NYC had this great idea of closing off Park Ave. to vehicular traffic, and opening it for pedal bikes and foot traffic, only. Reagan had to work today, so I hit it up with one of our friends from church, whose wife is out of town. He brought their little daughter a long too. It was a really fun ride. We went all the way down to the Brooklyn Bridge, over into Brooklyn, then back. On the way back up town, we stopped at Reagan’s salon and had lunch with her. They are doing it again next week. Reagan doesn’t have to work next Saturday, so we are planning on doing the ride again that day, so that she can join in, this time. Here are the pics from today.

I could hardly wait to get out of work today and ride home. Even though it clouded up this afternoon, it was fantastic weather again this evening. I came out of the building, only to discover that my mike had been jacked. Soooo lame. I had the “New York proof” Kryptonite lock. So much for that. It was right out in front of my building, in front of a security camera and in plain view of the cops that sit on Liberty Street all day long. I was so pissed off that I decided to run home. So I went to the running store in 3 WFC and bought some running socks. I was pretty much calmed down by 42nd street. By the time I got to 125, I decided that running with a backpack on totally sucks. Anyway, I already committed that I would run 8 miles with Reagan in the morning, so I didn’t want to overdo it tonight. So I walked over to the 1 and rode it the rest of the way home. Well, at least there won’t be anymore posts about bikes, or the weather today.

It was such a beautiful morning for a ride. When the weather is like this, it doesn’t even seem like work, when I’m riding. I left a pair of shoes here, the other day, so I didn’t have to pack any, on the ride in. Having the reduced weight really seemed to make a difference. When I was riding the section of the Hudson River Park path below 125, but above the boat basin, there was this guy who was working out with a huge piece of drift wood. It was pretty funny. He had it lodged into the rocks, standing about 8 feet in the air and was punching it with his kicboxing gloves. It was pretty hilarious, the way he was dodging and ducking, like the driftwood was fighting back. I hope that I never get that lonely and crazy.

Reagan has to work tomorrow, but I’m hoping to go riding with her soon. She took a trip to Target yesterday and bought a pump and a lock for her bike. So she is all set for riding to work now, also. Hopefully we will have more beautiful weather for the last few weekends that remain, this summer. Recreational rides in the rain, don’t seem as appealing.

I took this picture from our dining room (at work) this morning, to show how awesome the weather is. It doesn’t really do it justice, but you can get an idea.

It was nice and cool this morning when I was moving the car. I have also noticed a pretty dramatic difference in the time that the sun comes up. Since it was so nice out, I resolved that I was going to ride my bike to work today. I spent about a half hour installing some plastic fenders. I actually bought the fenders in Boston, when we got the bikes, but for some reason, I had been procrastinating putting them on the bike. It was a good thing that I did though. This morning, it seemed like there were several places where the sprinklers were running across the bike path. They worked great. When I arrived at WFC, the path that I normally take around the front of the buildings, on West St., was blocked off. I turned around and rode along the boardwalk instead. I later found out that the closure was caused by some fallen window washers, who died outside of 3 WFC. Yikes.

Anyway, it was a beautiful ride. It was getting pretty warm by the time I arrived at work, but it still felt great. I’m getting really excited for the weather to cool off a bit, so that I can start riding a lot more. I also need to start bringing my camera with me, so I can snap some shots of some of the entertaining stuff that I see on my ride.

This was my first ride with the new backpack, and I have to say, it work swimmingly. It didn’t flop around as much as the messenger bag did. It seemed to wrinkle my shirt (the one inside the pack, for changing into) a lot less, also. There are still some things that I need to do to smooth out the routine (ideally it will become one, while weather permits). I still need to get some wrinkle remover spray to keep here at work (my cousin’s suggestion), as well as bring in a couple of pairs of shoes to leave here. I also need to start planning a little better when it comes to outfits I bring for changing into. Today I ended up with pinstripe pants…. and pinstripe shirt. Pretty sweet combo. Eventually, I’ll get it right.

If there is anyone else who rides south from the Heights in the morning (or would like to start), let me know, and we could start riding together.

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