The New York Times has launched a column devoted to urban cycling (not, they earnestly claim, an oxymoron). Mind you, the streets of Manhattan, especially lower Manhattan below 14th St, were designed for horses, not cars--much less bikes. Nevertheless, cars have certainly found their...ahem, niche. And now we are going to squeeze bicycles into the roiling mass of delivery vans lurching forward--then slamming on the brakes--in gridlocked crosstown traffic. It's been years, but I can still hear the choruses of lusty curses at each new delay. He who hesitates ends up on 6th Ave, heading north. And God help you if you try to turn left in the next 40 blocks.
Anyway, I'm always thrilled to read stories from other grizzled veterans. Apparently, New Yorkers discovered bikes during the gas spike last year and the NYT has taken notice.
Why, you ask, should Manhattan biking interest me if I ride in Peoria or Tehran or Seoul (see map on right)? Well, to paraphrase Frank Sinatra, "If I can cycle there, I'll cycle anywhere."
I'll be reading the column, for sure. Might have to stay away from the comments, though, as that section is inexplicably filled with overwrought bike hate.
ReplyDeleteDottie,
ReplyDelete"Overwrought" is a conversational gambit there. As Erica Jung said, "Why is every conversation in my home conducted at the highest possible volume?"