‘The world is a bike ride to Coney Island’. This is what I wrote as the subtitle of my Coney Island bike route, and it still feels like that. Yesterday I rode with my mother (65) and son of 16 months all the way from the Upper West Side to Brighton Beach, where the Russians live. It took all day, with a visit to bike shop Adeline Adeline in Tribeca, who kindly lend us their WorkCycles oma bike to put the child seat on, and the Dutch Rolling Orange in Cobble Hill, both beautiful stores. We spent a few hours in Prospect Park while Maris napped, and read the newspaper, with coffee. Then the adventure continued, over the long Ocean Parkway, crossing Avenue A to Z, surviving several bumps and cracks in the pavement, and one idiot turning - without looking - in his car. And passing by so many stories and lives, of people from all over the world, and all religions. It is a rough road, and halfway I though - like I did the times before - what the hell I am doing. But then you hit the Coney Island boardwalk, literally, and this is such a great thing: To leave by bike from Manhattan, and ride all the way to the sea. It’s like a journey, and I can never get enough of this.

We crashed on the beach, while the sun was setting. Maris was happy to finally have reached the destination. And then we had dinner at Tatiana’s on Brighton Beach, a real Russian restaurant with delicious food. Next to us, old Russian ladies and men sat outside and listened to music, while watching the people go by. We biked to the subway station, as Maris fell asleep, and rode the whole way back again on the train. Exhausted, inspired and satisfied, just like good traveling ought to feel.

A new saddle for my old horse

Today was a grey, drizzly and foggy day in New York. As I rode my bike from the Upper West Side down over Ninth Avenue, cars, pedestrians, everyone looked serious. Including me, who was focusing on the wet pavement, the traffic, red light green light, cars coming from the right, cars from the left. Regardless of the weather - and really in any circumstance - I so love this feeling. All the energy of the city narrowed into one track, the world around my wheels. It is a great feeling of freedom and control at the same time. Every time I am back riding these streets I am reminded of why I wanted to make a book about this. It’s just the best: Way worth sharing, and way worth supporting in order to make it even better for bicyclists in New York.

So these two weeks I am here to bike around, test the routes I set out now two years ago, meet with the people featured in the book, find more interesting bike stories, and exciting rides.

Thus, to be continued…

Ride with us NYC!

Ride with me NYC at Waterfront Bicycles

more about the festival…

Roos delivering books to Governors Island in NYC