All aboard! ‘Bike Train’ prepares commuters for ‘L-pocalypse’

Two wheels will replace steel wheels during horrific tunnel work

April 18, 2018 By Alex Wieckowski Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Bike Train riders like these are already preparing for two-wheeled commutes in anticipation of the L train shutdown next year.

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There are plenty of excuses for not riding a bike in New York City: you’re tired, you’re scared of being hit, the city streets are a nightmare of double-parked cars, rogue drivers and even cops in bike lanes. But a year from now, when the MTA shuts down the L train between Williamsburg and Manhattan, you’ll need to set aside those concerns simply to get to work.

That’s the idea behind the BikeTrain, a fledgling program that started this month, long in advance of next April’s “L-pocalypse,” to help newbie cyclists join the fight on our mean streets.

And maybe even win it.

“We want to help get people comfortable with riding their bike before the shutdown happens,” said Max Sholl, a volunteer with Transportation Alternatives, who is leading weekly group rides.

The shutdown of the 100-year-old Canarsie Tunnel in April, 2019 will inconvenience — “infuriate” is the more accurate word — 225,000 people a day, according to the MTA, all of whom will now need a different way to get to their destinations. Alternatives such as a gondola or even a pontoon bridge have been proposed, but officials are likely going to settle on more buses, carpool requirements and more bike lanes.

“With the L train closure, the Department of Transportation expects bike ridership to double at a minimum,” the city agency said in a recent report.

And that’s where BikeTrain comes in. Organized by Transportation Alternatives, the “train” leaves the “station” every Wednesday — weekly group rides to provide a safe environment to encourage people to bike commute. And show that it … can … be … done.

On April 18, this reporter joined one of two BikeTrain caravans, joining group leaders Noel Hidalgo and Sholl on a ride from Greenpoint to the Williamsburg Bridge. Another “train” set out from the Grand Street Campus High School in East Williamsburg.

The challenges are many. Many drivers do not respect cyclists’ equal right to roadway space. Double-parked cars are as common as rats in the subway. Car service drivers spend crucial seconds glancing at the maps on their cellphones instead of on the roadways.

And speeding is epidemic.

“There are definitely spots where it is dangerous, but a lot of that is due to drivers putting people walking or biking in harm’s way,” Sholl said. “The most dangerous part of riding in New York City are drivers’ inattentiveness or disregard for the safety of those not in cars.”

And then there’s the Williamsburg Bridge itself. Rising from a street-level plaza at Roebling Street, it forces cyclists to climb to 135 feet above the East River — the equivalent of a 13-story building.

“The Williamsburg Bridge is a tough ride for first-time riders,” said Hidalgo, adding that new riders “have to get their ‘bridge legs,’ which takes a lot of work.”

Even experienced riders have a tough time biking over the bridge, since most riders avoid riding during the winter and find themselves in need of practice when hopping back on the bike in spring.

But the rewards — ah, the rewards.

“Climbing the bridge is a feat for first-time riders, but the feeling of cresting the bridge and seeing the entire city in front of you as you coast down into Manhattan is a reward like no other, a feeling that is unmatched by any other mode of commuting,” Sholl said.

Our ride was more or less uneventful, which is sort of the point. Sholl led the group and made sure we could merge safely with traffic, using hand signals to alert both cars and other riders.

On Driggs Avenue, we encountered typical obstructions, including a vehicle parked in the bike lane, a reckless car service driver and a double-parked truck, but Sholl and Hidalgo safely guided us to the bridge.

We connected with the Williamsburg group at the Brooklyn entrance to the bridge bike path and paused to catch our breath. One new rider, who declined to give her name, commented that biking in a group felt safer.

“The larger the group, the more visible and safer it feels,” she said. Another new rider said she joined because she thought it would be a fun way to spend her day off.

Seconds after the group entered the bridge bike path, I realized Hidalgo was right, getting one’s “bridge legs” takes practice and can be challenging for bikers not accustomed to the steep climb. But being in a group of other cyclists gave me motivation and energy, I found.

BikeTrain is so new that only seven riders showed up this week, but there’s no doubt that more of Brooklyn’s future L train refugees will try it out over the next 12 months.

Before, that is, the L-pocalypse.

BikeTrain meets every Wednesday at 8:30 am at both the Greenmarket Plaza (Driggs and Union Aves.) and at Grand Street Campus High School (Bushwick Avenue and Grand Street). For more information, visit the BikeTrain Facebook page.