Bike NYC

images: downtown from behind

Day by day I become a little more familiar with biking in NYC. It takes a lot of research, riding, and google mapping for me to get used to the rules of the road. Most days I have to prepare myself by reading other NYC cycling blogs about how to ride in this city. I'm glad the NYC bike community is large and full of information on how to handle these streets, it makes getting acquainted with the roads easier when you know what to expect. For those of you who want inspiration, information, and stories of life on two wheels in the Big Apple, check out some of my favorite sites below.

Bike NYC

Biking Rules

Brooklyn Spoke

Downtown From Behind

Preferred Mode

Velo Joy

Gifts for Cyclists

bicylce gifts

Finding a gift for a bicycle enthusiast can be challenging when you're not sure what is appropriate for one. Recently I found a great site with great ideas for those who love bikes, a collection of gifts for cyclists ranging from iphone cases, bike planters, and a six pack bike bag for those summer picnics in the park. I recently had the pleasure of receiving a Po Campo bag from Uncommon Goods that was suited perfectly for riding around NYC on short errands, meetings, and dinner dates. The shipping was prompt and the anticipated experience with the product was exactly what I enjoyed from such services. There are so many other great ideas for gifts for fellow bicycle enthusiast or perhaps yourself. Above are just a few of my favorites, but there are tons of other great products that you can see here.

Finding the Best Bike

Road Bikes Ratings and Reviews

Tis the season to be bike camping. With many excited to get out onto the long road on two wheels under the sun, making the decisions for the right set of wheels is never easy, and finding the best road bike doesn't escape that. Between online shops, consumer reports and critic reviews, it’s hard enough finding any bike at all. To the rescue of all of us who have ever thrown our hands up and just hoped someone would come along to help, FindTheBest has created a way to organize the web, making the decision process a little easier on everyone. Not sure where to start? Check out their guide to choosing road bikes. The site allows you to choose which bike is best for you based on a number of factors, in addition, to allowing you to compare bikes and filter all of the important information necessary for making a decision, all served to you in one easy to read page.
Best of luck!

sharing on citi bike, nyc

I moved to NYC just in time for Citi Bike share to hit the streets and since then I've been following the excited social media and entertaining back lash on Citi Bike by some of NYC's elite media writers, show hosts, and publishers. I've heard it all, all encompassed in last weeks Wall Street Journal video in which editorial board member Dorothy Rabinowitz griped all about bike share and cyclists in general. Most of us bicycle advocates would say this isn't surprising considering that we have to deal with this on a daily basis on the road. However, in reflection of hearing responses to the program, I would like to focus on the interesting, hilarious, and positive developments rather than the negative as the success of the program outweighs them. In celebration of this program, lots of informative articles and online tech have emerged to supplement the experience of Citi Bike Share. To me, this is big as information is able to make this program for the city more innovative. In sharing city bike share, here's a few sites that may tickle your fancy to know more, laugh, and ride when you come to NYC.

Citi Bike 101

The Bicycle Lobby Twitter account

The Daily Show on Bike Share

Your Bike Wisdom-NYC Interactive Map

Citi Bike Station Map

life in new york

when first arriving to new york, i was warned by new yorkers that people and life here is a bit more fast paced and rough. while listening to these gripes, i would nod, smile, and think deeply inside that they have no clue where i've come from or what San Francisco is like. i get that New York is a place where meetings of personalities is a bit of a challenge, people do their thing at a hundred miles an hour, and well, their time is more important than yours. i get that, however, i find this pace very comforting and i like it. call me crazy but adjusting and exploring life in New York has been smooth sailing. lucky for me, being a city girl my whole life has taught me this resilience.

i always find that the best way to get to know a new city is to walk around and watch people. while being in a new environment is like taking a fish out of an old tank and putting it into a new tank, it takes time to gain a rhythm and a lifestyle balance. personally, living in New York is just a bigger and more crowded tank, yet, what makes these adaptations successful is having the openness and willingness to take on new daily challenges and challenging yourself to be smarter at dealing with them. creating your lifestyle in a new city is like a blank canvas, you paint a picture of what you want it to be like for yourself and you live in it the way you want.

with this said, there is so much to do and see here, everyday is like a play day because you're constantly learning and doing new things. it's exciting as my whole life is about cities, making them livable, innovative, and enjoyable. living in New York now is like research for a future city planner, at least that's what i tell my boyfriend. i think the future here holds some promises, there is a lot to learn still. from here though, i'm only looking forward.