SCENES FROM A BIKE RIDE: MIDTOWN TO BARCLAY CENTER VIA THE WILLY B

Bicycling as exercise is the next best thing after running, for me.  It's been a rough winter, the bike paths in my neighborhood were probably not cleared or safe enough to ride on, so I haven't done much cycling lately.  Today I happened to be in Midtown, below 59th Street, where there are many CitiBike stations.  I could have hopped on the D train somewhere and get home in about an hour, but it's been a while since I was in Manhattan so I wanted to walk or ride around a bit, to see what changed.  If there is a CitiBike station near my home I would have rode a bike all the way home, but as it is, I could only go as far as the northern part of Brooklyn, not far from the Manhattan Bridge.  It actually took me three bike trips, just to stay below the 45-minute limit, for annual members. The first trip started around 39th Street and Second Avenue.  I started walking from Madison and 39th, along 38th to the East River, thinking I would eventually hit some CitiBike station but I was wrong.  I briefly mingled with car traffic then quickly got onto the East River waterfront.  I stopped to take a photo of Queens and the Queensboro Bridge, which turned out smaller than what I wished for.  I traveled along the East River, mostly by myself as it was very cold out.  There was a runner here or a walker there, otherwise the path was nice and quiet.  Soon I had to decide which bridge to take to get into Brooklyn.  Brooklyn Bridge was easy to dismiss since I hate the shared bike and pedestrian path.  Sure there's a line separating the lanes, but pedestrians often walk in the bike lanes.  Brooklyn Bridge is just too touristy, I don't even like to run on it, never mind riding.  Manhattan Bridge would be OK but I hate to be in overcrowded Chinatown, so that left the Williamsburg Bridge.  Besides, I never rode over the Willy B before.  I ran over it a few times, time to find out how challenging its climb is.

Just to be safe, before the Willy B, at Clinton and Grand I returned the bike taken from Midtown and took out a different bike.  Another 45 minutes of free ride!  As soon as I got onto the bike/ped path of the Willy B, I pulled to the side and took a photo of the slope that I was about to go up against.  It was around 10:30 in the morning, and cold, so there were few people on the bridge.  I would not want to be run into by some cyclist barreling down the ramp.

The climb up the Willy B was challenging.  A CitiBike is probably not the ideal bike to go uphill, even at Gear 1.  Where the path split up to separate cyclists and pedestrians, I took another photo of the road to come.  Look at the slope in the distance!  On the Brooklyn side, I had to make a U-turn to get to Kent Avenue and its lovely protected bike lane.  I was going to change bike somewhere on Flushing Avenue, on the south side, as I recall, but instead I discovered the rack just inside a gate of the Navy Yard, at Vanderbilt.  Along Vanderbilt I rode all the way to just before Prospect Park.  It would be nice to take a ride in the park but time was running short, I have things to attend to in the afternoon so it was time to head for the subway.  I returned the bike on Fourth Avenue, near Barclay Center and the Pacific Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.  All three times I returned the bike, the green light went on, meaning the station registered that the bike was returned, very encouraging.  The CitiBike app can use some fixing though.  Each time I launched it, it would show my current position along with nearby bike stations, but only briefly then it crashes.  I've been hoping an update would fix the crash issue but so far no updates.

It would be really nice if some day there are CitiBike stations near Coney Island AND a bike lane is created on the Boardwalk.  Cops and sanitation people drive on the Boardwalk regularly, so I think a bike lane isn't that far-fetched.

Queens and Long Island City's many towers.

Man verus Bridge!

Far ahead, the road climbs higher!

YAY FOR USEFUL CUSTOMER SERVICE!

I am your typical frustrated customer in today's global and automated economy.  I don't have a Discover credit card but their subway ads boasting human customer service rep makes me almost want to have one.  I have nothing against Discover, just that I already have a few credit cards and don't need another one.  When I hear the phrase "customer service", cynical me automatically think of auto-generated email as soon as you submit an electronic request, then not hear back from anyone for a long time, or if anything at all it would be some canned response that most likely doesn't solve my problem.  Also groan-inducing is the maze of voice menu, or someone who has a thick foreign accent and talks fast!  And what's with being passed from one person or system to another and having to provide the same info over and over?  More like Customer Disservice!

But let's be fair and acknowledge those instances when Customer Service actually provides the customer with a useful service.  Some months ago I had a bad subway car (NYC Transit MetroCard).  The local clerk was quick to give me an envelope to have the defective card mailed in.  I suspect that the clerk didn't want to be bothered with the work of trying to solve it there and then, but maybe it's just me.  Anyway, I filled out the form to the best of my knowledge.  It sure asked for a lot of information.  Just my luck even though I often save all the credit card receipts from the MetroCard vending machines, I didn't have this particular one I needed.  Still I sent in the bad card and expected it to be an exercise in futility.  I probably get back a form letter saying the card cannot be read and I didn't provide enough info.  Lo and behold, a few days ago I got back a replacement for almost $10.  Customer Service actually works!

Another personal experience of mine that shows Customer Service to be of assistance to the end-user is with CitiBike.  I love the idea of using a bike to go from Point A to Point B without having to lock it up.  Just check the bike out somewhere near your start point and return it somewhere near your destination.  Unfortunately, almost every time I return the bike something didn't work.  Sometimes the green light went on to show all was well, but when I checked record of my trips it would show that the bike was not returned where I did.  Worst instance was when the data claimed I took it out for about seven hours and returned it elsewhere.  It really stinks that once you tried to return and the thing locked up, whether with yellow, red, or green light, you cannot take it out again.  Luckily, each time I wrote to CitiBike customer service I got back a reply, something along the line that they fixed the error.  Maybe it's because the system is so notoriously buggy they are taking customers' words at face value.  Whatever.  This past Friday I could have used a bike but I didn't feel like putting up with having to write to customer service after making the trip, even though they are helpful.

It's almost Monday, time for the 120-point limit of My Cokes Reward to reset.  Then I'll be able to try to use the few codes I gave away this week, to see if anyone used them.  Just a little experiment I'm conducting.  Who reads blogs these days, right?  But it's a free MCR code, who can resist freebies?

Today's code is RRNF966 JKV6M7X.  It's from a Powerade Zero, so it may have double value if that promotion of no-sugar drinks is still in effect.  Happy Point-Collecting!

BIKE SHARE IS HARE TO STAY!

NYC finally got its bike share program.  About this time last week (Friday 24 May) on the way home I noticed that some stations in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn already had bikes parked in them.  I didn't get my annual member key then so even if I could just park and go check them out I wouldn't be able to.  I had to wait until Saturday the 25th to receive my key in the mail.  Memorial Day was the official kick-off but I worked in the morning, started really early too.  When I was done with work around noon, I could have taken the subway from Roosevelt Island to Manhattan (another island, but pretty much no one says Manhattan Island, it's just "Manhattan") to check out the bikes.  But that's another subway trip for no other purpose.  I'm really careful with money these days so I put it off for another day.  No rush, let others be the testers of the new system.

Yesterday I finally gave the bike share program a twirl.  I needed to be on 67th Street between First and Second Avenue, which is the east side of Manhattan, but the D train doesn't go there.  Sure I can make some transfers but rush-hour trains are pretty crowded and I hate to wait for the connection.  So I got off the D train on the west side of Manhattan and make my way to the east by bike.  I brought along a bike helmet, the relatively new one I got from the City a few weeks back.  Just a few blocks from the D train station I bumped into the first Citi Bike station, 58th Street and 6th Avenue, I believe.  Whipped out my member key and out came a bike.  I had to adjust its seat but that was it, off I went.

Although I rode with car traffic before, it usually was off-hours and not on super-busy streets like Uptown Manhattan during rush-hour.  A few times traffic was so bad I had to pull to the sidewalk and ran pushing the bike.  After Second Avenue things got more quiet.  I suppose most drivers found their way onto the Queensboro Bridge.  I thought I reviewed the map of bike stations and saw some near 67th Street.  That was not the case.  All stations are around 60th Street and below.  So I ended up pedaling back downtown to return the bike and ran back uptown.  I was 20 minutes late to the appointment, which worked out in the end, but so much for having bad intel.  I could have returned the bike earlier and walked leisurely uptown.

After my visit at the 67th Street Library, I gave bike share another try.  I was nowhere near a subway station, the nearest being on Lexington Avenue.  Can't wait for that Second Avenue subway line to be completed, eh?  So I can walk to a subway station, or I can hop on a Citi Bike and get there a tad faster.  I hopped.  The first time I returned the bike, I saw clearly that the light went green to indicate that the bike was properly locked, my rental period over.  The second time around, the light remained yellow, but the bike wouldn't budge as well.  I tried to take it out again, but perhaps because of security measure that didn't work either.  Later at home I verified that my rides were recorded, equipments returned, although the first time, with the green light, it didn't list the return location.  The second ride was all a-okay, weird.

Today I planned to use bike share again while in Chinatown waiting for my son and his music lesson.  I always have to park far away because of lack of parking space or because of outrageous parking fee, even the meters.  So theoretically I can park far away like always then ride a bike to the center of Chinatown.  I found a spot near Corlears JHS as usual and walked over to Seward Park Branch of the NYPL.  There was a bike station nearby but either all the bikes were taken out or the station was not activated, there was no bike to be found.  It was a hot day to walk around so I settled down in some cool place and checked email etc.  On the way back to the car some time later, I discovered two functional stations, both near Madison Street, just a street over from where I parked.  Just a matter of going in the wrong direction.  In the future, I definitely could use bike share to get to the heart of Chinatown.

GOOD TIME TO BE A NEW YORK CYCLIST

It is a good time to be cyclist in New York City.  We will finally have a bike share program, the CitiBike.  I cannot recall when I first heard about it, but I recall hearing from my distant niece in Paris.  Hop on a bike, go to a different part of the city to return, done.  No worry about carrying an extra key for the bike lock, no need to lug the bike around.  Of course, the bike stations may not be close to where you want to be, but I am sure it works in many scenarios.  Even though there are any bike stations near where I live, I ponied up the money for an annual membership just to show my support for the program.  I don't know where my next job will put me so I don't know if I will ever bike to work, but there are some scenarios I can make use of a bike without having to keep it after I'm done biking.  Suppose some day I'm on the subway and the train stopped running for whatever reason.  I can just hop out of the subway, grab a CitiBike and get closer to home then transfer to a working train line.  Ideally I can bike all the way home, or at least close enough to walk home after returning the bike, but just being able to get closer to home is a plus.  A less useful scenario would be for me to satisfy my fancy about doing a triathlon.  I would take the subway to a swimming pool, do some hundreds of meters, then hop on a CitiBike for some distance, and finally run.  If I were to try that now, I would have to lug my own bike along, lock it somewhere during the swim and the run, then hope it will still be there when my personal triathlon is done.

Today I went to get a free bike helmet from the city.  I've been cycling more often lately and my helmet is pretty banged-up.  I know about the city's program and erroneously thought that I could just call 311 and be connected to someone who would take my mailing address and the helmet would arrive in the mail some days later.  No, you have to go to these Free Bike and Fitting Events, where they measure your head and make sure the helmet fits you fine.  You have to sign a waiver, too.  Go to http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.e2d70d4cd03b6dd1d3e3711042289da0 , click Select Category, choose Bike Helmet Fittings, then click Show Events.  I don't know why they don't just call it Helmet Giveaway.  Bike Helmet Fittings sound like you have to bring your own helmet for them to help you adjust.  I went to the event at the Central Library of the Brooklyn Public Library. The line was longish and it moved slowly, but the weather was beautiful and I had a paperback book with me so the wait was not so bad.  Eventually I got my helmet, a blue one, red and grey being the other two color choices.  While I was at the library, I also picked up a few audiobooks.  Ah, free is good.  Thank you, New York City!

Bike rack on Warren Street near City Hall.