The street in front of the Ace Hotel in Manhattan was transformed last weekend into a playground of free fun for people who love bicycles. Levi’s and Urban Outfitters rolled out their new mobile bike shop, which will travel to 20 U.S. cities in August and September. Their Get In the Saddle tour celebrates the launch of the Levi’s Commuter line of 511 jeans and pants and a cycling jacket. The mobile shop offers free tune-ups, custom tailoring, a photo booth and themed giveaways (water bottles, stickers and patches) — geared to improving cycling comfort and safety, and, by the way, another sign of fashion’s embrace of cycling as everyday transportation. As if all that bike love wasn’t enough, music, a photo exhibition and a bicycle short-film screening rounded out the weekend agenda. Check here for more information and the tour schedule. Fun!
photos: velojoy
Mechanic Errol Lineer Kern (above) was kept busy lubing chains, re-taping bars and installing bells. Read more…
A Grand Fondo New York competitor's jersey pockets are stuffed with provisions at the race start.
On Mother’s Day I traded my urban helmet for my Giro, and rode in the big new cycling event that you may have heard about, the Gran Fondo New York, which started on the lower level of the Manhattan side of the George Washington Bridge and proceeded up Route 9W through Rockland County to Bear Mountain and back.
What’s a Gran Fondo? It’s an inclusive, Italian-style cycling race in which the winners are determined not by their aggregate times on the route, but by their performance on a series of strenuous hill climbs. The word means “long distance” or “great endurance” and, after my humbling outing on two of the marquee climbs, I can vouch for that translation. Read more…
photo: velojoy
I spotted these fiery beauties on a recent bike ride down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Tulips are both harbingers of spring and symbols of perfect love — so fitting for today’s celebration of moms everywhere. Enjoy your day, wherever the road leads you!
The bird's eye view from my bike ride across the George Washington Bridge on Day #17. photo: velojoy
For the month of April, I signed on for the 30 Days of Biking challenge. It’s as simple as it sounds: you register at www.30daysofbiking.com and pledge to ride your bike every day, then share updates via social media. This is my half-time (plus a few days) progress report.
Since I’m a regular cyclist anyway, 30 Days of Biking has been less about motivation than about tuning in to the ride – exploring the particular engagement with the world that this mode of transportation and recreation affords and that I love best about it. Read more…
photos: velojoy
Today, I’m combining some favorite photos and finds from the past week of cycling in New York City into a single post:
Petal-pushing on Park Avenue
An Alice in Wonderland moment awaits whenever I pedal past artist Will Ryman’s installation of outsize pink and red roses (above) — some rising 25 feet above street level — along Park Avenue between 57th and 67th Streets in Manhattan. It won’t be long until the annual blanket of real blossoms sprouts from that turf, but in the mean time this fanciful display, complete with artistically rendered insects of fiberglass and steel, continued until May 31.
Can I take my bike to Armonk…right now?
The super-simple website www.ridewithbikes.com (below) will tell you whether or not your bike can travel with you on Metro-area transit systems. Just input your preferred mode — from the New York City subway to Amtrak — and the time of day you want to travel. You’ll get a thumbs up or down, plus additional information about each system’s bicycle rules, along with handy links. Can an iPhone app be far behind?
Read more…
Jose Medina of Sid's Bikes triumphed.
It was standing-room-only last night at the Rapha Cycle Club NYC in Manhattan for the Fastest Bike Mechanic in NYC Competition. The raucous crowd of cycling enthusiasts, racers and FOMs (friends of the mechanics) cheered four contestants, selected through an online vote, for the coveted Rapha Pink Wrench award and other prizes.
The challenge: Build a bike from the ground up using identical sets of components donated by various sponsors. Each mechanic started off with a frame on a stand and his personal tools laid out on a work table.
At the sound of the starting bell, the mechanics raced to the back of the shop to retrieve their components, then got down to bike-building, sweating under the lights, but mostly maintaining poise in front of the highly engaged and vocal spectators.
36 minutes later, the winner, who was required to ride outside the store to prove the worthiness of his build, then ring a giant cow bell on re-entry, held his winning bike aloft to the applause of an admiring crowd. The victor, Jose Medina, 34, had established an early lead in the competition. He has been a mechanic at Sid’s Bikes in Chelsea for about a year and a half, and says his training began more than 25 years ago when he was a boy in the Dominican Republic.
Mr. Median, who completed the task in 38 minutes under the final finisher’s time, was self-effacing when asked about the margin of his victory. Larry Wallach of Sid’s says that’s typical: “Jose’s the nicest guy and a great mechanic.” Mr. Medina, who builds up to 15 bikes a day during the busy summer season, displayed a calm intensity throughout his build, wrestling the mechanical beast at one moment, then deftly playing its components like instruments the next. He said he will display his pink wrench at Sid’s.
All photos by velojoy.
Mike Spriggs of Rapha (far left) introduces the contestants: (from Mike's right) Mark Purdy of iFixByx, John Britton of Signature, Dave Sommerville of NYC Velo and Jose Medina of Sid's.
Mechanic Jose Medina nears completion of his winning bike build as an appreciative crowd looks on.
The cheering section for John Britton of Signature included (from left) Ray Paar, Jeffrey Reed, Sanjiv Dhodaphar, Meredith Davidson and Samantha Sher.
Mottos adorned the back of their "crafty" Ts.
Joerg Kuehneot (left) and Serena Fong enjoyed the competition from a perch on the coffee bar.
Rapha cow bell rung by the finishers.
A mechanic's bike tools at the ready.
Can’t get enough biking on the road? Then try the cinema. The 10th Anniversary Bicycle Film Festival – New York City, presented by Brendt Barbur, blasts off today and runs through Sunday with a mind-boggling array of art, film and music that celebrates cycling. Among highlights of the 77 films and videos: Birth of Big Air, the story of fearless, high-flying and orthopedic surgery-prone BMX legend Mat Hoffman, directed by Hoffman’s friend Jeff Tremaine and produced by Mark Lewman, Priya Swaminathan and Spike Jonze with Dickhouse Productions (trailer below). In Lucas Brunelle Line of Sight, Benny Zenga and Brunelle turn the camera on the “international man of mystery” and master documenter of alleycat races. The helmet-cam shots of the inbetween spaces and blind spots where the riders race will take your breath away. Also intriguing: Inside Kenk, a documentary by Jason Gilmore focusing on a Toronto used-bike-shop owner Igor Kenk, who was arrested in 2008 after police found almost 3,000 stolen bikes hoarded in garages around the city. The question: What compelled him? At the Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue at 2nd Street. Free bicycle concierge parking available. www.bicyclefilmfestival.com
View Birth of Big Air Trailer
