A room full of messengers, cycling advocates, commuters and fans turned up for this past weekend’s Bike Short Films at Public Assembly. Out of the 17 films, there was a good mix of stuff from the stupid to the serious. It was fun to see the messengers go all silent when a Streetfilm went up and the advocates do the same for the trick videos but all in all there was a love of bicycles and mutual respect in the room. Hats off to the organizers for bringing everyone together. Scroll down for even more video love.
The winner: Shut Your Mouth – Fake Money feat. G. Nasty
One of my favorites: Pedal Away From Global Decay
Ghostbikes put out a hauntingly beautifully short, which will hopefully be online soon. In mean time, check out some of the other shorts:
Tonight! January 25: The Great Williamsburg Bike Wars: A Public Debate w/Caroline Samponaro, Heather Loop, Isaac Abraham @ Pete’s Candy Store – 709 Lorimer St Brooklyn NY, 7:30pm.
Just before Christmas, 2009, a war broke out on the bike lanes of Williamsburg. On one side: the Hasidic Jewish community of the Southside, who had advocated–successfully–for Mayor Bloomberg to remove the Bedford Ave Bike lane. On the other side: A coalition of bikesters, whose defiance led them to re-paint the bike lanes, and threaten a topless ride in protest (it was snowed out in the blizzard of ‘09). Moderating: Hasidic bike enthusiast Baruch Herzfeld.
Saturday January 30th: Haiti Benefit Race @ Tompkins Square Park followed by an after party w/goldsprints @ Bklyn Wrek Room – 940 Flushing Ave Brooklyn NY
Saturday January 30th: Transporation Alternatives Brooklyn Commitee hosts their monthly ride. Check the TA calendar for route and time closer to the date.
Eric Corriel, a Brooklyn based artist has created an interactive video installation that explores the history of bicycle culture in Brooklyn from 1880 to today. The piece is viewable at sundown on Clinton and Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights from now until January 3rd, 2010 but check the calendar to be sure.
He’s looking for photo and video submissions from the cycling community. Help him out and become a part of the installation! [via Brooklyn Cycling]
1. Biking Rules PSA and Film Competition – Nov 17th
Transportation Alternatives presents an evening screening of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to promote why Biking Rules in NYC. Come see over the premiere of jury-selected PSA entries at BAM Cinematek. The evening will include prizes and a special reception afterward with free beer courtesy of the Brooklyn Brewery. Tickets are $11.
2. Cranksgiving – Nov 21st
An annual charity ride that collects food for the homeless and funds for City Harvest and the New York Bike Messenger Foundation. It’s been happening for over a decade now and has spread to at least a dozen other cities. But this is where it started, in New York City. Free registration for the race is at 2pm on November 21, and the race will begin at 3pm.
3. Weekend Bike Ride in Cobble Hill – Nov 8th
The Cobble Hill Association and Brooklyn Greenway Initiative are hosting a 10-mile casual bike ride that will start at Cobble Hill Park and pass through Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, the Columbia Waterfront District, Red Hook, and Carroll Gardens then loop back to Cobble Hill. RSVP cobblehillbikeride@gmail.com
Alright so this isn’t an event but Brokelyn sent around @Bushwickwill in search of the cheapest bike repairs in Brooklyn for his girlfriend’s crappy bike. Check it out, it’s good stuff.
Got any other bike related events I should add to the calendar? Comment below!
The beautifully designed Bikestation, a facility that provides secure bike parking, changing rooms, lockers, bike rental, bike repair and retail sales has opened in Washington DC.
It will be staffed 66 hours per week and available to members 24/7. The Bikestation location at Union Station allows commuters to take public transportation to the station, pick up their bicycles and go to work, shopping or entertainment. [via Bikestation]
Sunny 60 degree weather in October spent on a bicycle with a group of friendly people had to have been the best way to end a season of rides here on Brooklyn by Bike!
Our Gears & Grub ride with VendrTV hit famed street food spots in Brooklyn from Sunset Park Chinatown to the Red Hook ball fields and the Brooklyn Flea.
[For more photos from the ride check out Flickr. Were you on the ride? Add you photos to our Flickr pool or to our Facebook event page! Map is below.]
Thanks to everyone who came out! I had a blast. We’ll do it again next season (unless I get that winter ride together)!
This past Saturday, we completed an epic Tour de Taco Ride through Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. The ride itself was around 36 miles. Though nine stops were planned, we only made it to six taco joints – a pretty decent showing nonetheless. (See the list and map below.) Along the way each taco was rated on a scale of 1 -5 in the categories of tortilla, filling, guac and spices.
[For more photos from the ride check out our Flickr. Were you on the ride? Add you photos to our Flickr pool!]
Personally I thought Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos, a tortilla factory and taco place, killed the competition. Their tacos had the best marinated meat and a crispy soft taco shell. That combined with the ambiance of sitting in an actual factory, placed it high on many lists.
Once the Tour de Taco ratings are complied, I believe the winning taco joint will receive an award. We’ll keep you posted!
Here’s the list of taco places with the tour map below
01. Taqueria y Fonda – Amsterdam btwn 107th & 108th, Manhattan
02. Tortilleria Nixtamal – Corona, Queens
03. Papacitos – Greenpoint, BK
04. Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos – Bushwick, BK
05. Tacos Matamoros – Sunset Park, BK
06. Tacos Nuevo Mexico – Park Slope, BK View Larger Map
Last Tuesday I headed over to see David Byrne speak about cycling on a panel with Janet Sadik-Khan, Paul Steely White of Transportation Alternatives and Mitchell Joachim. Byrne’s most entertaining bit consisted of showing slides of large urban/suburban street intersections and saying something like, “What’s going on here? There’s no people!” He wasn’t the best speaker but the panel was informative and entertaining nonetheless. Janet Sadik-Khan was the true highlight but to be fair, she talked to New Yorkers about how great NYC cycling infrastructure is and how great it is going to be. How could you not love that?
Though it is technically legal, cops are giving tickets to cyclists now for not using the bike lane . Thanks to @mattupstate for the note.
I tweeted that I’d prefer if they’d start ticketing those who ran stoplights first, self included. This caused 20+ people to reply telling me that I was stupid or that stoplights are not really stops for cyclists and they’d rather see cops ticket cars parked in bike lanes. Can’t really disagree with some of that but I do know we as cyclists have got to slow down for pedestrians. I’ve made a conscious decision to do so and have noticed how pedestrians grimace when they see a cyclist approaching even when the ped has right of way. It’s not right.
