BikeNYC Portrait: Hal

I think it’s safe to say that Hal Ruzal is New York City’s most famous bicycle mechanic. He’s been a fixture at Bicycle Habitat for over 30 years. He’s also appeared in a hilarious series of videos on Street Films, in which he grades the bike locking skills of fellow New Yorkers. Having heard of Hal but never met him, it was a treat to do his bike portrait. We met at the bike shop and took the photo right outside, which is why he’s still wearing his work gloves.

Some trivia on Hal’s bike: It’s a 1973 Schwinn that he bought at a garage sale in 1982, for$50. Hal’s ridden over over 117,000 miles on it (he’s on his 4th odometer) in 25 states. And it’s still got its original paint job. A beautiful thing, no?

Thanks so much to Hal for agreeing to do the photo, and to Lara of Bicycle Habitat for putting me in touch with him. Bicycle Habitat are very active in all matters bike-related in NYC, so make sure you check them out on Twitter.

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