Wheels Up: BikeNYC.org Helps You Celebrate Bike Month

May is Bike Month, and while it might be more than half over, there's still plenty of cycling goodness left to go around. We recommend Transportation Alternative's BikeNYC.org, which is brimming with useful information about city cycling, including a daily calendar of bike-related events.

Today, for example was Bike to Work Day, and this weekend you can check out the NYC Bike Expo at Penn Pavilion, the Brooklyn Bike Jumble in Park Slop and lots more. The site also offers some handy tips and tempting deals for NYC's bike-lovers, as well as an interactive map to help you safely pedal your way around the city and a link to Transportation Alternative's directory of bike-friendly businesses.

Of course you can also get your Bike Month fix right here at 3rd Ward. Sign up for our Basic Bicycle Mechanics class to get to know your ride, then get to know it even better in Intermediate Bicycle Mechanics. Or learn to build your own Badass Bike Light!

-- John Ruscher

Watch This Now // Our Top 5 Videos From TEDxBrooklyn

 

Just over a month ago the second annual TEDxBrooklyn took over Brooklyn Bowl to tackle the theme of "redefining better." If you missed it, or just want to relive your favorite moments, you can watch video of the entire program on the TEDxBrooklyn YouTube Channel.

Since it would take you a good chunk of your day to get through all 17 videos, we've handpicked five we found most enlightening, ranging from hacking ethics to urban agriculture, for your immediate viewing pleasure.

Get your brain movin' after the jump.

Chad Dickerson, CEO of Etsy, talks about the definition of a hacker:

Brian Meece, CEO of RocketHub, talks about the science of crowdfunding:

Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transporation Alternatives, talks about transportation reform:

Julia Kaganskiy & Ciel Hunter talk about The Creators Project:

Viraj Puri, co-founder and CEO of Gotham Greens, talks about innovations in urban agriculture:

-- John Ruscher

WHEELS UP // Biking The Length Of Broadway + Win A Ride By Helping Out Transportation Alternatives

Have you every biked the entire length of Broadway? That's OK, we haven't come close either.

But thanks to the folks at Buzzfeed you can experience that 13-mile ride without worrying about all of the wayward pedestrians and crazy cabbies along the way. Broadway runs from the northern tip of the island in Inwood all the way down to Bowling Green, and this time-lapses video covers the whole route, slowing down to point out notable landmarks along the way. Girl Talk's "Every Day" provides a fitting mash-up soundtrack for the trip. We particularly like the moment when John Lennon's "Imagine" kicks in around Midtown.

Speaking of bike-related marathons, the great cycling advocates at Transportation Alternatives are currently in the home stretch of their year-end fundraising campaign. If they raise $600,000 by the end of the year, a local foundation has promised to match that with an additional $600,000. They're 75 percent of the way to their goal (we'd say that's somewhere around Times Square if you're comparing it to a north-south Broadway run) and they've thrown in an extra incentive for would-be supporters. Donate now and you'll be entered to win a Jamis Commuter 4 bike. Then you'll be all set for your own Manhattan-spanning excursion (or for any less-ambitious, but still relatively-high-octane urban pedaling.)

-- John Ruscher

WORTHY CAUSE // Donate to Transportation Alternatives By December 31 and Your Gift Will Count Double

With the holidays quickly approaching, it's time to start thinking about what gifts you're giving this year. 3rd Ward's got our Handmade Holiday Craft Fair coming up on December 10 (more on that shortly) but we'd also like to point you toward another great gift that'll benefit both someone close to you and NYC as a whole.

NYC non-profit organization Transportation Alternatives is currently in the middle of its end of year fundraising campaign, and a generous local foundation will be matching any donations received by December 31. In addition to supporting a worthy cause, your donation will also get you one of Transportation Alternative's "One Less Car" t-shirts, a perfect gift for anyone who prefers to pedal, stroll or hop on public transit rather than stepping on the gas.

Since 1973 Transportation Alternatives has been advocating for non-automobile transportation in New York City, including bicycling, walking and public transit. One of their latest initiatives has been addressing recent cyclist and pedestrian deaths in which the NYPD has declined to charge or account for the actions of the drivers involved. 3rd Ward's own Mathieu Lefevre was struck and killed by a flatbed truck in October at the corner of Morgan and Meserole. His family and Transportation Alternatives have still received barely any information from the NYPD, despite numerous requests. On Wednesday the organization delivered 2,650 letters to NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly demanding that dangerous drivers be held accountable. They also announced that they are launching an investigation of how the NYPD has been investigating and reporting recent traffic crashes.

Show your support for NYC's cycling community and alternative transportation by giving what you can to help Transportation Alternatives this holiday season.

-- John Ruscher