PUBLIC launches with Design Ride Manhattan
“You meet the nicest people on a PUBLIC”.
That line is a rip off of a famous Honda ad slogan used when they introduced their cute 50cc motorcycle to the US in 1959. We launched PUBLIC last month in a more modest way in New York, but the event did bring out a lot of the “nicest people”. We had a happy group of 100 people riding from the ICFF Javits Center to the Tretorn store in SOHO. It was a great party.The weather was perfect, and we had a blast. This note is just a belated thank you to the fans that joined us and a promise to feature more photos and a video soon.
We had a wide range of people including Dutch designer Ghislaine Vinas (on an “Dutch” orange M3) and her cute Mom riding a classic Dutch Sparta. Other bloggers included Sam Grawe from Dwell and Vanessa Marie Robinson from For the Love of Bikes. It was a perfect NY afternoon and something of a love fest that might even warm the heart of a cynical New Yorker. You only get to launch a company once, and we feel flattered by the “nicest “ people who turned up. Lloyd Alter at Treehugger summed it up pretty well:
“On the bike trail next to the West Side Highway we were passed by many on far fancier, more expensive bikes, with riders wearing colourful lycra and clip-in shoes. I thought that they were a lot faster, but we were having a lot more fun.”
There was one major complaint; “The ride should have lasted longer” We covered three miles and cruised at a leisurely pace and the whole ride lasted less than 30 minutes. Ok, next year we will be back with a feistier ride and hopefully even more nice people.
Personal thanks to a few people who showed up and pitched in at the last minute: Khairi & Co, James Victore, Sunny, Marie, Hope, Lauren, Leslie, Larry, and the anonymous guy from Queens who joined up with us to help guide the ride.