Riding Solo Through A Dream

It’s windy and a bit chilly for this time of year.  Still, it’s odd to have Fort Totten Park almost entirely to myself.

Don’t get me wrong:  It was nice to contend with almost no traffic, even on the streets around LaGuardia Airport, on my way here.  But it’s hard not to wonder, if only for a moment, whether I am cycling through a necropolis.

I don’t often remember my dreams.  The few that I recall for longer than the morning-after might be closer to nightmares.  Like this one:  I was walking along a street like the one in the working-class Brooklyn neighborhood of my childhood.  One difference:  My neighborhood was flat, but on the street in my dream, a row of houses, all splintered shingles and bubbled bricks, skirted the edge of a bluff.  There seemed to be nothing beyond it but flickerings of dusk.

Inside those houses, people—shadows, really—drifted by the windows—all of them opened, a little.  I knew, somehow, that soon, none of those people would be in those houses.  But I could not tell them.  I could not tell anybody.

I had that dream many years ago—in effect, in another life. This is not the first time I’ve recalled it, though it makes sense that it would come back to me now—even if I can’t remember what I ate yesterday!

The News Isn't A Joke, But....

This season, no one has been disqualified from a bike race because of a drug violation.

All right, that's not quite an April Fool's joke.  After all, races have been cancelled or postponed because of the COVID-19 epidemic.

We all hope it ends soon. But now the CDC is worried because, as the weather warms up, deer ticks will come out.  Some people will get Corona with Lyme!

Taking To--Or Over--The Street

Every time an elected official takes to the airwaves, I fear the worst, even if I know what they're about to say might be for the best.  I know the virus has to be stopped, but I worry that we might not be allowed out of our apartments, ever again.  

(Then again, if they confine us, they might have to enact a permanent rent freeze--or declare that housing is a human right and give it to us for free.)

So far, we still can go outside, as long as we keep our distance from each other.  Now the city is doing something that, at first glance, seems counterintuitive:  It's closing off some streets to traffic.  It makes sense when you realize that pedestrians, cyclists and all other kinds of non-motorized travelers have free reign over the street.  The idea, apparently, is to get people outside but still offer them space.

I like it.  If anything, I wouldn't mind if this street closure were extended:

It's a stretch of 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, about 5 kilometers from where I live. 

It's also a kilometer, if that, from LaGuardia Airport.  While I enjoyed the nearly-empty street, it was a bit odd to ride  through that part of town without seeing a plane overhead. 

You Know The Drill

So why am I writing a post about drillium when the world is going to hell in a handbasket?

Well, I could get cute (as if I could, at my age) and say that COVID-19 is poking holes--or exposing them--in the structures of our societies.  Or some such thing.

But, truthfully, I'm writing this post because I can't say anything you haven't heard about the corona virus epidemic--and because somebody sent me this picture:

Apparently, someone in Germany is selling that stem on eBay.  Don't worry:  I'm not going to buy it.  It caught my notice because a stem is one component I would never think of drilling.  I've seen fluted, milled and pantographed goosenecks.  But I can't remember the last time I saw a drilled-out stem.

Mind you, I'm not anti-drillium.  In fact, I've seen some lovely pieces, including this Stronglight crankset:

But sometimes folks get silly with their drills (Hmm..."silly with their drills"...such an odd phrase).  You really have to wonder what purpose saving a couple of grams actually serves.

Then again, how many people actually believed that it was about function or performance? 

We Want To Be More Than One Part

We ride to keep ourselves from becoming this:

Vital, But Closed

Are bicycle shops "essential" businesses?

I imagine that you, or anyone else reading this blog, would answer "Of course!"  And I would agree with you.

Apparently, New York City officials as well as their peers in San Francisco and some other cities have listened to us:  They have included bike shops as "vital" because, as we argued, some of us normally use our bikes for transportation, while others are using them because of their fears about taking trains and buses, as well as cutbacks in service.

Even some non-cyclists agree that bike shops should be allowed to stay open during the COVID-19 ("coronavius") outbreak.  After all, gas stations and auto repair shops are still operating because some people are driving--and to keep ambulances and other emergency vehicles running.

Notions about what is "essential" aren't always so clear-cut. A candy factory is still operating because anything having to do with food is considered "essential."  On the other hand,  hairdressing and nail salons aren't.  I stupidly put off a styling, so I'm facing weeks, possibly months, of "bad hair days."  Of course, that's a good reason to keep on cycling-Still, I understand why hairdressers', barbers' and nail finishers' shops are closed:  I don't know of anyone with arms long enough to cut or color the hair or nails of someone sitting six feet (two meters) away.  I also understand why other businesses aren't operating:  there isn't enough business or their workers can't, or won't come in.

That last category includes a longtime favorite of mine, Bicycle Habitat. Even after a surge of repairs, tuneups and new bike sales, it's closing for a week.  Charlie, the owner, says it's a matter of protecting himself (He's in the high-risk age group), family and customers as well as doing right by the community in general.  I also imagine that it's difficult to enforce "social distancing" in the confines of a bike shop.  In his Chelsea shop, it probably means allowing no more than two customers in at a time. 

Ironically, bicycling--at least solo--is one of the best ways to get outdoor exercise while still keeping a safe distance from others in an urban environment.

RIding Solo--In More Ways Than One

When I wrote my previous post, I was worried--about a lockdown, and other things. I'd heard that in Puerto Rico, people aren't allowed to leave their homes for just about any reason.  Even taking a walk, cycling or skating alone are out of the question.  Italy has enacted similar restrictions.  I wondered whether I wouldn't be able to ride for weeks, even months, just as the season is beginning.

So, the other day, I made it a point to take a long ride--to Connecticut. On Sundays, Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich teems with strollers and shoppers, and the street is lined with parked cars.  But, from the Greenwich Common, I saw this:

and this:

Arielle, my trusty Mercian Audax, isn't accustomed to such isolation.  She could have been forgiven for wondering whether I took her on a trail instead of a street.

Speaking of streets, here was the view down University Avenue in the Bronx at 2 o'clock this afternoon:

Mind you, on the right, that's an entrance to the Cross-Bronx Expressway--the gateway to upper Manhattan and the George Washington Bridge.

Of course, I didn't mind having to contend with so little traffic, although it seemed almost surreal.  Still, I''d be happy if some of the cars and trucks didn't return after the epidemic--as long as their drivers survive.  I don't extend any bad wishes to people.

While we're on the subject of people:  There is a calm, if not a quiet, I haven't seen since the days just after 9/11.  Sometimes people eye each other warily, even suspiciously--Is that person sick?--but complete strangers are telling each other, and me, to be safe.  

And I want you, dear readers, to be well and safe--and to ride, as often and much as you can!

Can I Ride Tomorrow?

For the past week, I haven't gone to the college.  Like many other educators, I am working online.  

While it's been interesting as a learning experience, I can't say I like it.  So much of the work I do with my students is driven by questions and discussions that, as best as I can tell, arise from the interactions between us.

Also, I miss the ride into, and from, the college.  Under normal circumstances, not having to go to the workplace for a while is relaxing, even if I am doing work to prepare for my (and my students') return.  But now I am home because circumstances beyond my control are spiraling out of control. Or so it seems.

I managed to quell my anxiety yesterday, when I rode to Connecticut, and the other day, when I took a ramble through parts of Queens and Brooklyn to the South Shore.  Riding felt great, and allowed me to have a couple of good nights' sleep.  I must say, though, that in their way, the rides had a surreal quality:  On weekday afternoons, major streets like Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, Boston Post Road (a.k.a. US 1) in Westchester County and Greenwich Avenue in Connecticut were almost as free of motor vehicle traffic as some trails normally are!

And, say what you will about Daylight Savings Time, I liked that I was able to start my ride to Connecticut after the stroke of noon--after I'd finished the work I needed to do--and get home before dark.  

But I didn't ride today, in part because it rained pretty heavily this morning and early in the afternoon, and I just decided to get more work done.  I'm just hoping to have some time to ride tomorrow, and over the weekend.  

You see, I've heard about the shelter-in-place orders in China, much of Europe, and the San Francisco Bay area. Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to do the same here, though Governor Andrew Cuomo says he can't:  Only the state can issue such an order, he explains.

I hope he's right.  Or, at least, I hope that the conditions of the lockdown aren't as dire as I've heard.  Early reports said that people in San Francisco couldn't even go for a walk (unless it's to go to work at a "vital" job, a doctor's appointment or to buy food or medicine) or  bike ride, but I've since read dispatches saying they can ride or walk solo, as long as they keep their distance from others.

If anything, if we're riding, even in small groups, I should think we're less of a danger to ourselves and others than people who are riding subways or other mass transit--or taxis or Ubers.  I can't think of any time when I've ridden solo and come closer than three meters (about 10 feet) from another person.  And, in small group rides, we're usually at least a few feet apart.

Plus, we, as cyclists, are healthier than most people.  I've read and heard the stories about "gym rats" who still got sick with the coronavirus, but from what I understand, getting exercise and engaging in other healthy practices (All right, I just ate a San Giuseppe pastry!) are at less risk of getting just about any illness and, if we do get sick, have a better chance of recovering--and not spreading our illnesses to others.

Spring officially begins at just before midnight.  There is hope, I guess.

A Real Cycling Condition (;-)

I don't deny that a lot of riding--especially without proper conditioning or an ill-fitting bike--can cause pain, numbness and other problems.  

I also don't deny that long hours in the saddle--especially if that saddle is wrong for the rider--can cause discomfort and even dysfunction in the genital area.

But it seems that every few years someone manages to whip up hysteria about how cycling causes sterility or worse.  Back in the day, some of us used to joke that those folks were right and we indeed had "bike balls."

Yes, cycling can make you radioactive down there! ;-)

At The Right Angle

In a few posts, I've complained about poorly-conceived, -designed and -constructed bike lanes and paths.  They lead to nowhere and expose the cyclists to all sorts of hazards.

Sometimes those hazards are embedded in the lane or trail itself.  Among the worst are railroad tracks, especially if they run parallel (or nearly so) in proximity to the cycling route.  Ideally, tracks and lanes (or paths) should cross at right (90 degree) angles or as close to it as possible. 

If the tracks cross at a more oblique angle, the  tires can graze against the rails, or get lodged against them, and send the cyclist tumbling to the ground.  That's happened to at least half a dozen riders on the Centennial Trail where it crosses the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe tracks in Arlington, Washington, 64 km north of Seattle. At that point, the trail crosses the tracks at an angle of less than 45 degrees--or near the one o'clock position.  (A 90 degree angle crosses at the 3 o'clock position.)

Recognizing the problem, the Arlington City Council has just awarded a contract to realign the trail so that the trail, which heads north, would turn east about 15 meters (50 feet) from the tracks so that it can cross at a 90 degree angle.

City engineer Ryan Morrison says the project will take about two to three weeks, and that it will timed to coincide, as best as possible, with improvements Burlington Northern-Santa Fe has planned for that same area.  That means the work will start around late May or early June.