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.

In NYC I hooked up with professional photographer Dmitry Gudkov of BikeNYC Portraits fame. As it often goes, we found out about each other’s existence through the interwebs, given our mutual interest for people on bicycles, bike culture & photography. Subsequently, it was an even bigger pleasure meeting him in real life.

It took some time for me to do this post, but now it’s even more relevant, as Dmitry’s efforts were put in the lime light as a feature on the Flickr blog this week. Greatly deserved & no small thing, when you consider Flickr has millions and millions of photographs to choose from.

From the middle of Soho we rode towards the Hudson shore, where Dmitry was keen on finding a nice spot to take my #bikeNYC Portrait, as he’d insisted on via Twitter ;).

He lead us to Pier 54, in front of the High Line.

Dmitry started his art direction, I positioned myself behind my Workcycles Omafiets (which Julie from Adeline Adeline was so nice to let me borrow for the weekend), fiddled with my bag for #bikeAMS exposure, and this was the result:

Dmitry still owes me the picture of me lifting my Omafiets over my head, in true hipster style…you know, just to bust another myth about Dutch bikes ;).

We continued our ride on the Hudson Greenway and a few minutes later I spotted something familiar up ahead on the bike path: a black Dutch granny bike, a long haired woman riding it, in normal clothes, without a ‘magic mushroom’.

To Dmitry: “Look, I think that’s a Dutch girl.” “Yeah?” I immediately shift into gear: “Let’s catch up, go go go!”

I passed her, turned around and said: “You MUST be Dutch!” “Huh?” She had music on, so took out her earplugs. “Sorry?” “You MUST be Dutch!” Haha, no, I’m Danish!” “Ohhhh, so close!”

There was nothing left for her to do than stop and have a chat with us. We introduced ourselves and the reason for chasing after her. It turned out her name was Carina Jensen, a Danish expat living and working as a video journalist in NYC. Coincidently, she was hired to cover the New Amsterdam Bike Show that would take place the next day.

Dmitry wasted no time and asked if he could take her bicycle portrait. Of course he could. And of course I captured that process.

Dmitry could appreciate the humor of it a few days later:

His #bikeNYC Portrait catch:

Together we rode back into town, chatting up a storm.

Just so you know what all that stalking looks like, here’s another ‘behind the lens’ moment, me photographing alongside Carina & then spotting Dmitry taking a picture of me…and shooting that. ;)

A perfect start of my NYC weekend, a great time with new-found friends. We went our separate ways, into the city jungle, with the knowledge that we would see each other again the following days. My cliffhanger for the upcoming posts…

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.

In two days I’m off for a long weekend, returning to New Amsterd…I mean, New York City. Besides that the weather forecast is set to warm, I’m primarily going for another hot item: The New Amsterdam Bicycle Show:

New York Press Kicks Off Bike Month NYC 2011 With
The New Amsterdam Bicycle Show: Benefiting Transportation Alternatives

New York, N.Y. April 8, 2011—The first bike show in New York City was in Brooklyn in 1897, and 114 years later, we’re bringing the bicycle show back! New York Press, Manhattan Media’s lifestyle publication for the city’s young trendsetters, and Transportation Alternatives announce The New Amsterdam Bicycle Show: Benefiting Transportation Alternatives. This show promises to dazzle attendees as much as The New York International Auto Show, which will end the same weekend that the bicycle show begins. This pivotal event will take place April 30, 2011, at Chelsea’s new cultural venue Center 548, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and will kick off Bike Month NYC 2011.

The New Amsterdam Bicycle Show is thrilled to announce the addition of Raleigh Bicycles andBicycling Magazine as recent sponsors. Raleigh Bicycles will be setting up a huge exhibit at the show, featuring their new and classic bikes along with other amazing brands such as Bern Unlimited, Biomega, Jamis and Specialized.

Bicycling Magazine, along with SRAM, will be sponsoring BIKELANDIA—the seminar section of the show, featuring readings, discussions, presentations and artwork throughout the day. Headlining BIKELANDIA will be a panel on urban youth cycling programs, led by editors from Bicycling Magazine, along with other influential cycling figures. The panel will include editors from Bicycling Magazine and noted bicycle bloggers. BIKELANDIA will also feature Anne Lutz Fernandez reading from her book Carjacked, followed by a Q&A with the author. Caroline Samponaro, the TA’s director of bicycle advocacy, will also speak about safety and cycling issues in New York City. New York Press’ Gut Instinct columnist, Joshua M. Bernstein, will discuss bicycling safety and protocol.

Also featured:

• Bike giveaways from Sweden’s Bike My Me and Cooper Bikes USA
• Farmcart, the Bushwick-based caterers, will be pedal-pushing delicious sandwiches and treats
• La Colombe Torrefaction, the world-renowned coffee-roasting company-roasting at the show
• An urban bicycle fashion show produced by H.U.B and designer Nona Varnando
• Kissena Cycling Club will be hosting fantastic stationary roller races
• A hand-built bicycle row featuring A.N.T., Horse Cycles, Folk Engineered, Hold Fast, and Royal H
• An indoor demo area to test-drive bicycles
• More activities to come – to see our expanding list of our exhibitor’s click here

The Consulate-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands will also have a presence at the New Amsterdam Bicycle Show. They will be located next to Rolling Orange’s booth, and will have world-renowned cycling blogger Marc “Amsterdamize” van Woudenberg charming the crowds. The Dutch Consulate was instrumental in bringing in many of the Dutch brands featured, brands such as Gazelle, WorkCycles, De Fietsfabriek and accessories by Basil and Yepp.

Tickets are now available online here, and cost $15 for general admission in advance and $20 day of the event. The show will benefit Transportation Alternatives, the advocacy group dedicated to reclaiming the city’s streets from automobiles. TA representatives will be on hand to provide valet bicycle parking to guests, as well as safe and useful bicycling tips for new New York City cyclists.

“This show heralds New York City as America’s leading bicycle metropolis. It’ll have something special for everyone, especially those just getting into biking,” said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives.

Author of The Bicycle Diaries, musician and bicycle advocate David Byrne added: “TA has been in the forefront of helping rebalance our priorities as far as urban transportation goes. For too many decades, we all just rolled over and gave the automobile whatever it, the oil companies and the carmakers wanted. Now we know better—cars are a wonderful invention, but there are greener ways to get around this city. Having a good life in our cities is possible, and these folks are helping bring us closer to that goal.”

Sounds good, huh?

On Saturday, April 30th (missing Queensday in Amsterdam in the process) I’ll be representing the Netherlands for all the good stuff that is cycling, know-how & other Dutch specialties, in the way I know best: by showing it & telling about it & sharing it, aka I’ll be putting up a live video stream for the occasion (between 11:00-17:00 local time). Also, I’ll be filming interviews & and, like mentioned above, be part of the Bikelandia panel ‘Building A Better City For Biking Through Bike-Centric Blogs‘ for some serious blogging Q&A.

Before & after The New Amsterdamize Bicycle Show my itinerary consists of the following:

Thursday:
- Pick up my Workcycles Omafiets for the weekend, generously provided by Julie of Adeline Adeline.
- Going out for dinner & drinks with dear friends
Friday:
- Meet & greet a few people in the city
- Join the Queen’s Day party at the Dutch Consulate
Sunday:
- Celebrate the kick-off of Bike Month by joining approximately 30.000 others for the 5 Boro Bike Tour hooking up with like-minded locals for the Un-5 Boro Bike Ride through NYC.

The rest I’ll play by ear :).

So, #BikeNYC & others, come on down, bite the apple (or orange, in this case) and join the bike fun.

You wanna hook up with Amsterdamize, little ol’ me? Get that ticket or contact me through Twitter or e-mail, and hopefully we get to meet & ride for real.

See ya! … Oh, before I forget…Queen’s Day & a massive bike tour, you have to come prepared, right? So I already have the bike sorted, but I do have to make an appropriate appearance…hence, I did some shopping. Now THAT’S my kind of hi-viz…see if you can pick me out of the crowd ;).

Staying ahead of a serious snow storm, Lauren arrived in Amsterdam one day early to spend a short week with me…in a city that had just welcomed a new white coating.

Leading up to this, she was very excited about the prospect of riding her new bicycle around. Not the omafiets I had bought her around the holidays, but a different one, the very special Workcycles Secret Service I had won in the BicycleMania photo contest. All that was left for her to do, was hop on the back of my bike and ride with me to the place where the small prize ceremony would unfold.

We were welcomed by Eduard Planting of ‘Fine Art Photographs‘, Bert van Essen of The Expat Journal, the publisher of BicycleMania and Henry Cutler of Workcycles, who sponsored the first prize.

I can safely say this bicycle found its rightful owner.

Meeting up with Daniela and her Camilla

This stylish and dependent new friend will be waiting for Lauren when she returns in May, this time to stay.

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.