photos: velojoy
velojoy street scene
Bicycles provide fast and efficient transportation, so why not use them to extend the reach of motorized ambulance service?
While wandering the back courts at Wimbledon in London on Tuesday, I met (above, from left) Gabriel and Alastair, volunteers manning the London District Cycle Response Unit of the St John Ambulance. This radio-dispatched team can speed to medical emergencies on the Wimbledon grounds to render medical treatment or stabilize patients until an ambulance arrives. Their Specialized Hardrock mountain bikes are fitted with custom-designed panniers stocked with equipment for resuscitation, pain relief and first aid. EMS Star of Life bike bells (below) stand in for sirens. (Note to the United States Tennis Association: What a great idea for the U.S. Open.)
On Monday, when temperatures at Wimbledon reached the high 80s F., the ambulance service tallied its highest single-day number of calls on record: 247, mostly heat-related.
According to the St John Ambulance website, 42 volunteers staff six first aide posts to provide care to visitors from around the world who crowd The Championships. St John is a not-for-profit organization that teaches first aid to community volunteers and provides ambulance service to large public events.
Tickets On Sale for 11th Annual Bicycle Film Festival
In case you missed its New York theatrical run, treat yourself to Bill Cunningham New York. The documentary about the legendary street fashion and society photographer for the New York Times, who travels around town by bike, will be shown at the Bicycle Film Festival (BFF). The 11th annual event, June 22 – 26 at the Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, celebrates bicycles through music, art and film.
I attended the festival for the first time last year and, while the Anthology may not be your local cineplex, the BFF provides a great opportunity not only to be entertained, but to learn about diverse cycling styles and cultures. It was at the BFF that I discovered BMX rider Mat Hoffman’s remarkable story and viewed city streets through the (harrowing) helmet-cam films of Lucas Brunnelle.
Among highlights that I’m looking forward to at this year’s festival are Racing Towards Redhook, a film about New York City’s biggest underground racing event, the 2011 Red Hook Criterium. According to the production notes: “The rules are simple: 20 laps, one gear, zero breaks.” You get the picture. Also, Sunchasers explores competitive cycling through the lives of three disabled women who are preparing for the Paralympics.
View trailers and check the weekend schedule — which also offers a concert, art show, street festival with cycling contests and vendors of handmade bicycle wares, and parties galore — and buy tickets online: http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/
Read more…
New at HopStop.com, Biking Directions Plus Tally of Calories Burned
HopStop.com, the popular site for mapping transit and pedestrian directions in New York City and elsewhere has added biking to its list of transportation modes. For example, the 5.25-mile trip (above) from West Broadway and Spring Street in Soho to 79th Street and Central Park West is calculated at 22 minutes with all but 4 minutes mapped along bike lanes.
In addition, I notice that “approx. calories burned” is included in the output for both cycling and walking directions. Alexandra Dao, HopStop.com’s community manager, says it’s a general estimate based on an average body size and the amount of biking and walking involved in the route.
In a future post, I’ll compare bike mapping features of HopStop.com with two other popular online tools — Google Maps and Ride the City (the later is included in the Tool Box to the right). In the mean time, my Soho to Upper West Side round rip burned an estimated 458 calories, and that’s another great reason to ride a bike in New York City.
Read more…
May 20 is National Bike to Work Day
Need a reason to ride? The Huffington Post this week outlined the personal and community health benefits of riding a bicycle. (They’re also offering a chance to win a road bike.)
In celebration of National Bike to Work Day in NYC, the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives will be greeting commuters on major thoroughfares. Stop by between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. for an iced coffee and a Clif Bar at these locations:
- Brooklyn Bridge
- Manhattan Bridge
- Williamsburg Bridge
- Queensboro Bridge
- Staten Island Ferry Terminal
- West Side Greenway @ 70th Street Read more…
all photos: velojoy
velojoy street scene
On Wednesday, the Union Square Greenmarket‘s spring bounty included tender baby spinach, fragrant branches of lilac, tiny clutches of lilies of the valley, and asparagus bundles that stood at attention like soldiers of the new season. I caught up with Deborah (above), her baskets already filled with morning purchases of ramps, scallions and yams, at the Rick’s Picks artisinal pickle stand. Deborah rides to the market on her vintage Raleigh twice a week, year-around.
Read more…
photo: velojoy
velojoy street scene
Stitch, the well-behaved Norwich terrier belonging to fashion designer and avid cyclist Lela Rose, waits patiently on an upholstered seat in the rear cab of Rose’s custom tricycle, which recently was parked near Manhattan’s High Line.
‘UK Cyclists To Shun Royal Wedding En Masse’
What’s this tabloid-style headline on the British cycling website bikeradar.com all about? Has the bicycling population been slighted in connection with Kate and William’s nuptials? Not quite. Turns out that a poll by the site reveals cyclists plan to use Friday’s holiday to get in some extra riding rather than focus on the royal wedding.
In my own highly scientific survey, I reached across the Atlantic to Look Mum No Hands to ask if this popular London cycling cafe is planning any special events in conjunction with the wedding. According to Lewin Chalkley:
“No, we’re not. We’ll be a refuge from all the fuss. We will be showing the Tour of Turkey at 12:30 on the big screen and drinking beer.”
Cheers to Chalkley and company!
photo: velojoy
Whether or not “the fuss” will affect the a.m. cycling commute here in New York City is anybody’s guess. Still, if you yearn for communion with royal watchers on Friday, ride on over to Greenwich Avenue for some Tea & Sympathy. The restaurant of that name (above) and neighboring Lyon will host a street party to celebrate the royal wedding. Read more…
photo: velojoy
velojoy street scene
Happily, an unending parade of subdued parkas is giving way to splashes of color in the New York City bike lanes. Ghislaine, an interior designer, who is Dutch, was riding south on Fifth Avenue last week on a mixte frame by Public equipped with a set of gingham-check panniers by Kitchen Kitsch. Orange, I learned subsequently, is the color of the Dutch royal family and a symbol of national pride in the Netherlands.
photo: velojoy
Bike Basket in Bloom
When the weather changes, it’s time to rotate the clothes in our closets for a new season, so why not the decorations on our bike baskets? As a harbinger of spring, a bicycle that I passed daily last fall reappeared on the street this week, the autumn leaves that graced its basket having been replaced by cheery gerbera daisies. The owner has anchored garlands of faux blooms to the wire mesh with twist ties, and even lined the bottom with plastic petals.
♥ Next week’s lead-up to Bicycle Month NYC is stacked with events for cycling fans. Check out our new events listing (upper left of this page).
New Amsterdam Bicycle Show Debuts
It’s like the Auto Show, but for bikes. In tune with the growing popularity of bicycling in New York City, the New Amsterdam Bicycle Show presented by New York Press on April 30 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. gives you the opportunity to browse the latest trends.
Bikes, accessories and apparel, from brands like Raleigh, Specialized, Jamis, Nutcase and Outlier will be on display on three floors of Center 548 at 548 W. 22nd St. in Chelsea. In addition, the Bikelandia program sponsored by Bicycling Magazine and SRAM will feature discussions, artworks, readings and opportunities to learn about advocacy and bike safety. Also on tap: a bicycling fashion show, a hand-built bicycle row, giveaways, and more. Go to www.newambikeshow.com for complete information. Tickets, $15, benefit Transportation Alternatives.
Post Slams ‘Scandal-Bars’ Bike Bust
Sheesh, you’d think the men and women in blue would have better things to do. The New York Post reported last week that the New York City Police Department issued a summons to a Manhattan woman for carrying a tote bag on her handlebars, spreading tisk-tisks across the digital media landscape faster than moss spores are clogging rain gutters in Seattle right now. Turns out it’s a bogus offense. According to the Post’s report:
“A summons may be issued . . . if a cyclist is transporting a bundle or package in such a way that it prevents him/her from keeping at least one hand on the handlebar,” NYPD spokesman Paul Browne admitted.
The rider apparently had both hands planted on her bars, and the ticket seems sure to be thrown out by a judge. The cyclist noted that the unnerving bust has prompted her to carry her belongings in a backpack.
Read more…
Today, I’m once again combining some favorite photos and finds from the past week of cycling in New York City into a single post, so be sure to scroll down.
Share Your Path
Here’s an idea that could evolve into an inspiring resource for cyclists: a crowd-sourced library of ride videos from all over the world on a single website. That’s what Albert Pereta, a design entrepreneur and MFA student who recently moved from Barcelona to Brooklyn, hopes to create by encouraging bicycle commuters to upload videos of their rides to www.sharethepath.com (see photo above).
Pereta first recorded short videos of his morning commute from Greenpoint over the Williamsburg Bridge to Manhattan to share his new life in New York City with his friends back home. Some sent him videos of their rides in return, and that led to an idea.
“It established a beautiful connection between us,” Pereta says. “I want to offer everyone a place where they can feel, explore and share the same experience.”
Log on to see what it’s like to ride on College Street in Toronto, or around the Buddha Monthon in Bangkok, or across the Manhattan Bridge, then shoot and upload your own favorite rides.
♥ velojoy lists cycling events in and around New York City. Look up and to the left, and press “Events” to see what’s down the road!
Go Behind the Scenes with NYC Bike Messengers
With reality TV’s unending appetite for the hair-raising, it was only a matter of time before cameras caught up with New York City bicycle messengers. Triple Rush is billed by the Travel Channel as “an insider’s look at the chaotic workings of 3 different NYC courier companies.” In case you’re not getting enough messenger culture in and around the bike lanes, tune in to the series premier tonight at 10 p.m. ET.
Velojoy Street Scene
photo: velojoy
A current obsession with Tim Ferriss’s most-for-least philosophy in his bestsellers, The 4-Hour Body and The 4-Hour Workweek, led me to reflect on the efficiencies of riding a bicycle: no fuel, no fumes, no noise, no extra junk stuffed into a trunk — just the essentials on wheels. The elegance of that idea was on my mind when I photographed Chloe (above), in a trim leather jacket and jeans with her handbag tucked into a basket, as she was riding to lunch in the West Village. Read more…
It must be my holiday state of mind. Everything reminds me of pumpkin pie. This Schwinn cruiser parked on University Place in Manhattan yesterday? Its color scheme speaks of cinnamon, ginger and and cloves.
This Thanksgiving I’m grateful to my velojoy readers. Wishing you and yours a happy celebration with family and friends. Also plenty of pumpkin pie.
photo: velojoy
Nobody would argue with the need for a wider selection of stylish city helmets. That’s why I was happy to see this new entry at the recent Interbike industry trade show. Giro, maker of high-performance road cycling helmets worn by Lance Armstrong, has introduced the Surface line of urban helmets. A clean and simple shell with integrated sun visor takes its cue from skate helmets. Inside, it’s adjustable for stability and comfort, and features channeling, plus six vents. An array of solid colors and prints is offered, but, from a commuter fashion standpoint, the beige and black hounds tooth fabric style shown here fits right in with the tailored and tweedy looks for women this fall. Price: $55
————-
Scene on the Street: Artfully Parked Bike
photo: velojoy
When I lock up on New York City streets, I sometimes return to discover a novel ride hitched up next to mine. Last Monday’s find was this cruiser, spray-painted gold with a plastic flower-encrusted basket and glitter-flecked handlebar grips. Guess I shouldn’t have been surprised: I’d parked outside the Museum of Modern Art.
Readers: What’s been your favorite street find?
