I stayed in New York City for Christmas that year. All three of my roommates vacated our apartment for the holiday and I was alone with the fake tree that I’d found on the curb weeks earlier. But you know, New York City was far from empty. My friends Ben and Jessica were in town […]
Tag: bikes
Circles
The other night I stayed at the shop past close. Storefront lights were off, music was on, I sat at the bench watching night quickly take over the sky, loosening the spokes on my new wheel, one at a time. That morning I had been showing off my work–look at these shiny new wheels I […]
Jars part 2
Last week I wanted chips and salsa. This is not my regular snack and I was pretty excited about this new fun thing I got at the grocery store. But when it was time to open it at home the lid wouldn’t budge. I gave it everything I had, so much that my arms were […]
Obsolescence
I bought a Surly Long Haul Trucker in the summer of 2015 and if you know Surlys you know. But if you don’t: the Surly LHT was the first of its kind. There are many options now, and arguably better ones, but the LHT was the the only bike being produced in the nineties and […]
Magical thinking
On Saturday night it appealed to me to sit at a restaurant bar by myself. It offered me everything that I wanted which was: an excuse to shower and put on something other than the sweat- and grease-stained shirts that I’d worn for 50+ hours this week, a place to sit near people but without […]
Confessions of a bike shop girl
This summer I spent most of my days at the bike shop sitting at the front desk. When a person came in and I said hi and they walked right past me–well, sometimes I got mad. But sometimes I was glad. Because the truth is there was always a fifty percent chance that I didn’t […]
This version of you is my favorite version
In the park I practiced handstands against a tree. People passed by with their signs, Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police, on their way to the protest. Someone in a full Spiderman costume asked if I could teach him how to do handstands. At the vigil people handed out candles and neighbors gave each […]
Parents and guardians: keep your kids out of the bike lane
September evening, Manhattan dinner date. I put on a dress and took the bike route that led to the Williamsburg Bridge. It was a refreshing post-summer night and I was listening to music and having a GREAT TIME. The Williamsburg Bridge has completely separate paths for cyclists and pedestrians to cross. Pedestrians enter the bridge […]
The bike hug (for reference)
I thought I wrote a post about this a long long time ago, but actually I did not. The bike hug: a very slow bike crash that results in something more like a hug than an injury. Example: One day, in a far away land a long time ago. (Crown Heights! Last year!) I was […]
Follow me home
Last night I felt like someone was following me home. I know this sounds alarming but actually I was not at all alarmed at the time (I am only slightly alarmed at myself now as I write this). Bear with me as I explain: If you ride your bike in New York City you know […]
Anne Foster 