Bicycle Diaries

by David Byrne

  I’m not saying this is all bad. Possibly the fact that this area had developed into a single-use neighborhood helped make it so nefarious and dangerous at night. Hell’s Kitchen. Until recently the west side of my neighborhood was notorious for junkies and hookers, mainly transvestites. (The poor transvestites are always getting shoved from one neglected zone to another.)

  Now there are towering condos going up on every block. The neighborhood has become safer, but sadly other little businesses are leaving as well—one by one. There were two fishmongers nearby on Ninth Avenue until a few months ago. Now there’s just one. There were still two butcher shops until recently, but one of those has just closed. The fruit and vegetable market run by a Latino family closed last year and another Thai restaurant took its place. There are now three Thai restaurants in a two-block area.

  I suspect that many of these changes—not all of them for the worse in the case of my area—are mainly the result of those legal and zoning changes, invisible top-down decisions that over time have sweeping effects. We’re not even aware of some of them unless we attend local meetings, so it’s a little hard to see how they are going to affect the city. But many of us instinctively recognize the things that are worth fighting for and when we see them getting wiped out then we react—hoping it’s not too late.

  So, though I didn’t plan to, I’ve become a bit of an advocate. I agree with Jan Gehl: Though I ride on them, the New York streets are not ready this year for everyone to deal with, not just yet. New York shouldn’t be flooded with cyclists overnight. My recommendations to friends of where to ride in New York are limited to the streets, parks, and promenades where it does work. And there are more and more of them.

  I’m in my midfifties, so I can testify that biking as a way of getting around is not something only for the young and energetic. You don’t really need the spandex, and unless you want it to be, biking is not necessarily all that strenuous. It’s the liberating feeling—the physical and psychological sensation—that is more persuasive than any practical argument. Seeing things from a point of view that is close enough to pedestrians, vendors, and storefronts combined with getting around in a way that doesn’t feel completely divorced from the life that occurs on the streets is pure pleasure.

  Observing and engaging in a city’s life—even for a reticent and often shy person like me—is one of life’s great joys. Being a social creature—it is part of what it means to be human.

  Appendix

  Security Tips

  Hal from Bicycle Habitat demonstrated for an audience at Town Hall how easy it is to cut a cable (five seconds) or saw through a U-lock (a minute) or break a chain with a grinder (four minutes). Who carries grinders with them and where would they plug them in, you might ask? It happens. Not as much as it used to, but it does. Hal’s advice is to use as much security (more than one type of lock if possible, then they’ll have to have multiple tools) as you can bear and ride as crappy a bike as you can—if you’re going to lock it up outside.

  I think he’s right, but maybe two locks is a little extreme. I got some security bolts recently that require specific tools to unscrew. The bolts replace the wheel quick releases and the seat release and they seem to work—neither my wheels nor my seat have been stolen in a while. A few companies make these. You get a special key-type thing and the bolts are really hard to undo without the key. The drawback is if you need to take your wheel off for repairs, well, you need to have the key with you.

  As far as locks go, one bike store here recommends a stubby U-lock as opposed to the long ones, as they say it’s hard to get a pipe in the tiny gap left by the short ones to leverage and break the lock. That’s working pretty well so far.

  Maintenance

  I once got a really good bike, with expensive gears and brakes—the whole deal. But keeping it in tune and running smoothly was such a never-ending process that when it was eventually stolen (actually only the front half was stolen) I didn’t bother to replace it. It was like a purebred animal: it needed constant care and was very finicky. If you’re a foreign sports car guy who loves tinkering in the garage, then you’ll love those high-end bikes.

  Helmets and Clothing

  Helmets are notoriously uncool-looking. I’ve tried different things as helmets. English riding helmets seem pretty safe (lots of Styrofoam padding) and they are very stylish (they’re velvet covered and have a satin bow in the back!) but they have zero ventilation. God knows what those ladies’ and gentlemen’s hair looks like when they get back from the hunt! Ewww.

  I tried a (baseball) batter’s helmet once too—that covers one ear (the ear facing the pitcher). They stay on without a strap (by hugging your head tightly), which works for batters, as they toss them off after three minutes at the plate, but riding in one for even a short while gave me a splitting headache.

  I tried decorating my helmets too. One year I saw a Puerto Rican man selling raccoon tails out of a shopping cart. I bought one and tied it to the back of my helmet. Davy Crockett! King of the Wild Frontier! That helmet got stolen really quickly.

  In the winter and on cold days I wear a skateboard helmet. They cover a lot of your head and they don’t have holes in them so they’re warm. When the weather gets milder I wear a more expensive racing model with a lot of holes in it, which doesn’t prevent helmet hair, but allows my scalp to breathe a little. My friend C just got a collapsible helmet in Japan—leather strips filled with tough cushion material that flattens out when it’s not on your head.

  Spandex—I’ve never tried it. I do have one pair of semi-baggy sports shorts with a crotch pad. We guys have read about bikes and the prostate. I only wear those if I know I’m going on a really long or strenuous ride. Only once in a rare while have I had numb nuts. It’s a freaky feeling, and the pad prevents that from happening.

  I find that unless it’s really hot out I can dress pretty normally, which often means long pants and a shirt with a collar. If I relax and don’t push the speed then I don’t turn into a fountain—and can attend meetings, concerts, and social events without worrying too much. (I did have a shower installed at my office/studio—in case I arrive there drenched in sweat and have to look nice for a meeting. I had to clear it with the buildings department, as it’s a commercial building and they thought I might be constructing a secret rental apartment. I actually haven’t used it much—you can ask the folks in the office if that’s been a problem.) I do stick to the bike paths along the river as much as I can, as it’s maybe ten degrees cooler away from the traffic. Yup, traffic not only pollutes, it also makes our cities hotter. Not everyone can ride along a river, but riding close to trees does much the same thing.

  In the spring and fall I can even wear a suit or a jacket if the event requires it. If I don’t do any strenuous pedaling then I am just fine. I do either roll up my right trouser leg or throw a trouser clip on it, as not all bikes have those guards to keep the chain grease off your pants leg on that side.

  Finally, I know it’s even more nerdy than riding a bike, but I got a removable basket and it has really worked out. I can pick up groceries on the way home, toss my bag or backpack in there if I’m carrying a laptop or something semiheavy like that. Besides taking the weight off my body it means I don’t get a sweaty back from wearing a backpack.

  Travel

  I have tried a few different folding bikes, but I haven’t tried them all, so this is not a consumer report. I have a prejudice against the folding ones with little wheels, though I began my music touring with a small folding Peugeot with little wheels and it held up for many years. I now mainly use full-sized folding bikes that feature some form of suspension—either in the front fork or the seat. I once got really sore wrists and I think it was from riding a lot on cobblestones in SoHo without suspension. For a guitar player this was worrying. Montague and Dahon both make folding bikes with full-sized wheels. Bromp ton, Birdy, Moulton, and Dahon all make folding bikes with small wheels.

  The full-sized bikes fold into a
large suitcase with wheels (that also has room for a helmet), which can be checked as a second piece of luggage. Once upon a time you were allowed two pieces of luggage with no extra charge—that’s rare now. I’ve gotten stuck with $125 sports-equipment charges (I think this charge was meant for skis or golf bags), so I’d think twice about throwing in the bike for a short trip these days. If I’m going to be somewhere for a week it is not only practical and fun but also economical, even with the baggage charge.

  An alternative to all this luggage and packing is to rent a bike when you get to where you’re going. It’s getting easier to do this locally. I recently rented a bike in Berlin for a week and in Salvador, Brazil, for two days.

  Organizations and Links

  Transportation Alternatives

  http://www.transalt.org

  Gehl Architects

  http://www.gehlarchitects.com

  EMBARQ The WRI Center for Sustainable Transport

  http://embarq.wri.org/en/index.aspx

  Institute for Transportation & Development Policy

  http://itdp.org

  New York City Department of Transportation

  http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/home/home.shtml

  Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy

  http://www.istp.murdoch.edu.au

  Additional New York City Bike Rack Designs by David Byrne

  THE. CHELSEA

  THE HIPSTER

  THE JERSEY

  THE COFFEE CUP

  THE MOMA

  THE VILLAGER

  THE WALL ST

  THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY PLANETARIUM

  THE BOWERY