Up North and a Secret

Yesterday's ride was awesome.  I went with a guy named Frank who I met at open studios last week.  He is a good rider and forced me to push myself big time.  We began in Brooklyn and took the Brooklyn Bridge to get to the West Side Greenway.  The bridge at 10:00 AM was, as expected, extremely miserable.  To add to the misery, though, was some sort of large scale walk.  That means there were hordes of clueless people merging in and out of the bike lane and making riding straight up dangerous.  That bridge is truly the worst crossing in the city.  The only problem is that getting to that bikeway on the west side is so easy via that damn bridge.  Then it was off to upper Manhattan and the Bronx.  I hadn't ridden in the Bronx in years and used to love it!  There are nice rolling hills and you actually realize how much of that borough is really interesting and unique.  Onwards north, though to Yonkers, Westchester county, baby!  Yes, Yonkers where there is a secret to be found.  I'm not sure I want to share that secret, but it looks like this for miles:

There is so much lush greenery here.  It is paved and goes on for 36 fucking miles.  We didn't even ride all that much of it, but need to make a return trip with an earlier start to tackle it and complete a round trip.  That would pretty much equal an entire century.  So yesterday's long ride added up to be 65 miles in total.  I added another 10 to that through the evening so got to a nice 75 logged on Saturday.  If you do discover where this secret begins in Yonkers, please keep it on the DL.  It is worth keeping quiet about so it doesn't get all that crowded.  These riding days are dwindling and need to get back there before they disappear all together for the year.

Wha?

I almost bought this tonight. Really????

Sick Ride Haikus

Fever Broke at 2.
After work laps in the park,
more snot and coughing.

2 AM, no sweat.
A feeling of happiness.
A ride, then grading.

Slogging through essays
isn't as bad anymore
when there's more to do.

17mph,
averaged, feeling shitty.
A moment of good.

Pendelum

Yesterday was one of those days that began with such strong feelings of accomplishment.  I woke up to knowing I clocked 94 miles in all, tackled 2500 feet of ascents and met some cool people as well.  Yet, the day continued in a dreadful manner right after those thoughts passed.  I was supposed to do another 20 mile ride, but had to cancel due to sinuses.  Then, the cough and shivers appeared.  I managed to clean my apartment and made it over to a friend's apartment to catch Breaking Bad and then retuned home coughing in fits.  Oh yeah, BB was so fucked up last night and might need its own entry.  Man, what a tough episode to watch.

The idea of being on such a high and then falling down so quickly is a blow.  I took the day off today and have been in that stage of perpetual sleep and waking up to only find myself returning to bed.  It is that kind of sick where you can't really even read anything; the crossword puzzle doesn't even sound appealing.  At the time of typing this, I normally would have done a few laps around the park, eaten lunch and graded a few papers before my first class at 2:00.  Instead, I'm stuck with my computer and trying not to fall asleep.  48 hours ago, I just finished crossing the George Washington Bridge on my bike.  It is a dramatic swing and one I don't really need right now.  It is also torturous to look out the window and see this September day go to waste.

When you get sick and you feel like shit, the depression and sadness that has been kept at bay creep up and seem to begin to mock you in a way.  They have you and know you have nowhere to go.  This swing needs to be short-lived and return to the place it had been for the past few months regarding rides and serenity on that track.  My fingers are crossed; hoping this day of rest will get me back on track by tomorrow.

C'mon pendulum, swing back!

A Haiku for Rockland County

To Rockland County,

thank you for not killing me. 

I'll recall your hills.