Category: Cycling

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpchan/9538823169/

I’m the first to admit that I don’t really need a new bike. Between my trusty Bike Friday and a Citi Bike membership, I’m well-covered when it comes to access to two-wheeled transportation.

But my Bike Friday turned twenty this year (I bought it second-hand in 2005) and it may finally be showing its age. So I’ve been looking for an affordable way to let the Bike Friday transition into semi-retirement. The goal was to find a good-quality folding bike that could be my commuting and grocery-hauling workhorse, which would let me use the Friday as my stripped-down, go-fast recreational bike.

Introducing my new used 2012 Tern Link D8. I found this bike on Craigslist from a woman who was leaving New York. She’d purchased the bike last fall after Hurricane Sandy knocked out the subways downtown but stopped using it once the trains returned. The dust all over the bike seemed to back up her story, so I took the plunge. For $280 in cash, I got the Tern, a Kryptonite lock, and a Bern helmet.

The Tern is extremely sturdy and easily carried 25 pounds of Trader Joe’s groceries over bumpy Manhattan streets. I hope I get a good twenty years out of it. And another twenty from the Bike Friday now that it doesn’t have to carry produce anymore.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpchan/8871685860/

I sadly missed the debut of Citi Bike yesterday, but on my last full-day in Houston I catch something equally cycleriffic: a Houston B-cycle.

Who knew Houston, of all places, had a bike share system? I won’t have a chance to try it out on this trip, but I hope it’s even better and bigger the next time I visit.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpchan/8771667725/

I’m no good with puzzles, but I’m forced to do a moderately challenging one the night before every trip that I bring my Bike Friday on.

It’s been a while since I’ve travelled with the bike so I was a bit rusty at the packing tonight. It took about forty-five minutes to get it right. (I think my personal best is twenty on a lanai in Honolulu.)

The photo inside the suitcase is nominally for TSA so that they can get the bike back in. But truth be told, I use it too. It gives me confidence that I’ve solved the puzzle before.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpchan/8626810048/

A week after my crash, I take my trusty Bike Friday to bfold for repairs…and to check out possibilities for a new bike.

I love the vibe and service here and I’ve been a loyal customer since 2006. If you’re looking at bikes, consider a folder. And if you’re shopping for folders, definitely consider getting it at bfold.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpchan/8606624172/

Cycling is my favorite way to get around NYC. But I fully recognize that biking can be dangerous, so I ride conservatively. I stop at red lights, I stay out of the door zone, and I don’t take unnecessary risks.

Still, you can’t protect yourself from every eventuality. And last night, none of my usual caution was enough to prevent the proverbial freak accident from happening.

I was biking back uptown around 10 p.m. after seeing Room 237 at IFC Center in the Village. (It’s fun, go check it out.) I took my usual route through Hudson River Park, one the best bike paths in New York.

I biked up through Riverside Park towards the 91 St & Riverside Drive entrance. It was dark and nobody else was around. It’s a fairly steep hill leading up to that entrance, so I stood up to pedal harder on my single-speed Bike Friday.

Suddenly, my left foot gave way and hit the ground hard. Still strapped into the pedal, my foot slid on the pavement and I could feel myself falling. Helplessly. My throat slammed into the handlebar and I saw a bright flash of white on my way towards the ground.

I got up immediately and thought I was unscathed until I looked at my right hand. It was bloodied and the fingernail was hanging off the ring finger along with some flaps of skin.

I started to worry that I was more seriously injured than I realized. I was feeling lightheaded. My glasses were falling off. I fumbled to get my phone out of my pannier bag.

As I answered the 911 operator’s questions, with my free hand I struggled to gather the pieces of bike strewn around the ground and put them into the pannier. The bike kept falling over. My glasses were really loose. The operator asked where I was but I couldn’t tell her exactly because I was too far from the entrance to see the street.

I tried to sound calm on the phone but I was more than a little panicked about how badly hurt I might be. Not wanting to wait in the dark park, I pushed my bike up the hill. Once I could see the street, I was able to give them the exact intersection.

The ambulance arrived around six minutes later. The EMTs asked if I could breathe OK as there was a bruise on the front of my neck. They bandaged my finger. They took down my info and about 15 minutes later we were at the emergency room at St Luke’s-Roosevelt. The EMT rang the bell on my bike as he wheeled it out of the ambulance.

The E.R. staff were as attentive and cheerful as can be. I was undressed and put into a gown. My finger was looked at. I was repeatedly asked if I could breathe OK. They took X-rays of my neck and my right hand. I spent a lot of time being wheeled around on the bed to various rooms. The E.R. was much quieter and orderly than I expected.

My friend Sharon arrived to keep me company and to take, at my insistence, some gory photos and video of the doctor cutting off the skin and suturing the nail back into place. (No, I’m not posting them.)

Three hours after I arrived, Sharon and I left the hospital. I threw my bloodied helmet in a trash can on the street. We were both starving so we walked over to Tom’s Diner for a meal. It was loud and packed at 2:30 a.m. with Columbia students.

We ate mostly in silence while I replayed the events in my head. The anesthesia was wearing off and my finger was throbbing. I took off my loose glasses. The left earpiece was cracked.

We looked at the crank arm that had come off the bike. The pedal was securely fastened but the spindle of the bottom bracket had broken off, leaving a jagged edge.

“Metal fatigue,” I said. “It’s a twenty year old bike.”

Then I got quiet again. The age of the bike explained everything and nothing at all. There was nothing I could have done to prevent this. Had I been riding in traffic, the results might have been tragic. It was sobering to think how random it all was. That’s what a freak accident is, I guess.

At our waiter’s suggestion, Sharon and I shared a slice of apple pie a la mode with butter pecan ice cream for dessert. It was very good. He also suggested I walk instead of bike from now on. I politely declined.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpchan/7031077093/

(Bowery & Hester St, Manhattan)

If you’re a 1) transit nerd, 2) bike geek, and 3) frugal, you won’t find a better souvenir of the Bay Area than a free Caltrain bike destination tag. These plastic freebies are used for grouping bikes by destination in the bike car and available from the conductors onboard the train.

I only hope nobody tries to steal my tag back here in NYC.

(Wythe St, Brooklyn)

Biking and transit are perfect partners. The Bay Area is so lucky that the folks at CalTrain not only understand this but also have the resources to do something about it.

(CalTrain Bike Car, San Jose, CA)

Grocery shopping via bike is one of my favorite small pleasures. It’s hard to buy more than you need, and being able to burn calories on the trip allows a little extra indulgence when it comes to the actual shopping. Win-win.

(Fairway Harlem, Manhattan)

Bike happiness is assembling your folder on a lanai in Hawaii.

(Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel, Honolulu, HI)

Looking for a bike, or got one to donate? Check out Recycle-A-Bicycle first. They’ve got cool classes on bike repair, too.

(Recycle-A-Bicycle, Brooklyn)