The Bountiful Bronx

Distance Traveled: 62.00 Miles

This city, still, never ceases to amaze me! Even after two years of study; even over 500+ miles, I continually find things that I would never expect. The complexity and dynamism of New York as a single urban entity is simply incomprehensible in a single thought. I will begin with a quick review of my previous conceptions of the Bronx.

As dedicated readers may recall, I have been to the Bronx on three prior occasions. Once for the 5 Borough, once for an independent research ride, and one for the Century Tour. all of these excursions though informative focused only on the West Bronx. From those trips I concluded that the Bronx was primarily African American and Hispanic. Additionally, I found the structure to be similar to that of uptown Manhattan: tight interspersed with numerous Central business districts, with a few really cool green spaces. As it turns out these observations were incomplete...

I headed straight up 3rd avenue. On my way I passed the Islamic Cultural Center of New York. It's an interestingly shaped building. Unfortunately it was closed. It was then over the 3rd avenue bridge and into the Bronx [depicted right]! There's a series of bridges leading from Manhattan into the Bronx in this same area. This cluster of bridges includes the Wills Avenue bridge, the Madison avenue Bridge, the 145st bridge, and of course the 3rd avenue bridge (there's also an unnamed railroad "lift bridge" in there). These are all "swing span" bridges, which means that the central span can be disconnected from the approaches and rotated into a perpendicular position to allow ships to sail through on either side. All of these bridges sit too low for larger shipping vessels and the Harlem river is too narrow for anything taller.

The easiest thing to do was for me to continue uptown on 3rd. This was an awesome decisions as the entire route up to 163rd street was vibrant and full of activity! There were tons of stores and restaurants lining the streets. People were out in force enjoying this Saturday morning! It was similar to that feeling you get in midtown Manhattan, only with a much different type of crowd. Instead of tourists, business suites and leather boots, you have average people out for a stroll. I know that's a really subjective generalization, but there's definitely something very real about the Bronx that I can't quite put my finger on.

From there I headed east and got a little side tracked. I wound up at the Bronx river, but not exactly where I intended to be. It was a happy mistake though, because I stumbled my way into Hunts Point Riverside Park. This is a small Park with a small play area, some tables, and a dock! I made my way over to it and found out that this is a boat launching site! I've been wondering about this for years! I have always wanted to kayak around New York, but I didn't know if it was legal or how to go about doing so. Now I'm not sure if you can go all the way down to the East river, but according to the sign there are designated river trails. You need a permit for to operate any vessel, powered or not, but it is easy to obtain. I will definitely be keeping that little tidbit in my back pocket!

I headed across the river. Before I headed north to City Island I had a mission to complete. During the Century Tour, I noted how a small portion of a greenway in Soundview Park was fenced off and in the construction phase. Stupid me didn't bother to take a picture (of course I was in some sort of fiery, determined rage to finish the tour at the time). I wanted this as an example of noticeable progress in the city's bicycle infrastructure improvements. So I mapped out the best way to get there. Of course I eventually noticed the yellow spray painted marks on the ground left over from the Century tour and figured it would be best to follow them. Eventually I came upon the area. It was still fenced off, but there were park personnel in there working today. I took my pictures and moved on. About a half mile later as I found an opening in the fence [depicted left], no doubt where the workers had entered with their van. It looked like an invitation if I had ever seen one, so I made a detour into this brand new area. It was beautiful, and completely untouched. All of the trees had just been planted. The pavement was fresh and the paint was bright and new. The whole section of the park was just perfectly pristine. You cannot get any closer to the water either. There's actually a walking path which leads to a boat loading dock. I sense that this may become a powered boat launch site. It was neat having it all to myself. I tried to leave a different way, but I found a gate blocking my path. I hurried back tot he gap in the fence where I had arrived and left quickly before I could be discovered. Mission accomplished and a half!

After I left the Soundvew Greenway I headed towards City Island. I had heard that it was an interesting place, and that's all I ever need to hear. I had mapped out a route to get there, but it was long before I abandoned it. Why? Well as I looked down at the road I noticed some yellow markings which red TBX with an arrow [depicted left]. It took me a second, but then I realized that these were the route markers for Tour de Bronx. I had planned to do it a month earlier, but due to weather conditions and the encroaching World Series they opted to cancel it. It made sense that the route had been mapped. They literally canceled it only two days before (which begs the question what happened to all the food they must have gotten donated)! I figured if I couldn't have the real thing I might as well give the tour a try anyway. Besides, I definitely remember someone telling me that Tour de Bronx was one of the destinations on the longer Tour de Bronx route. so I followed it and wound up on the Pelham Parkway. This took me all the way east to city island.

I have to note my observations on the way to the Parkway. I mentioned before that my ideas about the Bronx were incomplete. What I found on the Journey from Soundview to City Island was a much softer, more residential, not to mention whiter part of the Bronx. Houses had garages and were not lumped together. The neighborhoods almost resembled that of residential, eastern Queens. I was shocked at the contrast, not so much because of my own observations of the Bronx, but the borough's reputation as a whole. Everyone I have spoken with tends to think of the Bronx as this rough, low socioeconomic danger zone, thus negating any redeeming value. Where I see vibrance and activity others seem to perceive dirt and decay. People can't seem to look past this hasty generalization to allow for even the possibility that the Bronx may not be nearly as bad as some may make it out to be. I suppose the same could be said about Manhattan. So often people think of midtown as their only basis of definition for New York City, let alone, Manhattan, when it's quite evident that Manhattan has a wide variety of different types of places.

My first thought upon entering the island was Epcot in Disney World. The Bridge itself has these mythical-esk spires which you would expect streamers to fly from. This is a place that seems to take a lot of pride in itself. The public school on the island calls itself the city island school. The central street is very well kept and lined with seafood restaurants. There's a lot of seaside fanfare. It didn't seem anything like Roosevelt Island or Rockaway, Queens. Instead of creepy exclusivity or Boardwalk town syndrome, this place had a definite independent jive to it. It's where you would probably go to get your dose of maritime tradition. The bottom of the island was funny, because I saw a bus reach the end and than make a three point turn to head back up the other way. I got back on the Pelham parkway. This parkway is so named because of Pelham Bay Park. This is the largest park in the entire city with 2764 acres. I took a short detour north into the park. There's definitely a lot of it to explore. I found some stables and horse trails. As I continued east on the parkway I came upon the Bronx Victory Memorial Column [depicted right]. This was erected to commemorate all of the Bronx's soldiers who died in WWI. After turning onto the Moshulu Parkway I was in familiar territory. With my mission accomplished I could turn and head downtown, but being stubborn as I am, I decided to set another goal for myself. Last month I journey to the south pole. I had come this far and wasn't about to turn around without hitting its northern counterpart. I cut through Van Cortland Park and headed to Van Cortland park and made my way to the College of Mount Saint Vincent. somewhere on the campus is the city's northern pole. I followed a grotto in rather than going through the security gate. I biked all around, but couldn't find any sort of marker. All I got was one of the steepest hills I have ever managed to successfully climb. Though I can't say that I have stood at the absolute northern pole of the city, I definitely made it to the farthest north section. I suppose that's good enough. Since the north pole lies on a private (I'm talking very private) campus I don't think there is any sort of marker. Even after researching it on the NYC website I can't seem to find anything.
I headed back downtown and learned that the bike map is not without its tricks. The Palisade on the bike map is designated as a class 1 greenway. What I have come to expect from that designation is a paved, separated path. This was not the case. It was a mountain bike trail! I was faced with one of those cliche movie dilemmas where I could take the longer, safer path or the quicker, more difficult way. I chose the latter. It's been a while since I've gone MTBing, but it was definitely fun. I'm always saying how my bike can handle on and off road conditions, and it's the truth. Aside from the sliding of hybrid my tires, she performed beautifully. I headed back into Manhattan via the Broadway Bridge. Eventually I made my way west to the GWB and got on the Hudson River Greenway. I then continued downtown until about 54th street and headed west to 5th ave. I wanted to avoid Times Square. I've never really explored this area of 5th. I saw the New York Philharmonic [depicted left] and St. Patrick's Cathedral [depicted right]. Both were very cool to see at night.

Distance Traveled: 16.5 miles

It was a gorgeous day as arrived in the city; for me it was a relatively lazy day. With no concrete plans I headed over to the Hudson River Greenway. It seems as though every newspaper in the country has been singing praises of the newest ship in our naval fleet, the USS New York. Right now she is docked at Pier 86 accommodating visitors and honored guests. The ship's bow is made of at least seven tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center. I got a fine glimpse of the ship from the Greenway [depicted left]. They were not giving tours at the time, so I decided to come back on Sunday.

From there I headed to the other side of Manhattan. My destination was not really specific, but I did want to head past the United Nations. This is the global capital of the organization. as I discussed previously, the U.N. First met in Queen's Corona park. Now it resides here along the East River. Right across the street is Trump World Tower [depicted left]. What an interesting choice of location! I couldn't help but think of how much money was walking around inside of that building as I road past with my thrift store jacket and hand-me-down scarf.

I remembered that a couple friends of mine were up in the city for their New York class, so I gave them a call. One of them was in a previous class I had in New York. The other two have worked with me and collaborated on an independent study of Brooklyn [depicted bottom right]. We also did a project concerning the collegiate outreach program at the New York Historical Society. I met them up in Central Park up by the 72nd street entrance. We strolled around the Park for a while and then headed to back to where we met so they could go do their class work. I then headed back downtown for a smooth cup of hot chocolate at Cafe Reggio in the Village.

I decided to head down 9th because that was the closest avenue. On my way I had another epiphany about biking in New York. In Manhattan the avenues are generally wide and one way (below a certain point and above the financial district). This gives riders a great deal of freedom. Whereas in Philadelphia I tend to gravitate to one side of the road or another, in New York I found myself rushing in and out of the center lanes, with plenty of room to do so. That being said, I had a great ride down to the village. It was rush hour and I had to get through midtown. The traffic was brilliantly thick. Things were moving fast, so I had to keep up. It's been a while since I had a ride that fun. You simply can't have that kind of freedom anywhere else. Even before I reached the protected bike lane I found it easy to navigate around because of the width of the street. Whereas in Philadelphia I am regulated to one side of the street or the other, here, you can navigate in the middle, where it is often times safer than riding along parked cars. Fortunately (I suppose) I had the sense not to take any pictures or video during this ride. Oh well, it's the readers' loss!

No Snow at the South Pole

Distance Traveled: 47.53 miles

Well, it was bound to happen eventually, and today I finally went to Staten Island. Before I describe my day I suppose I should address a couple things I've heard heard about Staten. Most of it is not kind, but the general consensus is that Staten's Borough status doesn't make a lot of sense to New Yorkers. In truth, Staten Island is actually closer to New Jersey than any of the other boroughs. I prefer to look at it a different way. As strange or divergent as it may seem, I believe that Staten adds to the dynamism of New York's landscape which I'm always preaching about.

Staten Island is perhaps best known for the Staten Island Ferry. This is ironic because, as my friend Jeff pointed out, it is the thing that takes you away from the island. The ferry is operated by the NYCDOT and is free. The ride lasts about 25 minutes and offers some positively majestic views of lower Manhattan. This is probably my second favorite way to see the City next to the Brooklyn Bridge, of course. It's difficult to describe, but I'll give it a shot. as you stand on the outer deck, the plating beneath your feet rumbles as the ships massive engines propel the ship away from its Manhattan dock. The Financial Buildings tower above you but slowly shrink as more of the skyline comes into view. The the boat's massive, white wake streams behind tracing your route as you steam away from the island.Even as the city seems to shrink it continues to grow as the visual scope expands. The East River Bridges appear, and then Brooklyn. It's truly amazing.

In a way, it's also nostalgic. It wasn't until the Brooklyn Bridge was opened in 1883 that people had the ability to drive into Manhattan (from Brooklyn at least). Ferry's were the only way to get from one island to another. On top of that it is a reminder of New York's commercial past. New Amsterdam was a dutch trading outpost, and with the later development of the Erie Canal, New York relied on nautical traffic to function. To this day, cargo ships can be found on either side of the Ferry's path in the five mile stretch between the two islands. On top of that, for those of us who had ancestors who immigrated to the United States back in the day, you can get a sense of what it was like to sail into New York for the first time as you drift past the statue of Liberty.

Let me back up for a second. As soon as I rolled my bike into the Ferry I was flagged down by the security guard who directed me to another guard. This one had a dog who came and sniffed for drugs (I assume) in my bag. Having found nothing I was then directed to a special bicycle waiting area. This is outside the terminal in front of the landing areas. When the boat had offloaded and was ready for new passengers the security guards waved me on first.

Once on the island, I headed down one of the few bike lanes in the borough. My initial impressions were hard to really put into words. The north eastern end of the island is interesting. While it seems somewhat suburban This is still a connection to the rest of the city in the Manhattan skyline and the Verrazanno Bridge. The first location which peaked my interest was Von Breisen Park. Its winedy paths up a slight incline obscure a culdesac with a magnificent view of the Bridge. From this vantage point I noticed a castle-like fort right at the base of the bridge's west tower. This peaked my curiosity. I headed to Fort Wadsworth. Apparently this wall was obsolete before that last stone was laid, as new artillery was able to breach the wall. Still it is pretty impressive. The actual wall is known as Battery Weed. Since the British left after the revolution, no one has tried to invade New York Harbor. The fort is now controlled by the National Park Service and is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area.

From there I continued south along the shoreline. As I mentioned earlier my goal was to stick to as many bike lanes as possible. There is a class 1 greenway that runs for about 2 miles down the eastern coast. This greenway is a boardwalk, though there is a paved path that runs straight next to it. I followed it to its end, but had to then stop and fix my rear wheel which had gone flat. Up to this point I could see the Verrazano Bridge. I still had a sense of urban infrastructure. and was fully aware of my location. As I learned from my mentor, however, I should never underestimate the academic value of getting lost while exploring the urban environment. As I was about to discover, this lesson could not have been better facilitated anywhere else. I turned and headed west towards the center of the island. There were two other Sites of interest on the map which I wanted to visit.

As soon as I left the coastline, however, I was awestruck by the contrast. The physical environment shifted into the suburban spectrum in the wink of an eye. depicted right is the first street that I encountered on my westbound journey. Even the homes I had seen in eastern queens didn't have this much space! I hardly saw any cars parked on the streets, and even sidewalks were scarce in some areas. The houses themselves weren't cheap either. I even passed whole neighborhoods of mansion sized homes! As I got deeper into the island I became more and more lost. Roads that the map indicated were through streets came to dead ends, and my location became more and more difficult to trace on the map. Some of the dead end streets stopped at full woodland areas with vast nature trails [depicted left]. Don't get me wrong, I love trees and camping and the forest, but when I come to New York, that's not exactly what I expect. I knew I was in trouble when I came to a road which the lighthouse was supposed to be on and I found no lighthouse. I continued weaving up and down all the streets in the area, many of which had some nasty hills. In my search for the landmarks I somehow wound up in a rehab facility [depicted right]. Silly me thought this was the museum I was looking for. As I sat at the entrance to the rehab facility looking at my map an elderly gentleman drove up next to me and asked if I need help. He gave me some very vague directions up a ridiculously steep hill. I headed up the hill, with a renewed sense of direction. Then, once again, the streets on the map started to get confusing. After more searching, I stumbled across my first landmark.

The Jacques Marchais museum of Tibetan art. It holds the largest collection of Tibetan art anywhere in the world outside of Tibet. Now I'm no enthusiast, but given the difficulty I had finding the place and then the final revelation of what was inside, I was not particularly impressed. The gardens outside were kind of cool but again it's nothing I would want to bike 20 some miles and get lost while searching for. My next stop which I expected to be a lot more interesting was the Staten Island Lighthouse. According to the bike map it was literally one street over. So I biked up and around. I swept the entire block and could not find it. I must have missed it. I went around again (remember these aren't short city blocks). No lighthouse. I then searched all of the peripheral streets, and still no lighthouse. Finally I came back to the original street which I thought it would be on. I saw some people outside working and asked them where it was. In a thick Russian accent the man pointed down the street I had already been on several times and said it was in the middle of the block. Confused, I thanked him and headed his advice. I kept scanning for the lighthouse, wondering if I had passed it. Then, all of the sudden I saw it. No wonder I had missed it both times. It is literally in someone's back yard [depicted right]! I didn't want to walk up to it, because I would have had to walk down that person's neighbor's driveway and then turn into the backyard. It was just a weird situation. I did a little research afterwards to contextualize the structure. It began operating in 1912 as an oil lamp amplified by a prism. An electric lamp was introduced in 1939. It was dedicated as a city landmark in 1969. From 1992 to 2001 the lighthouse was maintained by a private citizen named Joe Espisito. Because of budget Cust, though the Coast Gaurd is responsible for it, they do not maintain it.

I had sworn that I would turn around and head back to Manhattan after I found these two landmarks, partially because I was so frustrated. After these two anticlimactic experience, however, I just couldn't end my day like that. I headed South and eventually ate lunch at a decent Chinese joint. On my way down two things caught my eye. First, I saw this house [depicted left] that cracked me up (in the context of NYC). The other thing was Historic Richmond. Outside of the New York Historical Society I would never expect to see remnants of the colonial period still attached to the landscape. This, however, is a "living history" village. I didn't stay long because I wanted to keep going, but I did walk up to Christopher House which is a restored, 18th century farmhouse.
I continued south until I arrived at Wolfe's Pond Park. I stopped here, because this is the site of one of three mountain bike trails in the city. Given what I had observed of Staten the rest of the day, I decided that this may not be the best example of a true urban mountain bike trail. It was still neat though. I don't pretend to be a dedicated mountain bike rider. In fact, tend not to unless I need to. My tires are hybrids, meaning that they can be used on road and some off-road terrain, so I road around a bit. These definitely were not the most intense trails I have ever been on. I would describe it more as a leisure set of trails than challenging. There are a few obstacles, but none that are too dangerous. I had one last stop to make before I went home. That stop was the southern most point in the city: The south pole. On my way down I saw some guy standing on in a bike lane taking a picture of someone's house. I wondered what could be so interesting, so I slowed down and took a look. There was a deer grazing in someone's back yard! At that point I had to verbally remind myself "yes, I am still in New York City."

I headed all the way to the bottom of the island. There, on the beach is a red, wooden post which reads "South Pole" [depicted right]. As I walked around the side of it, I got a kick out of some of the graffiti. It said "F@#king liar, there's no snow here." Aside from being hysterical, I think it is actually an interesting commentary on Staten Island as a whole. If you were actually going to the south pole, you would expect snow. At the same time if you go to New York you expect... something. While yes I have been preaching about New York's "infinite diversity" and multiplicity of perception, there is something about New York's inherent urbanity that residents and, more so, visitors expect. You will not find that in Staten Island. Do not misunderstand me. I'm not saying this is a bad thing (though many do). In my mind it adds to the wonder that is New York City. New York is probably one of the most quintessentially urban places on the planet, and yet cabins, wide streets, whole forests, and deer can roam free. Some would argue that were Staten Island to succeed from the city it wouldn't make a difference in terms of identity, yet I think that uncertainty and (I suppose wonder really isn't the right word) oddity is a distinct part of New York. Different, yes, but New York all the same.

I had a decision to make. How should I go home? I didn't mind the idea of riding back, but I couldn't think of anything I wanted to see. I was very close to the final stop on the Staten Island Railroad, so I took it. This was an experience in of itself. I just rolled right onto the station platform there were no turnstiles or anything like that. I sat at the back of the front car. There was only one other person on the train on a Saturday evening (last stop or not)! after a 15 minute wait the train finally lurched forward on its 42 minute northward journey. When I arrived at the final stop, I headed for the service gate. As I thanked the MTA employee holding it open, she yelled at me: "Hey where's your metro card? You gotta pay!" I've decided that this place is literally backward.

I went through the same procedure at the ferry. This time, however, when I got on the boat the crew insisted that I leave my bike in the designated area, so I did not get to hang out on the deck as we approached Manhattan. All in all I found it a very strange experience. I could only see myself living in the northern quarter of the island, no further than five minutes from the ferry terminal. Otherwise... I don't really have much else to say.

The New York Century

Distance Traveled: 122.39 Miles!

Sounds epic right? I can assure you it was. I woke up before my alarm at the ungodly hour of 4:23 A.M. Needless to say, I was not in the most pleasant of moods. I left Union Square at around 5 and headed up 6th ave. It's true what they say, about the "city that doesn't sleep," at least in lower Manhattan that is. There were still people wandering around, and many lights aglow. The volume, however, was significantly less than usual. There was an strange silence in the air. I say strange only because, New York without hordes of people is like... I don' know... a hot dog without a bun. It's just weird.

I started riding, but decided to cut myself a break, since I had 100 miles ahead of me, and hopped on the D train (It was 7o blocks to the starting line from where I was). The thing that creeped me out was subway tunnel (depicted left). I have NEVER seen a tunnel empty (this is the level before the turnstile). There was no noise echoing from above; no trains thundering from below; No conversation echoing across the ceramic walls. I quickly refilled my Metro card, hoping to get onto the platform as soon as possible. I went through the prescribed procedure: Swipe your card, flip the turnstile as though you had walked through, and then open the emergency gate to let your bike in. As I carried my bike down the stairs onto the platform, I was relieved to find people waiting for the train. Once the D got there, I was even more surprised at the number of people that were already on board.

Once in the Park, I lined up with the other participants. According to the Transportation Alternatives Staff, over 6,000 people were participating that day. This is the 20th annual New York Century Tour, which serves as T.A.'s primary fundraiser for their advocacy efforts. This was the only T.A. ride (including tour de Bronx and tour de Queens) which I had to pay for. This ride is a little bit different from the ones I have done to date. First, the route was not closed of to vehicular traffic. Secondly, we did not travel as a group. You went at your own pace, and no one waited up for you if you fell behind. Third, there were marshalls, but they were not so much leading the ride as they were patrolling and making sure things went smoothly.

We left Central Park, while it was still dark, in groups according to how many people could role out while the light was green. The idea was to obey traffic signals. We zoomed down Riverside Drive, the site of a proposed bike lane (according to the 2009 map). Because there were hardly any cars out that early, we had the road to ourselves, and the hills on the upper west side were a lot of fun to speed down. As we headed further downtown, the sun began to rise, and just as we reached midtown, it peaked up over the tallest buildings casting a beautiful orange reflection onto the street below (sort of depicted right). The highlight of my morning was when we hit the Brooklyn Bridge. Anyone who has been keeping up with this blog, or knows anything about me, knows how I feel about this gorgeous, iconic structure. The sun had just climbed above the horizon as I began the ascent up it's arching pedestrian promenade. The brilliant orange light bathed the bridge's neo-gothic arches and accentuated the twisting steel of the criss-crossing support cables. As I looked to my left, the Manhattan bridge glowing in the brilliant orange light against a fresh, pink, cloudless sky. As I glanced behind me the sun glimmered off the financial buildings downtown. It was wonderful. Unfortunately, as I find is always the case with the Brooklyn Bridge, no pictures can do the scene its splendid justice.

From there we headed to Prospect Park, and the first rest stop. I was impressed when I got there. Not only did they have thousands of Crispy Cream Doughnuts, but they had bananas, apples, oranges, water, and Peanut butter and Jelly bagels. They even had a been for compost! From there We headed out to the Western edge of the Shore Parkway (the week before I was biking from its eastern-most point). This was a brilliant ride, because it actually follows the shore line (the Eastern portion is not so, most of the time you have tall grass on one side and the express way on the other), with brilliant views of Staten Island. More importantly, however, You get to pass directly beneath the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. This bridge was the last in the United States to hold the record as the longest in the world,a title it relinquished in 1981 to the Humber Bridge in England. It is gargantuan, and extremely impressive.

The next stop was in Marine Park. I did not stay here to long, because I was not yet tired, but a noticed a few things while I was there. On all of the bike tours I have participated in, there is always a mutual sense of trust and respect between the riders. No one is ever uncomfortable leaving their bikes unattended (for short periods of course), and conversation is easy to come by. I always overhear stories of other rides, or heroing experiences. In this way, we are generating energy about cycling, an energy which rubs off on people as we ride around. Seeing people happily biking through the streets sends a message to people. Wow, look how much fun they're having, and if that many people are biking there must be something to it! Anothter cool feature at he rest stops were the map stations. There was always a table, with free bike maps and information on it. There were also marked bike pas which identified the route, and your relative location (depicted right).

We headed over to Rockaway, which I found out is actually all part of Queens, and made the same journey I had the week before [through the Jamaica bay wildlife Refuge, and back to central Queens]. On the way over the boardwalk, I saw some massive kites taking flight on the beach (depicted left). Our next stop was Kissena Park, but there was a slight detour before the rest area. Apparently Kessina has a Velodrome (one of those tracks with inverted edges) [depicted right]. They had opened it up so all the century riders could take a spin. Even with the extra weight I was carrying, it was still fun!

As I sat up against a rock at the Kissena Park, I concluded that we were directly beneath the JFK airport approach airspace, since at least five passenger jets made low, descending passes over head while I was there. I stayed in the park for a while, as this was the 60 mile marker. My bike computer read 68 miles, but that's because I had biked a little bit that morning to get to CP. I enjoyed the ride through north eastern Queens, especially because I got to ride by the Throngsneck Bridge (depicted left). After that it was straight past La Guardia, and around to Astoria. When i stopped I was tired. This was the 75 mile marker. This is the upper limit of what I normally do in a day. my bike computer already indicated that I had done 80 some miles. Being stubborn, however, I was determined to complete the century! I stayed in Astoria long enough to refuel (with water and at least four PB & J sandwiches) and stretch. Then I hit the RFK bridge. Unfortunately it was backed up all the way across, because of the stairs along its walkway (depicted right). It took a while, but I finally got to Randall's Island.

All those going to the Bronx turned left; everyone else went right, and back into Manhattan. I turned left, and for a while there was no one following me. As soon as I hit Bronx soil, something ignited inside of me. I'm not sure exactly what was going on, but this rush of energy just took over. My speed increased, and all of the sudden I had not only caught up to some of the other riders, but I passed them! For a while I was traveling in familiar territory (from my previous trip up North), but then the tour took me to the east. Let me just say, that I think the Bronx is fascinating. No matter where you go, you find children playing games in the street, people sitting out on their stoops, and families BBQing in the park. It's like the last vestige of Jane Jacob's ideas about urban community. There are also some very cool greenways including the one in Soundview Park, and the Mosulu Parkway. It was like riding through a cove of arching trees at the water's edge {depicted right). That fence, in the picture is, interestingly, blocking off a freshly paved trail for pedestrians and bicycles which goes even closer to the water. I made it all the way up to the Van Courtland Rest Area (depicted left). I was so amped up at this point though, that I only stayed for about five minutes. After that I jetted out of there and headed south. I don't remember a whole lot of this portion of the ride. I was in one of those trances, where you are hyper focused on your actions. I do vaguely remember catching up to, and passing not one, but two delivery persons on bicycles. As we have discovered, that isn't the easiest task. It was interesting being so in tune with my bike. There was no disconnect between what I was thinking and the bike's actions. I was able to skirt my way around parked cars, speeding traffic, and a number of other obstructions. I was so focused, that all of the sudden I looked up at one point, and noticed that I had made it don to 107th street. This was several blocks passed the finish line! I didn't even realize I had made it back into Manhattan! I turned around and headed to the real finish line. I was very excited to pick up my free t-shirt! I definitely earned that damn thing! After a day jostling with cars I decided to take the scenic route back home to Union Square. I rode along the Central Park loop until it spit me out at 7th ave. As I was riding through I heard a man say to his girlfriend "It's okay honey, we can do the five mile loop instead." I laughed as I glanced down at the 118 some miles displayed on my bike computer's odometer readout. From there it was smooth sailing all the way down Manhattan, into the Sunset.