Sometimes a cycle life gets in the way of …, well, you know, actual bike blogging. So, long overdue, but here it goes. Before I arrived in New York at the end of April I anticipated riding with my #bikeNYC friends & possibly joining well over 30.000 other individuals from around NYC & the US on the Five Boro Bike Tour. Best of all, combining the two.

As you’ve read here, the first part never fails, including the part where online friends become the offline equivalent. Cycling just unites that way, easy.

So here it is, part two of my #bikeNYC adventures in 2011.

May 1st, the day after the New Amsterdam Bike Show (which will be part three). Sunshine galore. Ignoring my jetlag, I cycled from my hotel in Soho to 6th Avenue/W Houston St & observed the 5Boro crowd cycling from down- to uptown. Quite a sight and good fun, as the film will show.

Half an hour later I met up with Ronald (Dutch expat, Research Associate at The Street Plans Collaborative) , Carina (Danish expat, freelance video reporter), Liz (Pilates instructor & advocate for Livable Streets), Noah (Mr NYC Cycle Chic), Steve (bicycle advocate/lawyer) & Noel (Asoc. Director of Engagement Technologies for the World Economic Forum) right across the street.

This was me for the day (not unlike on any other day at home):

And my hosts for the day:

Liz & Noah

Steve playing around with his 5Boro vest & Carina was ready to roll.

So we did. Setting out for our self-proclaimed ‘Un-5Boro’, circumventing a few things we couldn’t be bothered with and perhaps just join the Five Boro Tour at some point. Yes, naughty us, crashing the party ;).

Grab yourself a beer/glass of wine/a cocktail, sit back, relax and ride with us for the next 52 minutes, if you will. Roll the tape:

I know, right? Quite an awesome day, despite getting stuck on the BQE for 2,5 hours. Oh, the irony :).

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures I took along the way:

Can you say ‘I Am Legend’ & BikePeaceNYC, you look fab? ;)

You can always count on the NYPD…

Me, hard at work going up Queensboro Bridge…

Arriving at the waterfront in Queens.

Stuck on the BQE, but smiling.

You’ll always find a few Dutch around.

In a massive bicycle gridlock it’s easy to get acquainted with the nearby residents.

Stand out much? Nah..

The United Nations On Wheels #bikeNYC rat pack!

Last pit stop before Verrazano.

Noel didn’t want to freeze his toes off on Verrazano Bridge..and I figured you’d not often catch him in this position.

As I mentioned in the film, the NYPD, in this case a very bad-tempered cop, yelled us off our bikes. Steve tried arguing with him, but to no avail (and no surprise), he wouldn’t budge. Through some banter, Noel found out the cop was not on the payroll of the City of New York, which was odd, but it could easily explain his mobster-like behaviour. Anyway, it was quite entertaining.

Steve lent me his bike helmet (historic moment, I tell ya) saying he’d done 5Boro before and wanted me to finish it (thanks again for the sacrifice, Steve!). Noah & Liz also said goodbye, as they were not ‘packing gear’. Finally, Noel happened to have an extra 5Boro vest, so we were on our way, up and over the bridge, to the finish line on the other side on Staten Island.

Noel and I rode right on, towards the ferry.

But not before stopping for some brew.

Where you, predictably, bump into like-minded/familiar people.

Police started wrapping up their long day…

We caught the Staten Island ferry back to Manhattan…

Which allows beers AND drinking on board. Perfect. After all, you don’t have a utility bike with basket and panniers for nothing, aight? PS: Noel had the Heineken, I had the local flavor, in true UN-style :).

Riding along the East River…

Noel heading back to Brooklyn and me to Soho, thinking: “Wow. Just wow.” Yes, epic.

We escaped reality, tasted ‘what could be’. We Were All Legends.

Thank you, #bikeNYC. With love, from #bikeAMS.

A recent survey by the Dutch Gazelle bicycle company among 800 people asked what their motives are for cycling. For short trips of around 4 km 88% uses the bike instead of the car. The main reasons: 70% said ‘it’s good for my health’, 40% opt out of the car ‘because it’s good for the environment’ and 35% prefer the bicycle ‘because it’s faster than by car’.

This is common knowledge, it confirms many other surveys and research papers. I’m more interested in what follows:

66% said ‘cycling clears my mind’, 60% uses their time on the bike ‘for deep thoughts’ and 44% find it perfect ‘for day dreaming’. Good, good.

Here comes the kicker: it also revealed that 27% regularly flirt while cycling.

Powerful. It speaks volumes on how comfortable it is to cycle in the Netherlands. Based on just this, I can easily back up what I say on a regular basis: here, cycling is like walking, a faster way of walking. It’s that accessible & easy. Not just that, it’s by far the most sociable mode of transportation.

It confirms the fact that, particularly over here, people don’t have to change into a different mental mindset when they hop on a bike. And we also know that the particular bikes we use allow us to maintain that posture in a practical sense. ‘Upright is right’, as it’s often coined.

Flashback: Jasmijn Rijcken of Van Moof visited the New Amsterdam Bike Show in NYC almost two months ago, just like I did (on which I’ll post soon). We briefly met and talked, a real pleasure. Like me, she got around town on a bike (why change a habit). All good. You’d think.

A few weeks later she shared what happened to her on that day (April 30th) with Joanna of New Amsterdam Bike Show. She got stopped by a cop:

Our friend Jasmijn was stopped in SOHO by NYPD for riding in a skirt! The officer said she could distract drivers and cause an accident…and should go home and put pants on.

Outrageous, of course. Hence, this news traveled fast. I mean, real fast & around the world. I read about it first on Lovely Bike.

Not surprisingly, New Yorkers on two wheels could relate to this feeling of harassment, as the NYPD has been notoriously cracking down on people on bikes for the most frivolous things, ranging from handing out tickets for having a bag hanging from the handlebar, for speeding in Central Park, to fining people for not riding in the bike lane (which resulted in the video ‘Bike lanes’ by Casey Neistat, that subsequently went viral worldwide).

It’s the infamous & flawed ‘cheat sheet’ at play here.

So, back to skirts. Followers of this story quickly started to doubt it, as Jasmijn works for a bicycle company & she’s actually responsible for its marketing efforts, viral marketing efforts. Controversy was born. Streetsblog dove into it, and they confirmed what I thought initially: if this was a stunt, it’s a pretty bad one when it comes to aiming to sell bikes. It’s far too risky to make it up, the backlash would destroy sales. I’d also e-mailed with Jasmijn & couldn’t imagine her playing along with it off the record.

Doug Gordon of BrooklynSpoke asked if someone would be willing to organize a protest ride. Liz Patek had already been contemplating organizing ‘Fancy Rides’ to get more people on bikes in the Broadway bike lane, so she volunteered & combined the two: the ‘Short Skirt Celebration Ride/Love The Broadway Bike Lane’ for June 15th was born, with a little Facebook & blog help from Copenhagen Cycle Chic.

This is not about teaching NYPD a lesson. This is about normalizing the idea of people on bikes here in NYC. I repeat this is NOT about teaching the NYPD a lesson. If you plan on shouting or carrying protest signs, please do not join us. No silly antics or street theater please. I do welcome my friends in the Broadway community to please join us. I will send you off at 7pm so you can make your call times.

This is NOT a protest; this is a Celebration of People on Bikes.

Maureen, aka @InspiredCyclist, captured it for prosperity & shared her experiences.

That was Volume I.

Volume II is happening this evening. Joanna is organizing ‘Skirts on BIKES: The Official NYC Ride – Celebrating Freedom and Fashion‘. Initially, she had coined it a ‘protest’ ride, but it’s good to see Liz’s smarts rubbed off on her ;). The ‘official’ part, take it as you want. In the end, it’s all about the right intentions.

Jasmijn is in NYC right now & she will be participating. I’m looking forward to hearing from her afterwards.

Have fun, #BikeNYC, we’ll be riding in spirit with you.

(Message to #NYPD: people on bikes, get used to them, embrace them…or at least shed those inhibitions; flirt with them. You’ll feel so much better.)

UPDATE:
Julie Hardee, aka @juleskills participated in last night’s Skirts On Bikes ride and took great pictures! Looks like they had a great time celebrating. And the pictures of Jasmijn retelling her story ‘on stage’ are priceless :).

UPDATE II:
Jasmijn’s company Van Moof recorded the ride, here’s the result. Lovely.

Sure, I missed out on all the NY400 events (all things Dutch you can think of) this summer, but perhaps it’s better that way, cycling around the city on a regular day, without all the extra brooha.

Noel of newamsterdamize.com (yeah, completely meant to be, right) was our generous host for the ride.

Noel of newamsterdamize.com hanging loose on his Batavus Personal Bike

After getting our rental bikes we crossed downtown Manhattan, turned onto the dedicated bike path of Hudson River Greenway and just enjoyed the spectacular views. It was just for a few hours, between lunch and rush hour, but very satisfying. Back in a city that has gone through lots of changes, but will always remain the same, that same vibrant and intoxicating metropole of the world.

Hudson River Greenway

What I observed was both exciting and sobering. First the exciting part. There are certainly more people on bikes, more than I’ve seen on any other visit or stay. And I’m not talking about fixie (male) hipsters (plenty of those), bike messengers and the countless(!) pedicabs.

Women on two wheels are well represented, which is a proper indicator. People with home-made utility contraptions, carrying just about anything.

In general, they are mostly young urbanites in their 20’s and 30’s. And pretty much a 50/50 split between the safety gear-crowd and the laissez-fair, aka those who just dress for the day and get on a bike. Right, ‘Cycle Chic’, aka a piece of Old Amsterdam in the New World. Not a bad score at all, could the paradigm really be shifting?

Second, the much publicized bicycle infrastructure. Of all that was put in place, I saw the right intentions. From pockets of lanes to long corridors, it’s emerging. And more to come.

On both accounts I also recognized the problems. Most cycling (and I emphasize ‘normal cycling’) can be witnessed in more quaint areas, like West Village and the Meat Packing District, where traffic is more permissive and cycle infrastructure more defined. You will only find the ‘die-hards’ and pedicabs on the main Avenues, where cycling provisions are scarce, if not absent. It’s not that it’s impossible to ride there, but when I think of cycling, it’s cycling for the lowest common denominator, that anybody should be able to do so. There’s certainly a lack of subjective safety, as David Hembrow would say.

Then there’s the issue of car drivers and pedestrians not respecting the bicycle grid, something very evident. I saw a lot of cyclists just avoiding the bike lanes because there would be too many people walking there or crossing without looking, (police) cars (double) parked or trucks unloading. I’d get tired of that, too.

But all of that doesn’t take anything away from the progress that’s been made in just a few years, the transformation that’s taking place in this great city. Hopefully, after returning a few more times things will have moved on even further, showing the decisive indicators for safe urban cycling…children and seniors on two wheels. That would be something, really turning the corner.

You’d certainly see more scenes like this too…or maybe not, she’s really one of a kind :-p.

Photo by BicyclesOnly, "NYC Bicycle Commuter, 5th Ave. @ 79th St."

Tomorrow I’ll be on my way to New York City, a long anticipated journey. I didn’t plan this as a cycling trip, nor am I off on a US speaking tour like some are accustomed to :).

I know, I know…of course(!) I’m going to hop on a two-wheeled friend while there, would be crazy not to. The last time I rode around Manhattan was 1992, pretty much the equivalent of the Wild Wild West, dominated by bike messengers. So much has happened in the last few years, so many different takes on the changes I’ve read/followed online, that I naturally need to see and experience this for myself. Luckily, hail to the internets, there’s a big chance that I won’t be riding alone.

I’m aware it’s a short notice, but if you happen to live on that lovely island, have time and feel like joining us on Friday afternoon, drop me a line!

Now I can’t help but hope I’ll catch Famke Jansen riding around the only way she knows how…Dutch-style. Does anyone of you know her regular route? :). The odds for this to happen are much greater than, say, bumping into & identifying BikesnobNYC ;-p.

Every once in a while I have some catching up to do with what’s happening in the vlogosphere. I’m in the middle of writing a guest post for Curbside Cycle in Toronto, but I probably get to finish that tomorrow and meanwhile I wanted to post at least something interesting.

So, here you have it, a trailer video posted by Californian Michael W. Bauch of everydaybike.com in early May of this year, called ‘Riding Bikes With The Dutch’.

I quote:

Welcome, Come Along for the Ride

The first time I stepped off the train in Amsterdam I was literally speechless. As soon as I set foot on the ground I was almost run over by a mob of bikes. I turned to look up and to my amazement there was a 3 level structure dedicated to just parking bicycles. Everyone from three years old to 93 seemed to be tooling around the city on two wheels. This was too much to take in with just my own eyes. I needed to share this with everyone I could and this is why I made my film: Riding Bikes with the Dutch.

The Dutch Get it

Bikes aren’t just for Lance Armstrong. You don’t have to have the latest carbon fiber frame and wear a spandex body suit to ride a bike…what a revelation.

Bicycling is a lifestyle – not just a race, a hobby, or the latest fashion craze.

Bikes aren’t just for kids. Adults can play too!

Cars treat bikes with respect. Cyclists are treated like real modes of transportation, not second class citizens.

Cities should be designed for people – not cars.

Bicycling infrastructure is a key part of the planning process for new construction, not an after thought.

It being a trailer obviously means there’s something to be released:

Anyone who has ever made a movie will tell you that it takes a lot of time & patience; no different here. With over 35 hours of raw footage the editing process has begun. I will let you know where you can see my movie and how you can buy my DVD when it is time.

I am aim to have more details for you in the coming months. So be patient, stay tuned, and keep riding…

Oh, I can relate, Michael, take all the time you need, I’ll be waiting. I’m a big sucker for bicycle film awesomeness :).

[Update] This just came in through the feeds from Pascal van den Noort of Vélo Mondial, which I think fits perfectly with this post:

New Amsterdam Bike Slam Part 2

Four hundred years after Henry Hudson’s arrival in Manhattan, two teams of Dutch and American planners & designers face off in a battle for the future of New York City transportation. Their challenge: find ways to bring NYC cycling up to the level of the Netherlands, the only country in the world with more bikes than people. The New Amsterdam Bike Slam is being organized in New Amsterdam (sometime also referred to as “New York City”) from 10-13 September 2009. It is an initiative of Amsterdam Cycling to Sustainability, produced by Vélo Mondial and Transportation Alternatives, with funding from Transumo and the City of Amsterdam. After three days of preparation, the New Amsterdam Bike Slam teams face off in a live debate “battle,” and compete to provide the most compelling vision for making lower Manhattan and Brooklyn a bicycling area on par with Amsterdam. The battle begins at 10:00 pm, followed by a late night dance party at the renowned Meatpacking District club, with DJ John Julius Knight. Full background on the program: newamsterdambikeslam.org.

Here are the posts New Amsterdam Bike Slam Part 1 and Part 3.

Nice work, Pascal! And a nice aside: my good friend Henry of Workcycles fame is one of the sponsors:

…The next morning at Battery Park, Mr. Job Cohen, Mayor of Amsterdam – one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world – will convey the prize to the winning team: free Dutch bicycles, courtesy of Workcycles.