As a bike commuter, I like options. That’s why I spend most of my time riding the Chicken Avenger — a longtail sports utility bike. Whether it’s spontaneous grocery shopping sprees, friends in need of a ride, or that lovely ottoman that’s just sitting out on the curb and needs a good home, my bike has me covered.

My main rig is perfect for getting from point A to point B, but it’s definitely not built for multi-modal transportation. It’ll fit on the front rack of a Rochester RTS bus if I remove the front wheel, but the sheer size of the bike puts bus drivers in a fragile emotional state. Strapping a longtail onto the back of a friend’s car is an even worse idea. And you can forget about fitting a longtail onto an Amtrak train in this region (I hear that’s a possibility on the west coast).

In times like these, I reach for my bizarrely designed, Craigslist-acquired, way-heavier-than-it-should-be Phoenix folding bike.

My bike on the 104 bike trail

This little old-fashioned single-speed contraption is not high-performance, but I’ve ridden it as far as ten miles at a time, and it has a couple nice features to make those long trips manageable. The back rack is just big enough to hold a messenger or laptop bag, keeping that weight and sweat off my back. The cruiser-style breaks are reliable enough to tackle big downhill stretches at a safe speed. And the springy seat absorbs most of the impact of all those potholes on Culver Road.

If I wake up too late in the morning to bike to work and have to take the bus, I’ll often grab the folding bike for an enjoyable ride home. Or maybe my partner wants to pick up her bike somewhere and needs to take a car to get there — I’ll throw this bike in the trunk, ride in the car out there with her, and assemble it for our ride home.

With multi-modal transportation such an infrequent but essential need in my life, I’m glad to have this folding bike around. Maybe someday I’ll invest in something a little more modern. For now, I’ll be having the occasional fun ride on my Phoenix.

Russ and Laura have published their first eBook from the road. Subtitled The Path Less Pedaled Bike Camping Guide, it’s full of tried and tested essentials for bike touring. Get your copy here.

…when you’ll leave the house empty-handed and come back with a free bookshelf. I saw this on the side of the road on my way back from the post office. I had just run out of space for my poetry books, so it was a serendipitous find.

(Part 2 of an occasional series. Here’s the first installment.)

From The Packet Boat (my Xtracycle)

From The Packet Boat (my Xtracycle)

I’m famous, for a day, on BikeRumor.

…happy that when the apocalypse comes, I’ll have a head start because I already get around by bicycle.

…and waiting for the bus.

From Crossing The Brooklyn Bridge By Bicycle

• After a week riding the Dahon Speed D7, getting back on my Xtracycle today felt like riding a sofa bed. On the one hand, it has the most comfortable seat in the world. The Dahon’s isn’t bad, but the seat on the Packet Boat is like a La-Z-Boy recliner. On the other hand, the Dahon weighs 27.6 lbs and my Xtracycle weighs about 60 lbs. The difference is, shall we say, noticeable. On the other other hand (the “Beeblebrox” hand), the Xtracycle is so stable that it feels like you could take a nap on the Snapdeck and it would keep going on autopilot.
• The Dahon performed extremely well during my trip. It fit easily on the bus, unfolded and folded in seconds, handled the Manhattan and Brooklyn streets like a champ, and even did fine on the ridiculously hilly ride I took in State College, PA, over the weekend. Highly recommended.
• This was the first time I’ve gone away from home and taken a bike with me (other than when I first moved to Albany and was commuting back and forth to Rochester to see my family). I was pleasantly surprised by just how darn useful the bike was the whole time I was in NYC. I went to a jazz show on my bike, ran errands, conducted interviews, got from one transportation mode to another — all by bike.

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.)