Back on the Saddle!

I hadn't really done a major bike ride since my bike accident last May. The Trek 7000 had sort of officially been in mothballs, while I'd been using the beater Trek for the errand runs and general whatnot. I can't really lock the 7000 on the street in Manhattan - it'll vanish in seconds - which makes it impractical for everyday use. Right before the wreck I'd been doing a little training for the Montauk Century - a 120 mile ride from downtown all the way to Montauk Point. I'd never done this ride, so it seemed like a good idea, and I was in decent shape at the time, but ...... there's always next year. After the accident I stayed off the bike until I got back from the DB mini-tour, just to be safe. Plus, Earl Slick vowed to shoot me if I DID get on a bike. I did manage to scare him sufficiently when I turned up for rehearsal on a Razor Scooter.

I rode all summer after that, just going to and from Sear Sound on 48th St. with the occasional ride to Battery Park, Central Park or over the Brooklyn Bridge. Still, I felt pretty insecure out on the road for most of the summer, so I didn't push it. A week or two ago I took the plunge and did the Coney Island run, which went well. I took all the bike paths and took my time. I was amazed at how out-of-practice I had become when it came to dealing with cars and traffic - I figured I was a battle hardened NYC biker after 13 years, and a couple of months out of it wouldn't dent that. Wrong.

Last Friday I decided to do the run to White Plains. I usually take the East Side, go through the Bronx and lower Westchester, and end up at my fathers' house at the top of a large hill in Hartsdale. The weather was fantastic, I'd completed any little errands that needed to be done, so I thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity before I thought it over too much. It's anywhere from 20-25 miles depending on who you ask (and I've never consciously figured out how long it is, so don't ask me) and in the past it would take me around two and a half hours, with drink stops and all.

So I was off. Tires, water bottle and tools all checked out, I set off from the East Village around 4:30 and headed straight into traffic on 1st Avenue, then over to Sutton Pl./York Avenue. Usually, I'd go over to Carl Schurz Park once I get into the East 70's, but the traffic on York was pretty minimal so I went with the flow. Same thing when I hit 96th - usually I'd be on the river path, getting off around 120th St. to get on the Willis Avenue Bridge at 125th St. This time I took a peek over at First Avenue, and it was pretty calm so I went with it. The only hazards I encountered on this stretch of 1st Avenue were kids on .... Razor Scooters! The Willis Avenue Bridge was in fine shape - they finally adapted the curb for wheelchair access, so I could zip right on it without popping a wheelie (though I certainly couldn't imagine anyone on the Willis Avenue Bridge on a wheelchair). Plus, it's usually littered with glass and other pointy, sharp debris, but it had been recently cleaned so it was a cinch. Traffic was backed up for days, so I zipped right over and darted through cars on the Bronx side with little hassle.

The Bronx is a pretty straight run - straight on Willis Avenue, which turns into Melrose, which turns into Webster, which leads right to the city line. I've taken other routes, which lead though the eastern part of the Bronx and Bronx Little Italy (always a nice rest stop), but this is the most direct way, and I wasn't sure how long it would take me. Again, kids on Razor Scooters . . such a worldwide phenomenon this. I've seen them in France and London, and I'm told they're in Japan as well - somebody had a good idea.

People are out on the sidewalk, it's late Friday afternoon so men are gathered around tables playing dominoes with their small brown paper bags (for those not familiar with NYC laws, you're not allowed to drink beer on a public street, so people get around this by putting it in a small bag to conceal it). Another NYC practice - hanging out on the stoop - is in full bloom this late afternoon in early autumn. The strains of the Mr. Softee ice cream truck - probably one of the last weekends they'll be out on the streets - fill the air around 149th Street. Once I was noodling on the Mr. Softee song in rehearsal - if you've ever lived in New York, you know this little ditty - when our mixer Steve Guest informed me it was actually 'Barnacle Bill the Sailor', which I didn't know...... (This also shows where I'm at - other musicians quote from Mozart, Lennon, or Charlie Parker, whereas I conjure up the ice cream truck or 'Leave it to Beaver'.....)

I remember last year I got accidentally 'doored' by a bus in this part of the Bronx. People had always told me how dangerous the Bronx was, and I shouldn't ride through this part of town or I'd be target practice for drug dealers (and I'm told EVERYONE is a drug dealer, even the children....HA!). But when I had that accident several people came to my aid, which is a lot more than I can say for any time I'd had an accident in Manhattan, including the recent one. I've never felt in danger in this part of town, or any part of the Bronx for that matter. If anyone has any good suggestions for Bronx rides, I'm all ears.

Once I hit the city line, it's still a straight run. Webster Avenue turns into Bronx River Road, which runs alongside the Bronx River Parkway, Metro North trains, and (surprise) the Bronx River. The first town to go through is Yonkers, which is quite a long haul. Next is Bronxville, where you finally get off of the straight run and detour through the village, go under the train tracks, and get on the bike path along the Bronx River Parkway. Another straight run all the way to Scarsdale, when you run out of bike path and get on a couple of different side streets. By this time the sky has begun to dim somewhat - it's been around two hours now, and the sun has dipped below the treeline. By the time I hit the Hartsdale village it's full-on dusk, and the final leg looms - climbing the huge hill up Hartsdale Avenue. I always hated that hill when I was growing up around there, as I could never get my bike up it without getting off to walk at least part of it.

Now, even with no training and very few recent rides - the AIDS rides seem to have provided me with some sort of core residual fitness - I was able to get up the entire hill with no complaints. I never figured I'd be in better shape at 38 than in my teens.