OCEAN PARKWAY NIGHT

Ocean Parkway night

Cyclist - bright lights, front and back

Walker - dim, texting

I am getting the hang of being a cycling commuter.  In recent days, I biked to destinations in lower Manhattan and Park Slope.  Last week I had to return some materials to the New York Public Library and didn't want to spend the money with the subway and definitely did not want to drive.  Running was feasible but at my pace would take too long, so cycling was the next best choice.  Going to Manhattan via the western edge of Brooklyn, i.e. Verrazano Promenade, Second Avenue, Third Avenue, etc. was a pain.  So much competition with vehicular traffic and few bike lanes.  Things got worse as I passed through MetroTech, at which point I just walked the bike.  Around Jay Street and Willoughby, I saw some woman got pulled over by some cop in an undercover car.  As usual I took the Manhattan Bridge into Manhattan to avoid all the tourists and pedestrians on the Brooklyn Bridge.  On the way back, I went through Red Hook to Prospect Park then Ocean Parkway, a much nicer route, even if it was a bit out of the way.  I discovered that at Park Circle, where Coney Island Avenue meets Prospect Park, there's a protected bike path to quickly connect back to Ocean Parkway.  No need to go over the Prospect Expressway or use Fort Hamilton Parkway!

Last night, I went to the general meeting of the Prospect Park Track Club in Park Slope by bike.  The night really fell around 5 PM.  One moment it was still bright outside, the next moment it was all dark.  Nightfall!  I traveled mostly along Ocean Parkway then Prospect Park.  Ocean Parkway is nice but I sure wish the pedestrians would pay more attention when they use the bike path.  There is a separate pedestrian path but few people seem to want to use it, for whatever reason.  It's bad enough that they walk on the bike path, but in some cases there would be two people walking side by side, taking up half the bike path.  Then when you try to swerve around them, there would be some other cyclist coming from the other side.  In one extreme case, I saw one fellow walking with his eyes glued onto his cell phone, in the dark!  It is a small joy to get around the city on bike, but some pedestrians, along with the typical car drivers, chip away at it.