New York Wheels
I usually enjoy city cycling: I love the feeling of being at one with the environment but constantly aware of its dangers, the exhilaration of physical effort and the stimulation of being menaced from all sides by the metal (or mental) equivalent of mindless bulls. Bristol and London are fun: one can outrun the traffic, dodge the cars, scorn the taxis and dodge the pedestrians.
New York was different. I hired a bike for just a couple of hours, starting by a couple of of circuits of Central Park. So what's the fuss about? Yeah, it's a park. Yeah, it's in a city. Yeah, there are lots of runners, mainly grim faced and joyless, pounding around a circuit which surely must pall after a lap or two. But I did see my first american robin, the rusty blackbird that's hardly a real redbreast.
Then I went onto the roads. Ummm. The traffic's faster, accelerates and decelerates harder, drives closer and pays less attention to other users. The roads themselves are more pitted and potholed than I'm used to, with deeeper holes and sheets of slick steel at intervals, all designed to throw off unwary cyclists. To be honest, I didn't like it that much, especially as the traffic intersections are controlled by lights instead of roundabouts, so there was too much waiting around (except when I jumped the lights, which is fun)
I went from Central Park to Times Square via Broadway, 5th Avenue to East River and around. I felt Manhattan's nerves, but I'm unlikely to try it again as I had two traffic touches, two too many in that time. The first was when a taxi cut in front of me then slammed on his brakes. My front wheel hit his fender, and my testicles hit the cross bar, which hurt. I cycled somewhat slower after that, not entirely by choice. Then later, when I swerved to avoid a deep and wide pothole off 1st Ave, my bars touched a taxi which was passing me very closely. My confidence waned, so I cycled back to the hire shop somewhat more sedately than I'd otherwise have done.
As a morning's entertainment it was great, but I'm not sure that I'd live long doing that every day.
:o/
New York was different. I hired a bike for just a couple of hours, starting by a couple of of circuits of Central Park. So what's the fuss about? Yeah, it's a park. Yeah, it's in a city. Yeah, there are lots of runners, mainly grim faced and joyless, pounding around a circuit which surely must pall after a lap or two. But I did see my first american robin, the rusty blackbird that's hardly a real redbreast.
Then I went onto the roads. Ummm. The traffic's faster, accelerates and decelerates harder, drives closer and pays less attention to other users. The roads themselves are more pitted and potholed than I'm used to, with deeeper holes and sheets of slick steel at intervals, all designed to throw off unwary cyclists. To be honest, I didn't like it that much, especially as the traffic intersections are controlled by lights instead of roundabouts, so there was too much waiting around (except when I jumped the lights, which is fun)
I went from Central Park to Times Square via Broadway, 5th Avenue to East River and around. I felt Manhattan's nerves, but I'm unlikely to try it again as I had two traffic touches, two too many in that time. The first was when a taxi cut in front of me then slammed on his brakes. My front wheel hit his fender, and my testicles hit the cross bar, which hurt. I cycled somewhat slower after that, not entirely by choice. Then later, when I swerved to avoid a deep and wide pothole off 1st Ave, my bars touched a taxi which was passing me very closely. My confidence waned, so I cycled back to the hire shop somewhat more sedately than I'd otherwise have done.
As a morning's entertainment it was great, but I'm not sure that I'd live long doing that every day.
:o/
posted by Moses at
2:57 am
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