George Babiak

I sat down with my friend George Babiak this past weekend to talk about the Bike Trip and some of George’s biking journeys.  In 1995 George biked with his wife from New York City to Alberta Canada and covered over 4,000 miles. 

George now works for the 52nd Street Project and has been there for several years.  The 52nd Street project as described by their website is “a not for profit organization that matches kids (age 9-18) of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City with professional theatre artists to create original theatre.”  The 52nd Street project is an exceptional organization and they do an amazing job of connecting with the young community in Hell’s Kitchen.  There are several types of theatre programs that the kids and professional artists can work on together.  One is called “One on Ones” where a playwright and kid work together and the playwright then writes a play specifically for that kid.  The kid then rehearses with a professional actor to perform the play in front an audience.  Another program is called “Playmaking” where the kids take classes in playwrighting eventually leading to them writing their own play, which is then produced with a professional director and performed by two professional actors.  The 52 Street Project productions are hands down the best theatre I’ve ever seen. 

George took a minute to sit down with me and talk about some of the things he ran into on his big trip.  George is also a pretty serious bike mechanic having worked at Bicycle Habitat in New York for eight years.  He also helped create the Recycle a Bicycle program that trains kids to repair and ride bikes.  One of the craziest things George and his wife Vanessa ran into on their long bike ride was a reckless driver in Canada hit both of them.  It was a hit and run, the car first struck Vanessa from behind and then moved on to hit George.  Luckily, they both turned out to be fine but one of their bikes was destroyed in the accident.  I guess it just goes to show that you can’t prepare for everything.  He said they also had a couple times where things were stolen, but nothing too major.   

George gave me a few tips on some of the basic maintenance issues we might run into on the road.  Watching him change a tire looked like it was on the same level of difficulty as him snapping his fingers.  I appreciate him taking the time to talk and show me a bit of his skills.  I’ll have his number on speed dial during the ride just in case.