West 8's iconic wooden bicycle hanging out at the Maxxi, the National Museum of the 21st Century Arts in Rome. The bike was designed by West 8 during the Governors Island Park and Public Space design competition.

News from West 8, designers of the new parks and public space here on Governors Island:

On May 20, the West 8 installation ‘Il Paradiso Nascosto’ (The Stolen Paradise) for the MAXXI Museum’s exhibition series Nature was opened to the public. The exhibition features an installation of transparent biopolymer tree silhouettes, whose light diffusion, subtle shadows, layered stratification and delicate movement creates a fantastical atmosphere. It is a light, sensuous installation whose counterpart, in the form of 21 cor-ten steel tree stump silhouettes, is found in the museum courtyard. The installation is accompanied by seven of West 8’s projects which share the same spirit of poetic narrative as a dialogue between the artificial and the natural: Liedsche Rijn park, the Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier, the Bridges in Borneo-Sporenburg, the Botanic Bridge in Gwangju, as well as the more recent  Governors Island Park in New York, Miami Beach SoundScape / Lincoln Park, and the Madrid RIO urban plan.

While the iconic Governors Island bicycle may or may not take this exact form, the Park and Public Space Master Plan preserves the vision of free  iconic bicycles and movable furniture for all. To learn more about plans for the park and public spaces on Governors Island, and give us your thoughts, visit www.govislandpark.com.

Bike and Roll’s ace mechanics putting together one of 35 quadracycles for summer fun . . .

Signs that summer is almost here on Governors Island: lawnmowers are whirring furiously, the geese have flown to Canada, art is popping up all over, and  Bike and Roll is hard at work at thier Colonels Row site building bikes.

The adorable Electra Townie cruisers you fell in love with last year are back, along with the quadracycles, tandems, kids bikes, trailers and tagalongs. If you’re counting, their total Island fleet is up to about 600- as many as in all of Denver’s excellent bike share program and way more than the 250 we were crowing about way back in 2009. . .

Totally new to the fleet here this year are some adult tricycles, which are great for folks for whom riding a bike is NOT just like riding a bike but still want to zip down to Picnic Point on their own steam.

GET READY! Governors Island opens to the public THIS FRIDAY. The Island will be open every Friday-Sunday and all Holiday Mondays from May 27 through September 25. Visit our website for a full callendar and info: www.govisland.com.

Off-season, the bike racks on the ferryboat Coursen are a little smaller than the 125-bike racks you see when you visit us in the summer, but they're just as jam-packed.

You may think Governors Island is all hammocks and kittens, but it’s a full-time job for all the people who are transforming the Island. And one of the most frequently asked questions for anyone who works on the Island is, “How do you get to work?” The answer, of course, is that we get there the same way you do, by ferry. As you can see by the photo above, more and more of us are starting our journey to work by bike.  And so to you we say, “Happy Bike to Work Day!”

The City has built more than 200+ miles of bike lanes over the past several years, making it safer and easier to get around New York City by bike. And those new lanes aren’t just there for commuting, but also for shopping, visiting friends, exploring the city, and getting  you to your favorite care-free island oasis. . .

Governors Island will open for the summer in just one week, and biking is a great way to get around the Island. Get here any way you can!

An impromptu wedding on Governors Island this weekend. Congrats!

How to Get Married on Governors Island in 10 Easy Steps:

1. Find someone to love.
2. Propose.
3. Pick a date and invite your friends and family and a bunch of pirates.
4. Take the first boat, race down to Picnic Point and arrange all of the wheelbarrow benches in rows like chruch pews.
5. Stand in front of the Statue of Liberty and say, “I do.”
6. Kiss.
7. Fend off pirates who are stealing your new bride.
8. Have a picnic.
9. Go on a bike ride around the Island with your guests
10. Live happily ever after.

Check out Bike Blog NYC  for more photos and the backstory behind this past weekend’s impromptu bike pirate wedding. We always welcome impromptu weddings (Chris and Allie weren’t the first!). If you are not a bike pirate and need a little more help with your Governors Island wedding, you can contact Water Taxi Beach.

UPDATE: We got this fantastic video of the wedding from the groom himself and wanted to share it: http://www.youtube.com/user/DedicatedLaneVideo?feature=mhum

Have a car-free and care-free Saturday with Summer Streets and Governors Island. Starting THIS SATURDAY (August 7)-  from 7am – 1 pm and for the next two Saturdays ( August 14 and 21) nearly 7 miles of city streets are yours for playing, running, walking, biking and just enjoying! We’ve got:  Free bike and skate rentals > Free fitness classes > Dumpster Pools for swimming > FringeNYC Theater and workshops for kids > Crafts and activities for families > Free bicycle helmet fittings > Local bike makers showcase and lots more!

Come out and join our friends at NYCDOT from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park via Lafayette > 4^th Avenue > Park Avenue > 72^nd Street. And then continue on to Governors Island to keep the fun going all afternoon.

Visit www.nyc.gov/summerstreets for a full line-up of activities and directions

I'm on a Fietsfabriek Cargobike

Bike and Roll, in partnership with Rolling Orange Bikes, a new bike shop in Brooklyn that favors slow bikes, is renting Fietsfabriek Cargobikes (yes, they’re Dutch, we’re so predictable here). The models for rent are tricycles with a box in the front big enough to carry a small child or a month’s worth of groceries. You may recognize the concept from such recent New York Times articles as  “Hauling Cargo, No Car Necessary”.  The cargo bikes are available for rent at the same rate as tandems and all the regular rules apply, so be sure to check Bike and Roll’s website.

FYI – They are not the first or only cargo bikes out here. Every weekend you are likely to catch our friends at Earth Matter zipping around the Island with buckets of compost in their cargobike. And who knows? Soon, we could be hosting the New York City’s first bakfiets race. . .

In the morning, Governors Island's car-free roads are largely people-free too . . .

 

Bike and Roll’s Early Bird Special is back!  When you sign out a regular-price rental bike between 10 AM and 12 PM on Saturday and Sunday (July and 18), your second bike rental is half-price.  It’s a great deal for those of us who can’t skip out of work for Free Bike Friday.

Check out Bike and Roll's adorable and easy to ride Electra Townie cruisers . . .

The early bird gets the bike! Bike and Roll is offering an “early bird” special this weekend and next weekend. When you sign out a regular-price rental bike between 10 AM and 12 PM on Saturday and Sunday (July 10, 11, 17 and 18), your second bike rental is half-price.  Getting to Governors Island early not only gets you a great deal on a bike rental, but with fewer people out here, you almost have the Island to yourself!

We’re bursting with pride over the #2 ranking that National Geographic Traveler just gave to New York City for it’s bike-friendliness. The article is not online, but you can read all about it – and Governors Island’s contribution- on the New York Times’ travel blog.

With five miles of car-free biking, Bike and Roll’s Free Bike Fridays and affordable weekend bike and surrey rentals, Governors Island has become an oasis for car-biking in New York. And as the article hints, traveling by bike in New York City is getting easier all the time.  The roster of newly completed and planned bike projects that connect to our Manhattan and Brooklyn ferry landings is impressive. Check it out:

• East River Waterfront Esplanade 
• Peter Minuet Plaza
• Brooklyn Bridge Park
• Columbia Street Greenway

The Island is still closed for the seaon, but if you want to get a head start on charting the best way to get here by bike, check out our page on Ride the City.