The plan was to get up super early and go on this epic ride today, for Summer Streets. I had mentioned the plan to our friend Col, the night before. So embarrassingly enough, Reagan and I were still in bed, trying to decide whether or not to go, when Col called and was like “where are you guys?” That, apparently was we all of the motivation that we needed. We hurried to throw on some clothes, round up some other friends and headed out the door. Col had already made his way downtown a bit, so we picked up our friends Jared and Debi on the way down to 72nd Street. After some minor confusion, we met up with Col at the 125th Street Piers. We had an awesome relaxing ride all the way down to the Brooklyn Bridge. It wasn’t really crowded, either. The weather was the most amazing thing ever. It almost felt like fall, this morning. Cool and breezy.

We took a little breather at City Hall before heading over to Battery Park City for some lunch.

As we were sitting down for lunch (on a patio near the Hudson), we saw some police boats speeding up river, but didn’t think much of it. We decided to head back up the Hudson River Path, on the way home, since Park Ave. was only blocked off until 1. Around 14th street, we started encountering massive gatherings of fire trucks and police cars. At first, I thought it may have been some sort of drill or exercise, until I started seeing all of the camera. When CNN shows up, it is pretty safe to assume that something major is going on. That whole section of the West Side Hwy. was blocked off, going south bound and completely littered with emergency vehicles. When we came up on the 30th Street Heliport, the only helicopters there were all NYPD, and they all had their rotors going. Looking out into the Hudson, there was a pretty tight gathering of Police and fire boats. At that point, I thought that maybe one of ferry’s had capsized.

This is where we finally stopped and asked some cops what was going on. They told us that there had been a mid-air collision between two aircraft. I didn’t stop to take any photos, because it was pure chaos. As we made our way farther up the path though, I did stop and snap a few. But, it wasn’t of any crashes. Just old subway cars loaded on a barge.

We had an awesome morning, and a really great ride. Reagan has really been a champ about these 25+ mile bike rides that I keep dragging her on, weekend after weekend. I feel bad for the people who crashed.

Here are the rest of the Photos from our ride.

First of all, Bloomberg’s Summer Streets are back, starting next weekend. I’m pretty pumped about that.

We had so much fun last year. I was able to ride Park Avenue, all three weekends. We are going to be camping on the 15th, this year, so we will be missing that weekend for sure, but I think that we are going to try to take full advantage on the 8th and the 22nd. Here are some links to photos from last year. From 8-23-08, and from 8-16-08.

Saturday morning, I went for a run from our house to the piers at 125. My knee was hurting from the outset. Reagan rode her bike down and met me there. The initial plan was for me to keep going, down into the 70’s and try to get in 12 miles or so. Because of my knee issues, it didn’t exactly work out that way. I hung out with Reagan for a bit, tried to stretch out my ITB, then ran home. So I ended up having 2 quick 3 mi. runs. Lame. I decided that it is bad enough I’m going to go to the doctor this week and see what is going on with my stupid knee. It’s getting ridiculous.

Yesterday, the rain was back monsoon style. So we opted out of seeing Coldplay last night. I was able to get caught up on a couple of weeks worth of sleep though. Something about hearing the rain hitting the window ledge.

Piper is doing extremely well these days. Yesterday, she had a great visit with some of her friends, and Reagan wrote all about it.

^—–Reagan sitting in an old cannon installation on Governor’s Island

Reagan read this great article in Time Out NY, earlier this month about Governor’s Island. I had been reading random things about it on Gothamist for the past couple of months as well. We finally decided to check it out today. When I say check it out, we really went for it. We rode our bikes from our house, to the Battery Maritime Terminal (took the ferry to the island) did a lap on our bikes and rode home. It was probably a little over 30 miles total. Reagan was resisting a little on the way back, but ultimately pulled through. She still looked great too.

^—Reagan riding through Riverside Park in the evening.

She is especially tough, being that in honor of the NYC Triathlon happening tomorrow, we also logged a few miles running this morning, as well. She didn’t quite make it through the movie tonight and had to head to bed early, but I don’t really blame her.

^—–Chillin’ on a bench in Colonel’s Row on Governor’s Island (timer shot).

On the way back, I was putting the camera back in my basket, after shooting a few shots of Reagan, in Riverside Park, when this really nice lady offered to take a photo of us together. Notice how I am totally sticky and beat-down. Notice how Reagan looks looks fresh as a daisy. Totally typical.

^—-Riding through Riverside Park, taken by a very kind lady, out for a walk with her kids.

Here for the rest of the photos.

Reagan and I, have on occasion had discussions regarding the integrity of retailers (lifestyle pushers) like Urban Outfitters. My argument is that, by providing all of those reproduced “vintage” (FYI, I hate the term vintage) tees, etc., in one location, and charging a ton of money for them, Urban Outfitters has effectively taken away everything that may have been cool about the items.

Whereas, if one happened upon the item at some mothball laden Army surplus store, thrift shop, or flea market, the item would have been oozing with character etc..  But because of the advent of Urban Outfitter-type organizations, even the flea market/thrift shop variety has been downgraded in character, coolness, and novelty. Which, I can see how this probably wouldn’t affect Reagan’s purview of the chain much, because I feel like the aspect I’m complaining about isn’t as prevalent in the products for women. Especially since Reagan doesn’t really buy the logo tees and stuff.

So that was my rant about UO, generally. Well, last month the Chain took things to the next level. Now not only can you buy your prepackaged hipster costume at Urban Outfitters, you can also purchase a custom fixie (pictured above) to parade your new faux-vintage duds around town.

I’m not really even sure where to start on my list of things that is wrong about this venture. I mean most of the guys that are legitimately hard core enough to call a fixie their main mode of transportation, most likely also call it a tool of their livelihood and have also most likely never heard of a chain called urban outfitters.

To wrap up this little outburst, lets mix in a little bit of positivity. Check out these hot handlebars that I came across yesterday.

These beauties, made by Nitto, are the B123 model. They are a hot choice for velodromers, messengers and casual commuters alike. This particular bar comes custom painted by Death Spray Custom with the iconic love/hate tattoos (so you don’t have to get real tattoos on your real knuckles).

I’m pretty sure that the message this sign is trying to convey, is that the use of Bicycles, Skateboards and Roller Blades, are not permitted beyond the sign. Then again, maybe not. That is a pretty strategically placed trash can. So theoretically, even if the sign means what it says, one could just discard their bike or skateboard in the trash can, then proceed past the sign. Rollerbladers on the other hand, aren’t permitted even if they ditch the fruit boots.

I saw this video featured today on Razor Apple. I thought it was worth re-posting. If you had any doubt before, as to the sanity (or lack thereof) of NYC bike messengers, this film gives a pretty impressive slice of footage to base your conclusions on. I want to know how in the world they shot some of this stuff. Were they following in a car (impossible for most of the shots splitting lanes), motorcycle, or another bike? Pretty impressive stuff.

Empire from Empire on Vimeo.

I took a ton of pictures, as usual. Here are a couple that I really liked. Click here to check out the rest.

Reagan and I wanted to make sure that we took full advantage of the remaining warm-weather weekends (the alliteration is for flare). We definitely got our plan off to a banging start this weekend. We took a lot of pictures too, but I haven’t even had a chance to load them up yet, plus I forgot to bring the camera with me today. I will try to get them up by tonight, especially the new ones of Piper.

Saturday, we had an impromptu biathlon. Not the kind were you ski and shoot, but the kind that is a triathlon, minus the swimming. It started at 6 A.M., with running a couple of laps around the Central Park loop. For those who keep score, that is 12 miles.

After the run we showered and got on the bikes for Summer Streets. The ride was awesome, again this week. I really hope that NYC starts doing it every year. It is so amazing to be able to roll the whole way down Park Ave. completely devoid of any motorized traffic. It almost felt like I was Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky, or Will Smith in I am Legend. Ok, not as dramatic, but definitely some similar qualities. One of the coolest parts of the ride is going through the tunnel portion of Park Ave., that cuts through Grand Central Station. During our ride, we met up with one of our friends from my work, who had just picked up a new single speed. We rode together from Union Square, to DUMBO, in Brooklyn. On the ride back up town, we met up with our friends the Carters, who were also out enjoying the event. We all had lunch together before finishing off the ride.

After 12 miles of running, and 30 miles of cycling, we took a much deserved nap, before spending the remainder of the evening with Piper. Sunday was a lot of church, lounging, and Piper visiting. I hope that we can keep up the action packed weekends before the weather starts to crap out.

Today is the typical kind of cliché Friday, where I every time I look outside and see how nice it is, I just want to leave work and start the weekend early. Unfortunately, I’m having a bit of a busy day. I keep thinking about how great the weather was last weekend, and how much I enjoyed it. It isn’t helping me get my work done any faster.

If we stick to our plans, Reagan and I will be spending the majority of the day outdoors tomorrow. We are going to try to hit the “Summer Streets” path tomorrow on our bikes. Since Reagan had to work last weekend, it will be the first time for her. Our ride, will come after a super early morning run. Now that I’m writing it, it seems like a little much. But I’m sure that it won’t feel like that tomorrow, if the weather keeps going how it is right now.

Our Alley at night — ↓

Piper’s doctor called me yesterday to tell me that they switched out her GJ tube for a regular G-tube, again. They said that the GJ tube seemed to be leaking and may have come dislodged. I was surprised that they didn’t need our consent, and that they could do it without a interventional radiology team. But they said that she is doing ok, so I’m not going to complain.

I rode my bike to work yesterday for the first time, since my last one was stolen. I now have the biggest, most expensive bike lock there is. It weighs like 50 pounds. When I rolled up to work, there was a security guard standing near the bike rack. Since I am now paranoid, I went down to check on it a couple of times during the course of the day. The security guy was standing there every time. Where were you 2 weeks ago security guy?!!! Reagan rode her bike to work yesterday for the first time. Her lock is kinda crappy, but she can lock it up right in front of the salon, where she can basically see it the whole time. Unfortunately, she is also paranoid, because of mine being stolen. So she was compulsively checking it. Hahaha, poor thing. I plan to buy a 50 lb. lock for her too.

Marathon training is still going great, for Reagan, so-so for me. Reagan has been getting up every morning to go. I have been joining her for the long runs on the weekend. This week is a 10 mile run. She wants to do it on Friday morning. I like it better when we do the long runs on Saturday, but I’m thinking that it will give me a good excuse to go into work late. I know that I suck at training, but at least I’m getting a lot of riding in. That has to count for something, right?

Our newish little fish are starting to grow. Reagan loves them when they are little and wants them to stay that way. I must admit, they are pretty cute when they are so small. I am pretty impressed that they have all held their own, so well. Even though they all pick on each other, there still haven’t been any fatalities.

For whatever reason, I really just haven’t been into the Olympics this time around. I feel like a total loser, because suddenly this year, everyone seems to be obsessed with them. I used to love them when I was younger, especially track/field and gymnastics. I grew up in the era of Michael Johnson, and Mary Lou Retton. Beijing just isn’t doing it for me though. I have a tough time even reading the highlights from the previous day, each morning. I find myself being more interested in the peripheral political issues, surrounding the games, than the actual events. Speaking of politics, I really enjoyed Jim Nelson’s commentary (as always), this month. It hasn’t been posted on the GQ site yet, so I can’t link to it. But if you get the magazine, I suggest you check it out.