Back to work

That it now seems colder than it was in New York is a sign that I've adjusted to my return to the west side, packing NYC back in the realm of exotic, far away places.

Dangling from the basket of a messenger bike in Manhattan

I saw the Catherine Opie exhibit at the Gugenheim museum. She is tightt.

Now I'm back to job at the bike shop and I can't complain.



Fast Boots, a.k.a. "Blondie" doing a backwards, no handed track stand on VI's bike:

Running through traffic in New York

Before I had a chance to borrow a bike and ride in New York I'd gotten so antsy walking everywhere that one afternoon I just took off and started running down the middle of the street in an effort to make it to a meeting with a friend on time:

New York Messengers

Come in more varieties than their SF cousins. And they never roll up their right pant leg.


There are guys that get around on public transportation:



Many bikes have front baskets. Plus there is an entire subsection of messengers who just deliver food. I heard the money's not that bad.





Most use the diesel chain to lock up:



Over the course of my visit, I tried to imagine working in this city. I think I would have enjoyed it, though the cold might be an issue.

New York Messengers

They're different than San Francisco messengers. On the whole they are older and ride shittier more practical bikes. There is also this sort of world weariness about them.

I hope to take some pictures and post them later.

Manhattan is as overwhelming as ever. I love this city.

Skitching - It's Timeless

Today on my way to work I got off at Embarcadero BART again. I was thinking about stopping by a downtown store to buy some more pants for work, but I got got up talking to Jeremiah and "Battle Ax" Mike at the statue. One of those clear, blue, perfect days where messengers don't know how good they have it.

I had some time to kill so I rode all the way up market. Chaz, a messenger transplant from Portland, caught up with me somewhere around 1390 Market and we started racing. Dude is fast, [er than me] but he doesn't have gears, so I had the advantage.

I turned up Van Ness and proceded to catch a few different skitches, just for the fun of it, up Van.

Last Sunday I learned that my late Grandfather used to skitch trucks growing up in Los Angeles in the 20's. Pretty stoked about that.

Sign reads: Bicycle Parking Prohibited

I was running late so I decided to get off at Embarcadero, the first place BART stops in the city, and race to work instead of waiting a few more stops which would put me closer to Bike Nut.

Even though I was late, I swung by the statue after running into Kalman of Spirit Courier, on his fixed gear heading the same way.

Biking to work from downtown was invigorating. I may be missing the messenger job less these days but I'm sure as hell loving city car wrestling more.

Plus the skitch I caught from Broadway and Stockton about a quarter of the way into the Stockton Tunnel was grand. 40mph was fast enough in that decaying tube, wearing sunglasses that blinded me. K-dawg from work told me the other day that the tunnel's full of asbestos. Nice.

I've been taking fewer photos since I switched phones.

I used to work for a translation company in Japan where there are a lot of bicycles:

Critical Mass / Becoming a Square

I must be turning into an L7. On my ride home from work this evening I ran into critical mass, and "damn" was my first thought.

The almost critical mass of cyclists was careening towards the Broadway Tunnel and I knew I had to beat them in to salvage my commute, which I did with gusto. [By using the word "gusto" my Tycoon Status has been revoked.]

Here's a picture I snagged from John who was apparently in the tunnel: