The Bicycle Diaries is a fictional memoir - set in New York City - starting on the morning of 9-11-2001 and continuing up until the end of 2006/beginning of 2007. The narrative chronicles the onset of an increasingly militarized police-state atmosphere - especially as witnessed by the narrator in the streets of New York City. Highlights include the Republican National Convention in August, 2004 - along with certain, key political demonstrations and protest events. The Bicycle Diaries also offers a parallel story in which national and international dynamics are reflected in struggles the narrator observes going on around him in his local neighborhood. Much of the fictional memoir is based on actual experiences in the  streets of Manhattan - witnessed by or recounted to the author.