The Crisis Takes Manhattan

Today’s ride started significantly later than I had originally planned – I have no one to blame but myself. I was certainly up earlier enough and I was partaking in the continental breakfast by 7:15 – side note, there were no Frosted Flakes so I had to settle for Froot Loops. The delayed departure was the result of post-breakfast activities. Actually, just one activity.

As has become the norm, I didn’t know how far I would be going today nor which route I would be taking. Well, the former wasn’t decided until much later in the day, but the latter was determined after breakfast. My route south required me to somehow get across the Hudson River. It turns out that doing so is significantly easier on a weekday. When I first realized I’d be biking in/near/around New York on a Sunday I was rather pleased with my timing – figuring there would be less traffic. What I hadn’t considered was the lack of ferry service on the weekend. This lack of service would greatly affect my route.

Instead of taking the ferry from Pier 11 across to Paulus Hook, New Jersey, I was going to have to go all the way up to the George Washington Bridge and then come all the way back down on the other side. A detour of about 25km. And the worst part wasn’t the 25km. The worst part was the number of traffic lights along the way – and yes, most of them were red. The combination of having to stop constantly for either red lights or to check the map to see where Google wanted me to turn (it wasn’t a particularly straight route) made for a very long trip. It took nearly three hours to get to the bridge.

Despite the long detour (both in distance and time) I have to admit that I’m glad I did it. While I didn’t see the Statue of Liberty nor Times Square, I did cycle past the home of the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows Corona Park – had I been there a week ago I could’ve gone! I also saw the Unisphere at the same park. Believe it or not I almost pedalled right past the Unisphere without even seeing it because I was so focused on figuring out where Google was sending me.

Crossing the George Washington Bridge was also much nicer than I expected. I didn’t mention it earlier but the rain that blew in yesterday afternoon and stayed long into the night had moved on leaving a beautiful sunny day behind. I don’t know how much of an effect it had on the number of cyclists on the bridge but there were a lot of them. Seriously, a LOT. Some travelling alone, some in packs. Either way, there was a steady stream of cyclists the entire way across the bridge. I was the only one with fully loaded panniers though.

It was also on the bridge that I found myself repairing another flat tire. Fortunately, it wasn’t my tire this time. I had stopped to take a picture or two from the point on the bridge where the sidewalk widens out for a bit of a lookout area. Shortly thereafter a woman coming the other way stopped on the other side of said lookout area. Her stop was not for a photo. I casually observed as she inspected her bike – I think she was trying to convince herself that she didn’t have a flat tire. I asked her if she needed a hand and she said her husband was coming along shortly. I figured that was the end of the story and prepared to continue my ride.

Her husband arrived moments later and it was pretty obvious that he wasn’t prepared to deal with a flat tire. Once again, I asked if they needed help. It was kind of funny actually. The woman seemed to think that trying to fix it on the spot seemed like a good idea. On the other hand, the husband seemed very determined to have her take (ie. carry) her bike the rest of the way over the bridge to some unknown bike shop on the other side – even though another cyclist told them the only bike shop nearby was on the other side of the bridge. It was also a bit funny that her husband had a spare tube and tire levers but apparently no interest in using them.

Not wanting to force my assistance on them, I casually offered to help one last time. This time the woman won and moments later I was removing the rear wheel. It certainly wasn’t the fastest tire change in cycling history but I think it went pretty well. Unlike my own flat tires, I was even able to determine the cause of her flat when I pulled a small staple out of her tire. Now, the traffic on the bridge was very noisy so I couldn’t hear every bit of their conversations but I think I heard the husband tell his wife that the staple might not have been the cause of her flat tire. I had no comment. I had many thoughts, but no comment. About ten minutes after starting the repair, her bike was once again functional – at least I hoped so.

I returned to my bike and continued my way across the bridge.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful but based on my late departure, the traffic lights, and the flat tire assistance I knew my goal of making it to Princeton were no longer reasonable. It was 5:00 and I was still 50km away. I needed a new plan. A quick WiFi stop at Dunkin Donuts revealed what the new plan would be.

I found a reasonably priced place to stay that was about 25km away in Edison. I knew there would be more traffic lights to cope with but I figured I could get there by 7:30 – while there was still some daylight left.

The new plan worked out pretty seamlessly – even with all the red lights slowing my progress. The downside to staying in Edison instead of Princeton is that it makes for a slightly longer day tomorrow as I make my push towards Philadelphia. Hopefully an early departure tomorrow will make Philadelphia reachable by late afternoon.

Today’s Totals:
Distance travelled: 100.89km
Time on bike: 5:26:40
Average speed: 18.51 km/h

Even though my “Time on bike” was only 5.5 hours, my travel time was closer 8.5 hours – that’s a lot of red lights!