The End of Summer

We have closed summer with a bang over here. The weather has been sublime (unlike 98% of summer), and we made the most of it.

Yesterday Todd, Dylan, Sofia, and I went out to Coney Island where we rode everything from the Wonder Wheel to the Thunder Bolt to the Cyclone. The Thunder Bolt made me a little dizzy and gave me a headache, but I loved the Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone. We also feasted. Everyone but me ate at Nathan's Hot Dogs for lunch; I'm not a hot dog person, so I was able to resist the calorie fest, but I made up for it later with an ice cream cone on the beach.

Today we took the bike out for a ride; it was one of the few rides this whole summer. Between busy schedules and terrible weather, we didn't really cycle as much as I'd have liked, so it was especially good to ride around again before the weather gets too cold. We went down through Central Park and back up through Riverside. The weather was beautiful, and we all loved it. Well...for the most part: Dylan really out grew his bike this summer and made quite a fuss about it being too small for him. We'll definitely need to upgrade before next summer rolls around.

Now the summer is over and work begins in earnest. This Thursday is my first night of back-to-back classes, and one professor gave pre-homework, which I think is a drag. It's neither surprising nor uncommon, but I still wish profs would let us enjoy the final week of break. Alas.

Biking to DUMBO

Sunday was another beautiful day, and Todd and I had a great time out enjoying the weather. We biked through Central Park and discovered Japan Day. After leaving the park, we encountered the Salute to Israel Parade going down the east side. We took a route south through the east side, which brought us right past the U.N. It was a very international day on the bikes!

We don't usually bike down the east side, and after this experience I know I'll be sticking to the west side from now on. I found the route frustrating (on and off the green way and into and out of street traffic) and too exhaust-filled.

I was pretty impressed with our stamina, though. We biked all the way downtown and into Chinatown. From there we took the Manhattan Bridge across the water and into Dumbo. Todd and I both agree that Dumbo is one of the nicest parts of the city; we'd love to live there some day if we come into about a zillion dollars. If any of you want to finance us, please let me know.

Weekend Update

This past weekend was a very full one. In addition to seeing Next to Nothing, Todd and I had drinks with some of my classmates. I thought I should go and network, but it ended up being a small group and I definitely could have skipped it. Todd was a trooper, though, and made nice with everyone there, even though he was probably bored to death. It was good that about half the people who were there also brought S.O.s, so it wasn’t all school talk all the time.

Saturday morning we lazed about and then hit the mean streets of New York (ok, the perfectly lovely and verdant loop in Central Park) for our first bike ride of the season. We were temporarily derailed by a flat tire on Todd’s bike, but one visit to the bike repair shop later we were on our way. It was a great day to be out and about, and we felt lucky with the weather. Rain was predicted, but as usual, the forecast was wrong.

That evening we headed downtown and saw The Thermals play at Bowery Ballroom. Todd loves concerts and has been to many in his day. He hasn’t been to many, though, in the last two years, in part because I’m sort of a dud when it comes to music. I just don’t pay that much attention to it. I like good music, but given the choice between spending my time with friends, a new book, watching a movie, etc. or a new album, I consistently don’t choose the album. It means I’m not up on many bands and definitely don’t make it to many shows (I think I’ve been to about 5 in my life). I also find concert behavior a little off-putting. Yes, I realize I’m an old lady in a 31-year-old body, but I just don’t enjoy being bumped into that much. Luckily, The Thermals put on a great show, and I had a really good time. Their energy was great, the music was excellent, and it was so much fun to see Todd enjoying himself so much. He goes out of his way to do things that I like all the time, so getting bumped into a little bit isn’t so bad in the grand scheme of things.

We also fit a viewing Star Trek movie into the weekend, which I really liked. I’ve seen episodes here and there over the years, usually with my dad, but I wouldn’t call myself a fan. I’d heard nothing but positive buzz about the movie, though, and it really was enjoyable. Live long and prosper.

Bring on the bike stands

I just read this article about a proposal to require bike storage in all new construction throughout New York, and the idea really makes me smile. Last spring when I was looking to buy a bike, the warning I heard most from other cyclists was that bikes are stolen nonstop in the city. I was frustrated that my office building was so unaccommodating, and that was a big part of why I opted for the more expensive foldable bike that I ultimately bought (better storage in a small apartment was obviously the other reason). To have a secure place to park my bike both in an apartment building and at a workplace would go along way toward allowing more New Yorkers to ride. And the more of us there are on the streets, the safer riding will become.

Biking Martha's Vineyard

Jen and I caught the ferry out to Martha's Vineyard today, and it was beautiful! The weather wasn't great, but it never down poured on us. A little drizzling we could handle, and we braved it like champs. We scoped out the main drag and some cute shops in Vineyard Have where the ferry dropped us and then headed straight to the bike rental shop. George, our bike rental guy, was extremely nice, as was everyone on the island, and hooked us right up.

We biked from Vineyard Haven to Oaks Bluff, which wasn't far but was perfect for a leisurely ride. We took the coastal route and got to see the water, more beautiful homes (to feed my envy) and even a wedding under a lighthouse. The bride even climbed up to the outlook at the top of the lighthouse to pose for pictures with her dress and veil blowing in the wind. It was lovely.

Oaks Bluff was a small neighborhood dreamt up for tourists. One street was nothing but pastel colored gingerbread houses. Another had lots of typical tourists shops intermingling with charming specialty stores. We found an adorable dog store (with one teeny tiny corner of cat stuff; they never have good stuff for those of us who are cat lovers!) with all sorts of treats to make your dog feel special. There were also about eight thousand ice cream shops (ice cream seems to be to Cape Cod what cupcakes are to New York City) and a fudge shop that I couldn't resist.

After walking through the shops, the seafood-fest also continued with an amazing lobster roll. The roll was so stuffed that I couldn't even pick it up and had to eat it with a fork and knife. There was more lobster than bread! So good.

Bike Shares

When Tina and I were in Paris, one of the best things about our trip was our bike tour. I raved about it then, and I’d still recommend it to anyone going to the city of lights. One of the things we learned about and saw along the way was the city’s bike share program.

I think New York is a long way from instituting something like this, which is too bad. A real city commitment to biking (which would include not only a bike share program but also infrastructure to keep bikers safe and a raised awareness by drivers) would significantly help limit our pollution output, minimize the number of commuters on subways, keep us all a bit healthier.

I’m happy to report, though, that D.C. has introduced its own bike share program. I hope New York’s competitive nature will prompt something to be undertaken soon here, too.

Biking Bonanza

It was a big biking weekend. The sun finally peaked out from behind the rain clouds, and Todd and I took full advantage. We did about ten miles on Saturday (ok, it was more like nine, but ten sounds so much better), biking down to Chelsea and back, stopping in the Chelsea Markets and lounging in Riverside Park along the way. We pulled the bicycles out for a short sprint through Central Park this morning, too. One of these days I'm even going to bike to work again. I'm less and less afraid (though still not unafraid) of being killed by a taxi each time I ride, so maybe I'll find the commute less stressful.

My run-in with the police

Wanted you all to see my latest biking adventures:


Biker escapes from the police - The funniest home videos are here

The rest of the biking commute story

Thanks to everyone who called me brave for biking to work earlier this week. I was pretty proud of my own gumption, because traversing the city streets with nothing but a bargain-priced helmet to save my life if a cab hit me definitely did make me more than a little nervous. As you know, the trip in was, for the most part, pretty good.

The way home...that’s where the real excitement happened. The day was beautiful, so joggers and bikers were out in force. There are two non-car lanes in the park, and I honestly don’t know if one is supposed to be for joggers and the other for bikers, or if one is, in theory, a passing lane, or what. But in reality, the joggers took up the entire width of both lanes, forcing all the bikers to veer into the car lane (which, PS, was chock-a-block with cars) every three and a half seconds. Not fun. Also, the route home is a bit more uphill, though it’s nothing terrible. I’ve done this hill many times (and by many, I mean about three. But still...) without feeling it too much. For some reason, though, on Tuesday afternoon I was really huffing and puffing. It could have been that it was the end of the day and I was tired. Or it could have been due to the strengthening exercises Shannon taught me at Christmas that I finally did for the first time that morning. Or it could simply have been because I’m way too out of shape. Anyway, I was struggling a little up this hill, when my biking inspiration, Jane, rode up beside me and congratulated me on joining the ranks.

“How’s it going?” She asked, trying to decide whether she really wanted to talk to me enough to slow down to my pace.

“Stressful,” I admitted.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “It gets easier as you get used to it.” These word had barely left her mouth when a biker a few yards in front of us took out an old woman—knocked her flat out on her back in the middle of the street. Besides being hit by a car, this is basically what I most fear will happen to me on the bike. I’ll somehow lose control and knock down someone’s beloved grandmother. I pulled over long enough to see that she was up and about and that I wasn’t the only person on the scene with a cell phone (I didn’t want to assume what joggers tried to fit in their teensie-weensie little running shorts) before riding on. Jane had seen her chance to ditch slow-poke me and ridden on already, so I took the rest of the commute nice and slow. I got home without hurting myself or any pedestrians, but the whole thing freaked me out a bit. I liked biking to work and definitely didn’t miss the subway, but it was far from an idyllic ride. I need to mentally prepare before I try it again.

Biked to work this morning

I’ve been riding every weekend since getting my bike, but until today I had never used it for the commute. The weather has been a great excuse (see yesterday’s post, for example), but really I’ve been a little nervous about biking in traffic. I’ve been getting steadily more comfortable, though, and since it’s a beautiful day today I decided the time was right to test fate.

I had one dicey moment when a cab cut me off to snag a passenger, but I didn’t get killed, so I guess the commute can be called a success. It was certainly more of an adrenaline rush than when people cut you off trying to board the subway.

Another Biking Sunday

The weather finally turned warm and sunny again after a week of rainy, overcast yuckiness. I was starting to feel like I'd bought my bike and would never be able to take it out again, thanks to apparently having entered monsoon season. So it was with great joy that I booked it around the Central Park loop with Todd and Dylan this afternoon. Here's to sun and bikes!

Biking

Success! I bit the bullet yesterday and got a great new folding bike for myself. I liked the idea of a used one, but I decided I really wanted one that folds up, and those were hard to come by used. I take that as a good sign that people who buy them really like them and hang on to them.

I had considered getting a regular-sized bike, but I heard so many horror stories about bike theft that I really hated the idea of leaving my new toy chained up outside my office building every day; it was just asking for trouble. With the folding bike, I can take it upstairs to my office each day and keep an eye on it. It'll make it easier to store in my apartment, too, which is great. And even though it cost more to get it new, the money I'll save on unlimited metro cards will offset the expense in just a few months.

Todd already had a bike, so once I was ready to go we hit Central Park. It was a perfect day for riding, and we started out on the bike loop and then veered off to chart our own course. After noshing on an awesome sweet potato knish by the Harlem Meer we left Central Park and headed over to Morningside Park instead. After that it was a cup of coffee and a a quick ride (after the big hill that kicked my ass anyway) back to Todd's. The bike folded up beautifully and is now taking up about a third of the space Todd's is.

I was very focused on not mowing down pedestrians when Todd took this picture, so I'm not smiling. I really was having fun, though!

Disappointment

Very sadly, I am not getting the Craig's List bike. It turns out that the bike is a single speed, and I'm not totally happy with that. But, in my usual way, now that I've decided to do this I want it immediately. There is a bike shop near work and another one a few blocks from my apartment. I think I'm going to pop into both of those over the next few days and get a sense of what they have and what will work best for me. If anyone has bike-buying advice, bring it on.

Earth Day

Today is Earth day, so I’m trying to come up with ways to be more green. In some ways, living in New York makes it pretty easy to be earth-friendly: taking public transportation everywhere is hard to beat in terms of being kind to the planet. But to go one step further, I’m trying to score a bike from some woman on Craig’s List. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Oh, and maybe I’ll finally take that giant stack of magazines down to the recycling bin in the basement today...