In case it’s not clear why your favorite brokesters-in-arms are celebrating Bike Month, let’s break it down for you. 1) It’s getting to be waaay too nice to spend an hour or so every day underground. Bike instead, and that’s $4.50 round-trip right there, plus sunshine; 2) Dodging speeding SUVs, racing over the Brooklyn Bridge and stand-up peddling past ice cream trucks is a hell of a workout, and with exponentially better scenery than stale Fresh Prince reruns on the gym TV. BAM! You just saved a $100 membership fee. You get the point. Brooklyn equals bike-friendly, biking equals health-friendly and wallet-friendly, wallet-friendly… well, let’s just go celebrate Bike Month in Brooklyn. Here’s a starter list and some great-sounding (free) events:
First, learn to ride
May 8, May 15, May 22: Late to the bike riding game? Hey, don’t be ashamed. Some of us just learned how to manage a savings account last week. It’s never to late to start, and the NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation is offering free adult classes this Saturday, May 8, where you can learn the basics of starting, stopping, balancing and so forth. Finding a matching messenger bag must be covered in a later class. More info on the clinic, which is 9:30 a.m. at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Kids clinics will follow on May 15 in McCarren Park and May 22 in Carroll Park.
Fix that rusty mess
May 5: Lead a bike to a bike shop, fix it for a day. Time’s Up! hosts regular bike repair workshops to help you discover your own fixer-upper potential. The next one is 6:30 p.m. this Wednesday at the organization’s headquarters at 99 South 6th St., where you can use their tools and stands to work on your bike. Experienced mechanics will be on hand to answer questions, but the group wants you to do the work yourself. Another workshop on Sunday, May 9, focuses on brakes and gears. The workshops are free but donations are encouraged. See the rest of their events for the month here.
Now that you’re moving, where to go?
May 6: Bike Night at Brooklyn Brewery this Thursday featuring $1 drafts, to support Braking the Cycle. More info here.
May 12: Recycle your old bike: learn how to transform used parts into jewelry, candlesticks and wind chimes in a free clinic from Recycle a Bicycle in DUMBO at 7 p.m. (no previous experience required). More info here.
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May 25: If you love your bike so much you want to give it the Jack-and-Rose treatment, you can join a bicycle-painting workshop and focus on gesture, composition and bicycle anatomy. More info here.
All month: Ridethecity.com is hosting a photo scavenger hunt for Bike Month, with prizes including some sweet bike shop gift certificates. More info here.
Get ready for the work week
May 21: Bike to Work Day. Just DO IT.May 24: Lots of people are intimidated by the prospect of commuting into the city via bicycle. To overcome that, the NYC Dept. of Transportation is hosting a 7:30 a.m. escorted bike commute from Brooklyn to midtown. Starting at W. Plaza st. and Union St., Marshals from the department will escort riders from on-street bike lanes, off-street greenways and on the street through different neighborhoods and traffic conditions. It’s open to all skill-levels but a helmet is required. Plus, you get a free 2010 cycling map. More info here.
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I just checked on the Transportation Alternatives website and the National Bike to Work Day is actually on May 21st, not the 28th.
Thanks for that, Lindsay. All corrected.