Once more around the island, Guv'nor

This afternoon I rode around Manhattan. From my apartment I rode west. Past the West Side Highway, I turned south, following the Hudson River. I rode past a trapeez school and a skate park before I ran into Battery Park. Biking along the tip of Manhattan, I passed the National Musem of the American Indian and the ferry slips pointing towards Staten and Governor's Islands. I listened to Erlend Oye's DJ Kicks compilation.

I rode past the South Street Seaport and Fulton Fish Market, the smell of the sea wafting over the island. I rode under the FDR and the Brooklyn Bridge. Heading north along the East River Esplanade I passed fishermen casting their long poles into the water. Brooklyn loomed on the opposite bank.

Near the UN, I was forced back onto the streets before I could return to the river at 54th street. A pedestrian bridge crossed the highway and put me back on the path. A few blocks up I was forced to walk the bike up a flight of stairs (a metal gutter ran along the side of the steps with which to wheel the bike up). I emerged onto a raised park. A lighthouse marked the edge of Brooklyn and the start of Queens. I continued northward. I listened to Interpol's new album Antics.

At 96th street I crossed over to the west side, taking my time to navigate Central Park. I biked up to 110th Street, passing Lasker Pool. I biked north on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard through Harlem before realizing I had to take a left to make it back to the Hudson River. The buildings lining the wide swath of asphalt shone proudly in the late afternoon sun.

I biked south through Riverside Park, passing sailboats moored in the river. The sun was setting; its reflection stretched in the water. I listened to Wilco's A Ghost is Born, passing parks and cafes and, further south, the Intrepid and the helipads from which the helicopter tours of New York are run. Passing Chelsea Piers, I knew I was almost home. An LCD screen taunted me with a Coke advertisement.

At Clarkson I turned off the bike path, heading for Seventh Avenue. I turned south and then east on Spring. Con Edison had blocked off the block past Thompson and so I turned with the rest of the traffic, dismounting as I rode up onto the sidewalk. As I parked the bike, Xiaoming called. Posted by eku at July 11, 2004 3:35 AM