happy bike to work day

A snap shot taken on a recent evening commute along the Hudson/West Side Greenway -- where the sail boats have started to appear. Oh, how I adore bike commuting.

New Yorkers... don't forget, today until 10am, Transportation Alternatives is serving up free iced coffee, Clif Bars and fresh fruit to cyclists at the following spots:

• On the Brooklyn Bridge
• Manhattan Bridge (Manhattan side bike path exit)
• Bronx - Joyce Kilmer Park (161st & Grand Concourse)
• Williamsburg Bridge (Brooklyn side, entrance to bike path)
• Queensboro/59th St. Bridge (Queens side, entrance to bike path)
• Staten Island Ferry (St. George Terminal)
• Upper West Side - Hudson Greenway (Upper West Side Streets Renaissance)

Enjoy this most perfect cycling weather today!

lilacs and panniers

Now that the Cherry Blossoms have all dropped their pedals, the lilacs are in full bloom this week along the West Side Greenway's Cherry Walk (100th to 125th Street)!!! They are so fragrant I've been finding myself slowing down as I bike past to make the experience last longer.

The warmer weather has also got me switching up my routine -- I'm giving my backpack (and my back) a break and testing out some saddlebag panniers for Commute By Bike. The review will be up in couple weeks!

an April bike commute

After Sunday's all day rain came... this balancing driftwood sculpture. Love coming across random things like this on my bike commutes.

daylight savings, baby!

Kimberly of the NYC Bike Train commuting home north bound this week

THIS SUNDAY is Daylight Savings!!! (Yeah, have to pitch myself to believe it.) What a delight it will be to start putting dark evening commutes to rest!

In the meantime, I've recently found a network of fellow commuters (#nycbiketrain) who meet up to commute by bike together as far north as Inwood. This has been a great resource to me for the past couple weeks since I've been getting to know my new commute - which spans almost the entire length of the west side - and can't say I've always felt comfortable at night riding along some of the desolate and poorly lit northern portions of the Greenway alone + its been a super nice way to connect with other riders. Plans are in the works to spread the word about the NYC Bike Train... so stay tuned at the Get Biking! Facebook group.

Taken at 6:30PM yesterday looking westward -- can't wait for an even brighter evening skyline next week!

hello, northern manhattan

We've moved! Yes, it may seem rash but my husband and I left Brooklyn, home for the past 10 years, to the northern tip of Manhattan. Brooklyn, you've treated me well with your growing number of bike lanes, bike shops, and cycling community as a whole. Indeed I'll be continuing to post about my bike-centric life... including my new 20 mile round trip commute via the beautiful (car-free) West Side Greenway along the Hudson River. Pretty dreamy... no doubt photos will be posted shortly!

shoe covers to the rescue

Last night's rainfall had me pulling out my wind/water proof Louis Garneau shoe covers... though designed to fit over cycling shoes, I'm continually amazed how well they work on top of just about any shoe in my closet!

They've been so versatile that I've been keeping them tucked away in my bag -- along with my gloves and tool/patch kit.

i heart my winter commute: a guide

Check out my post Sucking It Up in Winter on Commute By Bike... and BRING ON winter!

A note to those you may be intimidated and feel they have to get all geared out to cycle through it all... you shouldn't! Try different things out on short trips to see what works for you. And while I personally opt to wear mostly "performance" apparel/gear in cold climate, you def. can get along without. When I started commuting year-round as a university student I just had a pair of ski gloves, waterproof rain jacket, army surplus rain pants, and wore plastic bags on over socks in my shoes. Really.

And for those of you who have a system down, it would be great to hear about it!

gearing up for post-summer rain

Ortlieb / Performance Ripstop Rain Pants / Loeffler Randall rain booties

Unlike warm summer rain falls, when one can dry off easily wearing shorts and sandals,  last Wednesday's commute forced my rain gear favs out of the closet...

• waterproof backpack by Ortlieb   I never ever worry about water getting into my Ortlieb Velocity. No exterior pockets or zippers - just a simple top loading bag with a roll top (and a very convenient pouch that snaps inside for your cell phone and such).

• rain paints from Performance (on sale right now for $29.99) There are few things worse then arriving to work after riding through the rain in completely drenched clothes - which is why rain pants rock. Yes, you can't care too much about what you look like in them but they are SO EASY to throw on top of whatever pants (or tights) your wearing that day and have articulated knees making it easier to pedal. I have a black version but love this version in HELLO yellow!
  
• rain booties I was so excited when Loeffler Randall came out with these slip-on versions of their rain bootie. Reminds me of my father's galoshes. But these are so cute they can be worn even on a sunny day! The 35mm wedge also gives you a little lift. If the price tag scares you, Jeffrey Campbell makes a similar version I spotted on Refinery 29.
  
  

• clear rain jacket by Louis Garneau An awesome option at about $24 -- made translucent to keep racers jersey sponsor logos visible, but also allows your rear red light on your belt loop to shine through! Since it's waterproof, if you perspire there will be condensation but the mesh sections help with ventilation. I have an older version made of PVC but these days they're made of EVA -- a waterproof material that contains neither cadmium nor lead.

And a rainy day item I have on my wish list...

• helmet cover by Louis Garneau Visibility in the rain is difficult - whether your cycling, walking or driving THUS I try to always have my front and rear blinking lights on. The icing on the cake would be this bright helmet cover which would also keep my hair dry, like Matthew's!
  

happy riding - rain or shine

view from a Manhattan Bridge bike commute: UVA for The Creators Project

This photo is one of the reasons why I bike - just can't get enough of magnificent views and serendipitous moments. For the past few evenings, while biking over the Manhattan Bridge's south side bike path, you've been able to get a glimpse of magnificence... not only of the glowing Brooklyn Bridge and Jane's Carousel (the glass jewel box housing the newly restored 1922 carousel), BUT what really took my breath away was that red glow to the right. It's the view into open air Tobacco Warehouse where the UK collaborative UnitedVisualArtists (UVA) installed a gigantic interactive LED cubic sculture sponsive LED cubic sculpture as part of The Creators Project -- which hosted a bunch of live concerts last weekend in DUMBO. The photo above doesn't it do it any justice so check out THIS video!  

image via thecreatorsproject.com

Manhattan Bridge bike commute - for the next 6 months

my new morning commute view - of the Brooklyn Bridge (also going through repairs)

This past week (a number of) DOT staff standing at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge directing us on bikes to take a detour over the SOUTH side path. Yes, the south side, usually designated as the pedestrian side, while the north side usually for cyclists use. So confusing. But a quick Google search, Gothamist explained it all...

Turns out that due to a massive amount of cable repairs on the bridge, all 3,000+ daily cyclists heading over the Manhattan bridge are solely to use the south side for (at least) the next 6 months, until January 2012. The DOT put this together to help navigate:

From Brooklyn heading to Manhattan, it's quite nice. I'm enjoying mixing up my routine, the views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Governors Island off in the distance, as well as not having to deal that terrible intersection at Forsyth. And after taking the new route this past week, here's my opinion of how to deal (in pink):

I'll do anything to get out of taking those stairs with amount of stuff I lug on my bike - if you continue up Jay St. it's a tight turn but just take it easy!

It's my personal route and seems way more straightforward, again, as long as you take it easy at the turns

Come January, I'll be missing many of these south side (much smoother) metal joint covers...

lunch break - Hudson River Park style

There's nothing better these past few weeks then jumping on my bike at lunch time, riding from SoHo directly west to the the Hudson River in as little as 5 minutes -- trading in the streets and heat for waterfront breezes and sunbathing in a green grass haven ♥ I consider it one of the best reasons to commute by bike in this immaculate weather.  Given you can take an actual lunch hour, it takes minutes from most places on the island of Manhattan to access one of the city's best resources: the AMAZING (recently enhanced) WATERFRONT GREENWAY. 

Did you know that the Hudson River Park is the largest park to be built in Manhattan since the completion of Central Park? It's pretty dramatic how recent developments have transformed the waterfront into a 550-acre park stretches from Battery Park to 59th Street into a waterfront haven which includes 13 public piers, a marine estuary, upland parks, a waterfront esplanade, a carousel, skate parks, newly planted trees, cafes/vendors, nice shady spots, and a bikeway that now stretches past the GW Bridge all the way to The Cloisters!

Hudson River Park has an interactive map found {here} -- time get off the computer and soak it all in...

a Hong Kong commute, Beerman style

Jason sporting a musette as man purse - I photographed in Boston, not Hong Kong

A good friend of mine, former Cat 1 racer, Jason Beerman, moved from Boston to Hong Kong last summer with his wife Jen. In a city with a landmass of 426 sq. miles ( 25% developed with the rest being hilly mountainous slopes, which Jen and Jason also love to climb), population of 7 million, and less then 5% flat roads -- I was thrilled to follow the trials and tribulations of Jason's Hong Kong bike commute...

the two-wheeled Chinese machine

the bike commute-documenting Chinese-American machine

North Point to Sheung Wan on a typical 7pm Thursday night... 

I asked Jason to fill us in on the minutiae of his ride... 

Are you biking with among all those trams? Or do they just dominate your route?

I ride a lot in the tram lane because the regular lanes are sometimes a cluster with speeding taxis who randomly pull over for fares and buses and bus stops every 20 feet and exit ramps, etc. So sometimes the tram lane offers some protection since it's occasionally cordoned off. 

Are those rails difficult to deal with riding on with bike tires?

The tires on my 50 pound, Shanghai-made double top tube bike {the Phoenix} are pretty wide, so they can go over the tracks ok. I still have to be careful though and hit the tracks at an angle however.

Are bike lanes to be found in Hong Kong?

There are no bike lanes and no bike infrastructure whatsoever on HK island. There's simply no room and other than the road I was riding, there's not much flat land; the roads become steep (up to 15% in some places!) as you get away from the harbor. The only people who ride are the occasional produce/fish delivery guys. In the area off the island (which is very densely occupied) nearer to the Chinese border, there are dedicated bike trails and a lot more people ride. But riding on HK island is really rare. 

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.

leather toe clip love

 

Classic & fabulous. Leather covered toe clips to protect those lovely shoes you have on. 

winter booties

The freezing temps in NYC this week got me digging in my closet for my winter booties. I love these -- water proof + wind proof shoe covers with reflective detailing. I used to just use them with my SIDI road bike shoes -- and then one day it dawned on me that they already had the heel cut out AND fit perrrfectly over my favorite heels I wear riding to work!

This version by Sugoi has high-visibility yellow grip material on the heel + toe along with reflective piping on the zippers...

be one in a million

Nice ad campaign by peopleforbikes.org - a non-profit dedicated to channeling that passion to improve the future of bicycling in the USofA. Their goal is to gather a million names of support, to speak with one, powerful voice—to make bicycling safer, more convenient and appealing for everyone. Check out their list of bike friendly resources + sign the pledge today!

cover up

Matthew w/ his day-glo helmet cover on one sunny day

While it's officially ♥ summer ♥ rain showers are still abound (the forecast is for hail in NYC today!) therefore I have practical rain covers on my mind - both bright and waterproof...

Deuter Rain Cover made of a fine-weave Taffeta-Nylon with a PU coating, the Deuter Rain Cover I is designed to fit day packs and smaller backpacks with up to a 2150 cubic inch capacity. Tape-sealed seams help to further ensure protection against precipitation.
+
Zap Helmet Cover by Sugoi made of two-ply laminate fabric with spandex stretch with 3M Scotchlite reflective detailing on front and back.

DESIGNER BIKES: Kamdyn Moore & bike-friendly infrastructure

Bicycles are ubiquitous on college campuses - as is the case on Pratt Institutes' Brooklyn campus where students gravitate to being cost effective and self sufficient. As I was wrapping up my graduate thesis at Pratt (developing products for a growing community of urban cyclists) I crossed paths with Kamdyn Moore, a Urban Environmental Systems Management graduate student at Pratt.

Kamdyn Moore's own thesis culminated in the creation of Campus Area Biking (CAB) aimed to establish Pratt as a leader in the race to change the concept of alternative transportation on a local level. Kamdyn shares her thoughts with for the LOVE of bikes on developing bike-friendly infrastructure on a college campus, falling in love with a single speed in Italy, and biking through Utah...

What got you started on developing better biking systems for Pratt Institute?

There have been a few inspirations for my thesis project. My first day at Pratt, I saw a petition pinned to the wall by the elevator that read “Want more bike racks at Higgens Hall?” As a student commuting to campus by bike, I happily signed the petition. Higgens Hall is probably the building most frequented by cyclists and the bike storage there is horrible. A few weeks later, the petition was gone and I never heard anything more about it. I don’t know if anyone ever saw the petition, who it was delivered to (if it was even delivered), or even who wrote it. And it is no surprise that, Higgens Hall still lacks adequate bike storage.

In addition to the bike racks, there is a pretty large community of students and staff passionate about alternative transit modes, particularly biking, yet Pratt was doing nothing to bring these people together. If anything, I felt that the Institute was trying to pull them apart. There were rumors that administration wanted to close specific entrance gates to cyclists and possibly even ban bikes from being ridden on campus.

I saw no one advocating for the cyclists and felt the need to step up and do something about it. If anything, at least provide the opportunity—the space—for Pratt’s cycling community to come together and share ideas and projects and provide accessible information about the campus policies and other local resources.

What type of systems do you foresee Pratt Institute developing?

My goal has been to analyze how our existing conditions function (or don’t function) and, with the information I’ve gathered throughout my process, better understand how each thing—policy, bike rack, website, resource, campus administrator, student, etc. can be integrated in a much more comprehensive way that will not only improve the cycling experience but the whole campus experience. There has been a lot of push back from key administrators who I believe would rather there be no bikes allowed on campus at all. Fortunately, some progress has been made and I’ve received some really positive feedback from a few administrators that are much more focused on improving the campus community.

In the long term, I hope my project brings light to the fact that the Institute must take a much more holistic approach when working to improve the campus infrastructure as well as when developing policies. You can’t just plop down a bike rack or write a policy. Well, you can, that’s what has been done in the past however the root of the problem, whatever the problem may be, is never addressed.

What was the first bike you ever rode?

As a kid, the first bike I ever rode was, I think, a blue and pink Huffy I got it for my 7th birthday. No training wheels!

How has your interest evolved since then?

My brother and I biked to school together when I was in the third grade but I never thought much of it until I moved to Italy in 2003 and bought a single speed beauty for 20 Euro. I road it until the day I left. I fell in love with the view from the bike. My perspective of the city had completely changed. When I moved back to New York, I was living in the West Village and got a job on 21st St and 1st Ave. There was really no great way to get across town except to bike so -- I bought an old beater off of Craigslist.

What type of bike(s) do you currently commute on?

At the moment, I only have one bike--- a Trek road bike. I wanted something that I could use every day but, if I ever wanted to go on a long ride, I could use the same bike. Once I have a bit more storage space, I hope to get something a little more “chic”. I’ve fallen in love with the “cycle chic” style and feel the need to participate!

What has been your most memorable ride?

Utah was my first and biggest ride. One (slightly drunken) night I called my dad and asked him if he would bike across the US with me. After a (strong) coffee the next morning, I realized that this was a pretty ambitious idea for two people who were completely inexperienced with long distance cycling -- I didn’t even know what a “pannier” was. We whittled down our plans to “a long ride through a dramatic US landscape” and Utah seemed like a good place. I was able to convince my brother to join us on the ride and we hit the road. The scenery was incredible. To climb up a mountain road and then descend into a dessert plain. It was pretty breathtaking (those mountains are steep)! I would still like to bike across the US someday but for now, I’m sticking with riding through NYC. I think my favorite NYC ride was from the West Village up to Times Square. It wasn’t a long ride, but at 3am - pretty awesome.

In most American cities, including NYC, women make up less than half of bike commuters. Any ideas on ways to encourage more women to cycle?

For me, seeing other females advocating for cycling has really encouraged me to continue riding as well as advocating for better biking systems. I think women have an incredible ability to gauge whether or not something is safe – not to be too simplistic but, usually you can judge an area’s safety by how many women are populating the streets. Unfortunately, I think in most American cities, most women wouldn’t consider our city’s streets to be safe for cyclists. We’re working on it - especially in New York but, I think more women will ride more once they are confident that the routes are safe - or at least getting safer.

Parting words...

Ride safe and wear a helmet. I know I sound like an infomercial but, my dad works with people who’ve suffered from a brain injury and I’ve heard some pretty horrible stories. And lastly, keep advocating for your right to the road!

a commuter's friend: tool kits

It is the best feeling to be able to adjust/fix your own bike (be it fixing a flat, raising your seat, adjusting your derailleur, etc.). And since one never knows when/where you'll need to the tools for the job - I typically opt to carrying a small selection of tools (wrench, allen keys, patch kit and pump) whenever/wherever (in my case, I think of them as a girl's best friend).

Timbuk2's Tool Shed is an on-the-go tool organizer 'designed by handy people for handy people'. Constructed of waterproof, grease-resistant Tarpaulin fabric that folds neatly and includes an anodized Aluminum buckle.

Also recently spotted Topeak's ToolBar (11 function ultra-light tool weighs an amazing 68 grams!) and Survival Gear Box (everything but a pump) among their huge selection of handy tools...

rear basket perfection

Okay, I think I have found my ultimate dream rear basket... by PUBLIC bikes

"We designed this simple, lightweight rear basket with a spring-loaded quick release, so you can easily attach and remove it from your rack. It instantly clamps onto most standard rear racks, and sits flat when not on the rack. A comfy carry handle makes it ideal for taking into the grocery store. The durable steel construction with a silver epoxy finish ensures you will use it for years to come. It's truly a bike basket you can take with you, or simply remove, in a few seconds."

• Spring-loaded quick release
• Measures 12L X 15.75W X 6.75H
• Carry Handle w/ rubber grip
• Fits most standard rear racks

A rear basket when you need it - so practical! If you are sans rear rack to accommodate the basket, you can snag this one.