New York Roll Models

A celebration of stylish New Yorkers on their bicycles, photographed by Bill Powers.

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Lela Rose

I’ve been biking in New York for 11 years now. It’s not always easy to walk everywhere so I decided I needed a bike. I bought a trike so that I could take my son and dog with me. The one I bought was such a piece of junk! I ran into George Bliss from The HUB and we started up this great relationship. He ended up building all my trikes that I’ve used for years to carry my groceries, do all my market runs, carry my dogs and take my kids to school. I could move all kinds of things with my trike, even furniture! George has this great vision of how bikes enhance life in the city. He is definitely ahead of his time.

  I ride bikes everywhere. All my bikes are three-speed and they have kickstands and baskets. I have a Brooklyn Bowery bike that I decorated with colorful paracord. I like to decorate all my bikes. My bikes are like cars and are the key to living in New York City. No more sitting around in traffic in a cab. You just go when you want to go.

  Citi-Bikes? I think it’s great. I’ve seen a lot more riders out on the streets. I think it introduces people to how you should ride a bike in New York City. I’ve been talking about it for years, 11 years to be specific. People say they don’t want to own a bike. “I’d have to carry it upstairs. I live in a walk-up.” Or, “It might be stolen.” Bike-share takes all that worry away. Yes, there have been glitches, but ridership is way up. Anything that promotes more riders, more bikes on our city streets, is good. And I’m for it because it means safer streets. I’m not criticizing Citi-Bikes name on the bikes. It’s okay. They paid a lot of money for it. In Paris, bike-share worked and there were a lot more people on bikes. And after a while people started buying their own bikes.

  Lela Rose, fashion designer

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Virgine

I have ridden the bike in L.A, New York, London and Paris for 22 years. And I never take the subway. Too many problems. Pushed around by guys. I go everywhere on my bike.

Virgine, jewelry designer

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Matthew Broderick

Matthew Broderick, actor

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Susi Wunsch

Susi Wunsch, founder, Velojoy

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Sarah Canner

Sarah Canner, founder and designer, Vespertine 

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Nick Wooster

"The streets are getting a little friendlier to biking..."

I’ve had a career that involved being a buyer for Bergdorf Goodman. I worked at Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. I was Creative director at JC Penny until this past month. To me a bike is an ionic, romantic way of getting around New York. I’ve been a little afraid to ride in the street, but now the culture is shifting in the city and is more friendly to bikes. I just love the feeling of an old bike. I think there’s nothing more noble. More beautiful.  

When I was a kid, I was obsessed. I’m 53 years old. So it was in probably 1972… I was obsessed with a Schwinn Varsity, chocolate brown, 10-speed bike. And the year my parents bought our house, we were told no big presents that Christmas. But, sure enough, I got the Schwinn. I was proud of that thing. I had graduated from the banana seat and the “Sissy bar” on a Schwinn Stingray. That new bike was a thrilling, amazing gift.

But, as I grew up I immediately shed the idea of a bike because it signaled that you were a kid. I wanted to drive a car. Now, 40 years later, it is more interesting to be driving, riding a beautiful machine. Something that has a history, and gives you a lot more freedom than a car or car service. It’s a beautiful thing to see the world from a little bit higher than the average pedestrian. And feeling every nick and cranny of the streets.

I did once have a track or a bent over model, but all the things I got for my new bike are exactly the things I never wanted as a kid. It’s got a basket. Very useful. It’s got these handlebars, that force you to sit upright. In the old days it was all about looking like a racer. Hunched over the wheels. For me, biking means convenience. Biking fits my personality. A little bit understated. A little bit old. 

I want to believe my bike has a history imprinted inside the frame, built into the core. And if I can be steward of that history for a time and later pass it on to someone, well, I like that idea.

Nick Wooster, West Village romantic. nickwooster.com

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Laurie Rosenwald

I like a small bike. I need to able to put my feet on the ground while sitting upright on the seat.

I live in the West Village, and I was born in Manhattan. With my beatnik parents, it felt like I was raised by wolves. My parents split up, and my mother and I lived in Detroit, then Westport, Connecticut from 1959-64. Briefly, I had the suburban life, and I probably got my first bike then. But it’s all a big mush. I went to sixteen different schools before college.  I love my new bike, an i-Ped from Japan. I took off all the labels and logos. I never like anybody’s logos. When I buy shampoo, or anything, my first consideration is: can I peel all the labels off?  I saw this bike at George’ Bliss’s HUB store. I like a small bike. I need to able to put my feet on the ground while sitting upright on the seat. And not jumping forward when I stop. I love the bright tomato red color. I was thrilled when my old bike was finally stolen. I like to go into a deli and lean the bike on the wall outside and not lock it. That bike was such a piece of crap. Finally, I leaned it against a store in Chinatown. Except for the fact I had two very good Vietnamese Banh-Mi sandwiches in the basket, I was happy. I like being careless. It's worth it. I'm the same about handbags, the gym, and helmets. Life's too short to worry about health and safety. Boring! I use my red bike every day to ride to my studio on the Lower East Side.   I’m heterosexual, but bi-continental, and bi-cyclical. I do have another bike. I live in Sweden in Summer, and spend Winter in New York. I'm no fool! My Swedish bike is a JOPO. Finnish! From HELKAMA SITE: In the 1960’s Eero Helkama had a dream. He wanted to create a bicycle that all people could use, no matter what age, size, sex or financial status. Almost 50 years later the same dream is a crucial part of Finnish cycling culture. Three generations of Jopo bicycles live in perfect harmony, and do not care about fashion trends. Sweden has bike lanes everywhere. And bike traffic lights. It can be horrible weather there, even in Summer, but I'm tough. I bike in the rain.

At the Rhode Island School of Design, I was in all these Departments: Illustration, Graphic Design, Painting. Now I’m 57, and I still haven’t picked a major.

Laurie Rosenwald does animation, comedy and painting. She also writes, sometimes illustrates for The New Yorker and teaches a fun workshop called “How to Make Mistakes on Purpose.” www.rosenworld.com

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John & Mark Barboni

When you’re riding on your bike, you just want to keep riding. It’s freedom. It’s the way to get away from everything.

Our first bikes, I guess, we got for our sixth birthday. We had no idea how to ride a two-wheeler as we were still on Big Wheels, but Dad, being the good father he was, piled us into the station wagon and the three of us went off to a parking lot. And we got that classic first ride: your father hanging onto the back of the seat sayin’, “Go ahead, pedal”, and you’re terrified out of your mind and he’s running beside you. “Dad, don’t let go! Don’t let go!” Of course, he’d let go five minutes earlier.

We eventually did learn, without Dad and the training wheels, and those became our favorite little bikes. We’d get excited on weekends when Dad would take us on a bike ride and we could go and explore and ride up into the mountains. Finally, in fifth grade, we were allowed to bike to school by ourselves, 20 blocks down a steep hill. 

We loved riding the rough dirt roads, over rock piles and through the orange groves, always going farther and farther in search of the steepest hill to climb. It was the first sense of freedom, those rides. We had those bikes until 7th grade. 

John: We were best of friends. We hung around together all day, every day, from when we were little all the way up to college.

Mark: From when we were born through our first year in high school, it was every day.

John: I can’t think of a day we weren’t together. For 18 years.

Accidents? Sure. We fell off our bikes many times. But it was our older brother, Michael, who was coming back from his paper route one morning. You had these saddlebags you wore on your shoulders. They would drag on your neck when you rode. The more papers you carried, the more money you’d make. You emptied the bag in front first, and you had to swing the one in back around so you could reach the papers. You didn’t stop to do it or you’d lose time. So it’s pulling on your neck, choking you and once, Michael was headed down a driveway and the weight tilted him and he crashed face-first into this mailbox built to look just like a miniature house.  He had the little shingles of this little mailbox house shoved up under his gums. He had to go to the dentist to have them removed. They spent three hours getting shingle splinters out of his mouth. Plus, the roof went right through his upper lip. I don’t know how he ever got home, how he ever got back on his bike and rode home from that. This was before John and I had our routes and we woke up at six in the morning to the sound of him screaming, and we ran down and the sink’s full of blood. 

Growing up we hung around together every day. We’d fight every day. Play every day. We always loved each other. We were best of friends so, if we’re fighting one hour out of 16, maybe that’s not so bad. When you have a perfect companion at a young age like that, you’re less likely to have other close friends.

People always have a curiosity about twins, want to know every bit about your life. People would make fun of us for looking exactly the same. They were always asking, “Do your parents always know which one you are? When you get in trouble, do you blame it on the other guy?” We both wore glasses. We spoke in the same funny way. We had best friends. And we shared them. So, sometimes we’d go with three or more people instead of two.  

Our older brother Michael was allowed to bike where we couldn’t. He’d come back with tales of the other side. “It’s the steepest hill you could ever imagine! You have to climb it. Man, when you ride down that hill, they call it ‘Dead Man’s Curve,’ you can’t see what’s happening in front of you, what’s at the bottom!” When you’re a kid, those stories inspire you so much that when you get going and get to see what your brother is talking about, it’s just exhilarating. 

So, we got older and our Dad bought us these ten-speed Schwinns. It was very hot to go from a little BMX to the ten-speed Schwinn that got us up and down these steep hills. And we rode them until we were18. And then we had a car to use and  the bikes disappeared for a while.

JOHN: We went to different universities. I went to Berkeley. Mark went to U C San Diego. After graduating, I moved to New York City. I had only been here two months and this guy I made friends with came up and said, “John, go up to the flea market and get yourself a bike.” I did. And that’s when the city started unfolding for me. And I’ve been through 10 different bicycles since then. Just trading them off or replacing stolen ones. The bike I have now is the fanciest one I’ve ever had. I ride every day of the year, even in winter months. In snow and ice conditions.

MARK: If I can backpedal just a little bit, I came to New York later than John. I went to college in San Diego where I got into surfing. And the best way to get to a surf break was to ride a bike.  I had this old burgundy Beach Cruiser, a bike for that purpose, all through college. I’d muscle a board under my arm, ride barefoot through campus, up this hill and take this precarious trail down to the beach and the surf. 

I was 21 when I came to New York. And John said, “First things first. You gotta get a bike. You can’t even hang out if you don’t get a bike.”

We didn’t have money for taxicabs, and subways couldn’t or wouldn’t take you where you wanted to go. Being from California and used to spending so much time outdoors all the time, getting all that exercise, having a bike in the city is a beautiful way to get a break from everything else. Riding down the street is almost the closest thing to surfing I can think of.

Helmets? I respect it. I don’t hate it when someone wears a helmet. It’s the safer thing to do. But John and I don’t wear helmets. And we’d worry that if we did have on helmets, we’d ride more aggressively than we do. But not having a helmet, we take it a little easy. That’s why we have three-speed classic Schwinn-style bikes and even used bikes. They keep me from going too fast. I stay upright on it. I’m not trying to race anybody. I’m just using my bike as a relaxing way to get around town.

I’ve never gotten into fix-gear riding but I do like the simplicity that comes with single-gear bikes. I never worry about what gear I’m in or shifting gears. I love that. I like to have hand brakes and be able to coast. Like the second gear on your three-speed, that’s the one gear you use. And I’ve only ridden single-speeds since.

This is an old Schwinn twin-speed that I converted to single-speed. 

John: I probably had 10 different three-speeds and now I have a single speed. I got it from George. On my refrigerator, I have a quote by the novelist H. G. Wells: “When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.” And I very much believe that. 

Mark: I usually ride every day. One time, it was pouring rain when I saw John. I said, 

“You’re not going to ride in that!”

“Of course, I am,” he said.

“How you gonna do it?”

“Mary Poppins-style.”

“What do you mean?”

“I carry an umbrella while I ride.” Sure enough, John piles on with the umbrella.

Umbrella? I’m gonna do that as well. Good idea. You don’t have to worry about puddles. It may not be the safest thing to do, but when you do that, your feet tend to stay dry although some days not. The slush. You’re tired.

John: I always go for it. It’s kinda fun. Once, my bike slipped out from under me, but not too bad. I’m an architect, too. And the days can be hectic and you’re running from one structure meeting to the next and, for those 10 or 15 minutes between meetings, your bike gives you a break, clears your head and you just feel good. 

We both bring our girlfriends on our bikes. It’s always funny to pull up to a fancy party with a girl on the back of your bike, or to pull away the same way. 

When you’re riding on your bike, you just want to keep riding. It’s freedom. It’s the way to get away from everything.

I’ve known George a long time, since the late 90s when he opened The HUB on Morton Street. I’ve purchased all my bikes, except the first one, from George.  It’s one of the few places you can find a good classic bicycle. We’ve always had a nice, friendly relationship.

Mark Barboni is Co-Owner & General Manager of Hudson Clearwater Restaurant. John Barboni is Co-Owner of Hudson Clearwater, Co-Founder of Elemental Architecture and a certified yoga instructor and teaching weekly classes as a volunteer in New York City.

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Michael Mansfield

I grew up in Rhinebeck. Actually, the town is Milan which is about seven miles  from Rhinebeck. My parents were divorced, so I couldn’t rely on rides home after soccer. I used to ride a Peugeot that was a hand-me-down from my brother. The trip from Rhinebeck to Milan is basically uphill. Going to school in the morning was great. So from about 14 or 15, I needed a bike. Otherwise I was screwed. I lived in Milan, up in these hills. I was off the artery so, even if I hitched a ride, I only got within three miles of my house. 

I’ve  always had cruiser bikes. One had a back seat on it and it had pegs. For my first wife. My only wife. I took her on the back of the bike until she was about eight months pregnant. I have three kids. They’re 22, 21 and 15. And they all have bikes. My wife had this big cushioned seat I made with duct tape and foam. I wanted it to be very soft because she was pregnant. I also had this yellow bike, like a butcher’s delivery bike with a big basket. It had a bike seat in back for the kids and a bike seat in the crotch area and the baby up front in the basket. Three kids on the bike! I once used my bike as a hand truck and put a nine-foot Christmas tree on it. My three kids straddled the tree and that’s how we got home.

I like this one. We got it on the Jersey Shore. I brought it here tied to the roof of a truck. I like this bike because before, I was always carrying people on the back and I usually ruined the back wheel. And, with those pegs, eventually the bearings go. For this bike, I ordered new wheels from California and brought them to George. He put on new tires as well, with the bands, to avoid getting a puncture. I’ve been using pegs on bikes since the kids were little. The wheels on this bike are steel and have three        times as many spokes as the wheels you usually get. It’s almost like a motorcycle wheel. In more than a year, I have not had a single problem. 

I got Kimberly her own bike, a cruiser. So she’s got this new bike and I’ll say, “Let’s go riding,” but she always has an excuse. She can’t because, “I don’t have my glasses.” She knows I’ll ride her on the back. And she feels safe standing on the pegs. And she wears boots, heels that grab right onto the pegs. The pegs are beautiful.

Riding a bike saves me time. I hate waiting for a subway or trying to hail a taxi. When I meet a client on my bike, I think it gives me authenticity. I’m showing a $27 million single-family house in Soho and, obviously, I must be well-dressed so I’m in suede shoes and a cashmere jacket. And, as I bounce over the cobblestones with my bike chain clunking in the basket, I think it somehow reassures the clients. They realize that I’m authentic.

George Bliss is a visionary, a great pioneer. He was having trouble with his lease and I was really bummed out about it. So I did some research and I went over to Prince Lumber and asked, “How would you like to lease your roof and put up a bike shop in a bubble?” Who possibly would ask to put a bike store on a roof but George? He would!  He’s a survivor pioneer.

Riding in New York? We really need a bike lane on Seventh Avenue. It’s just dangerous. And we could use some separation on Sixth Avenue. It’s just a little green-painted bike lane. 

I ride my bike every day. I think there were only three days last year when I didn’t ride my bike.

Michael Mansfield, realtor

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Victoria Monsua

I care about how I dress, how I look. Biking is a life style.

I’ve always preferred vintage bikes. I never went for the road bikes or the mountain bikes. I liked the look and feel of the upright bike. My first bike in the city, was a vintage ‘80s, black utility worker’s bike. A very heavy duty, commuter bike. At the time I lived in Greenwich Village and I rode everywhere. If I had an errand, I was on my bike. If it was a job interview, I put on a suit, got on my bike and arrived on time. It was how I got around. My transportation, rain or shine. Temperature doesn’t bother me. Yesterday I had an interview for an internet radio station called Pandora. It was frigid. I put on my shearling coat and headed up to Union Square. Last night it was zero degrees. I was out biking. There isn’t a part of the city I haven’t biked to. 

I care about how I dress, how I look. Biking is a life style. My current bike is a black Biria step through. Six speed. It’s got two baskets, one in back, one in the front because I‘m always carrying things. I used to run a small flower business in the downtown area. I carried bundles of flowers on my bike, from the flower district on 28th street, to my home studio in the West Village.

When I have something on my mind, something bothering me, and I don’t even have a place to go, I get on my bike and just ride. There’s a German movie, Run Lola Run, about this girl, Lola. Lola is in trouble. If she can't come up with the ransom for her boyfriend, he will die. She has only 20 minutes to come up with the money and she runs and runs through the city. I dream of a film about a girl like Lola but, instead of running, she’s on a bicycle.

A lot of people say I’m crazy to bike everywhere and not wear a helmet. I never wear a helmet but I think kids should. I’d want my kids to be safe.

I do bike on the more dangerous streets like Park Avenue and 7th Avenue and I have been yelled at by pedestrians, drivers and other bikers. I take whatever street works for me. But I spend most of my time on the West Village side streets: Bank Street, Perry, Charles, Greenwich, Grove, Washington, Bleecker, MacDougal. Those streets are my landscape, my home.

Victoria Monsua, designer/writer

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Peter Moore

If you learn to ride a bike in Manhattan at an early age, New York can feel like a small town.

I grew up in a family that never learned how to drive. And so we never had a car. We had a second home on Fire Island where there are no cars. Fire Island was all about bicycles and, as children, that’s how my mother carted us around on '40s or '50s bikes. One speed bikes with big, fat tires. Big fenders. A lot of nooks and crannies to hold onto. She’d pile on as many kids as possible. Because all the bikes were adult bikes, for many years I remember riding women’s bikes. The seat was too high so I just pedaled standing up. I grew up on Raleigh three-speeds and have been an upright Raleigh rider my whole life. l also ride a big Dutch bike called an Azor. I have two children and, as they grew up, I pedaled them around town often, and still do. Just replicating what my mother did with me, my brother and our friends out on Fire Island.

Growing up in Manhattan, I went to Collegiate for 12 years, then to Columbia, then graduate school. I grew up using mass transportation and bicycles. So I learned to ride a bike at a very young age. If you learn how to ride a bike in Manhattan at an early age, New York can feel like a small town. Biking is a wonderful way to see our wonderful city. And I take great joy pedaling through New York all year round.

George Bliss and I met five or six years ago. We instantly realized we had a lot in common. We were both upright bike guys. Part of the same brotherhood. I’m trying to support him as best I can in all his idiosyncratic endeavors. The new bike he’s building for me has an extended frame. It’s gonna be handy because I’ll have plenty of room for my kids to sit on. Two kids or more, depending who’s running around with us. And baskets.

As an architect and developer, I’ve been involved in many projects in New York. We probably renovated 30 buildings in Manhattan and a dozen in Brooklyn. 151 Hudson Street is a wonderful old historic building; a good restoration. We bought a lot of land along the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. Several blocks. We’ll be rebuilding a large part of the city. A seven to ten year project. Two to three million square feet of space. High-end residential, schools, commercial space and some affordable housing. A little bit of everything. It’s a very ambitious project, and an exciting one.

Peter Moore, architect/developer

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Toshi

...riding on my bike? I’m just happy.

Many years ago, I moved to New York City and learned quickly that taking a subway or taxi was not the most efficient way to get around. I walked a lot, usually with a very heavy bag. Back then, I was an actor and I’d carry a lot of different things. Some days, going to auditions, I’d be packing a sixty-pound bag! Then I befriended these two guys from Italy and we partied together all the time. These guys got around on bicycles. I thought they were crazy. Everyone thought they were crazy, going everywhere by bicycle. Then I got into biking. Breezing around the city that way, biking was not only faster, it was more fun!

I also liked the idea of a bike because you were free. You didn’t have to think about a subway schedule. You didn’t have to be hustling, jostling people. It made me happy to be out in the air on my own bicycle, going up and down the streets and passing everyone. Usually, if the distance was less than 30 blocks, it was quicker on a bicycle than by any other means of transportation.

When I met George Bliss, we were both living in the East Village. He owned a bike shop called Bicycle Habitat and I got to know him.

I started off with a tricycle. I didn’t want a bicycle; I rode an adult tricycle. People ridiculed me but I loved my big fat tricycle. It was awesome. I could put a bunch of stuff on the back. And the great thing was, I could go on dates!

When I was an actor, I never had any money. At that time, I would pick up my date in Brooklyn, cross the bridge into Manhattan, take her out on our date and then, bring her back home again over the bridge. So that’s how I got into bicycles.

Now, my bicycle is a Dutch bike. I said to George, 'I want something sturdy, something solid that has good brakes, a headlight, a rear light and a basket.' This MONTEGO is what he recommended.

I put my dog in his basket and ride in from Williamsburg every day. Originally, the dog was for my fiancée. She wanted a dog real bad. I was against it because, you know, I wanted to have children first and get a dog later. She said, 'No. You have to get me a dog.' So we picked out a dog on the internet. I bought the dog and I paid for its airline ticket. Imagine it. I’m flying in a dog! It wasn’t good enough to get a dog from a pet store. NOOO! Let’s fly one in.

When he got here, he wound up loving me more than, well, you know. I took to him like he was the child I had yet to have. He’s with me all the time. Everywhere. I won’t even fly to countries where they have a quarantine against dogs. I only fly to countries where I can bring my dog.

For years I had been managing vacation rental apartments. Now, I’m into hotels, nightclubs and restaurants. This building was being renovated by a guy who had it about 90 percent completed. But he spent so much getting that far, he ran out of money. He quit, work on the property stopped and he could never open. I took it over from the bank and I completed and updated the rooms, finished the penthouse and restaurant and opened the nightclub. I run it. We are known as being really friendly. And cool. No attitude. Like you’re coming to my house.

And riding on my bike? I’m just happy.

Toshi, hotelier and restauratuer

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Erica Fae

I always bike in heels...

I just love my bike. Love it. I've been riding in the city since I moved here in 1989. It's paradise. I can get anywhere downtown (I'm an actor and live in the West Village) in just 10 minutes, and Brooklyn in about 35 minutes. My bike is absolutely my main mode of transportation, and it is one of the molders of my lifestyle. I go marketing with it (with slip-on baskets), I go out to the theatre, meetings, dinner parties, picnics, and yoga. It's just part of my life in New York.

And all the added bike-lanes that have cropped up over the years have made it all the more wonderful to be a bicyclist in the city! I used to be more of a fast and stress-y rider, though over the years I feel I've wised up a bit and now ride more slowly, knowing that I'm still getting there faster than I would with the walk-to-the-subway, wait-for-the-train, ride-the-train combo of aggravation. So I sit upright on my glorious Linus, hang in the bike lanes (for the most part), and enjoy checking out the city.

Here, I'm pictured on Charlotte. She's named after Carlos, who built her. The first bike I named was Nabishka. She just felt like a Russian princess, and even inspired her own theme song I used to hum along while riding her. Next I had Clara Blue, then Stella, then Georgette, named for George, the man who built her.

I always bike in heels. It's simply because I'm 5'4" and I love the extra lift I get from them. And you know? The bike pedal slips nicely into the curve of the heel, and it becomes its own "grip". Sure, occasionally, I'll bike in my red Hunters, but only when it's pouring. And I've even biked in a snow boots, because it was just that cold out.

The main point is that I'm always on my bike. The only thing that stops me is snow collecting on the streets because I've slipped and toppled over twice. I learned my lesson. Profound rain - the kind that makes you wet sideways - is another deterrent... but I'm dreaming up a design for a sassy, awesome biker's raincoat... so we shall see!

Erica Fae, actress and drama teacher at Yale and The New School

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Steve Double

I like the idea of being so upright and being able to see over traffic, and not having to change clothes when I get to my destination.

I’m from California and grew up riding a Schwinn beach cruiser. When I moved to New York I bought a cruiser just like my last one that had been stolen from at high school. I started riding it in here because New York is a perfect city for biking. But the first day I rode it  to work in midtown it was vandalized. So I gave up on riding to work for a couple of years but I really missed it.

Then I saw some people riding Dutch style city bikes and got really intrigued by how practical and fun they looked. I also like the idea of being so upright and being able to see over traffic, and not having to change clothes when I get to my destination. I just wanted to use my bike as my primary means of transport and have fun doing it.

So I decided to buy a reasonably priced city bike to see how often I would really use it. I bought a one speed Linus and used it pretty much every day for a year. I also found myself taking my two daughters on it to their schools before going to work, and all three of us had a blast. I got a bobike junior and a bobike mini, which fit perfectly on the bike and are easily removable when my girls are not with me. They are an amazing product.

But after awhile, since I was really using my bike regularly, I decided to upgrade to something else. So I then had the joy of discovering Hudson Urban Bikes on Charles Street, and basically test rode almost every bike they had, thanks to the patience and passion for biking of George and his team. I settled on a silver Jensen from Germany, and have been incredibly happy with it ever since. I ride it to work every day unless it is pouring rain or snowing heavily. I live on the Upper West Side and work in Midtown, so my commute basically consists of a downhill coast through Central Park every morning. It doesn't get any better than that. I get a bit of exercise and get to feel like I'm in high school on my cruiser again for 15 minutes a day. And then again for 15 minutes going home (uphill a bit, so i get a bit more exercise....). Plus my commute is twice as fast as the subway, without breaking a sweat. On the weekends I put the kids on the bike and the steel frame is as stable as if they were not on it at all. We ride all over town and love it.

Steve Double, corporate lawyer

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Joanna Virello

Once, I built a bike for myself…

I grew up in Bristol, Connecticut which is a famous old clock factory town in the brass belt of New England. My uncle owned a small bike shop there and I fell in love with bicycles at a very early age. My first bike was a Columbia Playbike “88”.  It was Brown with a silver and brown banana seat. I loved it so much, I named it "Starbike" and I went over any kind of jump on it. I was a bit of a tom-boy.

Later in 1983, when I attended art school in Manhattan, I started biking in the city and I rode a Univega Speciallisima touring or “Rando” bicycle. I had seen the film 'Breaking Away' and fell in love with Italian cycling culture. Riding was very dangerous in Manhattan back then and there were no 'real' bike lanes. I got “doored.” and I got hit. So, eventually I realized riding hunched over in the city was not such great idea.  When I moved to DC in the late 80’s riding in that town was even worse that NYC, so I took that same Univega bike and stripped it down and turned it into my version of an upright Dutch bike after an eye opening trip to Amsterdam. The guys at the bike shop in DC laughed at me. They asked me, "what on earth are you trying to do?!” What I wanted to create was a bike that was light, comfortable and looked sophisticated. This concept was unheard of at the time. So I built it since the only bikes available at that time in DC were high-end road bikes or clunky mountain bikes.

Now I'm back in NYC, living in Brooklyn and times have certainly changed in the bicycles styles and choices available to commuters. Being a life-long bicycle spotter and lover, I have four amazing rides now these days. My collection consists of a lovely and light Martone Silver Regard, an elegant black Biria CitiLite 3 upright, a cute light blue Bobbin Birdie 3 and a speedy black Bianchi Milano 8, for longer rides. Too many to name yet each possess their own use and personality. If I have a meeting in Manhattan, I’ll choose a bike and leave apartment and take the DeKalb Avenue bike lane coast downhill and head for the Manhattan Bridge. I get happy instantly because to me the best thing is to ride up and over the East River looking at Manhattan. As I ride across this bridge my mind starts spinning and the ideas for the meeting just come to me. The Brooklyn Bridge and the South Street Seaport are on my left and Chinatown is to the right. I like to stop pedaling midway to take in the view and then I enjoy coasting downhill on the rest of the bridge to Canal Street and at that point life can’t get any better.

Joanna Virello, international exposition organizer and Marketing & Sales Maven for The Martone Cycling Co.

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Sarah Leavitt

I use my bike instead of the subway because it is more reliable.

While I was living in Amsterdam I got introduced to the idea of urban cycling. When I returned to New York I found work at THE HUB. That’s how I got introduced to biking in New York City. With George Bliss gently pushing me into it. He also helped me get a good bike. I live in northern Bed-Sty which is a pretty chaotic area. When I leave my apartment I go over to South Fourth and head  for the shop. When I ride, if there’s not a biking lane I just go the way the cars are going. I bike over to the entrance of the Williamsburg Bridge, which is the toughest of all. It has the steepest incline. The Manhattan Bridge is easiest, the Brooklyn Bridge the most annoying because nobody respects the bike lanes and there are a ton of tourists. I have a LINUS eight speed. It’s like a horse. It helps me get up and over steep approaches to the bridges. Getting to work I use my bike instead of the subway because it is more reliable.

Sarah Leavitt, graduate anthropology student at The New School.

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George Hahn

The bike is my car...

The bike is my car. Weather permitting, I ride it everywhere and in everything, whether I’m in chinos and sneakers, in a suit and wingtips or in a dinner jacket. I’ve lived in Manhattan for nearly twenty years, and have made my way on the subway, on the bus, on foot and in a taxi. For me, the bicycle is the perfect mode of city transportation. It emits zero CO2, burns calories and gets me anywhere I need to go in the city, often faster than a traffic-addled car. And as a writer who promotes living well and looking good for men who are not millionaires, I think a great bike is an extremely cost-effective way to get around with a little bit of style.

George Hahn is a writer for georgehahn.com, Brooklyn Cruiser and Momentum Magazine. He rides a Brooklyn Cruiser Driggs 3.