I took this picture on my bicycle on 5th Avenue on Friday.
First, the good news.
I went to get lunch at the deli down the street on Friday. Since I had been out riding my bike through Central Park, I decided rather than go all the way home I would just park my bike in front of the deli, get lunch and then go home. Why go all the way upstairs to put my bike away and then have to turn around and go outside again. I can just do it all at once. Since it was lunch time (around 12:30pm or so) there were lots of business people out and about getting lunch in midtown. I figured it will only take a couple minutes to get my sandwich and a root beer so I just left my bike parked up against a light pole. I didn't bother to lock it up. Who's going to steal it? There were three other delivery bikes from a Japanese restaurant next door and I've been more trusting lately. I mean who's going to walk up and run off with my bike? Slim chance. I go inside, order my sandwich, wait around while they make it, get my bottle of root beer, pay and then head outside. I must have been thinking about something else and was completely lost in thought since I had my lunch and I was hungry. Either that or Alzheimer's. I just walked 1/2 block home. I didn't even give my bike a second though. What was I thinking? I was totally distracted. I must have been thinking about Michael Jackson or something. I left my bike totally unattended on the sidewalk.
Hours and hours later...
It's 10:30pm and I decide on the spur of the moment that I want to go out and see a movie. I'm spontaneous like that. A quick check of Moviefone.com and "The Hurt Locker" is playing at 68th and Broadway at 10:45. I've walked there plenty of times, but there is absolutely no way I'm going to get there by 10:45 if I walk. I hate missing the previews. Oh, I know, I'll just ride my bike. It will take about 5-10 minutes and I'll get there in plenty of time. Ok. And then...hmmm, where's my bike? Oh no! It's on 56th Street, down the block, unlocked! Oops. What are the chances it's still there? 15%? 10%? 2%? I rush down the street and ... there it is. But it's locked up to the other three delivery bikes. There is a note taped to the handlebars. "Call Me. Your Bike Not Lock. Reg." I call the number and five seconds later there is the coolest Japanese delivery guy in New York City who has just come out of the Japanese restaurant next door standing there right in front of me on his cell phone. After a few moments, he unlocks my bike as though it were the most natural thing to do. Of course I tip him and I speed off towards the UWS to the movie theater. Wow. This is not something that happens every day, especially not in a city like this one.
This was the good news.
It was a near perfect, beautiful summer night, ideal weather for a quick bike ride up Central Park South. I get to the movie theater right on time. Everything is smooth as can be. On my way to the the movies, I think about what a valuable lesson I have learned. You can be sure that this time I take the extra time to properly lock my bike up to a No Parking sign in front of the theater.
I go into the movie, quickly buy my ticket at the kiosk and get a coupon for $1 Milk Duds. Things are going well. The movie is crowded, but not too crowded. I get a good seat. The movie is really great. An enjoyable, fast moving action/war movie about a small group of bomb experts during the Iraq war. Super direction, interesting story, compelling characters. $12.50 to see a movie in New York is retardly overpriced, but it was a good movie. It's certainly a hell of a lot better than "Public Enemies" which I saw at a screening last week. One complaint: Loews Lincoln Square is completely disgusting. Please clean up the refreshment counters. The management and staff there are terrible at making it a good experience. I'll take pictures the next time I go there. You'll see what I mean and be horrified at how dirty the area is around where you get your straws and napkins. Anyway, I digress.
Now to the bad news.
So I get out of the theater and on the way down the escalator I'm thinking about how cool it was that Reg, the random Japanese delivery food guy, saved my bike by thoughtfully locking it up. Very nice move and definitely not what you might expect. I get to the revolving doors and head out of the Loews Lincoln Square theater towards my bike locked up on 68th Street and...where's my bike? It was just there two hours ago. It can't be missing, can it? As I look up and down the block, confused for a second as to where I might have locked up my bike, I realize there is an even much better question to ask. Where's the hell is the No Parking sign where my bike was locked? It's missing. And then much to my chagrin, I spot the 10 foot tall No Parking sign lying flat on the sidewalk. There is a hole in the ground where the sign used to be. Someone (or several someones) has taken the street sign right out of the ground, placed it on the sidewalk and walked off with my beloved bicycle. My bike is long gone. Beyond long gone. Stolen. Ripped Off. Vanished. I walked home. You would think that Loews would have some sort of security cams posted outside the theater. It was right there in front of the movie theater. I think the least that they could do is get the street sign fixed. Where's my bike?
Bike Parking Tip #1: Make sure the sign is not loose and can be ripped right out of the ground before you lock your bike to such a sign.
Spotted in Central Park. Four things to note:
Taking a well-deserved nap after a sunny Saturday spent biking tourists around midtown. 58th Street and Broadway. 6:15pm.
The friendly bicycle repair man.
Everyone in NYC seems to love it when lunch gets delivered. I prefer to get out of the office. At any rate, here's a typical delivery of about 20 lunch bags en route to some midtown Manhattan office tower. Looks like it's going to be sushi for lunch.
This bike for two converted into some sort of delivery/storage vehicle looks like a good way to shuttle stuff up and down 6th Avenue. Though I'm not sure what to make of the stuffed snake twisted around the frame. I think that's the point. Highly interesting fashion statement going on here with the sweatpants actually worn under the 3/4 length cargo capri pants, of the moment camouflage cap and always in style puffy purple sweatshirt (click the image for a better view).
Today was one of those days when it seems everyone was breaking out their weird three-wheeled vehicles and taking them for a spin around Central Park.
A quick tour of Central Park is best accomplished with a pink helmet and matching flip flops.
This is a totally crazy bike that you crank pedal with your hands. Rider in the back basket is totally optional. Definitely a unique way to get around in Manhattan.
I took this picture on my bicycle on 5th Avenue on Friday.
I saw this bicyclist on 42nd Street. I liked his folding bike. It's a Strida 5.0. They're available at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) store. This is the type of bike that I'm seeing a lot more of ever since NYC became so bicycle friendly. I didn't see it at the time, but it looks like he's got on a gold solar powered watch or is that a calculator watch. Either way it's cool. Not to mention perfectly rolled up jeans. So hip.
This is one example of the appropriate way to wear high heels while riding a bike on a Saturday afternoon across 5th Avenue and 22nd Street. Her shoes match the purse and flower headgear. I would seriously recommend she replace the flower with a helmet and chain that purse down in the basket. 
Anything can go missing in NYC, even the second seat on your tandem bicycle. Park Avenue in front of the Istituto Di Italiano Cultura.
A pile of bikes in midtown early in the morning.
This appears to be one of those times when you notice something and then you start seeing it everywhere. I saw another one of those ridiculous David Byrne-designed red bike racks in front of the Museum of Modern Art on 54th Street today. It doesn't look like anyone has ever used this bike rack even though it makes a nice marker for the local hot dog cart. Who is going to use this as a bike rack with a hot dog stand right up next to it? There were lots of tourists buying pretzels at 10:30am.
As much as I like the idea of adding bike racks in the city, these just don't do it for me. David Byrne, former lead singer of the Talking Heads, designed a bunch of these quirky racks that are temporarily installed for a few months around the city. This one is fittingly located on 5th Avenue in front of Bergdorf Goodman. The super obvious point here is the shoe department at Bergdorf's - where every "Sex and The City" watching fashionista gets their shoe fix taken care of. It's a much needed rack but I doubt it promotes more bike riding. Why? No one parks their bike on 5th Avenue. I totally agree with this post.
A blue bicycle with some wonderful curves. Somewhere in the East Village.
Impeccably stylish bike rider on a late Saturday afternoon in Midtown across from The Plaza Hotel. (Click on middle picture for more detail.) The white tires and sneakers are very 2008. Multi-colored streamers are a great touch too. All the cool kids are sporting them.
Can you believe the thieves were nice enough to leave the seat and the pedals? Manhattan is littered with bicycles like this. There are thousands of them chained up all over the city. It's a good thing someone has a plan.
