As a videographer, I often ask myself, “Do you want to record the moment, or do you want to be in the moment?” There is so much about cycling – especially in NYC – to record, the mind boggles. I’ll write about it while I’m icing.
Icing, you ask? Yes. Trying to stave off more serious patella problems, I’m icing after I ride. This all came about because of my terror of the "boys' bike I rode in Minneapolis. My setting the seat so low put stress on my knees.
Icing, you ask? Yes. Trying to stave off more serious patella problems, I’m icing after I ride. This all came about because of my terror of the "boys' bike I rode in Minneapolis. My setting the seat so low put stress on my knees.
I have a bike tour in the Loire Valley scheduled in July. It is likely going to be up to 5 hours a day. If I have problems now, I’m going to be in big trouble if I don’t address them ASAP. I found an anti-inflammatory on the web that is easier on the stomach (XFlame), then scoured the internet looking for info on patellar problems – and came across this: http://www.myfivefingers.com/knee-exercise. It’s a very contra-intuitive method which seems to really work - I sent away for the “slant board" (Ugh, another thing in the house!).
Today, I decided on the more urban park ride and braved Saturday crowds downtown to One World Trade. It’s kind of an amazing building at that time of day (5-ish). There is a real optical illusion that makes it look like there are strings horizontally attached from the building to the ground, and when clouds go by, it seems as if they are within the building itself, as if the building were pondering something.
This all made me consider the vast differences between cycling in Minneapolis, vs NYC. Better air for sure in Minneapolis, but much more interesting views in NYC, the people among them. People are endlessly interesting!
Take for example the tourist in 6-inch stilettos walking on the bike path. Ha! She was belled, and shooed away in short order. Leaving her to try to walk in those shoes on a foot-wide cobblestone path to the right. Good luck babe, this path is for bikes! And it’s amazing how easy it is to assume possession of the bike path – I became completely entitled and possessive within weeks! Signs all over the place tell us to yield to pedestrians, but it’s always a game of chicken, with pedestrians generally backing off. I’m not innocent either. Feel kind of sorry for them.
Whereas in Minneapolis, bells are eschewed as an amateur’s affectation, they’re quite effective here. “On your left,” isn’t going to work with Tourists riding two by two who are talking to each other. (they may very well be New Yorkers, BTW, but because they’re in my way I automatically call them Tourists). But a bell will.
Other interesting types are the jogger, who jogs with her arm swinging out at the elbow – wassup with that? But honestly? The ones I will never understand are the cyclists who ride in traffic, without a helmet. Texting. With headphones on. Yes, I see it all the time! They are without a doubt, to use the German expression, “Lebensmude:” – Tired of living. What happens to these people? They say God protects babies and alcoholics. Surely there is also a category for people like this, because they seem to get away with it routinely.
When the path downtown came to an end – as all good things do - rather than search for it blindly to show up in Battery Park City somewhere, I thought I’d follow a bunch of tourists (real tourists, speaking German), who were walking their bikes into the crowds, and seemed to know what they were doing. When I found they didn’t I headed back uptown.
I saw several of Lucille’s siblings en route – and one twin - but of the smaller, foldable bikes, most people aren’t willing to make the investment I did. Last time I was at B-Fold, I saw a folding bike for $399, and it was LIGHT! When I asked about it though, the impression I got is that it will last a season or more, but is not built as sturdily as the Brompton. And you need sturdy on these paths. The other day riding uptown, I saw multiple markings along where tree-roots have made bumps in the path. Oh good, I thought, they’re marking them so they can fix them! But then I wondered if they weren’t just marking them to warn us. Forget the fixing. In any event, just like the Checker cabs which were taken off the market because they were bolted and not welded (a cabbie told me this) and couldn't survive the potholes, if you don’t have a sturdy bike here, you won’t have it for long. A foldable could actually come apart.
Made it up to 59th St, before turning around. Looking forward to a real day trip with Lucille one of these days, to parts unknown!
Today, I decided on the more urban park ride and braved Saturday crowds downtown to One World Trade. It’s kind of an amazing building at that time of day (5-ish). There is a real optical illusion that makes it look like there are strings horizontally attached from the building to the ground, and when clouds go by, it seems as if they are within the building itself, as if the building were pondering something.
This all made me consider the vast differences between cycling in Minneapolis, vs NYC. Better air for sure in Minneapolis, but much more interesting views in NYC, the people among them. People are endlessly interesting!
Take for example the tourist in 6-inch stilettos walking on the bike path. Ha! She was belled, and shooed away in short order. Leaving her to try to walk in those shoes on a foot-wide cobblestone path to the right. Good luck babe, this path is for bikes! And it’s amazing how easy it is to assume possession of the bike path – I became completely entitled and possessive within weeks! Signs all over the place tell us to yield to pedestrians, but it’s always a game of chicken, with pedestrians generally backing off. I’m not innocent either. Feel kind of sorry for them.
Whereas in Minneapolis, bells are eschewed as an amateur’s affectation, they’re quite effective here. “On your left,” isn’t going to work with Tourists riding two by two who are talking to each other. (they may very well be New Yorkers, BTW, but because they’re in my way I automatically call them Tourists). But a bell will.
Other interesting types are the jogger, who jogs with her arm swinging out at the elbow – wassup with that? But honestly? The ones I will never understand are the cyclists who ride in traffic, without a helmet. Texting. With headphones on. Yes, I see it all the time! They are without a doubt, to use the German expression, “Lebensmude:” – Tired of living. What happens to these people? They say God protects babies and alcoholics. Surely there is also a category for people like this, because they seem to get away with it routinely.
When the path downtown came to an end – as all good things do - rather than search for it blindly to show up in Battery Park City somewhere, I thought I’d follow a bunch of tourists (real tourists, speaking German), who were walking their bikes into the crowds, and seemed to know what they were doing. When I found they didn’t I headed back uptown.
I saw several of Lucille’s siblings en route – and one twin - but of the smaller, foldable bikes, most people aren’t willing to make the investment I did. Last time I was at B-Fold, I saw a folding bike for $399, and it was LIGHT! When I asked about it though, the impression I got is that it will last a season or more, but is not built as sturdily as the Brompton. And you need sturdy on these paths. The other day riding uptown, I saw multiple markings along where tree-roots have made bumps in the path. Oh good, I thought, they’re marking them so they can fix them! But then I wondered if they weren’t just marking them to warn us. Forget the fixing. In any event, just like the Checker cabs which were taken off the market because they were bolted and not welded (a cabbie told me this) and couldn't survive the potholes, if you don’t have a sturdy bike here, you won’t have it for long. A foldable could actually come apart.
Made it up to 59th St, before turning around. Looking forward to a real day trip with Lucille one of these days, to parts unknown!
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