I'm in New York for a couple weeks, which is really great. One of the great new things in Manhattan is the west-side bike path which runs the length of the island. Dave & Justine and I set out on a ride this weekend bound for the Cloisters and managed to get a little taste of the many different worlds that collide here.

Follow along with the pop up photos! First, we cruised out to the Frying Pan, a derelict ship that you can explore and have parties on, and wandered among the sports and leisure world of the Chelsea Piers. Soon, we found ourselves in Riverside Park where thousands of people were picnicing and blasting loud latin music. Then things got silent and sylvan as we passed into the northern reaches of Manhattan. Finally, we decided to turn it up a notch and cruised through Harlem, where the classic busted-open fire hydrant scene unfolded, through central park, and finally a mad dash down Broadway through Times Square which is easily the most intense urban biking experience you can have.

If you've spent more than 5 minutes on the internet recently you've heard about the panic over Kryptonite (and other U-shaped brands) Bike Locks. For those who havn't, it turns out you can open almost any one of them with a Bic Pen.

I happen to think bike theives should be beaten severely, then locked in a room, and forced to read and delete my spam email for the rest of their lives. Nonetheless, the impressive thing about this scandal is the speed which which it has been confronted. Within minutes of the "discovery" the word spread like wildfire and Kryponite (because they are a very cool company) is offering free upgradess to something more "pen proof".

However, i can't help but think - why is it offices and other destinations can't set aside a room for bikes behind security? It's been done in Denver. I'd happlily pay an annual fee for that instead of shelling out $80 for a lock that, even if bombproof, still leaves the bike exposed for scumbags who steal seats and components.

Last night the crank broke on my bike in the middle of Market St. This is the second time this has happened for no apparant reason. Don't buy 'ovation' cranks, they obviously stink. Nothing else of great importance has happened this week...