2 wheels

A BUTCHER'S issue #10

Feb 05, 2025

getting around

I’m a year round biker - that’s bicycle, not motorbike, and I ride to get from A to B and back - it’s transportation. I’m OK with walking, but it seems to take so long! I once learned to ride a motorbike - in London, where my big first trip was into the West End. It was dark and raining and I never took to it - I liked cars and the buses were fine. Probably just as well - I might well have done myself in on one.

Not even close to being an obsession, it’s just that I always notice bikes - they definitely have character and consequently I have a lot of photos of them and each imparts its own story. So this post can be the first with more to follow.

New York photos of abandoned bicycles on the street — snowbikes, skull, carcass ©SteveButcher

The addition of bike lanes changed the streetscape of the city and every country has its own variation on the graphic bicycle markings. This one (NYC) was a favorite where the re-paint appears to hover above the road - I can’t see it any other way now.

classic riders

Puerto Rican Schwinn Club ©SteveButcher1996

Reminding me of the Mod’s Vespas and Lambrettas in Brighton, these guys love their Schwinns. Decked out with chrome, car horns, tails and flags, these bikes are built for cruising over speed.

In 1950s/60s Puerto Rico, owning a Schwinn was a status symbol, a connection to wealthier mainstream American culture. With the mass migration to New York in the 70s this passion continued and is still an important part of Nuyorican culture today.