Musician and artist David Byrne shares his NYC cycling tips:
Since I've ridden a bike in NY for almost 20 years now as a means of transport I've learned some lessons.
- New Jersey drivers have rarely seen pedestrians before. Bikes they've seen even less. They cannot see you, so if you see Jersey plates, be careful.
- Limos and town cars think they rule the road. The only time I've ever gotten hit was by a limo.
- Food delivery guys have been instructed by some malicious deity to always drive facing traffic, and to force other cyclists heading towards them into unseen traffic coming up from behind. It's unfair to judge immigrants based on their bicycle behavior, but....since the Yuan is now no longer tied to the dollar I suspect things will be heating up in the near future.
- No one has yet designed a helmet that is safe, light, aerodynamic, ventilated and most important of all- attractive. (admittedly this is subjective) A lady on 25th st was selling raccoon tails out of a shopping cart once (cheap too!)- so I tried tying one of those on to my helmet. But it didn't really help.
- I'm thinking those masochistic looking skinny seats might be more comfortable in the long run than the big soft cushy ones.
- The landlord and the city building code people let me install a shower in my office because I ride a bike to work. Really.
- I can gallery hop or hit the clubs at night or in the afternoon cheaply and efficiently. It beats cabbing, and the subway is sporadic at night.
- There's a man near me who usually dresses in white and pink and rides a teeny pink child's bike- decorated with aluminum streamers.
- I once got a ticket for running a red light on my bike. Fair enough. I hope that if I obey the traffic rules then I will in turn be given the space and rights any other vehicle would receive. I decided to contest the ticket downtown, and got another ticket for the exact same thing on the way to court. I usually stop at red lights, like cyclists do in Europe, though sometimes I do feel ridiculous stopping for nothing.
- Avoid bombs, package searches, fear of public transport, or claustrophobia- ride a bike.
