04 August 2009
In my anticipation of getting a bike for my birthday (possibly this one), I've been googling biking in nyc. Now, I haven't ridden a bike since I was like 10, so I'm a bit nervous about doing it in the city but there is a wealth of information out there to help set me at ease. For example how about this factoid: NYC has 620 lane miles of bicycle paths, lanes and routes. That's encouraging, and hopefully increases my chances of finding one of these bike lanes and staying off the roads. Yes, I have a not-so-mild fear of riding next to cars... It's also interesting to note that commuter cycling has increased 35% in New York in the past year. Yeah!
Some not so encouraging things I found out - Amtrak doesn't make it too easy to travel with your bike. Very few trains have "bicycle service" either on board or even as checked luggage. See their policies here. That's too bad, as I was considering bringing my new bike to the beach in September when my family heads down to the Outer Banks.
While only those 14 and under are required to wear helmets in NYC, I'm thinking that I'd like to wear one. After searching around for some cuter looking ones, I'm leaning toward Urbanize N' Light by Razer. In pink!
Here are some links I found helpful:
Something to look forward to: September 13th is NYC Century Bike Tour.
So anxious to get my bike! I can't promise anything but I'll try to write some about my experience riding in the city :)