First timer in Central Park

September 27^th, 2015

           

            Today, for the first time in my 6 years of living in here New York City, I went on a bike ride. Now, I’ve learned myself from growing up in Long Island, but riding a bicycle in NYC can be one challenging task. Personally I don’t even feel safe driving a regular car in the city because of the natural up-tempo personalities people have; which can cause danger when put behind the wheel. Now to combine hectic drivers with cyclists on the same city streets, is just calling for a disaster to happen. I’m okay with mass transit. All it takes is one pedestrian to wave his or her hand – the summoning for a taxi – and a cab will dart, perpendicular to traffic, across 3 lanes, sending a harmless cyclist on a nice trip to the emergency room. But today, I figured (also because it’s required for class) let me go for a bike ride. I found a rental agency online located on East 55^th Street, where I was able to get bike and head over to Central Park. Leaving the rental shop was a little nerve-racking as it was my first time on a city street with a bike, on top of that the associate at the bike rental couldn’t give me a firm answer on when the bike was last serviced so the brakes could’ve given out right in the middle of 6^th avenue – Nice. But I began to feel comfortable after a couple of peddles in. It was only a few blocks to the park, and there was bike lane most of the way, but on 6^th avenue I had to merge into regular traffic with cars and taxis. Unfortunately – because of the value I have on my life – I wasn’t able to capture a photo of the exciting scene of biking through traffic.

I made it to the park! I’ve always thought of Central Park as a cool and tranquil attraction that everyone should try and escape to, but after experiencing a bike ride along the paths, it is now a must-do. 9am on a Sunday and the Park was loaded with people. For most on bikes, like myself, it was a time to just glide and take in the scenery; others decided this is where they’re going to train for the Tour de France. I had to pay close attention for a zipping sound – which would indicate someone was on bike approaching me at a very high speed – in order to make a safe turn. I may have lost the ability to do a wheelie, but being on the bike took me back to the memories of being younger when I would stay out of the house for hours, care-free. After one big lap around the park, I decided to take my trip back to the regular streets as I still had two hours left of my rental. I ended up on Park Avenue where the view was incredible of simple non-extravagant building architecture.

 This bike ride seems to be the start of a new routine I may now incorporate into my Sunday mornings. I look forward to take advantage of the comfortable weather as it is here.