Bklyn Blggng

Still waiting for your CityRack request to be answered? Why not roll your own with just a bucket, some piping, and a little concrete?

(Fuji Restaurant, 36 St & 9 Av, Manhattan)

Today, I biked about 50 miles on the beautiful isle of Maui. Unfortunately, almost half of those miles were unintentional and extremely difficult - so much so that at one point I really thought I was going to die in a ditch by the side of the road.

Some lessons learned:
1. Kihei to Lahaina is 24 miles, not "about 12."
2. Measuring mileage on a tourist map while Tweeting and using the "thumb and forefinger" method almost guarantees inaccurate results.
3. There's no reason to believe that the ride will be mostly flat and you'll have a tailwind, just because you hope it will be. In fact, the opposite might be true.
4. If you leave at 4:30ish to catch a 6pm sunset and it turns out your mileage estimate is wrong, you will be riding in the dark for a good portion of your trip. Also, Maui highways aren't lighted.
5. Just because the highway has Bike Route signs doesn't mean you're not riding in a shoulder with cars zipping by at 50mph just a few feet away from you.
6. If your ride is an hour longer than you expected and it's around dinner time, you will be hungry for a good part of your trip.
7. If your ride is much harder and longer than you expected, you will finish your one bottle of water long before you reach your destination.
8. Catching the last bus out of Lahaina will be a big relief, but means you will still be riding 9 miles from Ma'alaea to Kihei because it's too late to make the connecting bus.
9. You will earn both admiration and embarassment-inducing disbelief when you tell your story to the Maui Bus driver.

(Ahihi-Kina'u Nature Preserve, Maui, HI)

Bike happiness is assembling your folder on a lanai in Hawaii.

(Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel, Honolulu, HI)

We SO need several of these in NYC.

(Bikestation, Union Station, Washington, DC)

Looking for a bike, or got one to donate? Check out Recycle-A-Bicycle first. They've got cool classes on bike repair, too.

(Recycle-A-Bicycle, Brooklyn)

It's wet but spirits are high at the 2009 Five Boro Bike Tour.

(Franklin St & Church St, Manhattan)

When I knew I was heading to Eugene for DisOrient, I also knew I'd have to bring my trusty Bike Friday New World Tourist. That's because Eugene is not only the home of a great little film festival and UO, but also where Green Gear makes their world-class folding bikes.

My 1994 NWT hasn't been back to its birthplace in almost 15 years, so it just seemed wrong to go without it. Plus, Eugene is a great biking city and I wanted to enjoy it on a great bike. Soon after a tune-up at the factory, my NWT and me were wheeling down Eugene's great bike paths well into the evening.

(Green Gear Cycling, Eugene, OR)

The Ghost Bikes give me pause every time I ride by one. They're a reminder to bike carefully and that there's much more work to be done to make NYC the safe biking city it should be.

But today's otherwise splendid visit to Philadelphia was marked by this lesson that New York isn't the only place that needs improvement.

(Philadelphia, PA)

The only thing better than being on a bike today is being on a folding bike. And the only thing better than that is being on a folding bike at the Time's Up Folding Bike Ride & Festival.

So what are you waiting for?

(23 St & East River, Manhattan)

It was a perfect day for a ride.

(North 11 St, Brooklyn)