Not only is fall a good time for what used to be called “mountain biking,” but it’s also a good time for commuting by bicycle, which I don’t think I’ve done since May when some brigand raided my Sackville:
If you’re gonna drain my sack at least buy me dinner first.
In any case, the reason I haven’t commuted by bicycle since then isn’t because I was traumatized by this wanton violation; rather, it’s because after May it starts getting hot–and I just can’t with the hot. (Not when it comes to a 30-plus mile round-trip Bronx-to-Brooklyn bike commute, anyway.) I realize this makes me a “woosie“…
…but at this point in my life I’d rather just sit on an air-conditioned train and read and save the riding for when I don’t have to be anywhere.
But fall brings the crispness, which in turn makes me want to commute by bicycle again–at least once in awhile, when I can spare the extra time. (The train’s just faster over that distance, especially when you’re as slow as I am.) So yesterday that’s what I did:
Now that the Henry Hudson Bridge bike path is complete and the Hudson River Greenway is detour-free I can ride from home all the way to lower Manhattan almost entirely on bike paths. In fact I barely have to put a foot down, with the exception of this pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks in upper Manhattan:
But from there it’s pretty much a straight shot along the mighty Hudson:
Where people now seem to be building vacation homes:
He did not like me taking pictures:
It seemed rather unreasonable to me that someone who’s appropriated a large portion of a public park for his own personal living space should also expect total privacy in the bargain, but now that I look more closely I see it was star of the silver screen Jason Momoa and he must have thought I was a paparazzo:
Clearly he’s preparing for his role in the upcoming “Down and Out In Beverly Hills” remake, entitled “Assed Out on the Upper West Side.”
Ignoring his rantings and trying desperately not to think about what he might be barbecuing, I continued on, hugging the coastline:
The commute was much as I remembered it, though approaching the Manhattan Cruise Terminal I was amazed to discover an entirely new section of bike path:
For a few yards there it felt like being in a totally different city, how exotic.
But yes, otherwise it was all the usual stuff, including all the riders getting on and off the Manhattan Bridge against the light and riding right across the path of car traffic:
The Manhattan Bridge also had plenty of bike traffic, though somehow I managed to capture it here at a moment where none of it was visible:
And gas-powered motor scooters in the bike lane is still a thing, too:
Though now they’re at least going through the trouble of using obviously fake license plate:
I was appalled to see an old-timey Italian slur so soon after Italian Heritage Day.
Speaking of Italian, here’s a real head-turner:
That’s Peak Aluminum right there.
As for me, I was riding something magnetic:
By the way, the ultra-wide range crank configuration was absolutely perfect for this ride, which is almost entirely flat except for two short but extremely steep climbs towards the very end.
I think I’ll keep it.