010
Rally to keep the lanes, 28, October 2010

via Florence: parking space

It was so refreshing to find ample bike parking in Florence since bicycle corrals are every which way you look. Another thing that struck me in this beautiful Tuscan city is that rather then locking the rear wheel and leaning it against a building (like in Copenhagen)  bicycles would line the curb and be kept upright by having the pedal like so along the narrow sidewalks and streets in center city...

Kind of can't believe I got used to riding on these stone slab streets which make for a bumpy ride - funny to think that we New Yorkers complain about having to deal with pot holes.

via Roma: Nestlé's cycle-centric packaging

Such retro '80s stylin. Nestlé Latte Intero Concentrato Zuccherato "The best kept Italian secret" spotted on the grocery shelf in Rome. Haven't tried it... yet. Have you?

Mission Bicycle Company: on a Mission to build the bike of your dreams

Check out their lovely little promotional video which starts out sweet and sentimental "My first bike was a Huffy"... 




Based in San Fransisco, Mission Bicycle Company offers simple straightforward steel frame bikes - sticking with the bare essentials - for city riding.  Based on your riding style, fit and aesthetic choices you can customize your components and frame finish (from a serious rainbow of color options), choose to have a single gear freewheel/fixie/3 or 8 gear internal hub + they offer a 'build together' option! With a price tag starting at $750 they are pretty sweet street machines.

Jefferson, the store manager, walked me through the bike selection process:

When a customer comes in, we size them up and put them on a bike that we think will be a good fit.  We have a demo bike built up in each size... send them for a ride around the block. We can tweak the fit with stem length, stem angle, handlebar style, and of course a saddle which is adjustable in 3 ways.

That's what we do for people that can physically come in to the store.  Sometimes people will make a visit to Mission Bicycle a part of their vacation to San Francisco.  They get to come into the store, we personal guide them through the whole process.  Then we build their bike and ship it back to their home country.  Last weekend to women flew up from Los Angeles specifically to build their own bike here.  They took their bikes home with them on the plane the next day.  We're shipping bike all over the world.  Built right here in the Mission.

They crank out about a bike a day and don't think they've built two exactly alike. Just check out their online gallery for proof!