Electric bikes make getting around
faster and easier than any other form
of transportation. There are bike-share
bikes, the Citi Bikes sponsored by
Citibank, interspersed throughout. There
are 6000 of them city-wide, and there
are stations full of them everywhere. Shy
of an electric bike, they are the second
best choice for getting around the congested city. We covered more ground
and were able to see more of the city in
that one day on electric bikes than we
did all other days combined, using the
subway, cabs, ride-share and walking.
The great thing about an electric bike
is that you can concentrate more on
enjoying the sights and less on the effort
it takes to get there, and there is no
issue with parking, as there are places
to lock bikes everywhere.
LEGAL ISSUES
There’s some controversy about
electric bikes and their legality in New
York. Technically, Class 1 bikes are
not illegal, but Class 2 bikes are—with
one exception. The only other electric bikes we saw in the city were the
Arrow-branded Class 3 bikes ridden by
delivery guys, and none of them made
any attempt to pedal. We saw why New
Yorkers hate them, as the riders we saw
would throttle up to 25 mph, often on
sidewalks or the wrong side of the road,
to deliver food orders.
When we were photographing one
delivery bike chained to a rack, a native
came up and gave us an earful of why
those riders are a menace to society
and the bikes should all be confiscated,
all in his great, gruff New York accent.
The only other electric bike we saw
was a true unicorn—an actual, working Lee Iacocca e-bike. He passed us
and disappeared into a crowd before
we could catch up to him, but we were
stoked to see that rare piece of e-bike
history!
We highly recommend visiting New
York. Spend time planning what you
want to see and where you want to go.
If you’ve never been, top places are Ellis
Island (plan on a full day there, with the
last hour or two at the Statue of Liberty),
the World Trade Center, Central Park,
Grand Central Terminal, the Empire
State Building, Rockefeller Center and at
least a couple of museums, which there
are plenty. There is authentic food from
every corner of the world if you’re feeling adventurous.
One World Trade Center is
the new crown jewel of the
ever-changing
skyline.
Plentiful bike lanes in Brooklyn and Manhattan make it
easy to get around on two wheels.
The historic Brooklyn Bridge
has a protected bike lane,
but it can get overrun by
pedestrians. A bell or the
ability to whistle loudly is an
advantage here.
