fraidy cat

today's route:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3077983

There was a nice little side trip- Jackie Robinson Park. It was accidental - and as I turned to go round the other way back to 145 and around three guys in front of a bodega were laughing and talking- one says "ey! c'mear!" to me, and I just kept going like he was talking to someone else. I got about two blocks away when I realized he had a bike... and was following, now saying "ey! ey! ey!"and I instantly recalled being terrorized in high school. Sure, maybe he just wanted to talk, or ask me about my spandex clothes, or maybe just some tips on road biking. What's in my pockets? $20? Phone? Screw that, it's 5:45 am in some random impoverished neighborhood, I look like I'm lost, on an expensive-looking bike. Honestly- I didn't think of any of those things I just mentioned. My pace was moderate pace, probably about 13-15 mph until I wrote "realized he was following me" then shifted into the big chainring and just started hammering the pedals while pulling on the other leg, yanking the handlebars with my arms and back. Full commitment. Never looked back once. Felt a warm glow in my chest, really. Breathing way too hard but the legs were just fine. I must have been going 30. I didn't really catch my breath until I got to Swindler's Cove. Probably more scared than I needed to be, but I'll never need to know for sure. As far as I know it was perfectly metered. Honestly, I could have skipped that mile-and-a-quarter. Sure there are random freaks everywhere, and crime is at a low, but that's not a route I'll take again in the dark.

Highlights of the ride-

Park Ave is closed today, and I took the opportunity to go up the ramp around grand central terminal and through the tunnel of the Helmsley building.

On the west side highway, passing the water-treatment park I felt the flutter of tiny wings against my cheek. A fly? A baby bee? Something.

hinkeytime in hymietown

Today's title is overly creative and ambitious for what I'm talking about.

today's route:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3057118

I like the west side greenway north of 125th except for where the signs say "bikes 5 mph", the hill above the GWB and sporadic parts afterward that are narrow and muddy. Would be great for a mountain bike.

A couple of big differences from my last ride- rode a much lighter bike (about 4 pounds lighter) and went much earlier in the day. Less traffic, less heat.

And here's a contradicting and funny bit of me. Just last night I commented on a blog, all positive and helpful for New Yorkers to get along better on the trains. The post was simply “What’s Your Biggest Subway Pet Peeve?”

And then today, just an hour ago I was going the wrong way down a 1-way street on my bike. It was for a couple of blocks only, at the end of Central Park West. I was being careless and stupid. I was right in the middle of the road too; potentially a real mess. A dude on a bike yelled "hey, hey, you've got to go with the flow of traffic!" and instead of "yeah! right! thanks!" I said "So do you!"

So what's the moral here? I live in an ivory tower that has no mirrors?