The Bar at the End of the Cycle

In the picture to the left, you can see my bike, sitting tranquilly outside the large, friendly windows of Little Giant, a nice little cafe in the Lower East Side. Yet this post is not really about Little Giant, it's about what it took to get my bike there.

According to Google Maps, the shortest route from my house to this spot would have been about six and a half miles. To get there, you need to go through Park Slope and Downtown Brooklyn, cross the Manhattan Bridge, and then navigate through a bit of Chinatown. (Of course, the shortest possible route does not include riding under the Williamsburg Bridge, yet I managed to do that...)

Previously, I hadn't gone anywhere further than Park Slope, so my longest ride was likely three, maybe four miles. But I figured it was worth it to try and brave the wind and my out-of-shapeness to see if I could make it to Manhattan. And I did, and felt reasonably good about it. As a reward, I stopped at Little Giant for a glass of a very nice (and expensive!) French white, and some water, then unlocked my bike to ride back...and felt like my underwear had been replaced by 120 grit sandpaper.

I won't describe in excruciating detail the ride home. Suffice it to say that it was a very gratifying moment when I reached the high point of the bridge going home, and I was able to coast back onto Brooklyn soil. I did need to stop at Miracle Grill in Park Slope for a little more liquid fortitude, but I managed to make it home.

I'm not sure when I will next attempt a ride into Manhattan, but the views and the pride of achievement made me know I'll do it again at some point. Maybe after I invest in a cushier bike seat.

Photo Tour - 15 Minutes on Bond Street

One of the reasons why I have been so neglectful of my blogging has been the recent acquisition of a new Nikon D40 SLR. Last Friday was a dreary grey day, but I still set out to take some photos. Here is what I took from Bond Street, Soho on a 15 minute camera tour.

This is at the corner of Bond and Broadway (I think).

Just a taste of the graffiti there was to behold...just me and Teddy taking it in.

The windows had some of the coolest things...this was a mod 60's wall hanging in front of a mirror.

"...and everything looks good in black and white."

New York Happiness (Part 2)

With my bike getting snatched yesterday, a couple of disturbing car keying incidents, and some smaller stuff that has just made me feel out of place and less than happy in my own skin, a large part of my day has been spent dealing with problems and trying to avoid punching someone. So you'd think today's crappy, rainy weather would just make things worse. And yet, I had a really good day. 

A bit was work related, but a few other things happened that made things seem better. First, I had the growing realization that despite what I think is a less than ideal incoming President, the world has not and will not end, and that I should know better than to fret about the future of the country when EVERY election since I've been old enough to notice had been described as crucial to the future of the country. And Dubya has made an art of screwing things up without any major parts of the nation slipping into the

 sea or being ceded to Canada.

But most of my buoyant mood has to do with the city I now live in, and

 it's subtle, everyday charms. Like the way Grand Central looks in the drizzle, with the Chrysler Building looming in the background. Or the way umbrellas bob up and down to avoid the hats and faces of the pedestrians walking in the other direction. Or visiting the New York Public Library for the first time, and seeing architecture and art that would fit nicely in a European metropolis, but is just steps from where I exit the subway every morning.

This city bestows life and opportunity in ways other places simply cannot. Even if my time here is relatively short, how I think and see the world will be permanently enriched by it. I am so, so glad to be in New York.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly in Park Slope

Sadly, I'm Kimless for most of this week. Which means, among other things, that I have to feed myself. So I've been eating a lot of hamburgers and hot dogs, until I said to myself, "Geez, I need to get out of the house." So, feeling frisky, I went out to one of my new favorite places here in Brooklyn, the Dram Shop, and had...a hamburger. But it was a damn good burger.

The Dram Shop is officially the Good part of this post. The food is spectacular (that was a good bleeping burger), the atmosphere is congenial, it has a pool table, and the beer selection is quite good. (Love that Sierra Nevada on tap.) 

I'd probably have more to say, but then the bad happened: I walked out after a few beers and my burger to find my bike, which I've only had for a few months, was mysteriously unattached from the bike rack I had chained it to. After walking confusedly up and down the block a few times, I managed to convince myself that it was indeed stolen.  Fortunately, among its many other virtues, the Dram shop is only a few blocks from a subway in both directions, so it wasn't much of a problem to get home. 

As for the ugly? Well, the ugly would be the Obama-loving dude sitting next to me at the bar. As beautiful as the mullet-moustache combination is, I gotta say that I was very surprised he had female companionship. But I appreciate the guy...anyone who makes me look that good by comparison is always welcome at the bars I frequent.