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Bike New Yorker #1: Ricky DeBushea (a.k.a. Ricky 5th Avenue)

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“I’m the king of skids.”

 

Where do you live?
Harlem

 

What do you ride?
Unknown LV1 track bike

 

Do you ride with a group?
Cogs & Cassettes

 

What is your favorite place to ride in NYC?
Lower Manhattan

 

What is your favorite destination in or around NYC?
West Side bike path at the 79th Street Boat Basin. You can see all of Jersey City and the boats and some pretty nice yachts docked there.

 

What is your favorite post-ride meal?
The Get Rich Quick sushi roll at Juice Press.

 

How long have you been biking?
I’ve been riding track bikes since I was 16 – I was a sophomore in high school.

 

Why did you start biking?
Basically to save money so I could spend money on other things besides the MTA. I also liked having full control of how I got somewhere. Let’s say I’ve got to be at work at 8:15AM; I know that I’m going to get there by my own power, my own will–not waiting for train traffic, or dealing with too many train passengers in this or that car. I like having complete control over how I got to my destination.

 

What do you love most about biking in NYC?
Laps in Central Park. Catching the wave on 1st Avenue going uptown. I love the commitment that people bring to the table as far as looking out for one another—like friends who can lend a second bike to a friend whose bike was recently stolen, or pulling together a bike from spare parts for a fellow cyclist whose bike was stolen. What I’m doing for one of my teammates whose bike was stolen last weekend—me and my team got a frameset, wheelset, and all the other parts put together so now my teammate will have a bike to commute to work so he won’t have to buy a monthly MetroCard.

 

See more portraits of New York City cyclists at Preferred Mode.