Hi Bike Friday friends in NY,

It's Lynette here, aka Galfromdownunder.com, at the Bike Friday
factory. I looked at the BF Club of NY message board and saw - wow,
43 members on this message board. Time we had a BF happening in NYC!
Last time I was there was for the FoldsUp! folding bike ride with Mike
McGettigan at Trophy in Philly. Your leader Jim Dyer was also there,
Joe Garcia - you all really helped. Joe Garcia drove in to town and
let me store my BF in his van like a mobile bicycle hotel room while I
took a quick overniter to Fire Island. I tell you, this is what it
means to be part of the BF community.

I have been chatting to a journo Jim Clash at Forbes in NYC who would
like to interview me if I happen to be in NY, for his online column
called: Rugged Individualists.

http://www.forbes.com/2005/02/28/0301ruggedind.html

Not that I am so "wugged" Henry, but I challenged him to redress the
gender, color and shoulderpad balance by having Galfromdownunder's
face up there alongside the Sir Edmund Hiliarys, Krakauers, Buzz
Aldrins - all stratospheric individuals, but how about someone at kite
bobbing altitude that we can all aspire to?

Since I am probably footing the airfare for my insolence (yes, and you
have to be Buzz Aldrin or have planted a flag somewhere higher than
the fridge to be expensed by Forbes - that's why they're rich and
everyone else is poor) I would like to:

a) Know what you think of this column - unfettered opinions
appreciated
b) Make the trip worthwhile by combining it with some BF funstuff with
you, if you all can tear yourselves away from your schedules.

In particular, I'd like to come over and screen for your enjoyment my
40 minute DVD of biking the highest paved road in the world last Oct
with Lon Haldeman. Called "Pass the Oxygen Please - 16,000 Feet on a
Friday", it's been very well received - running a close second to Die
Hard and Into Thin Air for edge-of-seat appeal. Last time I bleated to
you about this I think it was a mere 5 minute clip you can see here:
http://www.bikefriday.com/bf/galfromdownunder-peru2004
I've been trying to raise money for the orphanage I visited while over
there.

I tried to stage a Cuba book tour talk last year at Bicycle Habitat
but owner Charlie pulled out at the last minute saying that no-one in
NY would be interested in watching poor Cubans on a Sunday nite.

The NY Bike Club wanted to ensure my talk would be 'instructional'. I
am going to try and hit both places again, unless you have some better
suggestions or an opinion of these places - I am all ears - you're
there and I'm here.

And of course we should go for a BF amble and a giant slab of smoked
salmon on a bagel - Philippe Foucher invited me to that one last time!
We had a couple of upstate NYers at Desert Camp
last week, which you can read about here:
http://www.bikefriday.com/bf/desertcamp2005
You must see the clip of 79-year young Patricia Daniels from PA biking
82 miles...

Thank you for reading and please feel free to send a reply to
lynchiang@...

Hope to see you and your little wheels real soon!

Lynette Chiang, Bike Friday World Traveler http://
www.galfromdownunder.com
PERU trip: http://www.bikefriday.com/bf/galfromdownunder-peru2004
THE HANDSOMEST MAN IN CUBA USA Edition
http://www.galfromdownunder.com/cuba
"One of the best on-the-road travel books of this generation." -
Martin Stevenson, the Launceston Examiner
"The only time you will put it down is when you finish it." -
Australian Cyclist magazine.
5-star Amazon reviews http://tinyurl.com/696bw
ISBN: 0-9755816-0-0, $14.95, available from Bike Friday,
1-800-777-0258, service@... | Amazon.com