April Showers

The temperatures are rising, but the occasional rain shower is falling. It's really nice to have weather where no wool coats and lined boots are required, but we're not quite to the point where one can bike in just a dress. The ladies at Let's Go Ride a Bike are also lamenting the tease of the weather. They featured my winter look last week on their blog. I have to say, I'm really looking forward to the LGRAB summer games this year. It'll be a nice way to reconnect with biking after all the work travel I have to do in the next few months. Oh summer! I'm excited!

Summer Friday

A couple of weeks ago, I had my first Summer Friday. I get a series of Fridays off to enjoy the fun of the city. Brett and I took this Friday to have an impromptu bike tour of Red Hook.


I've never explored Red Hook via bike, and it was lovely. En route we took a bike greenway.


As you can tell from this photo, New York greenways are a little different than in other cities. You might end up riding next to a giant orange truck.


Red hook was really lovely. It's difficult to get to via public transportation, so it's a wonderful secluded artist community. We stopped in the Red Hook Bait and Tackle to watch the World Cup.


Afterward, we decided to have a bicycle picnic. We stopped at Fairway and got picnic supplies including a bunch of berries.



We had lunch overlooking the Statue of Liberty. It was so beautiful, and we managed to get quite a spread from Fairway.




Brett has been working in Red Hook since he moved to Brooklyn, but it's never really been in my neck of the borough. I really like the area, and the people. I got a flat en route, and a buddy of Brett's provided us with a patch kit and some water to find the hole. Of course this would happen the one day I don't bring my bike kit, and Brett has no patches.


Red Hook is such a beautiful place, and everyone is very friendly.


As the LGRAB Summer Games comes to a close today, I thought this post which fulfills three tasks: ride a greenway, explore a new part of town, and have a bicycle picnic would be a wonderful way to end my time in this event.

Taking the Long Way Home

At the end of the work day, I aim to get on my bike and get home as quickly as possible. I use one of the shortest routes possible with the least amount of incline. It's a beautiful ride, but I hardly see anything new. I took a different route on Tuesday and took a right on 5th Avenue when I normally would have headed straight. I like 5th Avenue. It has a lot of shops that are really adorable, and some cool-looking bars. It's one of those places I don't think to go because it's just far enough to be inconvenient, but not far enough to seem like a journey. Riding down it during the evening rush hour was nice. It's a share bike like, so it can get a little tight when there is traffic moving in both directions. I made a left on Union Street to begin heading home. Union has a much steeper incline than my normal route, and intersects with Grand Army Plaza. The tree line street was lovely:


It made my ride a little tougher to take a longer route. But it also meant I didn't just pop on my bike and go home. I took a much more leisurely approach, and arrive a with a slight pep in my step. Thanks LGRAB Summer Games for making what seemed like an annoying task really enjoyable.

I like this World Cup thing.

The World Cup has taken over my office. Brainstorms are cut short. The conference rooms are booked with fans watching. My co-workers have it open on their computer screens while working on PowerPoints. I thought I would finally watch a game, especially since USA hasn't done this well in ages. Brett and I rode to a local bar, Tavern on Dean, which sadly is closing due to landlord issues. So I raised a glass of beer and cheered team USA on, and shed a tear for the loss of a local watering hole. In support of the USA team, I decorated Brittany with an Americana scarf. One of the tasks for LGRAB Summer Games is to decorate a bike. I'm sad my extra spirit and decorations didn't help us move to the next round, but I did realize I like this whole World Cup thing.

Meet Ody

Ody is short for Odysseus. He's a lovely cat. Rather loud in the morning, but one of the best cuddlers ever! When I moved out for college my junior year, I told my Mamma that if I could keep a cat, a plant, and myself alive for a year then I knew I could make it. The plant died early on, but Ody is still with me today. Many years, many moves, and a plane flight later we're still here for each other. At present, he's really into sitting on a particular window ledge and staring out.

I needed to pick up some new litter for his box. It's part of our deal. I supply love, food, water, and a clean litter box. He supplies endless love and an alternative alarm clock option. One of the tasks for this section of the LGRAB Summer Games is to carry a load on a bike. Seven pounds of litter is certainly a load, but Ody is totally worth it!

Meet Brittany

Recently, a lovely lady stayed in my home and purchased a bike for her visit. I have wanted a cruiser for some time. I really love the Pashley Princess Sovereign, but I'm terrified of buying that bike while I'm living in New York City. So, I made her an offer she couldn't refuse, and now have two bikes. Brittany is lovely. She's one of my favorite shades of blue and is sparkly. When I ride her, I feel so la di da.

Brittany needs some real love. I'm really excited that one of the challenges for the LGRAB Summer Games is to perform a maintenance task on your bike. In order to take Brittany out the other day, I tightened her brakes:


Brett showed me how to do it. I'm looking forward to really cleaning Brittany up, and making her one special bike. I think a basket of some sort will be soon.

Saying "Hi!"

One of my favorite moments in riding a bike around town is the friendly nod from fellow bikers. Not only is it encouraging, especially during a downpour, but it's nice to think that someone else made the choice to take to the streets on a bike. I like to strike up conversations with people en route to work. It's really nothing more than a simple "Hi" or "I like your bike/helmet/whatever." This is why I am really excited for the "say hi to a cyclist at a red light" task for the 2010 LGRAB Summer Games.

I thought today would be a great day to do it too. It was slightly drizzly, which always makes the connection better. It's the sense that you both choose to suffer through the weather rather than take public transit. On my way home I pulled up to one of my least favorite moments on my ride home: crossing Flatbush. Flatbush is one of those streets that says "don't ride on me." I always wait for the light, which never works in conjunction with the previous light on Fifth, so I'm always huffing and puffing on this incline and hitting red. Lucky for me, Dave was standing there with his bike talking to his friend Sean. Slightly short of breath (note the incline), I jumped at the opportunity to say "Hi!" They were both so pleasant, and asked me to talk more about the LGRAB Summer Games. Sean took a picture of Dave and I:



Afterwards, I continued on, and what should you know, but not five blocks later I came upon my friend Max! To be fair, Max and I are more acquaintances, but how fortunate! Max is in Brooklyn for the summer to do some gardening, and we had a moment at a red light as well:



After promises to connect this summer, Max and I parted ways, and Dave rode up next to me with more questions about LGRAB Summer Games. I did my best to explain and gave him the URL because he seemed stoked to know more. He introduced me to his bike, Tarzan, and I introduced him to Maggie.

The Social Cycling tasks for LGRAB Summer Games has been so much fun! I think I'm going to try to incorporate the tasks more often into my life. Because biking in a city should be about getting to know more than how to avoid potholes and cars. It's an opportunity to get to know more people too!

Sebago Canoe Club

On Saturday, Blake invited Maya and I to join him on a bike trip out to the Sebago Canoe Club in Canarsie for its open house. We biked six miles to get there over Eastern Parkway.



Eastern Parkway is a beautiful route right now. All the trees are very green, and people are sitting on the benches simply enjoying the wonderful weather. That is one of the best parts of New York. The warm weather outdoor hang out. Be it on a porch, stoop, park bench, or just the sidewalk.

Once at Sebago Canoe Club, we were given a tour of their very nice set-up. It's all volunteer run, and the people were extremely knowledgeable about water activities and safety. We each wore a life jacket and were given a brief lesson on how to kayak.



We kayaked out to Jamaica Bay, and all I could do was try not to think about the gross water dripping on me from the paddles. I just had to make myself be willing to except that I would need at least three showers to feel clean again. But it was so much fun. When I'm in New York, it's easy to forget about the great activities that exist in nature. Even within city limits.



None of my actual family lives in New York, and this is not a place where it is easy to survive without that type of support. I'm very lucky because I've managed to develop a family here among my group of friends including Blake and Maya. And as you can see, we are safety first kind of family. We all wear helmets and use the New York City bike chain.



One of the events for the 2010 LGRAB Summer Games is to do a family ride. Between the bike ride, BBQ, and kayaking, I think this is the perfect example to use for a summer family ride.

A loverly evening in DUMBO

I hadn't spent time with my friend Blake in months. But thanks to the 2010 LGRAB Summer Games I had the perfect excuse to schedule a date night with him. Blake is an avid biker here in New York, and I often give him a hard time when it comes to picking bike routes because he's so use to biking amongst the cars and potholes, he forgets that some of us are lacking his expertise when it comes to navigating the trenches of biking in the city.

We met up at my work and biked down to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), which is one of my favorite places in the city. We checked out the first section of the new park that is being built along the waterfront.



Including the expanded view of lower Manhattan:



We saw some tourists taking photos of themselves drinking from the water fountain, and realized we had never taken a picture of ourselves doing this, so for posterity's sake:



Blake is incapable of taking a decent, let alone good, picture. Of the five attempted photographs, this is the only one in focus:



We went to Grimaldi's to enjoy the touristy experience and had a loverly talk. We spent all evening catching up. Blake is one of my best friends in the whole wide world. We've known each other for almost a decade, and it's very exciting to live in the same city where we can challenge and support each other, even when it has been months between a good chat.



We parted ways at the end of the evening, and I was really glad to have an excuse to get to spend some time with him and catch up. Now that it's summer, more of these bike dates will start to happen, and I'm really excited!

Big Apple Tweed Ride

Last Sunday, I joined a dapper set of ladies and gentlemen riding their bikes dressed in the most impeccable style. The Big Apple Tweed Ride around my lovely neighborhood in Brooklyn. No one was able to accompany me, so I went on my own. I'm really glad I did. I don't often go to things on my own. I socialized in a way that was charming and open. Everyone was very supportive. When I mentioned that I'm trying to become a more avid biker, everyone was very supportive. It really made me think they understood the fact that integrating biking into one's life takes effort. An effort to change a mindset. A desire to want to be on the bike. A willingness to figure out how to make biking work for you, the individual. So, Sunday was lovely. It didn't rain, despite the threatening gray clouds. It was perfect Tweed weather.



I took Brittany out for this ride. I'll introduce her to you later. These lovely pictures were taken by Michael Calleia.



I'm very excited to take part in the 2010 Let's Go Ride a Bike Summer Games! This is my group ride, and what an amazing ride it was!