A Ride. A Premonition And A Message

This summer, it seems that the weather has ping-ponged between rain and heat.  For the past few days we’ve had the former; tomorrow’s forecast calls for the latter.

So I went for another morning ride along the North Shore, to Fort Totten.  Just before I arrived, I had a premonition.  

After I snapped this photo, I pulled out the phone.  There was a voice message from my brother:  My uncle (and godfather) is in the hospital, in really bad shape.  My brother got the news in a text message from my cousin, just as he was thinking about the upcoming anniversary of our mother’s passing, I’d thought about it, too, while I was riding—just before I had my premonition.

I must say, I felt quite fortunate to be riding again!

Do They Know What We’re Carrying?

One of my early posts, “What I Carried In The Original Messenger Bag”, detailed some of the baggage, if you will, I was hauling with my deliveries as I sluiced the Manhattan canyons of concrete, glass and steel. My traumas, fears and grievances were, of course, among the reasons why I spent a year as a bike messenger.

Perhaps I still  carry some of those psychological wounds. Perhaps I always will. These days, though, the load is lighter. So, today, I am going to mention the physical objects I take with me on just about any ride.  Perhaps you take some of them—or similar items with you.

My kit includes a spare inner tube, tire levers, a Park MT-1 tool and  Victorinox Spartan knife.

Andrew  a snack or two.  Sometimes I think animals know that.

“Oh  look, one of those funny creatures with big round feet—and something to eat!”

A Lowe-Case Letter And A Crossing

 What do you do when wake up and can’t get back to sleep?  Take a bike ride, of course.

I hopped on Tosca, my Mercian fixed-gear, for a spin.

Into the sun

rising over the World’s Fair Marina

I know it’s not Antibes or Nice, but I thought it was pretty nice nonetheless.  From there, I spun along the North Shore to Bayside and a couple of blocks into a Nassau County before descending through Flushing Meadow-Corona Park (and the (Unisphere) before heading back to my apartment. 

Along the way, I was treated to the cutest pedestrian crossing I’ve seen in a long time.  When I stopped for the red light at 83rd Street and 34th Avenue, the hands of a young Asian (Korean, I think) woman danced together as she bowed her head with a coquettish smile. A female driver stopped at the same light gave both of us a thumbs-up.

I really enjoyed my bagel and yogurt when I got home! 

After Henri

 Although Henri dumped rain on us for almost three days straight, things weren’t as as predicted.  For one thing, we barely felt any wind, which is one reason why relatively few people lost their electricity. For another, although a lot of rain fell, few spots flooded, probably because the rain was relatively steady—and everyone seemed well-prepared. 

The rain stopped early enough  that I rode for about an hour before sunset. Now I’ve pedaled to Point Lookout, where there’s barely any trace of Henri’s passing.

Pacing Or Trailing Henri

On Thursday I took my “ride ahead of Fred.”  While he wreaked havoc in other places, he behaved more like, well, a Fred by the time he wheezed by us.

But news of a bigger storm—Henri— followed.  We just missed a direct hit, but points east on Long Island and New England weren’t so lucky.  Still, it’s been raining almost nonstop since late Saturday.  At least I managed to take a ride into the heady of Brooklyn that morning, and to Point Lookout on Friday.

If the rain lightens, I might take a short ride on one of my fendered bikes. If I do, will I be pacing or trailing Henri? 

Pacing or trailing Henri—does that sound like something a domestique  might’ve done in a Tour de France?

Going With The Flow?

 I wonder who named this street

and what they were thinking when they named it.

I wonder whether or not that name is a disincentive to buy any of the properties that line it.

Riding In The Body Positive

I don't have the body I had when I was 22.

At that age, my gender affirmation surgery was nearly three decades in my future.  (I didn't know I had a future!)  But that's not the only way in which my form has shifted over the years.

Of course, everybody's body changes over the years.  Some people mourn that:  They wish for the "ideal" body they had when they were young--whether or not they ever fit such an image.

While some segments of society are beginning to recognize that few, if any, of us remain at size four (I'm talking dress, not jersey, sizes!) in our fourth, fifth or sixth decades, acknowledgement has come that some people never mirrored the images presented to us in fashion magazines--or bike ads--even in their youth, through no fault of their own, has  been slower in coming.

The notion that cyclists, dancers and other athletes and performing artists have to conform to a particular body types discourages some from performing such activities.  It also triggers eating disorders and other mental health issues in some participants.

That is something Olivia Ray is trying to address.  The 22-year-old professional cyclist from New Zealand has volunteered to be part of a discussion of mental health awareness hosted by Rally Health, a sponsor of her team (Rally Cycling). "I think we get stuck on an ideal image, the holy grail of a particular body type," she says.  "Finding what makes us happy and what makes us feel most empowered by what we look like is, I think, the biggest thing," she explains.

From ages 3 to 16, she was enrolled in ballet, tap and jazz dance programs.  So she has experienced, in several venues, the pressure to conform to a particular body type.  While she concedes that in some instances, such as riding up a hill, it makes sense to carry less weight, "there is a fine line between what's beneficial to performance and harming yourself."  Obsession with weight can also cause reproductive health problems and other health issues for women, she points out.

One solution, she believes, would be to focus more on nutrition.  "If you're not giving yourself enough energy" during the ride or "enough fuel post-ride," she explains, "you will feel bad, you will feel like crap, and you won't want to keep riding"--no matter how well you fit the image of cyclists perpetrated in popular media.

 

Get Your Kicks On (Bicycle) Route 66

Get your kicks on Route 66.

Now you can follow the "advice" of Bobby Troup and the Nat King Cole Trio on your bike.

Well, sort of. The legendary highway--often cited as the inspiration for the American "road trip"--took drivers from Chicago to Santa Monica, California.  Established in 1926, it was largely replaced by the Interstate system and was officially removed from the US Highway system in 1985.

Photo by Frederic J. Brown, from Getty Images

Now a bicycle trail that mostly follows the last part of the system--from the California-Arizona border to Santa Monica--has opened.  It's one of 18 new routes that have been added to the US Bicycle Route System.  You can now get your "kicks" on 2903 miles of this system, with more under development. The goal is to link the bicycle routes in a system spanning the nation.

Hopefully, we'll be able to get our "kicks" on bike routes all over the country soon!

Sneaking Ahead Of Fred

 

I will try to sneak in another ride this morning, as I did yesterday.

Although I knew a storm was coming, that wasn’t the reason why I limited yesterday’s ride to Fort Totten and the North Shore of Queens (with a yogurt stop at Kesso’s).  I had an appointment with my opthamologist in the afternoon, and I knew he was going to dilate my pupils. So, my vision would be blurred for a while and I’d be very tired.  Marlee took advantage of the latter and curled up on me after I fell asleep!

The first wave of the storm struck some time after midnight.  The sky is overcast and the air thick with humidity, but the wind and rain have stopped, for a while anyway.  I don’t mind riding in the rain, especially on a day as warm as today (two of my bikes have fenders, after all) but I draw the line at torrential downpours!

The storm pushing its way through this neighborhood is called Fred. That should be food for thought for anyone who’s derisively used that name in reference to someone who isn’t twiddling $400 pedals on a $12,000 carbon bike while clad in Lycra kit.  

Fred will pass, and Freds will pass them!

Shepherding His Father To The Statue Of Liberty

 What did you convince your parents to do when you were 9 years old?

Whatever it was, it probably can't hold a candle to what Shepherd Colver got his dad to do--with him. (With a name like "Shepherd," what do you expect from such a kid?)  The Washington State native managed to influence his father, James, to go on a bike ride with him.

But it wasn't just a ride around the park.  You see, Shepherd and James have just completed a tour that culminated with a trip to the Statue of Liberty. 

Visiting the Lady of New York Harbor was Shepherd's overriding dream.  When they finally arrived--after pedaling 3300 over 18 weeks--in New York City and took the ferry to the island, Shepherd offered this assessment:  "It was definitely worth it,"  he declared.  "It's pretty cool."

Shepherd Colver (r) and his father James look toward the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park, New York City (Photo from CBS News)

A CBS reporter asked whether his legs hurt at the end of a ride.  "Not as bad as my dad's do when were done," he said, laughing. James described the trip as "a wonderful bonding experience" and believes "I invested my time as a dad really well here."

That investment didn't include only this year's ride.  Two years ago, they started their journey but had to bail when Shepherd, then 7 years old, kept on getting headaches.  He was diagnosed with diabetes.  This year, though, neither he nor his father would allow it, or anything else to deter them.

James and Shepherd Colver.  Family handout.

Now he's reunited with his mother, who now has a son who's done something not many other kids his age can claim.  That just might be enough to convince her to increase his allowance!