Bicycle Infatuation

I don't know what it is about the end of summer, but there is no other time during the year when I fantasize so much about bicycles.  Perhaps it is the feeling that school, job, responsibility is coming again and there is some primal, childlike need to ride away abandoning responsibility and adulthood, but, regardless, my bike obsession consistently reaches its apex at this time every single year.  I dream of old rusty bikes with character, new shiny bikes with class, baby blue beach cruisers with baskets, and ten speeds with streamers and baseball cards shoved in the spokes.

All Bike Images Via the Ever Addictive Pinterest...

In many other countries, the bike has status for its role in affordable, environmentally-friendly transportation. If New York City would only embrace this attitude, it really might just be my perfect city. That said, this Saturday is the last of New York City's annual "Summer Streets" event in which they close down Park Avenue all the way to Brooklyn Bridge for bike riders and, on top of this, they offer FREE bicycles to ride! I am definitely going to need to take advantage of this opportunity to reclaim that childhood feeling of minimal responsibility and maximum fun--if only for a little while...

Looking for a great movie that pays homage to the wonder of the bicycle? Two of my favorites are The Triplets of Belleville and Beijing Bicycle.  Both films explore the symbolic and cultural significance of the bicycle and also (overtly in Triplets and subtly in Beijing) explore the transformation of society as reflected in the cultural value given to the bicycle.  Also, Triplets has the most amazing soundtrack!

Here's to bicycles!