BY BOB KRASNER | Allan Ishac is not a guy who sits still. Having written several books (“New York’s 50 Best Places to Find Peace and Quiet” and “The Guide to Odd New York,” to name a couple), he created a children’s video series (“Hard Hat Harry”), invented an app (“Tranquilicity”) and won awards for advertising copywriting, he is moving forward by going back to his first love.
“I’ve been obsessed with bikes since I was five,” the longtime Village resident admits. He first found an outlet to explore the world of cycling with a column in Momentum magazine called “Cyclepreneurs.” In the column, he explores businesses that have ditched their trucks and vans in favor of pedal power, like the Chicago window washer who now works out of the back of a cargo bike.
Ishac decided that he wanted his own business on a bike and he wasn’t about to start “delivering laundry or bagels.”
“I was astonished that there was no entertainment media vehicle” focusing on human-powered vehicles, he noted. So he got his own cargo bike, ditched its bucket and enlisted inventor/designer Jimmy DiResta to create a talk-show desk for it.
A theme song was commissioned from 17-yearold prodigy Annika Bennett. Wardrobe designers got to work and an alter ego, Simon Spokes, was created. The end result is “That Bike Show,” a Web cast that will begin running regular five-minute episodes in March, though samples are now on the Web site.
Spokes plans to park his bike/desk in various locations around New York, a city that has added 250 miles of bike lanes since 2006. Having already interviewed Santa Claus, Spokes has a wish list of about 120 celebrity cyclists that he’d like to sit down with. Other things he’s wishing for are a female sidekick and some sponsorship (interested parties can contact Ishac via the Web site thatbikeshow.com). In the meantime, he said, “I’m committing all my energy and money to the show. For me, this is a dream come true.”
