NY cycling

[thegunner]

Originally Posted by mecse

We could just grab a beer at a bar too

you're buying first round?

[TRACK]

Originally Posted by flydhest

So, it is getting more and more real. It looks like we found an apartment. We will be in Chelsea. The school came recommended by several friends of friends who have kids there (PS 11). It is reasonably well located for things we like.

I will likely be moving into the apartment in mid- to late-May, with the rest of the fam following after the school year is out down here.

Thanks again to everyone for the great advice so far. Looking forward to a Paceline event after I get up there.

congrats! lets beer and bike pls!

[flydhest]

OK, here's an update. We have taken possession of our apartment in Chelsea. I am living in the apartment and commuting home to DC until the school year is out, then the fam moves out. We are making plans for furniture and stuff. I have my fixie here now (lovely wife just brought it up yesterday). So no road ride for me yet. But I started thinking about how many bikes to bring. There are awesome two-bike racks that are stand alone units that lean against the wall. Does anyone make a vertical hanging, four bike rack that is also stand alone? Would love not to have to drill things into the walls here. Would also love to have more than one of my bikes in the apartment. My wife will have one or two, each kid will have one. I don't fancy having multiple bikes in the storage unit. Thoughts?


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[hokoman]

That's a lot of bikes in an apt. I already told my wife when we move this summer, I will only bring one regular bike to Brooklyn with me. One for her, probably an extracycle type bike and their two balance bikes. Even that is pushing it, and we are looking at townhouses.

Someone posted a rolling clothes rack they used to hang bikes, that might be the easiest, cheapest option.

[flydhest]

Yeah . . . I am a bit of a freak. Oh, wait, here on the Paceline, I am restrained. My upper limit is to bring three bikes for me. I could imagine having only two. We have a storage room and it is on the same floor as the apartment, so that will make life easier, as well. We have a good sized apartment, and the entry way is pretty wide. I could easily have three of the wall-leaning double racks. But I was hoping to have things a bit more condensed. There is a chunk of the entryway that is wide enough that bikes would fit that way.


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[Mr. Pink]

Shoulda moved to Bronxville.

[hokoman]

If they fit in the storage room on your floor... that is a no brainer, and I would fill that sucker up with bikes and parts, but in the living space is always tricky. I think once you have more than two well placed bikes in a living area, it starts to look like a bachelor pad/sports locker. Just my opinion.

[fuzzalow]

Being as you are already here and have a fixie to use - I assume you have done the reconnaissance rides through the neighborhood in order to determine the kind of riding you can do, given the environments available and appropriate/suitable for your wife & kids to ride in. NYC bike riding is no where near as open and freewheeling as what was familiar to you in the DC suburbs.

Saying you have a good sized apartment is still a relative thing and even so, you don't want to clutter it up with bikes. I say stick 'em all in the storage unit and not in the apartment. Downsize to get rid of bikes while you can and do not allow the mindset to take hold that you want or should have more bikes: IMO Manhattan is not really conducive to bikes as a sporting lifestyle. You will now have the chance to find out if this turns out to be also true for you or otherwise.

When I first got here, I initially tried to hold onto the familiar as far as my cycling lifestyle - I have cycled my entire life. I was quickly disabused of that notion - the 9W grind is not for me so I adapted. But I always knew that would happen because I know I did not move here to ride my bike. I miss dearly the riding I used to have and I made a choice but hey, life goes on.

[Mr. Pink]

Buy a metro north pass, and, Katonah.

[flydhest]

One reason I cannot totally downsize. Last January, I started a job. My first non-government job. I gave myself a Zank and a Goodrich as a present. By the time they were getting built, i realized I didn't like my job. By the time they arrived, i had a year in and had given notice. I plan to commute on my Vanilla fixie, as I did for 15 years in DC (I have a very early Vanilla). Not sure how to downsize among those three. Good problem to have, though.

[velofinds]

If you have sufficiently high ceilings, you can hang the bikes upside-down like so:



This allows us to maximize our space (and thankfully I have an incredibly understanding wife- who also rides).

[R3awak3n]

Not knowing what kind of appartment you have, I was in a brooklyn 7000/800 sq ft appartment for 5 years and had 5 bikes in there with minimal problems. Wife wasnt into it but I made it work. Plenty of locals have that amount and more. All you need is a corner and some creativity and you can find a way to fabricate a wall rack or something like that.

[Hank Scorpio]

No one steal this idea! *Someone may have tried to do it. Is there anyone offering bike specific storage options in NYC? I thought I read about one a while back that also offered tuning and repair services as well. I guess the the two obstacles would be convenient locations and the high $/sq ft rental rates.

[fuzzalow]

Originally Posted by flydhest

One reason I cannot totally downsize. Last January, I started a job. My first non-government job. I gave myself a Zank and a Goodrich as a present. By the time they were getting built, i realized I didn't like my job. By the time they arrived, i had a year in and had given notice. I plan to commute on my Vanilla fixie, as I did for 15 years in DC (I have a very early Vanilla). Not sure how to downsize among those three. Good problem to have, though.

Very understandable and nuthin' wrong with setting the lower bound at 3 bikes.

Downsizing is, to me, an intent and desire to set a personal equilibrium for yourself and your relationship to material possessions. It is neither a taliban outlook on modern life consumerism nor a self loathing towards living well amongst your possessions.

I too have a Vanilla - it is in storage which is a completely different animal than saying that when I "downsized" I got rid of it.

C'mon, how does any bike enthusiast dump off a Vanilla? So I too live in a glass house and talking about downsizing to you is not throwing stones of hypocrisy but merely an outlook on the realities on living space in Manhattan and how it shouldn't be spoiled by needless clutter.

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

Not knowing what kind of appartment you have, I was in a brooklyn 7000/800 sq ft appartment for 5 years and had 5 bikes in there with minimal problems. Wife wasnt into it but I made it work.

Your wife is a saint. I'm lucky to be married to one also.

We rented a 1BR on 76th street while looking to buy - BTW renting on a temporary basis is the only way while buying because you have absolutely no control over what may come on the market and you cannot allow yourself to be forced into choosing among what just happens to be on the market at that particular point in time. And "temporary basis" for us turned into two years. But we refused to compromise. For example there is a Rosario Candella pre-war building we wanted to get into where nothing of the size we wanted has come available in that building for the 5 years we've been watching apartment listings in that building. If people are living well, they tend to stay put. A desirable apartment ANYWHERE is an extremely valuable and scarce thing and getting ownership of such a property is approached like warfare without quarter.

Anyway, 76th street was 750 sq/ft. That felt small and was unpleasant to live in after the newness wore off. I had the Eriksen and a Brompton in that apartment and that was an intrusion and having to live around that was a reminder every day of being around too much stuff. Too much stuff being relative to the space allowed its expansion.

Originally Posted by Mr. Pink

Buy a metro north pass, and, Katonah.

HaHa, that's the ticket!

[Mr. Pink]

Wow, this whole thread should be filed under First World Problems.