Last week, we celebrated our 2 year anniversary of the Priority Classic! In honor of this milestone, we asked some of our Classic riders to share with us their experience with their bicycle and where they like to ride. Our team was amazed to see our bikes not only all over the United States, but in countries around the world. One of our favorite moments as a team is when we are going about our day and spot a Classic "in the wild." It reminds us of how amazing of an experience it has been to share our story and our bicycles with riders all over the world. Take a look at some of the incredible places our Classic bicycles have popped up here.
Priority Profiles
Priority Fleet Partner: Le Meridien Delfina
Le Meridien Delfina, located just off the Santa Monica Pier and boardwalk, is the quintessential beach side hotel. Bicycles are used year round, exposed to the salt, sand and water at the beach. Their fleet of over 100 Priority Coast bicycles are designed specifically to weather the elements, providing the smoothest ride at the beach, 365 days a year.
Priority Profile: Avila Village Inn
The Avila Village Inn is an upscale boutique hotel nestled in the charming Avila Valley. It is surrounded by hundred-year-old oak and sycamore trees along the San Luis Creek and Bob Jones City to Sea Bike Trail.
Priority Profile: The Gotham
Melissa Holtz is a New York City based sports & lifestyle photographer who often takes photos while riding a bike. Check out some of her photos & her favorite places to ride below:
How does riding a bike fit into your lifestyle?
I ride a bike almost every day to get from place to place, do photoshoot scouting, actually do a photoshoot, or just for fun! The upright and comfortable position of the Gotham makes it easy for me to snap some photos while I ride.
Tell us where you shot the photos and any reasons why the locations were special to shoot?
Two of my favorite places to both ride bikes and shoot photos in NYC are the waterfront bike paths and the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg where there is a great bike path and tons of stylish cyclists. I love to ride over the Williamsburg bridge in any season. I love how much life is on the bridge even on "bad" weather days-- people are always running, walking, biking, having a fun time, and taking in the amazing views.
Local spots you love to ride?
I love to ride my bike to the NYC waterfronts especially on the east and west side bike paths in Manhattan and then in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Dumbo. The West Side bike path is awesome because it is very wide so you can ride next to a friend which is my favorite way to ride.
Priority Profile: Valentine's Day in New Orleans
We asked our friends & talented photographers Melissa & Joey about their Valentine’s Day plans in sunny New Orleans. Check out some of their photos of their adventure & their favorite places to ride below:
How Does A Bike Ride Fit Into Date Night?
“When we ride our bikes, we are more inclined to take our time, engage with each other and stop at random places along the way. Also, when you bike ride through New Orleans, you never go home with a boring story. You are likely to come across a ridiculously awesome wall mural that you need to brake for, a strange industrial art gallery. The city is inadvertently weird & we love experiencing it on bikes.”
Where Are Your Favorite Places To Ride?
“New Orleans bike culture has really taken off and there are so many bike paths around the city to utilize. There is a new park that runs along the river in the Marigny/Bywater, Crescent Park, that gives you a great view of our modest skyline. When you leave the park, there are lots of restaurants, like Paladar 511 & Press St. Station.”
Tell Us About The Locations You Photographed Above?
We started our day off at Paladar 511, on the edge of the Marigny neighborhood. It's a converted warehouse that beyond beautiful and filled with Marvin Gaye like tunes. Lot's of happy, industrial, yet warm vibes. The food might be some of the best in the city, and that says a lot!
Next place is Press St. Station. They had live jazz music playing and white lights strung when we stopped by. The best part of this place is it supports the New Orleans Creative Center of Arts, which is a tuition free high school program. The food is super fresh, with the farm (Press St. Gardens) being a block away.
After that, we headed to the site of Exhibit BE (mural of the young girl). The artist became recognized when he filled an unoccupied (Katrina flooded) apartment complex with giant graffiti portraits of civil rights era heroes. He now has an art gallery in the Marigny, which is housed behind the colorful murals we shot in front of. The picture of Joey in the industrial art gallery was at Dr. Bob's. He is known for the paintings all over the city that say "be nice or leave". We have a small one hanging in our kitchen. We feel it will come in handy when our toddler becomes a teenager.
The last place we stopped was Rouler, located in the CBD. It is a coffee/pastry/wine shop that is geared towards cycllists. Instead of new playing on TV's, they show cycling events.
Priority Mail From Minnesota
In partnering with the Le Méridien Hotels we’ve always been met with a warm reception. Not this time. No, this time it was cold.
In Minneapolis, Minnesota the average high temperature is 23 degrees and low is 7. For most, that means your bicycle goes into hibernation. Not in Minneapolis. With over 130 miles of on-street bikeways and 100 off-street bikeways, all you need here is a little moxie and a lot of layers.
Le Méridien General Manager and bicycle enthusiast, David Cronin, he proposed a different kind of immersive event. One where we could unlock the true Le Méridien Minneapolis experience by venturing out into the zero-degree weather and in to the local museums, theaters, and restaurants. Our Continuum was perfect- no-freeze belt drive and a NuVinci rear hub that can take on freezing temperatures, paired with Klondike studded snow tires for the persistent ice on the roads.
Check out some of the pictures below, and in Part II we will share the full winter riding experience!
PRIORITY PROFILE: SYLVIA BY THE SEA
To say that we fell in love with Sylvia Tribel's aesthetic is an understatement. When our team stumbled upon her Instagram Profile we were blown away by her etherial photos of her small beach town and gorgeous 100 year-old home in Long Branch, New Jersey. We knew our bike would be a perfect fit for her and we were excited to see how it could be woven into her creative and colorful world. Click here to see Sylvia's photos and learn about her adventures by bike, her dreams of starting her own clothing line, and her favorite local spots to ride.
PRIORITY PROFILE: #WHYWAIT
"The best innovations are brought to life when the right people are empowered by the right technology. " This is the philosophy behind Season 2 of Qualcomm's series "#WhyWait Invent-Off". The series brings together two teams of makers, coders and inventors and gives them access to Qualcomm’s groundbreaking technology to take on this year’s challenge: Use the Internet of Things to create something that saves a life.
Longtime Priority Community member, inventor, engineer and Executive Editor of MAKE Magazine Mike Senese was the captain of the Orange Team. Their idea for the challenge was to create the SaveMe System, a bike beacon system that can really save a life if a cyclist is in an accident. Their system logs important crash data, as well as notifies emergency personnel and alerts passerby-ers with lights and sirens. They put the system to the test with a prototype on our Priority Classic. Check out the series and their team's creative process here.
We got a chance to talk with Mike about his experience in the competition, as well as gained insights into his process of creating and inventing, and even talked a little bit about crowdfunding and Kickstarter. You can read our interview with him here.
And can take a look at the series trailer below:
PRIORITY PROFILE: DOWNTOWN BIKE RIDE WITH THOUSAND HELMETS
We are big believers in helmets. Our team wears them every time we ride, from our daily commute to the office to just rolling around the block to the Farmer’s Market. However, we know that helmets can at times be quite the nuisance, sometimes bulky and unattractive.
This summer, we were introduced to the team from Thousand- a helmet company with an incredible mission to make helmets that you actually want to wear. Their helmets keep you safe without sacrificing style. While the design is clean and simple, the helmets have innovative features that include vegan friendly straps, a creative pop-lock to help leave your helmet with your bike, and a simple to use, pinch-free magnetic clasp.
We want you start your autumn bike riding in style. Check out the new Thousand helmets out and about in Downtown Manhattan in our latest Priority Profile here.
PRIORITY PROFILE: ALL WATERS WELCOME
It seems like just yesterday that we launched our Priority Coast on Kickstarter. Just a few months later, the Coasts have been produced and delivered to backers all over the world. The Coast embodies features that are adapted for any coastal environment. From its lightweight frame to its rust-fighting components, we are excited to see that the Coast is popping up on beaches, rivers, lakes and shorelines. In celebration, we collected photos from our community from the Florida Keys to Wyoming to Southern California to share with you.
CLICK HERE to see more photos of the Coast from our community around the world.
