Hooray for flight delays!

A family of five from Florida (originally from Queens and the Lower East Side- LES) missed Sunday's Tour C because of a flight delay but we were able to hook up for a great ride in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn on Tuesday! Early in the day we marveled at how much history has been maintained in the West Village. Sadly, Chumley's does not fall into this category. This is the first glimpse I've gotten inside since the interior chimney collapsed just over a year ago and it was very cool. The hope is that this bar will eventually be restored and, as you can see, the workers seemed excited about the progress.Towards the end of the ride, I relinquished my tour guide role and these former New York natives led me through the LES. At one point we happened upon a TV filming starring Adam Goldberg, who they fondly referred to as the Hebrew Hammer. I like Adam Goldberg as much as the next man, but I'm not so sure Ill see the movie.
After being nudged away by the TV crew, my new tour guides made the LES's Jewish history come alive. The mural you see below was painted in 1973 by the mother of this family (pictured here-- the only one wearing a helmet!) and other members of the Jewish community at the time. The mural is a collage of Jewish-American history containing the faces of people in the neighborhood. My group even made me guess which one was her! As the neighborhood changes, we hope that such valuable pieces of this rich culture can be preserved.

Mayor Bloomberg Recommends

Hi, my name is Levi. I am a Bike The Big Apple tour guide who will also be sharing experiences from my bike tours. This is my first posting......
For the first time in Bike The Big Apple's history...... a customer got a totally candid photo of Mayor Bloomberg. And the best part was that he was in a tree of all places. Our tour stopped at City Hall to talk about the mayor's workplace when we were pleasently surprised to see our city's mayor posing in a tree in the backyard of City Hall. He was being photographed for a piece in Time Magazine by professional photographers. He was also photographed by Jeroen Smits from our tour (above left photo). After several minutes of trying to look as mayoral as possible, Bloomberg carefully stepped out of the tree onto a ladder and decended back to the earth. There was a young couple that had just married across the street at the Municipal Building whom were watching the mayor just as we were. The newlywed bride said to Bloomberg, "Mr. Mayor, we just got married! Could you take a photo with us?" He smiled and came over to pose for a picture with the couple. Bloomberg asked them where they were going on their honeymoon and the woman told the mayor that they were going to Milan (photo below). Mayor Bloomberg told them that he was recently in Milan and then proceeded to recommend various restaurants to eat at in Milan. Just the idea of being recommended to go to a restaurant by a billionaire mayor is hilarious and we were fortunate enough to witness this exchange actually occur. Great photos Jeroen!

Eccentric Eddie Lives On

Our day began with what could be our last stop ever at the 'Toy Tower' in the East Village. Sadly, this local landmark is due to be torn down any day now. Although, knowing the way the city moves, I wouldn't be surprised if it hung around for a bit. Here, our groups sheds a tear for Eddie, its creator, who's mischievous ways seemed to permeate the city on this spring Tuesday.Eddie's eccentric spirit stuck with us the rest of the day as we encountered one odd thing after another. In DUMBO we met a woman walking her piglets!? I'm not sure why they squirmed away from me, but after one sniff they acted like I was the one who smelled and headed in the other direction.
In Red Hook, I intended to take the group to one of my favorite stops--- a huge warehouse full of cars used for movie shoots. Last week, this warehouse had police cars and buses from every decade; pimped out cars and burnt out cars; taxi cabs and Cadillacs; and it was home to Thomas the Train. This week it was all gone. It was amazing. Just one big empty warehouse about 1 km in length. I have a hard time imagining how they removed all those cars in one week and I wonder where they are now. After snooping around a bit, a van pulled in the entrance and suspiciously approached. Upon realizing that we meant no harm, he explained that the "City Office of Redevelopment" was evicting them and then he tried to sell us their old office furniture.
After leaving the warehouse, we looped around the back of the building only to stumble upon something else I'd never seen before. Moored to this normally empty Red Hook shore line was looked to be a massive Naval submarine. My guess is that it also had something to do with movie shoots although I really have no idea.I have looked into these things (the disappearance of the cars and the random appearance of the 'submarine') but found nothing so far. If anyone hears anything, let me know. I look forward to the new changes that are sure to await us next time we're down in Red Hook.

More bikes on Mothers Day!

Thirteen riders from Holland, Belgium, Denmark, and Germany joined Wendy and I for Mothers Day in Harlem. Although Mothers Day falls on different dates in each of these countries they had no problem getting into the spirit of the day. The energy in Harlem seems to have this effect on the even the biggest 'Mothers Day scrooges' (if there is such a thing). I did not have my camera today but I hope that pictures will soon be provided by other riders because if there is ever an occasion for your Sunday best, it certainly Mothers Day in Harlem! Last Saturday, 46 Dutch fietsers (aka cyclists) joined Levi and I on a great Brooklyn ride. We all met for lunch on Bedford Avenue. If you've ever been on Bedford Avenue you'd know that there's hardly space to lock one bike, let alone 50. However, Levi, Mark, Craig, and I were up to the task and found a great empty wall along a Brooklyn Industries mural (see above).

In order to fit 50 bikes on this heavily trafficed sidewalk, our bikes on May 3rd needed to be a lot more organized than the bike chaos you see in the bike painting above. I know my loyal readers come to this blog to read about the bike tours, but I have to digress for a minute and share the newest addition to my apartment. Thanks, Mom, for the great birthday gift and happy Mothers Day!

Back to our great ride last Saturday: These fietsers were definately my kind of people-- they were in town to ride for several days in a row AND they had no qualms about bringing their lunch leftovers along with them while riding! A few hours after lunch, we all enjoyed second lunch on the beautiful Pratt campus. Ride. Eat. Ride. Eat. Ride. Who could ask for more?

Bike Month Begins!

May is bike month in New York City and business is certainly beginning to reflect this. Despite the threat of rain and the chilly weather on Friday, all 49 participants showed up for a Tour A that had reached its capacity. Levi, Pat, Richard, and I split these riders from all over the world into 4 groups and took to the streets-- ready with bags full of ponchos, hats, and gloves (in May!).
While the sweeping views from Long Island City were hampered a bit by the fog, this rider from Berlin still took the opportunity got a photo of the U.N. with her Subway pass. You'll have to join us on Tour A to find out why in the world she'd do something like that!

If the group wasn't blown away by the great views that Tour A normally offers, our visit to 5pointz got them excited. Fifteen people literally gasped in unison as we entered the rear courtyard of this artist enclave and graffiti heaven.

Later in the day, we took the opportunity to warm up in one of my favorite galleries in Williamsburg. This month they are featuring remote control plants as part of a larger exhibit. I'm glad all of our participants were better at riding bikes than they were at driving these durable little remote control plants. Those things took a beating.

Stay tuned for more posts from recent weeks. Its been busy and there's lots more to share!

The Belgian Bumrush

So far, the 2008 Bike the Big Apple scene has most certainly been dominated by the Belgians. I'm not sure why (or why now), but I am almost inclined to believe the Belgians are becoming the new Dutch! So, to all of you Dutch 'fietsers' (aka cyclists) out there, you need to come back and represent and stop leading us to believe that Belgium is the bigger cycling country!

Last weekend was no exception to this Belgian trend and I was overtaken by Belgians on both days! On Saturday George, John, and I led 17 ever-curious Belgian university students and their professor Alex on a great ride through much of Upper Manhattan. Overlooking the Hell's Gate and Triborough Bridges we had a great discussion about the portion of the East River originally known as Hellegat. Although this term was coined by the Dutch, the Belgians had no problem helping to clarify its origins!

After a great lunch in Harlem, we encountered several passionate protesters on 125th Street. In the same vein as Adam Clayton Powell, Jr in the 1930s, local residents have been protesting the plan to rezone this major thoroughfare. A few days after this tour, a comprise was reached. I'd like to think that these protests had a positive effect on the future of Harlem and I hope that this compromise can help the neighborhood to retain its character despite all the new money pouring in.

Shortly after Harlem, we made our way up to Morningside Heights and Columbia University. The Belgian students felt right at home in the center of campus and took a bit of time to mingle with their New York peers. Sunday afternoon brought us 47 French-Belgians on a corporate trip. Pat, Levi, I split them into three groups. Despite the size of the groups, these guys really flew through the city. In a three hour window, we devoured over 150 dumplings and 30 sesame pancakes in Chinatown, stopped in for a short game of bike polo on the Lower East Side (it was their first time playing but these guys were REALLY good), crossed both the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, got 6 flat tires, and still made it back to the bike shop right on time for all 47 Belgians to roll out in 6 stretch limos!

Father & Son Flats!

The small group of 5 for this past Tuesday's Tour D did not mean it was an uneventful ride. The day produced so many great stories and pictures, it was hard to decide which ones to pick for this posting. Three solo riders from London, Illinois, and Scotland and a father and son from the Netherlands joined Anna and I on our exploration of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.
At the southern tip of Broadway the elder Dutchman (although, he would certainly scoff at being referred to in this way!) had the best reaction to 'the Wall Street Bull' that I've ever seen. I guess he thought this might get the market back on track.Shortly after Wall Street, we discovered the great views that can be revealed when a building is knocked down. I love this perspective on the Woolworth building, although it won't be around for long--- once a new building goes up, Nassau Street will go back to being the narrow, shady alley it always has been.
Momentarily turning away from all of the fascinating urban sights, we found nature in Brooklyn Heights! This is one of three Dawn Redwoods in the neighborhood that were planted here back in the 1930s with seeds brought from China.
But, as we see every Tuesday, its hard to ignore the urban chaos in lower Manhattan in the middle of the work week. In the financial district the construction you see above made us all wonder how anything gets done in this dense city.
And, of course, with this construction comes hazards to the cyclist. Towards the end of the ride the jovial father and son duo both got simultaneous flats-- both caused by big construction staples! They did not let this slow them down, though, and were eager to help with the repairs. They also made it up to us at the end of the ride by treating everyone to a round of beer. Yes, that's right, I said the Dutchmen bought US beer! What a day!