Gothamist: Video of the Day: Bike Riding Through NYC at Top Speed

ms_xxvi

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:41:15 -0500

remember... when your boss needs you to fetch those documents to close his big deal on a friday at 5:00pm, it's the bike messenger that you call to bring it on a rush job. when you're telling your cabbie to hurry up because you're late for your date with corporate barbie, it's the person on the bike that has to bust their ass to get the hell out of the way. when you call to have food delivered because you're too lazy to get it yourself, think about the person that rode their bike around the corner for you. this is new york city folks. the style of riding that you see in the "empire" trailer is possible because these riders have acquired the skills to keep them alive while working in this city. while you might not totally agree with what they're doing, they deserve the respect that they have earned. just like corporate suits, not all riders are the same. when you step out of your office next time, open your eyes a little bit and realize these people are working hard for people like you. when it rains or snows or is a 105 outside, think about how comfy your ass is sitting in your chair getting fat. the next time you take your cruiser out on a loop through the park on a sunny saturday afternoon ride, remember what it was like for you to make your way through the streets of the city to get there. and remember, just like driving, an unskilled person is not only harmful to themselves but most harmful to the people around them.

annnna

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:50:39 -0500

Okay, from a purely artistic standpoint, that was fun to watch. Pretty colors and beautiful almost-sunset light.

hubcap

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:28:14 -0500

i bike in the sprawled southbay area, i'd rather bike through stopped city traffic than expressways of speeding SUVs and pickups.

GarySe7en

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:06:06 -0500

I'm a L.A. rider, but I got a little taste of NYC riding this weekend. People think riding a bike in LA is crazy, but really NYC is a whole other world of crazy. I don't know which is more dangerous, New York is more chaotic, but LA has more speeding SUVs and a less connected network of bike routes. Can't beat the weather in LA for riding a bike though.

lanciano

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:03:36 -0500

i thought i was a risky bike rider but those people are just crazy. and i bet none of them have brakes.

WorksInDUMBO

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:18:54 -0500

I agree--it was kind of boring. And they don't even look like they are doing anything all THAT dangerous (other than the guy merging on to the highway). The comments, however, are quite entertaining!

Fritzdecat

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:05:46 -0500

heres another good one

Jerky

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:40:03 -0500

>Guys like these are surprisingly not the types who get into fatal >accidents often. I think they only get one chance at that! They can be the best riders in the world...all it takes is one mistake by a driver, and without a helmet, they're toast. I've cracked a helmet in a fairly minor fall on pavement. It doesn't take much to get a serious brain injury.

FotoDogue

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:09:36 -0500

It's so Lucas Brunell. http://www.digave.com/videos/red-web.mpg

Roquentin

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:10:43 -0500

As in so many other cases, when people say "tough" it could pretty easily be exchanged with "stupid." It wouldn't take but one cab driver not paying attention to put an end to their biking days once and for all. Getting around the city in a wheelchair isn't nearly as glamorous.

Novanglus

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:48:55 -0500

You were telling a story about something you did. I said what I would have done if I was present, and saw someone doing that...which I don't think you did anyway. What does my having a vagina have to do with anything?

nice job

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:12:12 -0500

Guys like these are surprisingly not the types who get into fatal accidents often. They do this frequently enough that they anticipate nearly everything. Everyone else can quit the tough guy act.

NannyState

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:59:01 -0500

Babyhitler's probably right. The guys in the video are pretty expert riders and might never get jacked up. But kids watching this stuff will go out in the streets...and you know the rest. The camera angles are great and the rides are breathtaking but I hope that people will just see this as entertainment and nothing more.

hoardofmagnets

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:53:12 -0500

If you find this video interesting maybe you should check out some skateboarding videos. That shit will blow your mind.

emilydickinson

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:30:42 -0500

Seriously, threatening people on message boards is about the least productive way to spend your time possible. Ghost Face Killer said it best on the Cd-Rom that accompanied Wu-Tang Forever: "Yeah, yeah, all you mf'ers are about to get punched in the face through the internet. People are gonna be getting punched through the screen and shit."

thefacts

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:26:48 -0500

Novanlus @ #43 threatens:"I'd have stepped in and broken your face" Novanlus @ #56 lies: "Not trying to threaten you," After you finish adjusting your panties, little fella, you can return to typing threats anonymously on your keyboard.

Novanglus

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:32:33 -0500

Also, "thefacts", if you've never gotten any injuries growing up around here, you've never been in a fight. Everyone who throws down catches a whoopin every now and then. So quit your act.

Novanglus

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:28:06 -0500

Not trying to threaten you, but it's YOU who are trying to come off as though you're some tough guy or did something helpful for the sake of the city by taking our a bike messenger. Are you fat and jealous of someone who gets more exercise than your lazy ass will ever get? Do you hate your job, or hate yourself, and dislike anyone that might have a hint of passion in their daily routine? Or did you make up the story thinking you'd get a laugh here? You're a fuckin loser, pal.

texinyc

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:30:38 -0500

Video looks cool. Wearing a helmet may not look that cool, but it's definitely cooler than a brain injury.

crihs

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:23:07 -0500

"only 2 guys were really going fast. the guy at 2:35 and 3:14. the other guys were kinda normal speed. Still, Props to the biker camera guy. Shooting this is harder than riding. People don't understand that the faster you go on a bike the safer you are. The slow speed shit is the shit that kills you and causes accidents." as far as i know, messengers and food delivery guys do this all the time. i barely see any pedestrians getting hit. most of the time is the pedestrians fault, because they are either jay-walking or on their iphone. as soon as a pedestrian sees a open road they go for it and then the rest of the idiots. its like follow the leader or something. messengers dont want to hit by pedestrians, they are actually trying to avoid em' at all cost. cars and trucks are a bigger issue. non of you will ever understand what its like to be a messenger because your sitting behind a desk 9-5. you dont know what they deal with on a daily basis. the city has bigger issues like a corrupt police department to deal with... if your following your stats, most bike fatalities happen to regular commuters and not people who work on their bikes on the streets. read up.

everyAframe

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:02:32 -0500

You're doing anything that big and that frequently on that level, you're not the statistic in most cases. Guy like me getting out of the office for a ride once or twice a week? THAT'S your statistic waiting to happen, helmet or not.

Qraymond

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:55:08 -0500

As someone with a bike messenger in my family, I have a lot of respect for the profession. That being said, riding without a helmet is like having sex without a condom-- it may feel liberating, but you are being an irresponsible moron. And cutting through crowds of pedestrians when they have the light makes you just as much of a douche as the drivers who open their doors without checking to see if you're passing them.

JacqueMehoff

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:49:18 -0500

I didn't see many 18 wheelers in the vid, I suppose that's one reason why it may be safer. there's buses but with buses you know they'll stop every few blocks and they usually stay in there lane. I think that's a reason why I see so few cyclists on Canal street.

babyhitler

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:48:12 -0500

You guys are getting it all wrong. These cyclists won't ever get killed cause they are experts and professionals. They anticipate everything. look at the stats. The cyclists that get killed are usually leisure recreationists that take a wrong turn, hit a wrong bump or get hit by a car door.

pete

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:39:13 -0500

Transportation Alternatives=bicycle manufacturer's lobby group This video is 1 reason why NYPD hates critical mass. It also shows how bad NYC traffic is if you can take a bike on the highway.

thefacts

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:23:33 -0500

#43 You'd do what, Walter Mitty? Funny, I've lived here all my life with no scars or broken bones and handled myself well when NY was not full of computer-screen warriors with Tuff Guy fantasies like you. Go back to your typing, Spartacus; there are no terror in your threats.

MonkSalve

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:11:18 -0500

I do wonder what the stats are for bike fatalities. One might think that these guys would make up most of it but on the other hand they are way more skilled than your average commuter.

JacqueMehoff

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:45:49 -0500

those are some awesome riding skills. the countersteering, the skidding the rear wheel. I would like to see them do a emergency stop or would they evade the obstacle?

Novanglus

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:37:55 -0500

HAHAHAHA @ fritz. :)

Fritzdecat

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:34:41 -0500

Damn I bet that bike pusher cop saw this video his head might explode.

Novanglus

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:20:46 -0500

Hey #40, if I was a guy watching the incident, I'd have stepped in and broken your face by slamming your own car door on it. You're not Captian America, bucko. You're not doign anyone favors.

skbk

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:18:58 -0500

Newsflash: cars, bikes and people are all reckless in the road every day here. Did you people crying about reckless biking just move to New York yesterday?

Steven

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:18:21 -0500

Not wearing a helmet, cutting cars and pedestrians off sure gives other cyclists a bad name. If a car pedestrian by accident hit one of the cyclists I'm sure they will be blaming the car or pedestrian. Really nice to put your heads on other people cars. These cyclists featured in the videos are a bunch of idiots. It's not going to be cute when you are sent to the hospital or worse lose your life.

thefacts

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:11:58 -0500

Hi #36, Are the bike messenger that I noticed from my rear-view mirror a couple of years ago on Fifth Ave and 13th Street, acting like these a**holes, cutting in and out, and terrorizing pedestrians? Just as you approached my left side, I put on my left-hand turn signal and immediately cut into the left lane. The cyclist went flying. Was that you, Mr. Tuff Guy?

rasputinsghost

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:05:59 -0500

I love queenbeekelly's logic. First is the idea that all the posters here are all wall street bankers. This isn't the comment section for the WSJ, so I doubt that. But the best part is this, paraphrased: ''I can't believe you are threatening bodily harm, so now I will threaten to hit you with my mighty bicycle.'' Whoops!

RatherBe

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:00:27 -0500

@36 Because the way these people ride (often PLAYING not WORKING) put others lives at risk as well as their own. I'm a student and I've worked as a messenger for two years, and these guys are morons. I certainly don't wish them harm, but they absolutely have it coming and it's unfair when they put others in danger. And did you just threaten others with bodily harm at the end of your post? Nice work.

TheEarlierThanLaterShow

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:55:04 -0500

Yawn... Bodily harm or not, that trailer was BORING. I don't think it caught the freedom or excitement from bicycling at all. Maybe the feature length will, but I doubt it.

queenbeekelly

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:48:40 -0500

it really is shocking how shameless the people are which have posted messages wishing these hardworking people bodily harm. since when has it been wrong to be dedicated and enthusiastic about a sport and a career and to make it your own by doing tricks and putting your own spin on it. i guess you are just bored and depressed because you have lost your wall street jobs and fat christmas bonus' so you have to wish harm to people that are still living their lives and getting on through these tough times. all you haters disgust me. i hope you step out in front of my bike one day and i will be sure to let you know that you are worth nothing more then to be tread upon by my tires.

enfant

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:42:38 -0500

These people getting killed just means one or two less a-holes in the city. The problem is the very real possibility that they wouldn't get killed alone - they'd slam into a pedestrian and seriously hurt them too. Their suicidal tendencies are their problem (and our gain), but they are not just suicidal. They are homicidal and inconsiderate scum.

invisible

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:23:53 -0500

I'm curious: With how hard the city has been, and I imagine will continue to be, towards cyclists, how smart is it to put your full name on a video that displays all of the cycling laws you're breaking? I should hope that this video won't serve as a vehicle (er, pun?) to further damage the viewpoint that many hold against cyclists. I do feel that messengers deserve a great deal of respect, as their job is extremely brutal. However, I don't see how wise is it to post a video for all the world to see of you breaking laws. And honestly, I'd personally appreciate it if those of you who ride like this would fucking knock it off. I work in Times Square, which is already the armpit of Manhattan. It's hard enough to cross the damn avenues without getting clobbered by some asshat riding the wrong way up an avenue. I'm sure it's thrilling and fun, it's obvious from the video it's a rush, but you're giving me weekly heart attacks by riding like this.

ny_am

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:23:25 -0500

The assholes who ride like these guys, nearly running pedestrians over and cutting off traffic, give the rest of us cyclists a very bad name.

RatherBe

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:15:16 -0500

And it can get really depressing when you realize your only special 'skill' is riding a bike in traffic.

emilydickinson

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:12:59 -0500

@Novanglus If you can ride, and work for one the few decent companies you can probably make $100-$150 a day. It's just a brutally hard job, especially in the rain and in the winter.

RatherBe

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:09:14 -0500

@22 what? no evidence to your point? i guess you're wrong. and i won't care at all when one of these losers gets hit. they would know they had it coming.

Novanglus

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:06:07 -0500

I don't know what messengers get paid, but that's some pretty cool shit. I am very anti-hipster, but these guys get a lot of respect from me. It has to be tremendously fun to be able to cruise the city, not beign held back by the traffic and idiocy that surrounds you. When you're talented on a bike, the street might as well be empty, and you feel like you own the city. I want to go back to riding. Anyone here who hates is either ignorant or fat.

breaknight

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:04:26 -0500

The only people who would find are boys age 8-17, or adults with the mental capacity of said boys.

Nick S

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:03:49 -0500

This is like a skate video with all the interesting parts taken out.

gimme

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:03:30 -0500

hard plastic keyboard keys dawg, and stop acting like you're all tough, usually the biggest pussies

emilydickinson

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:02:45 -0500

I really enjoyed the riding and city streets shots, but I think the fake BMX stuff is a bit lame (If you want to see insane NYC riding check out 'Can I Eat?'). That looks it's going to be better than 'Pedal' which was a big disappointment. I'll definitely see this when it comes out. It's not cool to ride a fix through crowd of pedestrians like that, there is no way you can stop quick enough. Honestly if you ride that way and hit a pedestrian they're going to the hospital at best. I was creamed by a trackie on the Prospect Park loop a few years back and it actually bent the rear stays on my bike. I'm a dedicated rider, and I love nothing more than having fun on my bike, but some of that stuff is just selfish and irresponsible riding. Was that guy riding on the BQE?

Jack Crank

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:59:14 -0500

Here we go again with the Gothamist pussy party. Do you all type on padded keyboards?

babyhitler

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:58:09 -0500

only 2 guys were really going fast. the guy at 2:35 and 3:14. the other guys were kinda normal speed. Still, Props to the biker camera guy. Shooting this is harder than riding. People don't understand that the faster you go on a bike the safer you are. The slow speed shit is the shit that kills you and causes accidents.

UnrepentantFenian

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:57:31 -0500

@ #10: Transportation Alternatives is a handful of morons. And when someone runs one of these knuckleheads over you'll all be screaming for the driver to be arrested.

gimme

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:55:42 -0500

i bike but i'm not a look-at-me showboat doucher, they're usually the ones that get broadsided, and make the streets unsafe for pedestrians that are just trying to cross the street

Future Taliban

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:50:55 -0500

Biking thru NYC like that is definitely nnot for the faint of heart, which rules out 99.3% of the douchebags that post here. Eat my tire tracks MF's!

gimme

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:50:51 -0500

to eddie b doucher, er, ok, you need to calm down there pallie, guess you're not getting laid enough

mrguy

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:45:30 -0500

oh man, this video... i LOVE riding around the city and i've ridden through so many of the same streets and intersections as you see here. zipping through traffic like that.. you can't imagine how fun it is. That said, i do think they should wear helmets. i'd be paralyzed with fear to ride like that without one. Also, they know what they're dong is risky. if one of them bites it, i'll have a hard time feeling bad. However, tearing through crosswalks full of pedestrians, riding against traffic, or biking on a highway, that shit makes my blood boil. you're endangering other people's lives. NOT COOL. in those cases, i find myself thinking "i hope you get hit and the driver walks away scot free."

RatherBe

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:41:37 -0500

@11 actually they've been doing this for a few years and it's not very likely it'll happen that soon.

eddie b

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:40:41 -0500

"prediction: we'll be reading about one of these guys being run over by dump truck in the next several months and thereafter a white bicycle shrine follows" that was the premise of the original piece you moron. did you read the times this morning, walk to work and announce "prediction: there'll be a presidential election in the next several months and thereafter a new president follows."?

fishfryin

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:38:47 -0500

wow these guys are doing wonders to warm the general public to the idea of increased bike/pedestrian streets....

Gothampc

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:35:35 -0500

"prediction: we'll be reading about one of these guys being run over by dump truck in the next several months and thereafter a white bicycle shrine follows" And then someone will sue someone and somehow New York City taxpayers will be left footing the bill.

zodak

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:34:23 -0500

i can't believe they put their full names on that video.

pandarelated

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:29:53 -0500

i have to admit im slightly jealous that i don't / can't / won't meet life with such reckless abandonment. hipster or not.

gimme

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:29:38 -0500

prediction: we'll be reading about one of these guys being run over by dump truck in the next several months and thereafter a white bicycle shrine follows

RatherBe

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:28:16 -0500

@6 STFU, troll. These handful of morons have nothing to do with groups like TA.

Champion

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:25:44 -0500

This is such an enjoyable watch for anyone who knows the city.

Huffy6241

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:24:19 -0500

Makes being a reckless hipster douche bag seem pretty cool.

ChampionOfTheSun

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:23:25 -0500

Cool video. But, there's a difference between having fun on your bike in the city and doing dangerous things on a bike.

thefacts

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:21:46 -0500

Have the good citizens at Streetsblog and the self-righteous zealots at Transportation Alternatives any comment? Don't hold your breath, folks.

saIad

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:17:59 -0500

get your hands OFF my car, hippie!

matty

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:17:43 -0500

wear

RatherBe

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:17:41 -0500

If I had a job as depressing as that I'd make a cool video about it to make myself feel better.

matty

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:17:34 -0500

yeah, extra cool but where a helmet. These guys are one accident away from brain damage.

Splicer

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:10:09 -0500

Future roadkill.