Do yourself a favor and follow this link to read the eloquent article written by architecture critic Michael Kimmelman on the simple pleasures of riding a bicycle in NYC. How good is it? Both mom and dad independently emailed the article to BRBR, asking if we'd read it yet; now that's no small planetary alignment.
"It’s too bad that so many New Yorkers still complain about the bike lanes’ contribution to the inconvenience of urban driving instead of promoting them for their obvious role in helping solve the city’s transportation miseries, and for their aesthetic possibilities. I don’t mean they’re great to look at. I mean that for users they offer a different way of taking in the city, its streets and architecture, the fine-grained fabric of its neighborhoods. Decades ago the architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown wrote about how we see cities differently at different speeds. Las Vegas was their example, and they wrote about driving versus walking (skipping over the bicycle). But the point stands. On a bike time bends. Space expands and contracts."
There might have been something in the air last weekend. BRBR had a similar pleasant time-space experience last Friday night (while cycling). About 10pm, riding back to Bay Ridge from the Affinity Cycle Shop: roads were empty, air was cool, and it was like easy flying. 40 minutes on the dot from Affinity to the Verrazano.
Tip: 6th Ave through Park Slope late at night is fantastic.
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1 comment:
I usually ride my bike to get around. It's a folding bike though, so sometimes, even if I'm on my bike, I'll just put it in their trunk and get a ride with them. I'm always so amazed at how different an experience it is to travel inside a car than on a bike - and how much smaller the streets feel.
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