Bikespotting in New York City

I just got back from my anniversary trip to New York City. We had a spectacular time and got to see Les Mis, several museums, and some great local shops. I even managed to get the hang of the subway system, which was a pleasant surprise.

One thing I paid attention to as we walked along the busy New York streets was the local cyclists. I'd heard about the growing bike culture in NYC, and was curious to compare it to how people rode here in Charleston. Note that I didn't have the opportunity to ride myself, as it was a busy trip and that would have added a layer of planning that I just didn't want to deal with.

Taxis and Traffic

First off, the traffic. I now truly understand why most New Yorkers do not own cars. The drive to the hotel from the airport was full of traffic jams, horns honking, and angry drivers. Fortunately, our cab driver was an expert at fitting his classic yellow Crown Vic into spaces that weren't technically big enough for a bike, let alone a full-size car. He explained to us that using your turn signal was a bad idea because then people wouldn't let you in. He also explained that, if it was just a fender bender, you shouldn't bother calling the police because they would take hours to get there. That said, the taxi also provided my first glimpse into the local bike culture because, on it's window, it had a sticker warning passengers to look out for cyclists to avoid dooring them.

Sticker in the window of our Taxi

I don't know if this is standard for New York taxis or something our driver chose to put there, but it was encouraging to see.

Central Park

We had the opportunity to take a brief walk through Central Park, which was a beautiful island of green meadows, lakes, and rock formations in the middle of an otherwise man-made environment. We even ate brunch at a lovely French cafe in the middle of the park. I was actually a bit jealous, as we don't have anything really comparable to that in Charleston. We have a greenway and a national forest, but neither is anywhere near my house, and there's no area quite like Central Park where people just walk and bike out in the open in a car-free area. It's something that would be really nice to have.

Central Park also provided my first Citi Bike sighting. The instantly-recognizable blue commuter bikes stood out among the crowd, and people seemed to be enjoying a relaxed ride on them while Spandex-clad racers zipped by on their carbon-fiber steeds.

The sheer number of people out and about exercising and enjoying nature in the middle of the busy city was unexpected for me, and put a smile on my face.

Citi Bikes

After my first sighting, I started seeing the ubiquitous blue bikes everywhere. I really think it's a great idea for facilitating car-free commuting, and biking in general, in such a big city. The bikes were immediately approachable, so I imagine even a novice rider would feel comfortable hopping on one. They clearly weren't built for speed, but that's not what they're there for, so I don't see that as a negative. However, from a tourist's point of view, the idea of biking in the streets of New York was very intimidating, as the traffic was massively different than what I'm used to dealing with. Even an experienced cyclist like myself would be hesitant to attempt road cycling in downtown Manhattan, so I see that as a big deterrent to tourists using the loaner bikes. Not to mention, between the subway and walking, it's quite easy to get wherever you need to go. That said, if I was spending a longer time in the city, I would absolutely give Citi Bikes a try.

Incidentally, that store in the background has very good chocolate.

New York Bike Culture

One thing I discovered early on in our trip is that New York has lots of strange people. Street artists were everywhere. On the subway, a drum trio boarded and started playing. In Union Square, a man was break dancing and getting quite an audience. It was a truly neat experience to see such a mix of culture - the concept of America as a "melting pot" never really hit home to me until walking through the streets of Manhattan. This variety extended to the people on bikes, too.

Yes, that is a small dog in that man's bike basket.

One thing that immediately stood out to me was that most of the bikes I saw weren't that nice. They were dingy, wrapped in odds and ends, and extremely utilitarian. The only "nice" bikes I saw were the roadies in Central Park. I realized this probably evolved as an anti-theft approach, seeing as how stories of the prevalence of bike theft in the city had reached me long before I was planning my trip. Along the same lines, I didn't see any of the cheap, lightweight locks that people use here in Charleston - people locked up their bikes with freakin' chains. It was quite a contrast, considering that people where I live often just leave bikes unlocked for quick stops.

Apparently in New York, if a thief can't steal your bike, they'll just mangle it out of spite...

I also saw my first ghost bike, which was sobering. If you aren't familiar with the concept, ghost bikes are old bikes that are painted all-white and left at the site of a fatal bike crash as a memorial to the rider and as a memento mori to others. I think it's a wonderful way to simultaneously pay tribute to a lost cyclist and to remind others to be more cautious of people on bikes.

All-in-all, my wife and I had an incredible time in New York. The city is full of a ridiculous amount of things to do, not to mention a fascinatingly diverse array of people. I actually loved Manhattan far more than I expected to, and even the crazy traffic wasn't so intimidating after the first day. By the end of the trip, we were crossing streets on "Do Not Walk" signs with the locals and I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could even learn to ride a bike among all the chaos. But that's for another trip...

-Keegan