June 2, 2007. Riding to Coney Island.
A haiku:
And sometimes you are just too tired to ride home.
Hot, sunny, sweaty,
Riding bikes in NYC,
Exhilarated, free.
Ok maybe not, but riding is one of the best things about summer. No trains needed, only two legs and two wheels and you can get to anywhere you want in the city.
Coney Island. The perfect destination. A great ride—first through the industrial waterfront area on 1st and 2nd Avenue between Park Slope and Bay Ridge. It's like a time warp just to ride down the cobblestone streets, over now defunct train tracks, past giant warehouses and factories, beautiful in scale and the patina of bricks who've endured decades of soot and wind and salt from the East River. There are still working garment factories over here and you can see Chinese women milling around on lunch break and I always wonder what life must be like for them and how different it is from workers of a generation ago, or even three. Probably not much.
Riding past you end up in the Belt Parkway Bike Path, pedaling alongside the East River (which is not actually a river). There are fisherman lining the path, catching what they can for a good meal later on. This guy caught four and let me snap this shot right after he caught one. This takes you straight to Coney Island (or at least what's left of it). Always a good time once you get there.
And sometimes you are just too tired to ride home.
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