Masthead header

  • Welcome to the #BikeNYC blog!

    Brooklyn photographer Dmitry Gudkov's #BikeNYC project is an ongoing series of portraits and profiles of New Yorkers who use a bicycle to get around. Taken together, these images and stories begin to form a portrait of New York as an emerging cycling city.

03-25-2010

Sunday, March 7, 2010

That date marked the first good weather weekend of 2010 in New York. This meant that the grass of McCarren park was once again full of people soaking in the chilly sun, lidded Styrofoam cups from the Turkey’s Nest dotted the landscape, and the repetitive notes of the Mr. Softy truck permeated the air. This was also a time for the most… shall we say archetypal resident bike owners of Williamsburg to see and be seen.

For some it was a time to air out their winter moustaches.

For others, a chance to don sensible eye protection and catch up with friends.

And for others still, to inspire some “Yo dawg, I heard you like bikes…” jokes.

Not surprisingly, no one had any time at all for brakes.

Tweet This|Get your own #BikeNYC Portrait|Buy a Print

show hide 3 comments

add a comment
email a friend

Tweets that mention Sunday, March 7, 2010 » #BikeNYC -- Topsy.com - [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dmitry Gudkov Photo. Dmitry Gudkov Photo said: On the #BikeNYC blog: Bike-watching in McCarren Park. No brakes allowed! With pictures! http://gudphoto.com/bikenyc/?p=183 [...]

Andrew - Great shots as always!

Just wanted to point out that the last gentleman (the one with the bike frame on his shoulder) does have a coaster brake on that singlespeed bike (you can see it connected at the chainstay).

Dmitry - Good eye, Andrew, thanks!

03-23-2010

David

David lives in Greenpoint. He teaches Literature and makes music. You can hear some of the songs off his new CD, “Don’t Call It The Moon”, on his Myspace page. I really like “Fan Letter” and “Take It Back”. His bike is a Kronan Classic Men’s 3 Speed Swedish military bicycle. It’s classic and built like a tank. David and the Kronan go back a ways — he got it over 5 years ago when he was still a grad student at Berkeley and took it with him when he moved to Philadelphia. He had to disassemble it, ship the frame, and take the wheels in his carry-on. While he mostly relies on his new Vespa for his commute to Queens, the Kronan is his reliable go-to transport for shorter jaunts around Brooklyn.
We did this shoot last Thursday afternoon, mostly around McCarren Park. We then walked over to North 15th Street where we were lucky to find a sunset and some graffiti which was the exact color of his bike.

Check the full Flickr set for a few more photos from this shoot.

Do you bike in New York? I want to take your portrait!

Tweet This|Get your own #BikeNYC Portrait|Buy a Print

show hide 1 comment

add a comment
email a friend

Dmitry Gudkov Photography » BikeNYC shoot with David - [...] another shoot in my #BikeNYC series with David Copenhafer. See the post here. Comments [...]

03-10-2010

Google Maps has a bike mode!

Finally! The Twitters are aflutter this morning with the news that Google Maps has added a “Bicycling” mode to their package (in addition to Car, Public Transit, and Walking). To test it out, I asked for directions from my place in Greenpoint to Abilene bar in Carroll Gardens. Now that the weather is nicer, I foresee that this is a trip I will be taking more and more often…

It’s pretty funny that Google wants me to bike over the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan, ride through Chinatown and take the Manhattan Bridge back into Brooklyn. Not how I’d choose to do it… but their second and third route suggestions were more logical, though I guess less safe from a bike lane perspective. This update hasn’t made its way onto the Google Maps app on my Android phone yet. That’s where it would be most helpful.

Tweet This|Get your own #BikeNYC Portrait|Buy a Print

no comments

add a comment
email a friend