Sunday night on the town…. Success with the bike share system. The only interesting (annoying) aspect is that although you pay for 24-hour access, the bikes are available in 30-minute segments. We headed downtown to Grand and Lafayette to meet Derek and Horatiu. We made it with just minutes to spare. Ron wants to sign up for the $95 annual pass, which allows for 45-minute segments.

The other interesting (questionable) aspect of the NYC bike share is that helmets are not part of the program, which means you have newbies, tourists and regular amateurs riding around NYC streets aimlessly. I brought my own helmet and my hi viz/reflective vest for our evening ride.

The surgeons and the scooter…

Saturday night out on the town… Ron suggests that we use the new NYC bike share. (24-hour access for $9.95). The computers were offline though and we weren’t able to access the bikes. One guy (pictured) was trying to return a bike but it wouldn’t lock in. He called citibike, worried that he’d either get a charge for a late fee, or for not returning the bike. At another kiosk, a woman told us that by pulling up on the seat, you could release bikes that were not locked. Then she and her husband proceeded to pull out two bikes for us. As we stood there, mouths agape, she must have said “take them” about 15 times. Another couple looking for bikes stepped up and took the “free” bikes. Ron and I quickly backed away. Ron reminded me that stealing a bike is grand larceny (and criminal possession of stolen property). We went back home and got our own bikes, though we opted not to take them down to Chinatown later in the evening…