NYRR BROOKLYN-HALF 2013!

Three A.M.!  That was when I had to get up to be able to be in Prospect Park to volunteer at Water Station #4 of the NYRR Brooklyn Half-Marathon, with my PPTC friends.  As a morning runner, I am used to getting up early, but earliest I did, for running, was 5 A.M.  Back when I had a full-time job anyway.  Some years ago I decided to give Black Friday shopping a try and got up at 4 A.M. to spend some time waiting in queue then some more hours inside the store later on, trying to get the tired store clerk's attention.  I came home empty-handed and had a nasty headache for the rest of the day.  What a complete waste of time that was.  I hated shopping even more ever since.  With the volunteer gig with friends, it was totally different.  Sure I had to risk riding the bike at 3:30 A.M., complete with front and tail lights since it was still dark, but I hated to be at the mercy of the MTA's weekend construction work.  The ride was not so bad, as once I got to Ocean Parkway to make the journey north, along the way I pedaled past NYRR crews setting things up.  What's more, it was outdoor and I was surrounded by so much positive energy.

I was at the meeting place, East Drive near Lincoln Road, just as some of the PPTC folks arrived.  But there was no tables etc for the water station.  It was a good thing I came on bike, as I was able to zip around to see what's going on, and finally we found out that we were given bad info.  Or the water station was moved.  It was actually a bit near the big hill, a little past Center Drive.  With my bike, I was stationed for a while at the meeting point to re-direct anyone who came in later.  And a few did.  By six o'clock I decided it was late enough, I went to the water station and helped with setting up the paper cups.  Three tiers of cups on several tables stretching as far as the eye can see!  Bring on those 22,000 runners already!

With the expanded field, this year's Brooklyn Half had two waves of runners.  When they came, they came strong, even though we were near Mile 5 of the 13.1-mile course.  Unlike the NYC Half, when I was at Mile 11 on a cold day, runners at the Brooklyn Half sure made use of the water.  It was overcast and cool, but when you run you get hot quickly.  Before long one of us got splashed, cups were all over, and we worked feverishly to keep up with the demand.  As cups on the front rows got snatched and gulped down, we moved the ones in the back further forward.  We were well-staffed so I had some moments to snatch photos of the runners.

I went home along Ocean Parkway, pretty much the same way I came.  Vehicular traffic was jammed everywhere along the parkway, and even the bike path was not spared from the disruption.  Every now and then there would be a medical tent right at the corner, completely blocking the bike path.  I wonder if they really had to do that.  I had to go around the medical tents then hefted the bike over the railing to get back on the bike path.  Sure I could use the service road, but even with few cars nearby every now and then one would silently stalk me, I didn't want to deal with that.

While it was great that I did not have to deal with car traffic at intersections, there was plenty of pedestrian traffic.  Walkers on Ocean Parkway are normally mostly ignorant of the bike path, i.e. they walk in the bike lane when there is a separate walking lane.  With a big event like the Brooklyn Half, it only got worse.  It did not help that every now and then there would be a police cruiser completely blocking the ramp to the bike lane, or some officers standing in the bike lane.  Oh well, just have to use common sense and go around the obstacles.  Not like those cyclists barreling down the Manhattan Bridge toward Chinatown that I saw on Friday while volunteering with Transportation Alternatives.  You would think if you see a lot of people at the foot of the bridge, then you should slow down.

See more photos at

https://plus.google.com/photos/109153989599275468311/albums/5879864055100555393

Last but not least, with the two volunteer gigs over, on Sunday I was able to finally resume making GPS art (gwriting) on a run.  I promised a runner in the Run Junkees May Challenge to spell her name, "Miriam", and on Sunday I carried out the work.  It was the first time I wrote the lowercase "a" this way and it came out good.  Unfortunately I cannot say the same thing for the "r" and "i" being connected at the top.  I knew that it's best to connect the letters at the bottom but I thought I could get away with "r" and "i".  Instead, they look more like a fat lowercase "n".  I will try again!

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.

HAVE BIKE, WILL TRAVEL

Even though I support what Transportation Alternatives does, i.e. finding alternatives to automobiles as the mean to travel or transport bodies and objects, mostly via bicycles,  I myself haven't been much of a cyclist.  My jobs were never close enough to home and cycling would be more expensive both in terms of time and money.  I was already taking public transportation to work so at least I was not contributing to the problem of air pollution etc.  When I ride the bicycle, it was mostly for cross-training to complement my running.

For the past two days, I have volunteer work close enough to home so I took the chance to bike to work.  Yesterday the work was at Jack Rabbit Sports in Park Slope, to help the Prospect Park Track Club with bib distribution for the popular Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.  It was three days since Brooklyn Marathon and while I could have run the 7+ miles to get to Jack Rabbit, I would be all smelly for the next few hours unless I could somehow find a place to shower.  Not socially acceptable.  Cycling was the next best option, other than subway, which costs $2.25 each way and involves little exercising.

The bulk of the commute from my home to Jack Rabbit was on Ocean Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard with lanes for cars, bikes, and pedestrians.  The last time I rode on Ocean Parkway I was cut off by some car so it was not pleasant.  This time I left very early to take a really slow ride for the 12pm-6pm shift.  At Church Avenue I got off the Parkway, on the west side, and looked for Dahill Road, which I once ran along from near home to the other end at Greenwood Cemetery.  I easily found Dahill and connected to McDonald Avenue, which was not a great move, as there was no bike lane.  The reason I went on McDonald was that I can stop by the side of Prospect Expressway to take a photo of this foot-bridge over the Expressway.  I just love foot-bridges and this one in particular is elegant and beautiful.  Interestingly, all these times I did not know that Bishop Ford High School existed, until this past Monday at the bib distribution at Jack Rabbit near Union Square, that the school was a co-sponsor for the Turkey Trot.  Just by chance, after taking photo of the foot-bridge, I noticed that the high school was right across the street.

Foot-bridge near Bishop Ford High School.

Bishop Ford High School.

From the foot-bridge, I traveled mostly along Eighth Avenue to get to President Street and Seventh Avenue, which turned out to be a block or two past Jack Rabbit.  I was able to find a bike rack to lock the bike and went to work, not smelling too much from the lesser sweating.

When I left Jack Rabbit, it was a little past six and it was already dark.  I went to Prospect Park West and enjoyed a safe ride on the protected lane.  At 15th Street, I should have gone into the park but unwittingly turned into Prospect Park Southwest, which had no bike lane, just a wider parking lane.  It was a little scary, so at some point I turned right and got a little bit lost.  I found my way to go over Prospect Expressway but in looking for Ocean Parkway I overshot it and almost got to Coney Island Avenue.  Once I found Church Avenue again, I walked the bike to the start of the bike lane on Ocean Parkway and resumed my bike trip.  It was dark and cold, the lane was bumpy in places, so I couldn't go fast.  When the traffic light was against me, I stopped and dismounted to wait for the light to change.    I'm still getting used to prolonged sitting on the hard bicycle seat and welcome the occasional dismounts.

Today, I helped setup the finish chute and surrounding area for the Turkey Trot.  I had to be at the Oriental Pavilion in Prospect Park by 6 AM.  Left home at 5ish and again traveled along Ocean Parkway.  It was still dark but there was little vehicular traffic, so peaceful and quiet along the Parkway.  It was easier to get to Prospect Park once the bike lane on the Parkway ended.  I got to the Pavilion just as the organizers caravan of van and cars came to a stop.  Over the next few hours, I helped erect the finish chute, the finish arch and banner, time mat, crowd-control, and photographing.  There are over 200 photos at

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151310341481335.525837.679001334&type=1&l=199c25264b

Even though I mostly photographed runners wearing PPTC clothes, or costumed runners, I might have captured you if you ran in the race.

I started to head home around 11.  I went through Center Drive to get to West Drive and exited the park at its southwest corner.  I discovered the bike path that ran along the bridge to get to Fort Hamilton Parkway.  Last night I actually went up the pedestrian ramp and had to walk the bike along the bridge.  In daylight, it was easier to see what's where, and since I still remember my mistake from last night, I was able to get to Ocean Parkway quickly.

Each of the bike trip took between 45 minutes to an hour.  Sharing the road with cars was not as good as running on foot along some waterfront inaccessible to cars, but cycling got me where I needed to be faster without being smelly afterward.  It is a bit of a hassle to get the bike out of the shack in the backyard, make sure there's enough air in the tires, adjust the helmet-mounted rear-view mirror, lock the bike, unlock the bike, etc.  For today and yesterday, I saved a little money while burning lots of calories covering the 20 or so kilometers.  I can get used to commuting by bike, as long as it's time- and money-efficient.

My First Leisurely Visit To Prospect Park

Today was a dreary, cold day that would be best spent curled up with a few movie DVDs. Instead of that, I cycled along Ocean Parkway to Prospect Park, went along the loop from the southern end (Fort Hamilton Parkway) to the northern end (Grand Army Plaza) then back along the same route, for a total of 20 kilometers. The ride along Ocean Parkway was not enjoyable at all. The long stretches between the Avenues were great, but at each end of the stretches were cars waiting to get to the other side, cars turning from Ocean Parkway, and most of them were your typical NYC drivers who do not yield to pedestrians and cyclists. There were some good exceptions though. One guy, upon realizing that he blocked the cyclist path, waved apologetically and actually backed off. One lady, turning into the crossroad from the service road, actually let me pass and missed her green light. Prospect Park made it worth the trip, though.

It was not my first visit to Prospect Park, per se. I drove to the iceskating rink before, but of course to me driving is never fun. There was just too many things out there to pay attention to. Some crazy drivers, some careless pedestrian or cyclist, and of course, all the rules and regulations. I went there once with my son on a school trip to the Audubon Nature Center. Again, I was busy watching my own kid and the other kids, sort of helping the teachers with crowd control. No fun there. Only today, even with the less-than-ideal weather, did I have a chance to leisurely go through the park. I stopped at some plaque marking the spot as part of the Battle of Brooklyn. There were some statues that I never noticed before. I also noticed for the first time some hilltops, with steps to make the trip easier, as well as some nature trails through the woods. The ride back toward the Fort Hamilton junction was mostly downhill, with the wind rushing through my hair, it was wonderful. I had a camera on me but with the cloudy/rainy weather I didn't feel like taking any pictures. My sister publication over at http://top-of-the-arch.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-york-is-on-my-mind-cherry-blossom.html does have some nice photos of Prospect Park during the Cherry Blossom Festival.