From the Minne-Apple to the Big Apple

In my last post I mentioned spending some time in New York this summer. Other than an overnight at a hostel in Manhattan en route to New Hampshire via Amtrak, I had never had a chance to experience the city.

While my first trip this summer was brief, it occurred smack in the middle of the Weinergate saga and made me feel like I was at the center of the universe. I checked in to my hotel, turned on the tv, and saw this:

I marveled realizing the press conference being broadcast around the world was happening just across town. (I guess I'm still hayseed enough to say, "Look who's in the big town.")

The second trip to NYC was for an entire week, and my assignment finished up early granting me a full day to spend at my leisure. A recent copy of Momentum Magazine featured NYC biking resources, including the address of a shop with reasonable rental rates. I decided to spend the morning on two wheels, so I took the subway from midtown to Greenwich Village and had no trouble finding the shop.

Hudson Urban Bicycles features a combination of vintage three speeds and cruisers for sale, decked out in full fenders and Brooks saddles, as well as their contemporary counterparts (think Batavus and Linus). While their rental stock wasn't quite as fabulous, I did find a Batavus three speed to help me navigate through overcast Manhattan and Brooklyn, with full fenders giving me insurance against a chance of showers.

I worked my way across the southern tip of Manhattan, following signs for the Brooklyn Bridge. I crossed into Brooklyn, explored the space, and started to make my way back when I suddenly heard the "pop!" and "gussssssssssh" of an inner tube's life being cut tragically short. Perfect timing.

Amazingly, it didn't take long for the situation to be remedied. In rare fashion, the Google map application on my Blackberry actually worked, and I located a bike shop just blocks away. R&A Cycles fixed me up in no time flat, and I was back on my merry way. I changed my plans to cross the Williamsburg bridge, opting for a more direct route via the utilitarian Manhattan Bridge.

I made the mistake of spending the last bit of time in lower Manhattan. While it was cool to see Soho and the financial district, it left a lot to be desired in terms of bicycle infrastructure. The cobbled streets and pedestrian traffic in Soho made it very difficult to get around. The sheer volume of vehicles and pedestrians combined with fewer bicycle lanes made the financial district almost impossible to navigate. I admitted defeat, locked the bike up, and hoofed it over to Ground Zero, Wall Street, and Charging Bull at Bowling Green Park. I was pleasantly surprised that the bike was still there when I returned.

Once leaving the financial district, I had no trouble making it back to Hudson to return the bike. What's more, they even cut my rental bill in half to compensate me for my troubles and reimbursed me for the flat. How's that for Minnesota NYC nice?

The rest of the city appeared to be quite easy to navigate on bike. Separated bike trails flank the island, there are a generous number of bike lanes in Brooklyn, and Central Park has huge amounts of space dedicated to bikes. I wouldn't say it is quite on par with Minneapolis, but it is still a great bike city and I'd love to ride there again.

Too close for comfort

This headline popped up on the Star Tribune this morning:

Minneapolis cyclist in bike lane killed by semi truck

I was sobered as I realized I rode through that intersection at about that time on Monday morning. My normal commute doesn't take me through that area, but it does when I ride in with Pati.

Week 11 (February 2-7)

This week was bookended with bicycle commutes, and I was at least able to take advantage of some round trip carpooling with the wife on two of the days which was nice.

Monday - Bicycle
Tuesday - Car (AM & PM carpool)
Wednesday - Car & LRT (AM carpool)
Thursday - Car (AM & PM carpool)
Friday - Bicycle

The week started off well, and Monday's ride in (~6 degrees) was almost ideal. My hands and feet weren't too cold, and the rest of my body was comfortable and not too warm.

Everything was fine until 15 yards from the bike rack. As I crossed 6th Street at 3rd Avenue, I encountered some pedestrians so I shifted around them to the left and turned a sharp right onto the sidewalk. The granite slab on the sidewalks proved less than ideal for studded tires, and the bike slid out from under me. This time I was hurled onto my right shoulder, which no longer felt neglected after last week's incident. A citizen in the 40-50, white female, motherly-like demographic ran over asking if I was okay and I shot her a sheepish thumbs up before scooting over to the bike rack. I have never been happier to sport a balaclava covering 75% of my face. Plus I escaped any bodily harm.

There had been a considerable warm-up over the weekend, and the studded tires seemed out of place, given the scarcity of ice and snow-pack. I did not want to wear down the studs, so when I finally had a chance on Thursday night, I switched them out for the original tires. The ride in on Friday felt like a breeze after ditching the studs.

A very serious challenge is confronting me for the remainder of my busy season, despite the anticipated warming trend. I am assigned on a client in St Louis Park for the next two weeks which does not have bicycling amenities. I might be able to work something out at a friend's house who lives a mile or so from the client, but that's uncertain at this time.

Otherwise, I'll have two or three weeks after that in the office to get some rides in, and then the last two weeks at a client site in Minneapolis (not downtown). If I can ride one day each of those weeks, I'll consider it a tremendous success. Wish me luck.

Week 10 (January 26-31)

The combination of cold temps early in the week, exhaustion, and mechanical issues kept me from logging more than one commute. I suppose I'm at least happy I was able to get out there once though.

Monday - Car & LRT (AM carpool)
Tuesday - Car & LRT (AM carpool)
Wednesday - Car & LRT (AM carpool)
Thursday - Bicycle
Friday - LRT

Monday and Tuesday mornings both had negative temperatures, so I didn't feel up to braving it. Plus, both of them were late work nights, so by Wednesday morning my need for extra sleep trumped my desire to ride in. I was well rested for Thursday morning though, and happy to ride in without incident.

I probably would have tried to bike on Friday as well, but on my way home my front fender came off. The nut from the bolt that attaches the fender to the fork came off right at the Metrodome, so I pulled off the street by Hubert's and pushed the fender under the fork to rig a temporary mount from the front (maybe that's the way it's supposed to go anyway?) so at least it would be held on by the bolt.

This lead to a non-stop rattle for the remainder of the ride, and I constantly had my eye on it to make sure the bolt didn't fly out and send the fender crashing down again. Being inattentive to the road ahead of me likely contributed to my demise on 34th Avenue. I think I hit a rough spot in the road covered by road sludge which got me sliding a bit to my left, and when my internal camera started recording in slow-motion, I knew I'd end up on the ground.

I landed with my left arm and shoulder sprawled out, and slid down the icy street a yard or so, definitely a more forgiving surface than the pavement would have been. I had some brief pain which I worried could be shoulder damage, but after walking the bike for about a half block, I got back on and limped home. So far, there have been no delayed after effects, so hopefully I'm in the clear.

Since it was late when I got home and I was a bit disheartened by these events, I decided not to fix the fender and didn't ride on Friday. I have one week left on my downtown client, and the weather looks like it might be cooperative, so hopefully week 11 is more productive than week 10 was.