Have a safe flight sweet cakes...
5.22.2009
5.21.2009
...eye candy
There are many blogs I read everyday, ranging from the comical to the inspired. One of 'em is Staring down the Barrel of a Gun by David Shadi Perez, an accomplished photographer and former bike courier in the city.
Also, while you're "working" today, be sure to hop over to his online photography portfolio. In addition to documenting local bike races, he does spreads for big-name magazines and film apparently. definitely worth a look.
Also worth a look is VeloDramatic, the author of which is also an accomplished race photographer with some really nice shots from rides on the west coast, primarily.
Enjoi
Also, while you're "working" today, be sure to hop over to his online photography portfolio. In addition to documenting local bike races, he does spreads for big-name magazines and film apparently. definitely worth a look.
Also worth a look is VeloDramatic, the author of which is also an accomplished race photographer with some really nice shots from rides on the west coast, primarily.
Enjoi
5.20.2009
...tips for an easy commute by bike
Since I bicycle to work every opportunity I get, I am witness to loads of silly shit going down on a twice-daily basis. One of the things I've begun to notice is how few people bother to utilize and abide by the rules of the road. Don't get me wrong, I'm no goody goody myself, but my father raised me to appreciate colorful Nordic mannerisms like being friendly and hospitable.
Not wanting to get into the semantics of our social contract, one easy way to make your life and the lives of everyone you encounter much happier and pleasant, is to abide by rules that serve not only yourself but others as well. Nowhere is this as important as when we operate vehicles at speeds much faster than nature intended for us to go.
I don't always obey the law, but I do try apply reason to my conduct on the bike. I find that while many commuters and messengers in the city do likewise, countless others don't. If you're new to cycling or unfamiliar with riding in crowded streets, these few points have received the ERK guarantee that they'll make your ride in the city just a little better:
Not wanting to get into the semantics of our social contract, one easy way to make your life and the lives of everyone you encounter much happier and pleasant, is to abide by rules that serve not only yourself but others as well. Nowhere is this as important as when we operate vehicles at speeds much faster than nature intended for us to go.
I don't always obey the law, but I do try apply reason to my conduct on the bike. I find that while many commuters and messengers in the city do likewise, countless others don't. If you're new to cycling or unfamiliar with riding in crowded streets, these few points have received the ERK guarantee that they'll make your ride in the city just a little better:
- Weaving through traffic (aka "threading the needle"): Do this... As safetly as you feel comfortable with, of course, but this is a must, and it's #1 for a reason. Frequently there is a cop, taxi, or a motorcycle in the bike lane, reducing your side-to-side clearance, tempting you to slow down and ponder your next move. This is a mistake, the courteous thing to do is ride through at a reasonable pace (shuffling doesn't count) and cut through. Get familiar with how wide you are on your bike so you know which gaps you can use and which ones might be a pinch. Efficiently negotiating stopped traffic will let other cyclists follow your line through the cars, and drivers will be more aware of your presence in traffic, making you much safer once it gets rolling again.
- Bike lane position: In this city, the "ride to the right, pass to the left" rule only works 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time, the bike lane is on the wrong side of the street, confusing things a bit. Since its a big risk to ride within the door-swing range, my rule-of-thumb is to pass on the traffic side, the logic being that the differences in speeds get stepped down the closer one gets to the sidewalk. Since bike lanes here are ONE WAY just like the streets, passing should occur on the outside of the bike lane line and the slower cyclist should keep inside the lane. I know we all like to pretend we're the fastest ones on the road, but frequently there's someone behind you, wishing, praying that you would just move the fuck over so they can pass you.
- Hand Signals: Use them, for the love of all that's good and right in the world, use hand signals! a simple flick of a finger can tell the people behind you a whole lot about what you're thinking... Just don't do car hand signals with your arm at a perfect 90 degree angle. If you can't signal for five seconds while riding, you don't belong on a bike in the city until you can.
- Wheelsucking: I know of more than a few people to whom this will be news, but commuting isn't a race. As such, racing techniques should be saved for race environments. One of the worst things I encounter with other commuters is wheelsuckers. They frequently come up behind you going over the bridges, and if you don't know they're there, no amount of hand signaling can prepare them for changing traffic situations. Half-wheelers are worse, but rare enough not to worry about most of the time.
5.19.2009
...a busy day
The commute this morning was surprisingly wonderful. I left the apartment quite a bit later than I normally would, and what a difference it made! I was riding on virtually car-free roads all through Prospect Heights and Park Slope, enjoying the crisp breeze and bountiful sunshine on this seasonable day.
There were (understandably) far fewer cyclists than there probably were fifteen to twenty minutes prior, which meant the daily KOMB (King-Of-the-Manhattan-Bridge) race was long over. While I wasn't the lanterne rouge, I was definitely taking my sweet-ass time, whistling as I pedaled. Someone probably supposed I had a screw loose, but hey, its a nice tuesday to be alive!
Tuesday isn't usually what comes to mind when I think of a beautiful spring day, I frequently rely on Saturdays and Sundays being nice, and if any days in between are, they're just a tease. I'm gonna be teased for a while today, cause I've got a bunch of "real work" to do.
However, I can't rob you of this, forwarded to me from Gothamist, via mori.
At least they're owning up to things... Cheers, see ya tomorrow.
There were (understandably) far fewer cyclists than there probably were fifteen to twenty minutes prior, which meant the daily KOMB (King-Of-the-Manhattan-Bridge) race was long over. While I wasn't the lanterne rouge, I was definitely taking my sweet-ass time, whistling as I pedaled. Someone probably supposed I had a screw loose, but hey, its a nice tuesday to be alive!
Tuesday isn't usually what comes to mind when I think of a beautiful spring day, I frequently rely on Saturdays and Sundays being nice, and if any days in between are, they're just a tease. I'm gonna be teased for a while today, cause I've got a bunch of "real work" to do.
However, I can't rob you of this, forwarded to me from Gothamist, via mori.
At least they're owning up to things... Cheers, see ya tomorrow.
5.18.2009
...the weekend madness
Saturday I stopped by the ICFF in the Javits Center to take a stroll through what I figured would be essentially a warehouse of partially worked-out accouterments to modern living. To my suprise, I saw some really beautiful stuff that re-fueled my lust for fine furniture. I'm not going to spend much time on the focal point of the trade show, "Japan by design", because it was not only unimaginatively curated, but damn-near insulting with the red-on-black color scheme and guzheng music.
A lot of the non-furniture things on display in that area were just stupid, like this one-slice-of-bread-at-a-time toaster. No doubt it was touted as "green design" for being stubbornly inefficient at toasting for any more than two parakeets.
If I want to look at sweet japanese product design, I just head over to MUJI in soho. I own all sorts of muji stuff and suprisingly, I use almost all of it on a daily basis. All those miniature office supplies they make are perfectly suited for bike commuters. Everything that's in my messenger bag and not clothes, bike parts, or an Ipod, is from that store. Now if only I could secure some kick-backs for my glowing review...
While waiting for the woah-man to use the facilities, I spied what I think has become my favorite part of the show.
Bernhardt Design's booth was filled with very neatly detailed armchairs and benches, along with some mediocre couches. Some versions of the chairs had orange suede piping around the supple leather padding, which I thought was a little much, like they were reaching for a prada-esque hipness. Just the plain white leather on wood is seductive enough for me. If you can't see it in the shitty photo above, the armchair is called Atlantic by CuldeSac design collective out of Valencia, Spain. I think it's priced at under $2000 (take that, herman miller) so theres no excuse not to use this in future residential designs.
There were all sorts of other things that at least made me, instead of ignoring them entirely, utter a token "meh" ...For instance, the rubberized coffee table for those of us that require shin-safe furniture in our space stations:
... the bunny desk-chair:
... and we definitely can't leave out the vagina inspired stuff that ironically, doesn't look terribly comfy or attractive:
Of course, what gathering of designer types would be complete without some bizarre approaches to bicycle design?
What is interesting about this bike isn't so much it's exaggerated top tube that looks primed to carry a billyburger's bike polo mallets, but moreso that it's held aloft by a chubby plastic sand pail. There was another of these bike pails holding up one of those dumb fucking Strida bikes. I haven't seen anyone actually ride one around in new york, and I'm interested to see how this mutated p-far measures up given this city's traffic circus.
Bewildered by the questionable utility of the day's sightings, we left to go buy a vaccum from bed bath and beyond. But before we had even crossed the street, I saw one clever fellow who apparently decided he'd had enough of this furniture crap, and re-purposed a foot rail, creating some attractive bar grips that are no doubt of the most comfortable design:
and zooming in for clarity:
A lot of the non-furniture things on display in that area were just stupid, like this one-slice-of-bread-at-a-time toaster. No doubt it was touted as "green design" for being stubbornly inefficient at toasting for any more than two parakeets.
If I want to look at sweet japanese product design, I just head over to MUJI in soho. I own all sorts of muji stuff and suprisingly, I use almost all of it on a daily basis. All those miniature office supplies they make are perfectly suited for bike commuters. Everything that's in my messenger bag and not clothes, bike parts, or an Ipod, is from that store. Now if only I could secure some kick-backs for my glowing review...
While waiting for the woah-man to use the facilities, I spied what I think has become my favorite part of the show.
Bernhardt Design's booth was filled with very neatly detailed armchairs and benches, along with some mediocre couches. Some versions of the chairs had orange suede piping around the supple leather padding, which I thought was a little much, like they were reaching for a prada-esque hipness. Just the plain white leather on wood is seductive enough for me. If you can't see it in the shitty photo above, the armchair is called Atlantic by CuldeSac design collective out of Valencia, Spain. I think it's priced at under $2000 (take that, herman miller) so theres no excuse not to use this in future residential designs.
There were all sorts of other things that at least made me, instead of ignoring them entirely, utter a token "meh" ...For instance, the rubberized coffee table for those of us that require shin-safe furniture in our space stations:
... the bunny desk-chair:
... and we definitely can't leave out the vagina inspired stuff that ironically, doesn't look terribly comfy or attractive:
Of course, what gathering of designer types would be complete without some bizarre approaches to bicycle design?
What is interesting about this bike isn't so much it's exaggerated top tube that looks primed to carry a billyburger's bike polo mallets, but moreso that it's held aloft by a chubby plastic sand pail. There was another of these bike pails holding up one of those dumb fucking Strida bikes. I haven't seen anyone actually ride one around in new york, and I'm interested to see how this mutated p-far measures up given this city's traffic circus.
Bewildered by the questionable utility of the day's sightings, we left to go buy a vaccum from bed bath and beyond. But before we had even crossed the street, I saw one clever fellow who apparently decided he'd had enough of this furniture crap, and re-purposed a foot rail, creating some attractive bar grips that are no doubt of the most comfortable design:
and zooming in for clarity:
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