Death and Taxis

Cranky Pants is back.

She has not reared her head in quite some time but she is here today. Hopefully she just has a day pass.

I know why she showed up but it the 22 mile bike ride into New Jersey that sealed today's fate.

She appeared in the middle night disguised as patella tendinitis. (The onslaught of injuries has begun.) It’s a bitch when you can't straighten your leg and awful when you do it in the middle of the night in your sleep that wakes you up.

Add an icky conversation with The Husband. It was not about us but something happening to both of us (cryptic I know but not the place to discuss) and we have the perfect storm for cranky pants to appear.

My bike ride today did not make my mood any better.

I headed up Riverside Drive. I was looking at the Athlete's guide for the tri and it heads up the west side highway into the Bronx and makes the first turn at Mosholu Parkway. I figure what better way to train than to stick to the actual course as much as possible.

I knew that I would not be able to take the actual course much past the GWB. So instead of trying to head into the Bronx on major highways (which would be stupid and illegal), I head into NJ. Every week I see masses of riders heading that way and I have heard many great things about the rolling hills and scenery up that way. HA!

Once I crossed the bridge my ride was all downhill (pun intended). I go to to the end of Hudson Terrace in Englewood Cliffs. The only reason I know where I was is because of the GPS on my heart rate monitor. Once I reached the end of the road, I was not quite sure which way to go. My instinct said left but my head said right. I stood there for a few minutes trying to figure out the signs (like I said, I was in NJ). Then I saw a scenic drive to my right. How bad could that be? I got close enough to see the sign NO BICYCLES.

Fine! I keep going on the road. I can still see there is potential for nice scenery until I realize I am headed onto the Palisade Parkway. Yikes! I knew I needed to get out of there and just as the road turns there a two cops standing in the middle of the road. I think ok good I will turn around at them and they can help me, the cop catches my eye and says no, don't go this way.

And this is why people hate cops: I nodded at the cop to let him know I had no intention of going any further, unclipped and pulled over so I could turn around. He starts yelling at me!

You can't go this way. I assured him I had no intention and I just realized this way the highway and I am turning around. He says, why didn't you turn around back there, I say because I just realized this way the highway and thought it would be safer to turn around at you. He says, why didn't you turn around back there if you knew it way the highway. OMG I want to kill him. (I am already cranky I don’t need any stupidity to help my mood)  I turn around, told him he didn't need to be such a jerk about it and went on my way.

I wound up going up the road where I had wanted to go in the first place. Talk about rolling hills?! I went from a -2% grade to 11% grade. Put it this way. My HR went from 93BPM to 144 BPM in 2.5 minutes. I was very happy to be at the top of that one. From what I remember on the way down, that is the last of the nasty hills. But we still have the ride home.

There was no one car that exasperated my mood, it was 10 cars. It started with a minivan making a left off the highway into a parking lot, almost taking me out. Ahhhh, Suburbia!

Back into Manhattan onto Broadway which is the only way to get back to Riverside Drive. The traffic is tricky, both a cop (protect & serve!) and taxi driver (annoy and be smelly) cut me off. Down Riverside. Not horrible but mind you, I am on high alert.  One or two cars pulling in or out and a truck here and there until I get to Midtown. Coming down West End Ave near 61st Street, a woman come screaming out of her parking spot into traffic causing me to slam on my brakes. I nearly slam into the back of her car. She didn't look and she did not signal. She is the only one that came very close to killing me today, and she heard about.

There is a common tread among NY drivers and that is to not signal. I cannot read your mind. If you do not tell me which direction you are going, I will not know. Please do not make me guess.

One other thing you should know about riding in the city is the buses. Along Riverside it’s the M5. I am faster than the bus but they seem to speed up when a bicycle passes them.

I am hoping this mood won't last the day. That would be a shame to waste a day as Ms. Cranky pants.

Keep your fingers crossed that no one else tries to kill me today because I am cranky enough to kill them back.

Play hard!

Laura