Urban thinker, former Talking Head, and writer of songs about architecture and buildings David Byrne recently did a presentation called “How New Yorkers Ride Bikes” for the New Yorker Festival in Manhattan. From Streetfilms:
Of course our MC for the night, Mr. Byrne, who has been using a bike for transportation for 30 years, pedaled to the theater. In fact, the night started with helmet cam footage he shot as he biked thru Times Square to the venue. Some Byrne-musings which drew the most applause/ laughter as he navigated the entanglement of peds, cars, and street furniture included: “...once you get used to it, riding thru the city gives you a nice jolt of energy“, “42nd Street would make a nice pedestrian mall“, and probably the biggest laugh-getter, “if this was a bike lane, there would probably be a truck from New Jersey parked in it.”
Watch the video above of Byrne’s helmet-cam footage complete with his running commentary on his bike ride through the city. Looks like cab drivers in Times Square do the same thing to Byrne as cab drivers on Toronto’s Carlton Street. Some things are universal it would seem.
Thanks to Spacing illustrator Melissa Jane Taylor for the tip to check Byrne’s blog, which we have linked to before on Spacing Toronto.