Some Things I Missed

Okay - lots of bikey stuff happened that I didn't write about. Here is a badly punctuated synopsis with pictures.

I volunteered at NYC Century that Transportation Alternatives puts on. I worked at the DUMBO rest stop. I was given a can of spray paint and was allowed to paint on the pavement..LEGALLY!

Also volunteered to help out at Park(ing) Day 2007 we had a great park in front of Whole Foods on 7th Avenue, lots of people came to eat lunch in our park. One of the Law and Order guys even stopped to say hello. No Impact Man was our celebrity.Dave and Taliah loaned me their cargo bike so that I could move these Eames chairs without a car. The chairs were a gift from a good friend, James.

Jen and I took a trip to Montreal - we rented bikes and rode all over that city. What a great place, too bad the winteres are so damned cold! There were lovely bike lanes all over the place, all kinds of people on bikes - just getting around. It reminded me of my trip to Paris, in that way.

On the same block as our B&B there was a bike shop, Revolution Bikes they had this sign up in the window. They are an informal shop.

Finally - I got ANOTHER ticket from the stupid NYPD. For riding a bike outside of the bike lane. Of course, you are not required to ride in the bike lane if there is a reasonable excuse for not doing so, the law specifically lists: avoiding hazards and obstructions including but not limited to pedestrians, motor vehicles, and road hazards. Of course, the cops who pulled me over were standing IN THE BIKE LANE - and they weren't writing tickets to the cars parked in the bike lane, or to the cars using it as a turn lane. Or even to this guy - pushing his hotdog cart the wrong way up Broadway...in the bike lane.

To top it all off, because the NYPD wants to be as obnoxious and inconsiderate as possible, the idiots parked their squad car in the pedestrian crosswalk. My court date is December 7th.

Harry Is Awesome!

This post is late in coming and I have few others to make - but I am going to try and do them in somewhat chronological order.

"First we flip your wheel and remove your brake"

I helped my co-worker's son, Harry learn to ride a bike late in the summer. Harry was doing pretty well by the time I got to him, but he couldn't quite ride without someone running beside him to grab the bars if he started to fall.

Harry, his mom (Patricia), and I all met up in Central Park on a weekend morning. The spot behind the Met is pretty good - a few sidewalks with light pedestrian traffic and a little chunk of the main loop.

It only took about 20 minutes for Harry to start riding on his own. We spent a little time working on how to stop without falling and then he just took off! He was riding 100 yards on his own in under half an hour. I haven't done that much running in years, being a cyclist. My feet hurt for the rest of the week.Harry got a new bell for his bike as a reward for bravery and progress.