Back in the Saddle

For over a year, my bike's been sitting unused in one of the offices at Manhattan Church. I finally found time yesterday after our staff meeting to ride it back into Brooklyn. It's quite a trek going from the Upper East Side (80th and Madison) to Boerum Hill in Brooklyn but it's absolutely worth the 45 minutes. I don't take the FDR as the map link suggests but instead I ride through Midtown, Murray Hill, East Village, Little Italy, Chinatown, and touch the tip of the Financial District before heading over the Brooklyn Bridge. I see all sorts of things, all sorts of people. I absolutely enjoy the ride. Riding is a great way to get to know NYC.

I've been known to play a game while riding. I attempt to make it all the way from Manhattan to Brooklyn without touching the ground with my feet. In other words, I try not to ever stop. When I was riding two and three times a week during the summer of 2004 I got pretty good at it. I never was able to accomplish the feat in its entirety but I came pretty darn close once. I made it all the way over the Brooklyn Bridge and finally had to stop at the busy intersection of Tillary St. and Brooklyn Bridge Blvd. Yesterday, I touched four or five times.

I'm pretty excited about the new feature I'm adding to my bike. It's a trailer bike. Sophia's a bit too big for a seat on the back of the bike so the neighborhood bike shop guy suggested a trailer bike like the one in this picture. Even though Sophia's a bit on the young side for a trailer bike she's a quick learner and the bike shop guy (I'm sure he has a name) said that he sees three-year-olds riding trailer bikes all the time. So, we're gonna give it a go and if she doesn't like it then I'll wait until next summer and we'll give it another go.

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