Taught my first Savvy Cyclist class

Certified last week, co-taught my first class today in this room, called the Chapel. What could be better- teaching a bunch of beginners, talking about bikes all day, and getting paid to do it? Really I had it kind of easy because my co-teacher did a lot of the work for this, so I got to teach some, sit around some, and then lead skill drills which was a lot of fun. I think leading a group of 10 cyclists through Manhattan would be difficult on a good day, but if those cyclists are people on bikes that don't fit them or if they're people who haven't ridden in 17 years, it's nearly dangerous. But everyone survived, so that's good.
At one point, a driver of a Jeep pulled angrily and very quickly along side our stopped group to throw some curse words because apparently some member of the group yelled at him for being double-parked in the bike lane. He was in fact, breaking the law, but oddly enough he didn't seem to side with us. Weird.

Anyway, if you've never been to the American Youth Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Ave in NYC, it's really an essential trip. I think you can stay overnight starting at $29 and it's a very amazing building (this is a picture of the beautiful courtyard. Bike New York is based there and I love the trip in- I've found street parking four days straight! I've also learned that if you're stuck behind a garbage truck on pick-up day, you're screwed.