Spotted: Tim Gunn Riding Bike

Tim Gunn riding tandem with designer, Leanne, on Project Runway's season finale part 1 last night. If that's not eco-chic, I don't know what is!

Nice (Bike) Rack

Art as activism is not a new idea, but the creative mind behind New York City’s newest public art installations has found the perfect mix of art and function all while communicating a message. David Byrne, lead singer of the Talking Heads and an avid bicycling enthusiast designed nine temporary bike racks to be displayed throughout the city for the next eleven months.

“It was important to me that these new racks be the same thickness and material as the existing racks—to help identify them as practical bike racks and not just modern art,” Mr. Byrne said in a New York Times Article.

The current NYC transportation commissioner, Janette Sadki-Kahn, has been seeking to promote biking through initiatives like the wildly popular Summer Streets, The Cityracks Program, and a bike rack design competition, of which Byrne was a judge.

Byrne later decided to show off his own designs to promote city cycling. The racks are silver, black, and red, and are located throughout Manhattan and in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Each rack is customized to represent a different part of the city and has a clever name to go along with it.

“By bringing attractive yet functional sculptures to our streets, we are elevating the profile of cycling, and we believe that more and more people will begin to think about cycling as a mode of transportation, and not just a mode of recreation,” Ms. Sadik-Khan said in a statement. “Regular bike riders have an eagle eye for our current bike racks but these nine installations will capture the attention of all New Yorkers.”

“The Jersey” is located near the Lincoln Tunnel on 9^th Ave and 39^th Street is a car.

“The Olde Times Square” depicts a lounging woman on 7^th Ave and 44^th Street.

“The Villager” is a dog located in on La Guardia Place between W3rd and Bleeker.

“The Chelsea” displayed in front of the PaceWildenstein Gallery, a sponsor of the project, is a man’s form.

“The MoMA” on 6^th Ave and 54^th Street is a piece of modern art in itself.

“The Ladies’ Mile” is a stiletto on 5^th Ave and 57^th Street near Manhattan’s best shopping.

“The Wall Street” is a dollar sign located in the financial district at Wall Street and Water Street.

“The Coffee Cup” is on the Upper West Side on Amsterdam between 110^th and 111^th Streets.

“The Hipster” is the only rack located in Brooklyn, and is a guitar on Bedford Ave and N 6^th Street.

The only problem I see with these creative, cool racks is that they are temporary. Because of the city’s policy on public art, they will have to be removed. To make the message truly effective, the city needs to make them permanent, and commission more artists to design similar racks! 

What do you think?

To-Do: Work-Out, Celebrity-Sight, Help Save Planet

A few days ago I got a membership to the Chelsea Recreation Center. One of the wonderful things about living in a metropolitation city like New York is all the resources avaliable for recreation. The membership to a beautiful lap pool, workout room, etc, is only $37.50 for six months. Joining a gym would be almost three times that for just ONE month! Crazy!

So the next day I got up at 7 to get a quick swim workout in. The pool, I was pleased to find, is not over crowded. I completed some stroke and kick work and then a relaxing and enjoyable 400m breast stroke exercise. I moved on to back, the stroke I may be competing in on my school’s swim team, for a little form work. I’m working on becoming a morning person, so after a measly 200 meters I was feeling winded. I really need to work on my endurance in the pool. As I paused for a breather at the end of the lane, the woman I was sharing it with turned to me.

“You have the straightest backstroke!” she said. “You stay perfectly on your side. I wish everyone were that precise. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been smacked in the head.”

Thanks for the compliment, lady! I wonder if that’ll win me points at a meet? “Last place, but wow can you swim a straight line!” After a few more laps I did decide that I was probably the youngest person there by a few decades. No matter! I swam on anyway.

Then I decided to bike around the corner to my local Whole Foods and Whole Body stores for a little eco-shopping. Zipping down the new (wonderful) bike lane on 9^th ave I passed what appeared to be none other than Phillip Seymour Hoffman, one of my favorite actors, on a bike! Helmet and all! Who knew he was an eco-friendly biker?

At whole Body I finally invested in a Klean Kanteen, a stainless steel, eco-friendly water bottle. I can finally stop being part of the problem! As we all know by now, plastic water bottles are not only extremely harmful to the environment, but aren't good for our bodies either! I love that there are so many lid and size options for these bottles. I chose the sport top, but you can also get a flat top or a loop cap. The petite 12 oz sippy cup is perfect for kids, the 27 oz is great for my needs, and a larger 40 oz bottle is great for serious hydration. Klean Kanteen also sells a nifty bike cage, in which I will be investing, a hiking strap, and insulators. But the best part? The Kanteen is very eco-chic. You can choose from classic steel, pink, olive green, blue, or black to match your ech-chic style.

After biking around the city a bit, I returned home and fueled up with a banana and half a Cliff Bar (Carrot Cake, yum!) before setting out on a nice 4 mile run. The forecast called for rain, but as of 11:30, it was still just pleasantly cloudy. I headed down the Hudson River Path and marveled at the other lunchtime exercisers. I prefer to run at night, and find that, other than races, when I do run in the morning or during the day I never enjoy it as much. As I was on my way back and hating mid-day, and cute old man on a bike passed me.

        “You go girl!” he yelled.

HA! That’s what I love about running, biking, racing, etc. There is some sort of camaraderie we feel towards our fellow man when pushing ourselves to our limits. The smile from the only other runner on that cold morning. The compliment from a fellow swimmer. The cheers from volunteers along a race course. The knowing nod from a cyclist powering it past you in the other direction. I just love it!