Mark Twain once said that if the world is coming
to an end, go to Cincinnati. Why? Because, he explained, in the Queen City
everything happens ten years later.
By that logic, if the apocalypse is supposed to
happen this year, it will be delayed by a month. Here we are at the beginning of May and the
cherry blossoms have blossomed and tulips and other flowers are just starting
to open. Those spectacles usually
delight us—at least in this part of the world—during the first week or two of
April.
I’ll take them whenever they come. So I was happy to see them today. And the weather was delightful, almost
exactly what it normally is at this time of year. Scrims of high clouds floated like veils shed
during a dance from a clear blue sky to reveal a sun just bright enough to
waken all of the colors, all of the lives.
The wind, while brisk, didn’t bring a chill to the crisp spring air.
Can you ask for better riding conditions? Well, all right, that depends on what you
prefer. But even those who like winter
best of all seasons have said it—or, more specifically, this one—seemed as if
it wouldn’t end.
So I knew I was going riding. The funny thing is, I decided on which bike I
would ride before I chose a route.
Somehow I simply could not keep myself away from Arielle, my Mercian
Audax Special. All right, I didn’t
try. The point is, I knew, practically
from the moment I woke up, that I would ride Arielle today.
I found myself pedaling in the direction of—then
crossing—the Queens spur of the RFK/Triboro Bridge. That brought me to Randall’s Island, from
which I could go to the Bronx or Harlem.
Either would offer me a number of possibilities.
The Bronx it was.
I pedaled to the north and east, along the Bronx and Hutchinson Rivers,
toward Throgs Neck and City Island. From
there, I rode a path past horse stables, a golf course and the woods and
marshlands that rim Long Island Sound. It’s
difficult to remember you’re in the Bronx, and if you follow the path, before
long, you’re not.
This house is in Pelham Bay Manor, just over the
city line. It’s not really unusual for
that town. However, I saw something
interesting next to it: a sign for the
East Coast Greenway. I followed parts of
it through Westchester County. Most of
it is quiet pre-existing secondary roads, some in residential areas. I don’t know how much of it is complete, as I
followed it and seemed to lose it for a time, only to pick it up again
unexpectedly.
I didn’t mind, really. I didn’t encounter much traffic, even on the brief stretch of Route 1 where I wheeled beside the Mamaroneck Marina. Everywhere I pedaled, the riding was great and people were lovely. Even the drivers seemed more patient than usual.
Arielle took me to Connecticut—to the parks, the
strip of high-end boutiques and harbor of Greenwich, to be specific. I hadn’t ridden to the Constitution State
since last year, at least. The one
difficult part of the ride came as soon as I crossed the state line, where a
hill begins. It’s not particularly long
or steep, but it appears abruptly. I
managed it, but it showed me how little riding I’d done during the winter—and
how flat my recent rides had been.
Then I pedaled home—into the wind. I probably should have shifted into lower
gears than I did, but I managed to keep on riding at a decent pace. When I got home, I’d done my longest ride of
the year, so far: 115km (72 miles). It’s also my fourth 100km ride this
year. Hopefully, I’ll soon be doing more
and even longer rides—or, at least, will be in something like the condition I
was starting to get myself into last year.
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