ROAD RIDERS

Today I finally had a bike ride with my son on the street.  It took him a long time to finally master the bicycle and then only on a playground.  The heat wave arrived shortly afterward and that was good enough of an excuse not to go biking, even in the evening.  After much pleading and threatening, he recently finally resumed biking, moved up a notch to biking on the sidewalk on a large block that has few pedestrians.  I would prefer he rides on the road, but he was so unsteady and the typical driver in NYC are rude and uncaring, I didn't want to take the chance.  The first time he went around the block, I ran along with him.  He was slow and I could handle it, but it was still exhausting, so the second time I took out another bike and rode, on the road, with him.  He had some issues with making turns in the beginning but by the end of the second session, he was good enough.  Today, we took to the road.

It was not much of a ride, basically around a small park and a housing project, all right turns.  With a nephew of mine on the wife side, the three of us formed a bike train for safety in number.  I led, my son was in the middle, nephew covered the rear, since he's better than my son.  We first went around Scarangella Park, with one side bordered by the elevated track of the D train, the on-street columns creating somewhat of a protected bike lane.  Twice of that and we moved on to the housing project between Avenue V and Avenue W, as well as the block between Avenue W and Avenue X.  Most of the roads are wide and two-way.  A few times there was some vehicle double-parking and we had enough space to go around it.  Two loops of the big blocks and I considered that enough for the kids.  We accompanied nephew home then son and I actually pedaled home. 

I think the kids enjoyed the little outing.  There was little traffic but once some car slowly followed our bike train without honking, rare driver if I say so myself.  I made sure the children knew about "dooring", or being hit by a car door as a careless driver exits a parked car.  I used hand signal to let the back of the train know where to turn or stop.  We already agreed that before the end of summer we should ride all the way to Caesar's Bay to have a car-free trip along the waterfront to Owl's Head Pier.

Governors Island These Days

I don't seem to lack ideas of new series of blog posts. The latest I come up with is XYZ These Days, where XYZ would be the name of some place I once visited but has now changed upon a recent visit. I don't travel much so most of the time it would be some place in the New York metro area. Hopefully I will keep up with the postings instead of letting things slide as I have of late...

Governors Island. Mere 800 yards (or about 730 meters for us metric fanatics) from the southern tip of Manhattan, but what a world of difference. For years I knew about it being opened to the public on weekends in the summer but only last year I finally made the trip. I liked it so much I went back a few weeks later. If I have my way, this summer I will visit Governors Island at least four times!

I just visited the island this past Sunday. As usual, the trip started out at the ferry station on Manhattan. There is a ferry route to the island from Brooklyn, actually closer to where I live, but not easily accessible by public transportation. I would have to drive there and perhaps park somewhere nearby. I hate driving so I don't mind taking the subway to the Governors Island ferry. Thanks to the frequent service disruption on the subway, we didn't board an N train when it arrived and waited for an R train instead, even though that day the N ran on the R's route. Pity the poor tourists on a weekend in the subway! We missed the 1 PM ferry by mere minutes so I had time to go to a nearby McDonald's to get some lunch. Around 1:20 we let the security staff look through our bags and minutes later we were aboard a ferry heading for Governors Island.

Unlike past visits, this time we conserve our energy by taking the tram to go from Fort Jay to Picnic Point, to have a, duh, picnic. If my memory serves me right, there were no picnic table at Picnic Point last year, as I recall we settled on a plastic spread. We had to wait a bit for someone to vacate a hammock. The kids enjoyed the hammock greatly but eventually got bored and ran off to the swings. I wanted to say the swings are new this year, but I saw pictures of them in the Governors Island FB group so I know they are not new. They simply got installed some time after my second visit to the island last year. Definitely new are the movable bench along the waterfront near Picnic Point. It was a windy day and the sea was stormy, with the waves frequently splashing the benches.

Done with Picnic Point, we got back near Fort Jay, again via tram. Note that there is no direct route from Fort Jay to Picnic Point, but rather you need to transfer at Historic District, which to me is the Mini-Golf Course and Sculpture Park. It was only the first week the island was open to the public, so both Golf Course and Sculpture Park were still being setup. We definitely need to re-visit this year to shoot a few holes of golf as well as enjoy what's in plan for the Sculpture Park.

We had to walk from near Fort Jay to Parade Ground to rent the Surrey bike. Last year, the bike rental place was right off the ferry station, with all kinds of bikes available in one place. This year, standard bikes can be rented near Fort Jay, while family bikes, such as Surrey, are available near Parade Ground. I was disappointed when the girl at Bike and Roll told me that the island was to be evacuated shortly due to the high wind. No more bike to be rented out, ack! Luckily, as we dejectedly walked away, someone announced that it was false alarm. Minutes later, we were on our 6-person Surrey pedaling wildly against the strong wind. I had to get off and help push the bike. When it finally picked up speed, perhaps because we rounded a corner and out of the wind's path, I decided to trot along and had a race with the bike. I missed my morning run that day so a little exercise was needed. We got back to Bike and Roll before the 60-minute was up so we made two small loops. Last year, bikes, Surrey and all, couldn't get into the area near Water Taxi Beach but this year the path was open up. Bikes can really go around the entire island's waterfront.

With perfect timing, by the time we were done with biking and got some ice cream from Mr. Softee, the rain started to come. We made a dash for the ferry and once safely inside the rain got heavy. Back on Manhattan, the weather was nice again, still windy, but no rain. Again, we saved energy by taking Downtown Alliance's Connect bus to get from New York Plaza to Lot Less and loaded up on some cheap stuff. Last but not least, we walked to Chinatown for a delicious early dinner at the Lobster House on Mott Street. A great time was had by all!

Have Bike, Will Travel

I did it! Got up 7ish, took the bicycle to the local gas station, 75¢ at the air machine did wonder. My bicycle is wholesome again!

I went along the same route that I normally go jogging, Belt Parkway Green Way, only of course the distance is longer. Instead of 4.5K out and back, for a total of 9K, I went 7K out, all the way to Owl's Head Pollution Control Center and the Bay Ridge Pier, and back. The total distance is 14K.

I don't get the same sense of accomplishment as when I go jogging. With jogging, I would sweat profusely, with the innermost layer of clothes soaked. I would actually feel warm from the heat I generated. It was a windless morning and I didn't feel a single drop of sweat formed. The inner T-shirt got somewhat wet on the back, but that was it. My legs did feel wobbly when I first stopped pedaling and resumed walking. They feel tired now, so I guess I did get some exercise out of the whole thing.

Let's Get Physical - Plan B

I thought with my exercise program my weight would drop below 200 pounds but alas here I am on the last day of the year and I am still right on 200 pounds. It does not help that as of last Saturday the arch on my right foot got really hurt. The left foot got some boil but that's skin level. For the right foot, I think some muscle or tendon, or whatever, is really banged up from all that pounding of the pavement. I also need a new pair of sneakers, as the one I'm using really wore away much at the heels. This Saturday will be exactly one week of rest, I cannot rest any more. Time for Plan B.

With the injured foot, I think I still can pedal. No pounding of the pavement there, so hopefully it should be OK. Of course, bicycling goes against my idea of simplicity in execution. Whereas with jogging I just need to put on some clothes, extra layers for the cold weather, a pair of shoes, perhaps even an iPod, bicycling will be more involved. Getting the bike out the door is one extra step. Helmet is needed - Step #2 right there. Air does leak from time to time, so I may lose some more time pumping the tires.

I actually spent some time this evening getting the bicycle into usable shape. The last time I used it was to attend my son's Field Day, back in May. On the way back, the left pedal fell off and I had to push the thing back. Even since then the bike just stood in the vestibule, taking up space and collecting dust. With Plan B in motion, I managed to put the pedal back on - the task is so much easier with the wrench of the proper width. Next I tried to pump the tires but I think I actually let the air out. The foot- and hand-pumps I have didn't work. Some Mechanical Engineer I am, cannot even get the tires of the bicycle pumped. Maybe the pumps are defective. I'll splurge tomorrow morning and spend the 75¢ at my local gas station. Rain or shine, I will be biking tomorrow!