SPOKES WOMAN
Her plan: Experience all of Brooklyn, block by block, by bike. More than 290 trips later, she’s done just that — and become an expert on the best of the borough
JACQUELINE VanDusen is wheely tired. But after pedaling 4,415 miles, the Williamsburg resident has just enough energy for the home stretch of a mission three years in the making: to bike every block in Brooklyn. Her ambitious project finishes Saturday with a final 10mile ride through Red Hook and Bed-Stuy.
In May 2017, the designer hopped on her old single-speed bike with a plan to traverse the borough that was simple but far from modest. The skilled photographer documented each step of the journey, uploading lovely snaps and progress maps to the nearly 10,000 followers of her Instagram account @BKbyBike.
The 31-year-old Philly native, who moved to NYC in 2006 to attend college at Pratt, wanted to get to know her adopted home, from pretty to gritty.
“I wanted to better understand where I live,” VanDusen tells The Post.
Two hundred and ninety jaunts later, she reflects on the thousands of hours, hundreds of stops and 15,000 photos she’s accrued.
First, the gear: Who needs a head-to-toe spandex getup and shoe clips when leggings, a tank top and sneakers work just as well? And despite the great lengths she’s traveled, VanDusen only recently upgraded from a single-speed set of wheels to a $400 three-speed Cooper from Tribeca’s Brilliant Bicycle Co. “I don’t even know how to change a tire,” she jokes.
VanDusen, who covers between 10 and 14 miles in an hour, will only say, “No comment” when The Post asks if she wears a helmet. But the now-seasoned cyclist insists she’s been safe and (mostly) unharmed during her hundreds of outings. There were two memorable falls — one that involved sinking into a sewer, and another time she was almost slammed by a swinging car door that opened into the bike lane.
The war stories are wellearned. There were hairy rides over some of Brooklyn’s trafficky main drags — Linden Boulevard, Atlantic Avenue and Shore Parkway among them — and VanDusen admits, “I have to jump up on the sidewalk occasionally.”
The savvy cartographer plots out her routes with an app; after each is complete, it is added to a map she has hand drawn.
VanDusen can’t help but have some favorite ride-by spots. “I really love Bed-Stuy. It has some of the most gorgeous brownstones. The food is amazing. It has so much personality,” she says. “I don’t know if outsiders quite know how awesome it is.”
Another architectural obsession: the ornate megamansions in Mill Basin and Manhattan Beach.
In a borough famous for hipsters and Hasidic Jews, Nathan’s Famous hot dogs in Coney Island and Michelin-starred eateries in DUMBO, she admits it’s hard to keep up with how quickly the streetscape can evolve.
“Neighborhoods definitely look different,” says VanDusen. “Watching Domino Park evolve from a dirt bike track to a beautiful park is a huge change. Everything just moves so fast.”
While the coronavirus stay-athome order was a mood-killer for many, it offered VanDusen an opportunity to lock down miles on several solo rides. She’s cleared 1,002 miles since March.
“I’m reading more about the history of Brooklyn to build my knowledge,” she says. “I think my project is helping to inspire others to get creative with their free time, to bike more or to start a project of their own.”
While she used to take twohour excursions on Saturdays and Sundays, quarantine has allowed for more challenging 20- to 30mile treks through the heart of Brooklyn, tackling areas like East New York (“Annoying to get to”) and Sunset Park (“Too hilly on my single speed”).
While the project is “definitely a responsibility — it’s a lot of work,” the end of the road is bittersweet. And the indefatigable biker can’t wait for her next — albeit easier — endeavor: “It’s summer,” she says. “I’m going to the beach.”