A Carpet Under Me, A Canopy Above Me

Sometimes everything is just right...

I love the sun, but the best riding conditions for melanin-deficient folks like me are the ones I had on Friday, when I pedaled to Point Lookout.  It's what one often experiences in coastal areas:  thick, heavy, puffy clouds that cast shadows across the sky but pose no threat of rain.  They even break, now and again, for rays of sunlight--or just to give a peek at opaque blue windows.

The temperature held steady at around 21C (70F), with just enough wind to feel at my back on the way out and in my face on the way back.  I would have preferred that the wind was blowing the other way, but it didn't do much to slow or tire me on my way back.   I feel I could pedal all day, every day, in such conditions.

Of course, it helped that I was astride Dee-Lilah, my new Mercian Vincitore Special.  She's like a magic carpet:  so quick and so comfortable.  I also don't mind that guys on carbon and titanium bikes were complimenting her!

I really was lucky.  I mean, having such a great bike and conditions at the same time:  Who could ask for more?

When Passing Other Cyclists....

It's one thing when motorists cut us off, swear at us or otherwise behave badly.

It irks me even more, though, when cyclists are inconsiderate toward each other.

With that in mind, some folks in Merrie Olde England have made a video about something only they can teach us:  How To Be A Gentleman/Lady Cyclists.



Most of the suggestions are commonsensical:  pointing out road hazards, giving a boost to someone who's lagging and helping out with repairs. I had to laugh, though, at the bit about sharing food--including Pringles!  And, after offering suggestions in that oh-so-British understated way, we're told that, ahem, we shouldn't pass wind as we pass each other.

Oh, and don't forget to bring your wallet!

Offering An Illusion Of Safety

Sometimes there just isn't a better way.

I am reminded of that whenever I ride along the North Shore of Long Island and eastern Queens.  The area offers much, from mansions and country clubs with the Gatsby vibe to picturesque towns like Roslyn (where, incidentally, Gabriela Mistral--the first Latin American and fifth woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature--spent her last few years) as well as tidal wetlands, beaches, bird sanctuaries--and cliffs.  Best of all, there are actually some nice roads for cycling and a few bike lanes, including one that winds along the bay near Udall's Cove Park. 

Cyclist riding on Northern Boulevard near the Little Neck Bay bridge

The problem is in getting there from my part of Queens.  I know a few decent routes that will get me to Bayside, about 20 kilometers from my apartment.  Little Neck Bay, an arm of the Sound, reaches into the neighborhood, and you have to cross it in order to get from Bayside to Little Neck and Nassau County.  Oh, I could get around that body of water if I take a detour southward--one which I actually don't mind, as there are some quiet side streets and a rather nice park (Alley Pond) along the way.  I don't mind, as long as I have enough time or am not trying to stay ahead of rain I didn't anticipate before my ride.


But if you want to go directly from western Queens, where I live (just across from Manhattan), there is only one choice if you don't want to swim or take the Long Island Railroad:  Ride the Route 25A, a.k.a. Northern Boulevard, bridge over Little Neck Bay.  

Northern Boulevard is a four-lane road.  For most of its length, at least in Queens and Nassau County, it is a commercial thoroughfare,  which means that it is heavily trafficked.  But even where it cuts through parks and nature preserves-- as it does on either side of the Bay bridge-- there is little if any respite from the traffic because, as it happens, highway exit and entrance ramps veer from and merge with the road near the bridge.

At 6:30 on a summer morning almost two years ago, 78-year-old Michael Schenkman was cycling eastward, in the direction of the bridge--ironically, on his way to the nearby Joe Michaels Mile Bike Path.   A black Chevrolet Impala traveling in the same direction on Northern collided with Schenkman, who died shortly afterward.  The driver, to his credit, remained at the scene.

223rd Street and Northern Boulevard, where Michael Schenkman was killed

After the crash, the city's Department of Transportation came up with a plan to create a bike lane on the north side of the bridge by taking out a lane of traffic.  The local community board approved it, but changed its mind just as the DOT was beginning to work on it last September.  Tomorrow, members of that board will march along the side of the bike lane project.  They--led by State Senator Tony Avella--want the DOT to scrap the lane and, instead, expand the width of the sidewalk so that it can be shared by cyclists and pedestrians.

As someone who has pedaled that stretch of Northern Boulevard dozens of times, I can say that those folks probably aren't cyclists it would be a terrible idea for everyone.  First of all, no one quite knows how wide the sidewalk would have to be in order to accommodate both cyclists and pedestrians--and whether it would mean new construction or taking out another lane of traffic. Either way, it would probably cost more than what board members claim--or, for that matter, the DOT's project.

Worse, though, is that the sidewalk crosses a highway exit ramp.  It's bad enough when pedestrians have to walk into the crosswalk with cars streaming on the ramp; I can only imagine the consequences if cyclists and pedestrians are forced to share that crosswalk!

Some experienced cyclists (like me) who are familiar with the area have learned how to at least minimize the risks while riding along the bridge and Northern Boulevard.  A shared sidewalk would give less-experienced cyclists (and those unfamiliar with the area) the illusion of safety, which can be worse than any hazard of the road.