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Bike For Mike

Graham Rayman and Dan Janison | STAFF WRITERS

5:35 PM EST, December 9, 2002

Mayor Mike on a bike?

Yes, Virginia, it could happen if the looming transit strike becomes a reality Dec. 15.

Bloomberg said yesterday at City Hall that he will likely ride a bicycle to work, if the subways stop running and the ensuing gridlock makes an ordeal out of tooling around the city in his black SUV.

This time I will probably take a bicycle to work, the mayor said, noting that he used car-pools during the 11-day 1980 transit strike. I think thats a practical way for me to get downtown early.

The mayors disclosure led to a follow-up question. Are you serious about riding a bike, one reporter asked.

Sure, the mayor said. I never say anything I dont do. You should know that by now.

However, before he dons biking tights, Bloomberg admitted that his current bike is in pretty rotten shape. He said he plans to buy a new one.

The reporter followed up again: So youd actually ride down with a police escort?

With Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly nodding in the background, Bloomberg replied, Oh I dont know. Im a little faster than most of those guys I dont know if they can keep up.

K.C. Curd, manager of Larry and Jeffs Bicycles Plus at 1690 Second Ave in Bloombergs neighborhood, recommended the mayor purchase a thermal jacket, tights, winter riding gloves and, of course, a helmet.

He said Bloomberg should buy a hybrid, which offer a more comfortable than a racing bike. A mountain bike, Curd noted, might be a boon after a snowfall, which is a distinct possibility at this time of year.

With his security detail, would Bloomberg need to purchase a bike lock? Probably not, Curd said. But anyone else should get a heavy duty chain.

Curd was working during the 1980 transit strike, and he recalled laboring away in the shop from 6 a.m. to 2 the next morning. It was non-stop, he said. Anything with wheels went out the door.

It was great for a bike store, but it was character building for New Yorkers, he added.

If he lived on the West Side, Bloomberg could take the Hudson River Greenway all the way down to Chambers Street, where he would be just three blocks from City Hall. But since he lives on the Upper East Side, he will have to improvise a route.

Curd recommended that the mayor take the bike lanes on Second Avenue to work and First Avenue home, even though it means he would have to ride alongside auto traffic.

Generally, the outer avenue are less well-traveled than the inner ones, he said.