one fall day: bikes in SoHo

Yesterday was one beautifully perfect crisp fall day -- a few snap shots while on my lunch break...

nice waterproof Amsterdam-stylin' panniers

love seeing a personal touch on this Kryptonite NY Chain cover

a Nantucket (pet) Bike Basket which they attached in reverse -- I'm guessing so they can easily hinge it open while on the bike rather then getting in front of the bike.

Also, couldn't resist these two wheelers...

... a single glove left behind

Bike the Night gets cancelled (another post-Hurricane Irene post)

via nycbicycleshow.com

Just as I was all ready to share with you details on the upcoming Bike the Night ride, I sadly got the news the ride had to be canceled. The North Fork of Long Island is still dealing with clean up efforts due to Hurricane Tropical Storm Irene and is not permitting large organized bike rides since the streets won't be cleared in time... hence the photo below taken this week along the ride's route. Glen, the ride organizer had the following to say:

Believe me if you think that you're bummed out about the cancellations and I'm bummed out, imagine the crew at the Greenport Fire Department, who we hire to prepare our post-ride meal. They took the largest financial hit of everyone, and you know they would have moved forward with this if they could.

via nycbicycleshow.com

While Bike the Night (organized by the same nice people who host the North Fork Century and Ride to Montauk) won't be rescheduled this year, here's more about the ride just to ensure you get excited for next year's 72 or 50 mile route options which start at the traditional 11:59 pm(!)...

We’ll be in Orient NY out on the North Fork of Long Island.  This is what the Hamptons must have once looked like -- farms, vineyards, small towns...  start riding just before midnight and pedal under the stars on roads lit by a full moon.  These are quiet back roads lined by trees and marsh grass.  There’s a beautiful old lighthouse.  Several beaches.  Some special views of the water. By dawn we’ll be out at the beach where we’ll have breakfast (included in the price of the ride) before finishing our ride.

'til next year, North Fork...

by Steve Jones via bikethenight.com

two pre-Labor Day rides: North Fork Century & D2R2

I was torn. August 28-29th, the last weekend before Labor Day. The North Fork Century, a gorgeous 100 mile ride along quaint and quiet Long Island and the epic Deerfield Dirt-Road Randonnée (D2R2) are taking place that same weekend!

Having done the North Fork last summer with my friend Sara and totally enjoyed it and highly recommend it, I decided to try something new. These two rides couldn't be more different but here are some comparisons: The North Fork starts/ends in Greenport (with a nearby campground) is on the furthest north eastern part of Long Island, a slice of NY paradise with beautiful beaches, vineyards, farm stands. It's also virtually all flat and paved for fast smooth riding! The D2R2 starting/ending in Deerfield is nestled in the hills of western Massachusetts and almost entirely off road, steep, and high up there in the list of demanding rides. Navigating the course is also a dividing point - unlike the well indicated route on the North Fork, the D2R2 (from what I hear) is VERY easy to get lost on and is all about keeping an eye on your cue sheet. It was suggested that I print out and laminate my cue sheet - I did two weeks before the ride feeling like a responsible and well prepared geek even taking a highlighter to every other line...
And then Ted, who's done the ride before, sent me a photo of his cue sheet...

OMG - forget laminating and highlighting, this has freakin geek cool written all over it!!! I'll report back after the 27th with photos and no doubt stories.  If your not familiar with the D2R2, you can read up about the course and it's creator, Sandy Whittlesey [here] on the Rapha site. Even better, see you there?!

happy summer solstice

at the campground the night before the 2010 North Fork Century

A little shout out to SUMMER - yeah! In honor of this most wonderful day (+ season) -- a couple photos from one of my favorite seasonal activities: century rides. I snapped these (before and after) last summer's annual North Fork Century which begins in Greenport, Long Island (where you can camp ♥ out the night before) and winds through vineyards and alongside sandy beaches ♥  ♥ ♥

at a rest stop, which served us the most amazing slices of fresh out of the oven pies

my friend Sara post ride - who doesn't love a ride that ends at a Brewery + w/ an ice cream truck

that evening's sunset

This summer's North Fork Century ride takes place... Sunday, August 28th + pencil in these other rides by the same great organizers:

Bike the River
A nice day of cycling along the Hudson

July 17th, 2011

The Farm Ride

Departing from Amherst, MA-- ride one day or all three!

August 12th-14th, 2011

{Oh, and don't forget that you RIDE FOR FREE if you spend $750+ at a local NYC bike shop this summer -- details here!}

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

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

3RD WARD HANDMADE HOLIDAY SALE + DARGELOS

Saturday, December 4th (TOMORROW!) from 12-6pm the member-based art and design center, 3rd Ward, is hosting their 4 annual HANDMADE HOLIDAY CRAFT SALE at 195 Morgan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Browse/Shop/Eat + check out workshops in DIY printmaking, flocking, sewing and also make your own electronic holiday card.

Among the many vendors... DARGELOS will be there selling their cycling gear including the fabulous Trans//Porter bag. It combines the accessibility of a tote bag and the portability of a backpack with the simple adjustment of the straps... FUN STUFF!

bikes + Russel Wright's Manitoga

I had previously admired the bike racks at Russel Wright's Manitoga located 60 miles north of the city of Garrison, NY and on my most recent visit last month I was thrilled to spot these bicycles locked up to it!

If not already familiar to you... Russel Wright is the mid-century modern industrial designer who is most famous for his signature dinnerware, philosophy of good design is for everyone, and also designed spun aluminum dining accessories, furniture and textiles. Manitoga ('Place of the Great Spirit' in Algonquin) is his dreamy studio and home integrated into a rocky moss filled forest accompanied by 75 acres of designed landscape which links to the Appalachian Trail. A peak via DWR Design Notes...

via DWR Design Notes

via DWR Design Notes

via DWR Design Notes

And by complete coincidence, I recently attended Leslie Williamson's presentation hosted at USM on her new fantastically lovely book 'Handcrafted Modern' - a collection of interior photographs of many highly influential mid-century designers' homes (Nakashima, Gropius, Zeisel, the Eames...). And lo and behold Russel Wright is included!

via Handcrafted Modern -- Wright's studio with a fully adjustable/retractable ceiling lamp he designed

The Russel Wright Design Center offers house + landscape guided tours May - October but you can hike the trails at Manitoga year-round.

end of summer on Fire Island

... the land of no cars and ♥ plenty of bikes ♥