*GAL IN NEW YORK '07* Riding with NY's big bike clubs

Pictured right: BF downtown dealer David Lam of bfold.com presentd the tikit at my talk

THIS YEAR I finally pulled it off ... I presented my shtick to one of the two big bike clubs in NYC, the 5BBC. Although marginally lower profile than getting on Oprah, it's a coup given that the home of Bike Friday, Eugene, Oregon, isn't exactly a subway stop from NYC. Stalking program chair Barry Hartglass using guerilla emailing finally worked. Poor Barry now tells me he's moments away from ordering a Bike Friday every time I see him - what did I say?

Pictured left: The Gal, Barry Hartglass and Richard Sanford - in New World Tourist battle dress as always!

The 5BBC has many Friday owners, including colorful tour guide Richard Sanford who pops up on his fully loaded New World Tourist wherever I happened to loiter, including the LAB Bike Ed conference in Austin where I keynoted. His Australia slide show was accompanied by gourmet sausage rolls and meat pies from a local Aussie pie shop called the Tuck Shop (that's Aussie for candy store/snack joint). I hadn't eaten this fabulously fatty fare since I was 10 years old. Later, a group of us went out for supper and I produced a small jar of Promite, better than Vegemite or Marmite, for a group tasting. It must be eaten as a thin scrape on good white buttered toast, upside down, because as the ad said, "our taste buds are on the top of your tongue, so turn your toast, upside down" ...

A RARE AND EXOTIC DOUBLEDAY opportunity presented itself as I was loitering with intent near the George Washington Bridge ... 3x BF owner Jeff Gilbert came by on his Air Friday and of course we got chatting. Some incessant fishing to get a peek into his upper west side digs led to the discovery of a DoubleDay recumbent tandem, no longer made by Bike Friday but jealously guarded by a lucky few proud owners. "My wife and I take it shopping in Chinatown and it's like a Chinese grandparent-magnet," he said, referring to my ethnic brethren's love of cool gadgets. We took it on the 5BBC chilly Choco-loco ride in November, and now I want one, captain or no. Tip: SatRDay and DoubleDay owners are urged to join the SatRDay Club to swap tips and tricks with some tech-savvy owners of these two models.

THE 5 BORO BIKE TOUR is probably the largest single-day ride in the country, attracting 30,000 rides for an easy 42-mile amble from Bronx to Brooklyn and not far beyond. I first rode it in 2002 on a TwinAir tandem with customer Mike Schuyler, then in 2005, noticing that the caliber of rest stop food had dwindled to water and bananas. Being a foodie I was going to pass on doing it again, but this year, 5-boro Super Captain Ed Pino got me a front line volunteer pass as a Franklin Marshall. Check out my uncaptioned photo gallery and watch for the movie.

BIKE CLUBS AND RIDES GALORE... and you thought NY was too congested or too stressed for anyone but Mad Max messengers? I've encountered more opportunities to ride more places here, than anywhere else. Granted, there might be less open space, but being one who's seen enough open space to last me a few reincarnations, I welcome the delightful NY bike club rides that go through neighborhoods and take in the glassy skylines as well. Checking out the latest 'luxury condo' development is almost a sport here, as well as the celebs who seem to be forever moving in and out.

I've already mentioned the 5BBC. I wrote an article about their clever system that ensures no-one gets left behind. Its ride calendar is a dazzling opportunity for riders who like eat chocolate and chit-chat rather than miles. I went on a Garden City Ride, a Chocolate Ride, a Queens Ride, Turkey Ride and even a remote beach ride to the Rockaways on the far side of Queens/Brooklyn. If I blocked my ears to people saying 'tomAYto' I could have been back Downunder, it was so hot - I even had to rig up a beach shack using two bikes (see picture). Oh yes, and there was also a "Fresh Kills" ride on Staten Island, which was not where the mafia buried their handiwork but a sprawling former rubbish dump made into a park and residential land. We were treated to a guided tour by a park ranger who explained how it takes about 5-7 years for the layers of Pop-Tart boxes and Tide bottles to squish down before they can build. She pointed out the vents that allow the perfume to escape (has anyone tried bottling it and selling it as a deterrent to keep the seats either side of you in a cinema free?). The neighbors who tolerated the stench and stigma for the pittance they paid to live nearby are well and truly laughing now ...

The NEW YORK CYCLE CLUB is famous for fast rides that leave cargo-shorts wearers in the dust (don't even dare to turn up to an A or B ride unless you can maintain 16-18 miles an hour for two hours, I'm told), yet I found myself on a very relaxed Staten Island Bluegrass Festival Ride. Have a listen. That ride ended up costing me a lot of money after the leader told me about the famous Mandolin Bros guitar shop. NYCC's Jay Jacobson also leads a 'Lower Hud/West Bank Vistas' ride twice a month which Bicycling Magazine lauded as 'one of the great club rides in the U.S.' I've ridden this ride with Jay at the advertised pace of 'B16' with no problem (what's not to love about a Pocket Rocket Pro?) - I like this club for getting fitter faster. There's this quirky sign on Riverside Drive that prohibits wheels under 24". Pshaw! Ride right on past it, baby ...

Pictured left: Catch Jay if you can! He welcomed me by wearing a Downunder jersey ...

THE WEEKDAY CYCLISTS led by Bike Friday owner Trudy Hutter and co-coordinator Ann Shorter is a small group with a large membership that ride Tuesdays and Thursdays - Tuesdays for 3 laps round Central Park (about an hour) and Thursdays for some serious urban expeditions ranging from 40-60 flattish miles, at a relaxed pace, with a sit-down lunch stop. If you want to see some svelte she-bikes this is the group - titanium Sevens, Merlins and Litespeeds. Trudy reserves her Friday for travel but broke it out on one occasion when I announced I was showing up. I joined her some great rides to Westchester (the club's annual metric century) and to a quaint town called Ridgefield in New Jersey. Now that's what I call a nine-to-five job!

Pictured right: The Weekday Cyclists can take you on a 9 to 5 far from the land of glassy towers and 'luxury condos' ...

More coming ... Bike Boat Bike, Boston Bike Film Fest, Central Jersey Bike Club pays a visit and more ...

RIDING IN AND AROUND NY, 2007

May 9-22: ITALY, Bike Across Italy for Ciclismo Classico departing from NYC: Read full report
June 8-10: PHILADELPHIA Round*Up: Read Full Report
June 11: NYC Route 66 screening and bfold.com presentation at 5BBC
Sep 21-23: NH Rye Recumbent Rally: Read report
Oct 8: NYC 5bbc Ride to Garden City, Long Island
Oct 13: NYC BF Club of Central Jersey Ride around Manhattan
Oct 15: NYC 5bbc bike club presentation on Australia by BF owner Richard Sanford
Oct 16:NYC Ride with the NYC Weekday Cyclists.
Oct 20-21:MA Boston Bike Film Fest - RoundUp Video selected for screening
Oct 24: 6pm Welcome BF Club of NY folks at new BF dealer NYCE Wheels: Read report
Nov 1: Ridgefield NJ, 50 miler with The Weekday Cyclists
Nov 10: 5BBC Annual Turkey Ride with Ed Pino and Liz Baum
Nov 11: 5BBC Chocolate Ride with Danny Liebermann and John Chiarella