Cycling Across America #4
Part 4 of the series of snippets following my attempt at cycling alone across America exactly ten years ago. If you’re new to the series you can read from the start in Boston on August 2, 1996.
Today’s excerpt is another from the audio taped parts of the journal, so it’s long - the handwritten entries are a lot shorter - honest! Ten years ago today, on August 5, 1996, many hours after leaving Connecticut, I was looking out a window and speaking to a microphone:
Monday night. New York City. In and around ten I think, I’m not sure.
Quite a day. Absolutely exhilarating. Cycling, into New York state and ultimately into Mid-town Manhattan where I am now. Right through the Bronx, which is just fantastic, and then right through Harlem, which was also but not as much because it was smaller, and finally you’re in Central Park. Cycling down Fifth Avenue, and Third Avenue, and Second Avenue.
Always thought the best way to see New York City for the first time would be from the water, but it would be hard to better today’s experience. It was as if the buildings slowly grew with me as I progressed through the day. They got bigger and bigger, almost as if they were rising up to meet me, until finally you’re in midtown Manhattan and you are embraced by skyscrapers in a giant welcoming hug from one of the world’s great cities.
Connecticut was odd. Thought I’d follow small roads parallel to Route 1 because I assumed it would be dangerously heavy with commuting traffic. It was deserted. So I took it most of the way. The commuting traffic was all on I-95, stuck, or crawling. I could see it often as I whizzed along faster on the large and empty Route 1.Coming in through the Bronx there was an area which would’ve been - oh it was huge and it went on for maybe forty five minutes - 100% black. With the exceptions of people inside cars - and ya couldn’t really see inside cars - I was the only white person around. But you had to stop and think about that. Probably after the first two minutes I didn’t.
There was a buzz, a vibrancy, a vitality off the place. There was music everywhere. An old man crossing eased up to let me through and as I went past said,
-Have a good ride!
In the middle of a city this big, that’s kinda nice.Before I came into the Bronx, in New York State, you hear zzzzhhhh, the window goes down beside you and the driver shouts across the passenger, presumably his wife,
-Where you headed? Florida?
-South, and then West. California
And then the lights went green.I don’t think I’ve ever been as dirty on the bike as I was when I got in here. Just the sheer filth that I picked up coming through, not here - it’s clean here in Mid-town - but coming through the Bronx mostly - it stinks. It stinks like China smelt. Smog everywhere. My face was black. It was almost impressive.
There’s great views going across the Third Avenue bridge because you’re basically looking at loads of other bridges. They’re just fabulous. In fact you can see the Brookyln Bridge as well, the angle - I must check that on the map.
And what a surprise when I get here. I’m up on the 42nd floor. Fair enough, so is an awful lot of New York - but there’s no buildings immediately around. So the view is staggering, despite the mist. It’s dark now but there’s still quite a tremendous view.
You’re looking at all of Mid-town - it’s just there, sitting up. You can see straight down 60th Street at the south end of Central Park. Let’s see, we’re on West 60th Street so I can see the east on the far side straight over to the edge of the island. I can see all of Central Park, running right up and ending on the far side.
You can see across the other side, across the Hudson on over to Jersey and the way I’d like to go tomorrow. You can see all the piers down there - which I’d like to go to also. You can see the World Trade Centre and of course the Empire State Bulding. Just there. Right there.
You could see an awful lot more earlier when it wasn’t so hazy and was brighter. The Statue of Liberty, Staten Island. My friend never told me he lived this high, and it never occurred to me to think I’d be getting views as well as accomodation.
Let’s go outside, will we? There’s a balcony up here as well. Get a load of that. Forty two storeys up. I’m scared of heights - I don’t like touching this railing. It’s just traffic. It actually sounds a lot worse than it is. Oh my God! My legs tremble. I don’t like this at all. Fantastic view. It’s so lovely and cool. There’s barges out there on the Hudson. I don’t know all the buildings so I can’t help ya. Let’s go in.
Once you get through the Bronx and Harlem you’re into tidier streets, shall we say streets that don’t stink so much. It’s actually quite easy. And I was still shown courtesy by several cars, both in the rougher outskirts and down here in Mid-town - and by taxi drivers as well, who would stop and let me do whatever. But you can’t really go wrong on a grid system.
Spent hours in the MOMA until it closed. Afterwards just walked about gridlike for ages, backwards and forwards, up and down between here - which is between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues - and went over as far as Fourth Avenue, and just kinda combed the ones in between, the various streets from - I went down to about 50th and up to about 65th. Just zig-zagged. Looked at a lot of restaurants and finally ate in a bad one. Over ate.
I went through nineteen thousand traffic lights today and they slow you down drastically, which is why if I have to go back on myself at all tomorrow, those lights are going to slow me down, and it doesn’t matter if I’m going at five in the morning or ten in the morning, traffic lights are going to be red and I’m going to have to stop. Though no other cyclist here stops.
Cyclists don’t stop. Even going straight through junctions, never mind going right or at a t-junction. And in-line skaters also don’t stop. It’s quite impressive to watch them - do a swerve and go straight through on red. Enjoyed watching them speed through Central Park also.
Em, problem. How to get out of this place. I’m supposed to be in Philadelphia tomorrow evening. Spoke to some girl in my friend’s place. Said I’d be there at five, maybe seven. Not a chance in hell I’ll be there at five. There might be a chance in hell I’ll be there at seven.
But there are problems. Bridges, ferries, tunnels, islands, construction, permits. So I’m spending a lot of times peering at maps and drinking tea. The plan - because I keep coming up with plans - what I’m thinking of is a taxi. A taxi through a tunnel.
There’s the radio. Let’s higher this up a little bit:
-the channel forecast. Clear skies, low 72 tonight. Sunshine and humid tomorrow, 89. Sunshine hot 88 for Wednesday. Wilting 73 at 77 at PLJ World Headquarters.
-Danny Knights here, hello
-Hi
-This is trivia. How long would the TV show ‘Baywatch’ be if you took out all the shots with bathing suits in them ?
-Forty Two minutes ?
-Oh forty two minutes ! That’s how long it is once you take out the commercials. Well thanks for trying. Hello.-Hi
-What do you think ?
-Five minutes ?
-That’s right ((applause)) Put a stopwatch on it next week and see.
-Are you serious ?
-I’m dead serious.
-Oh my God that’s crazy.
-And I’m also very serious that I’ve tickets here for you and a guest. James Taylor at the Garden State Arts Centre tomorrow night. And dinner before the show.
-That’s great !-More commercial free music with Alanis Morrisette and The Police coming up on PLJ
Read the next stage of cycling across America
Read from the beginning of the Cycle Across America
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