At Rockaway Beach, you could see how the today's bright sunshine and cool breezes just barely concealed the fact that we had such a violent storm the other night. It was a great day to ride, but not very many people were. And those who were weren't the ones I expected, and they weren't riding in ways I ever anticipated.
They rode by as I was sitting on a bench, with Arielle propped against a railing. "Really nice bike!" he shouted as he passed me and her.
Somehow I have a feeeling that kid is going to be all right. After all, in taking him for a ride in such an unusual vehicle, the father is developing an independent spirit in him. Plus, his dad is developing his taste for fine bikes! ;-)
But everyone else at Rockaway, it seemed, was surfing. The tides seemed more rough than high, which is probably a reason why nobody was swimming or bathing in the ocean. Also, the temperature just barely made it to 70F. Then again, the water is still a few degrees warmer than that.
The tides weren't the only evidence of the storm. I rode by this at Juniper Valley Park:
And near the park was this almost surreal scene:
As you can imagine, I had to make a few detours during my ride today. I'll probably be making more for a while: The cleanup is going to take weeks, according to officials.
As to when the tides will be normal again, nobody is saying.
Yesterday was one of those days.
When I went to unlock the Le Tour, this is what I found:
I suppose I could've ridden it. I mean, after all, it had everyting except a seat post and seat. Believe it or not, I've actually seen guys ride without them. But I don't recall any female cyclists doing the same thing.
The other night, I made sure to have all of my papers read and lessons prepared so I could have the time to ride. So I was relegated to taking the train, and I had no work to do during the ride. I guess that wasn't so bad: I started to write something. I'm note sure of what it is yet--poem, story or whatever--or, whether anything at all will, in fact, come of it.
Teaching at my main job went OK and I managed to slip out a less-used gate to get to the bus that would take me to my part-time gig. A layer of clouds bundled over the sky; rain was forecast but I still regretted not having ridden my bike.
I know, I could have taken Helene. (I was wearing a skirt.) But if the racks at my part-time job were going to be as full (to overflowing) as they've been lately, I didn't want to park there and get scratches and dings or incur other damage. And I didn't want to leave her out in the weather that blew by just as I was about to leave.
As you've probably heard, a powerful storm ripped through parts of Brooklyn and Queens--including the neighborhoods in which my jobs are located. In fact, a tornado was said to have touched down only a mile from my part-time gig. Seing some of the damage and being stuck on a bus that could only sit behind four other similarly delayed buses at one intersection. Finally, the cops let the driver open the door, and the driver advised us of another bus route we could take into Flushing, Queens, where I expected to get the train. Alas, that train--the 7 line--wasn't running. So there was another delay longer than the train ride would have taken. So I had to wait for a shuttle bus. When it arrived, fights broke out among people who wanted to board.
All told, getting home last night took about three and a half hours. Cycling wouldn't have taken much more than an hour, at least for me.
