Why Lloyd Rides

This is the ninth portrait in Streetsblog’s weekly “Why I Ride” series.

Lloyd is a social worker living and working in the East Village. He’s on vacation this week, and was taking advantage of the warm weather to ride from lower Manhattan up to the George Washington Bridge. I caught up with him on the East River bikeway underneath the FDR Drive. He’s gotten around New York on a bike for 30 years and has enjoyed good bike luck – despite always keeping his bikes outside he’s never had one stolen. “And I’ve never been in an accident – knock on wood. Lots of close calls, though.” Regarding the city’s current cycling boom, he has somewhat mixed feelings. “It’s gotten quite crowded out there. But I do like the new bike paths.”

Lloyd is actually not a bike commuter – he walks to work. But he’s still on the bike every single day. “I ride all year round. Maybe 360 days out of the year, rain or shine. I’ll ride if it’s 10 degrees out, as long as there’s no snow on the ground.” Why so much biking? Turns out that it’s more than mere recreation. “It’s my psychotherapy. Maybe it’s the exercise, or the rhythm of the legs, but it relaxes me, and helps clear my head.” He wishes me luck and rides off, pressing his small Grundig radio to his ear as he pedals.