So. Much. Fun.

I love biking in New York City.

Tonight I biked from Manhattan’s Upper West Side to the Village to see jazz drummer Tyshawn Sorey’s New Quartet with John Escreet, Aaron Stewart & Taylor Ho Bynum. The ride was 70% on a dedicated bike path, 25% on bike lanes and 5% on the regular, unlabeled street. Who needs Amsterdam and Copenhagen? (The show was fantastic, too.)

A three-part documentary series exploring bike- and car-based transportation systems in London and Dublin.

Part 1:

The Pedal Project – Three Cycling Cities (low resolution version) from DCTV on Vimeo.

Part 2:

Two Wheeled City – Pedal Project from DCTV on Vimeo.

Part 3:

One Less Car – Pedal Project from DCTV on Vimeo.

Thanks to Ecological Urban Living for the link.

…is fun! I know this isn’t news to all my NYC cycling pals, but today was my first real ride that wasn’t just on the river path. The Dahon Speed D7 performed like a champ. I rode it from my house in Albany to the bus departure point across the river, folded it for storage on the bus, then unfolded it in NYC and zipped over to my folks’ place. Fantabulous!

With my mom at my parents' apartment in NYC

San Juan, Puerto Rico, is not exactly the sort of place you’d imagine to be in dire need of a facelift and urban renewal. Images of a gorgeous coastline and old colonial architecture come to mind, but guess what? The old part of the city, “the Isleta,” is rife with poor urban planning scars, such as inaccessible beaches due to ports and an excessive reliance on cars. The government has decided to infuse the city with $1.5 billion dollars to re-develop San Juan and, most of all, make it a walking city, with no cars allowed.

More here.

When I went car-free last month, I knew I would need one more bicycle to make my business travel and personal travel car-free — a folding bicycle. RocBike contributor Jack Spula has always seemed very happy with his Dahon, and as far as I know, they’re one of the big names in folding bikes.

So today I went to CK Cycles in Albany, NY, and picked up a Dahon Speed D7. Here are photos of the bike folded up (on my Xtracycle) and unfolded:

From My new Dahon Speed D7

From My new Dahon Speed D7

From My new Dahon Speed D7

One question: My Xtracycle is named The Packet Boat. What should I call this bike, The Dinghy?

Today I was riding home on Pearl Street, like I do every day these days. One of the things that frustrates me as a pedestrian on Pearl Street is that drivers do not stop for pedestrians in the crosswalks. Even though they put those big dayglo signs up, drivers don’t stop. Even a big black SUV with the Mayor in the passenger seat does not stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk. So today I was riding The Watson home from work and I stopped for two pedestrians in a crosswalk. One of them said to me, “thank you.” I smiled and said “sure.”

(Side note: you are not isolated or cut off from the rest of the human race when you are on a bicycle. You can talk to people, instead of trying to run them over. Let’s get back to humanity, eh?)

I was proud of myself for stopping the line of cars behind me to let two hardworking people cross the street. And then I rode on.

Later, on Hackett, I saw a car stopped at an intersection. Cars in this area often stop IN the crosswalk, blocking the whole thing. Pretty sure this is illegal but it isn’t enforced. I usually go around behind them and ring my bell. Well today, the car stopped in the crosswalk saw me coming, put his car in reverse, and backed out of the crosswalk before I got there. I was astounded by his act of humility and courtesy. He had his window down, and I called out “thank you” as I passed.

Have any similar stories?

From The Packet Boat (my Xtracycle)

Three weeks and one day ago, I went truck-free. So far it’s been fantastic. Often very, very hot, but a lot of fun. Given my job with the New York Bicycling Coalition, I enjoy being the only person who shows up at meetings on a bike. (To be fair, there are occasionally others, but not often.) Here, in no particular order, are a few things I’ve observed since ditching the truck:

• People offer me rides quite frequently. Always with the best intentions, of course. I say “no” almost every time, the one exception coming last night when a friend took me to Saratoga Springs for a poetry reading. It’s not particularly easy to get there any other way. It’s about 40 miles, and the reading doesn’t usually finish until after 9 p.m. There’s a train that will get me there, but not one that will get me back.
• Many people think I don’t have a car because I’m poor. I find myself explaining fairly often that yes, I’m poor, but that donating my car to the local classical station was an intentional and happy decision.
• It’s contagious. A friend contacted me this week to say that he’s spending some car-free time while the rest of his family and the car are away on vacation. He said he’d been reading about my experience and wanted to give it a shot, so he’s using his bike and mass transit. Cool, right?

From 100724 Around Albany & Poets In The Park

• I don’t have to add nearly as much travel time as I might have expected. I tend to be someone who gets everywhere early, no matter how I’m traveling. I’ve been biking for several years now, so I don’t know why I thought everything would take so much longer. Sure, I need extra time on some trips, but more than once I’ve left one location by bike and arrived before friends who were making the same trip by car. And trust me, I don’t ride fast.
• I’ve become smarter about planning trips. My friend and fellow cyclist Bob Anderson mentioned that as one of the benefits he noticed when he gave up the car, and it’s certainly proven true for me. I make lists of what I need based on where it is and then try to do a bunch of things in one trip. That’s certainly made easier by The Packet Boat (my Xtracycle) because it allows me to carry so much.

From The Packet Boat (my Xtracycle)

• I spend less money on crap. I’m not out in my car, swinging through drive-through windows and ordering bad food. It’s funny how much easier it is to find time to eat well when I don’t drive.
• I walk more. Yup, one thing about ditching the car is that I often choose to just walk places, which is also a lovely way to get around a city.

The verdict? I’m so happy I made the leap. Give it a try yourself — even if you start small, which is fine — and let me know how it goes.

When I ride my bicycle, it’s often so quiet that I can hear the traffic signals change. The boxes make an audible metallic click as the lights change from yellow to red or from red to green.