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.)

…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

I guess they’re real now…

George Bliss aboard his trike. (Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times)

The story and the accompanying video are here:

Hauling Cargo, No Car Necessary

It’s probably been about a year since I have posted on rocbike, so here’s a collection of the fun group rides I did in 2009.

In March I headed up to Monson, MA to join up with fellow ratrod bikers for a swap meet and cruise. Monson kinda sucked for cruising so we packed up and went across the border to Willamantic, CT, where we had lunch and continued to ride.

full photo set here

In June I was on vacation so I ended up bringing one of my custom vintage bikes up to Rochester to join up with the old cruising crew, with a lot of new faces since I left town. One of the nights we went way out on the canal trail.

full photo set here

There’s a few local guys that go on custom vintage rides in downtown Hartford, so that happened at least a few times this summer.

June:

full photo set here

August:

full photo set here

Also in August, a few of us joined up in New London for a custom-vintage ride.

full photo set here

In September, I was back on vacation, and I did a tour of NY state, starting with a stop in NYC. Me and my friend Otto cruised from Queens to Brooklyn.

full photo set here

After NYC I was back up in ROC for two more days of cruising with the ROC cruise crew.

Wednesday:

full photo set here

Thursday – we rode up the Genesee river trail to the pier at Charlotte:

full photo set here

And the last group ride I did this past year, a custom-vintage cruise in New Haven, in October:

full photo set here

Hoping that 2010 is as full of fun bike rides! Happy New Year!

According to an article in today’s New York Times, a recent survey of New York City residents found that lack of storage is one of the biggest things keeping New Yorkers off bicycles.

In a city of tight living quarters and unaccommodating corporate towers, the biggest cycling challenge can be finding a good place store one’s ride when it is not in use.

For James Rather, an urban planner whose Riverdale walk-up does not have a storage option, lugging his bike up three flights to his apartment every time he rides is a “constant hassle” and a sometime danger.

You can read the article at the Times site.

Via BikeHacks

The Cranes took our first family trip to NYC yesterday. While we strolled through Central Park, I took some photos of pedicabs. Enjoy:

From Cranes In Manhattan

From Cranes In Manhattan

From Cranes In Manhattan

From Cranes In Manhattan

The rest of my photos from our trip are here:

Cranes In Manhattan

From today’s NYT:

A cyclist speeds through the crosswalk at 34th Street and Broadway. (Todd Heisler/The New York Times)

By ROBERT SULLIVAN
Published: March 6, 2009

SOMETIMES, when I am biking, I remember the ’80s, and I shudder. I remember, in other words, when biking was an extreme sport, when, if you were a biker, you had a lot of locks and a lot more nerve.

Just the other day, when I was enjoying the bike lane down Clinton Street in my neighborhood, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, I stopped at a red light. And after the crossing guard smiled and chatted with me, after the cars pulled up alongside me and did not honk, I experienced a flashback from 1987: my regular trip from West 113th Street to Central Park, navigating honks and taunts, the mayhem that was then on Cathedral Parkway.

Read the rest of the article.