lukasz

I took a bunch of pictures during my ride two weekends ago, during what turned out to be the last horribly slush-filled day of this winter if the past few days' weather is any indication. It is only today that I've finally had time to put together this post.

Maybe those of you not from NYC will find it entertaining (and people from temperate climates will simply laugh at our misfortune). To those of you from the area: at least this seems to be behind us for another year!

Without further ado, here are some pics of cycling in New York (or rather escaping New York City via New Jersey) during the winter:


Welcome to New Yawk.



The escape route on February 28: over the George Washington Bridge.



But first I had to get there. With everyone digging out their cars
for Monday, wet pavement was interrupted by shoals of snow unfriendly
to 23c road bike tires.





Nevertheless, the ride up to the bridge did not take much longer than
usual. The first sighting:



The south path was even narrower than usual.



While riding over the bridge, I had to make a decision: 9W or River
road? Well, 9W was an easy choice today. (Somewhere below the snow, fallen rocks and trees, lies River road: )



So I rode north to the state line, down the hill (how fitting that the bureaucratic boundary between NY/NJ seems to be demarcated by the crest of a hill), and then turned back toward the city.



Not as cool as it sounds:

lukasz

Back over the bridge.



... and a minor disaster occurs.



After a few minutes of muddy, wet, slushy work, being shoo'd off the
sidewalk by a... sidewalk plow, and almost freezing my fingers to the
CO2 cartridge, I was back on the road. Below is a nice death-inducing patch of
snow across the road on the downhill at 110th street:



Nevertheless, I got through Manhattan and over the 59th street bridge
into Queens.



Then (apparently) moved at warp speed over the Pulaski:



Après-ride "recovery" drink and bicycle cleaning.



The fenders don't look that out of place, and they keep the crap off
me and most of the bike in this weather. They beat riding the trainer!



fin

icyclist 

This is such a fine photo essay. I'm headed to New York myself in a few weeks and plan to ride a few days around the city. I'm looking for at least slightly improved weather conditions, though.

Steven.H

You braved riding in Slushpocalypse 2010? Bawls!

I'm ecstatic that we saw temps hit the 50s this week.

*Runs to dust off the bike*

383

Glad I live in California.

leooooo

Awesome!
I ride the exact same roads, but NOT when it snows

baj32161

Great post. As an ex NJ resident I can happily say that I missed the winter of 2009-2010. I moved to the tropical realm of a place called Canada (lol!). I watched the US Northeast get slammed weekly by storms, while we barely got 8 inches total for this winter. Of course, up here, the hammer could STILL drop....and there is always next winter.

Looks nice a great way to build up a winter sweat though. Nice job. I miss NYC.

Cheers.

Brian J.

geist

Cool photos but I'm so glad those roads don't have all that slop on them anymore.

lukewall

Cool pics. You're way tougher than me. I gave in and put the bike on the trainer when the temps went below 40 this year. My ears just couldn't handle it anymore.

graphs

Great pics! We lucked out with a little less snow than that but conditions are generaly similar in this neck of the woods.

roadiejorge 

Well done, captures my riding experience most of this winter. Between commuting and rides up 9W I wonder how many hours I've spent cleaning my bike.




I have a Castelli beanie that covers my ears and does so effectively even in below freezing conditions.

lukasz

Glad you guys liked it. I thought that it might be a bit boring for those from the area, but I always like seeing non-touristy pictures from other places. Besides the wetness and spots of snow, it was actually a nice day. I actually decided to start taking photos while already underway, hence there not being much from my trip through Manhattan.

Nachoman

Nice photos. Seems sketchy trying to pedal in that slush (says the guy from san diego).

cyclezealot

Your photos tells of an interesting bike Odyssey there Lukasz. thanks for posting..
.And to think those who are addicted to sunshine get discouraged with just a few misty clouds floating about.. And with 23 cc tires. They appear to offer decent rolling resistance for the winter.?
1. River road is a road.? If what appears to be a road is a road, I'd suspect it to be a logging trail..And that must be in Jersey.?. 2. How many miles did you ride. . / and, Except for the flat you kept warm. ?

kimconyc

I ride 9W at least once a week and it's not boring seeing these pics...

roadiejorge 

River Road is indeed a road mainly used by cyclists because it offers a good amount of hills and not many motorists. It's scenic as it runs along the Palisades in New Jersey so the view of the Hudson River and the New York side of the river are really nice.

GirlAnachronism

Agreed

I've been on 9W at least once a week all winter, and it's nice to see some photographic evidence of the slush I've been wading through...Still beats having to do multiple three-hour roller days in a row!

fatallightning

jesus, who does 3 hour roller sessions. did you join crca or a subteam? racing grants this weekend?

GirlAnachronism

Crazy people like me, that's who! Seriously, I have gotten to know my rollers very well this winter.

Yep, did a CRCA race last weekend and am doing Grant's on Saturday...it's going to be super windy and rainy so let's hope it's not a total crash-fest! You racing?

Velo Vol 

Nice ride report.

I have absolutely no desire to visit there in the winter, though.

Velo Vol 

Do you have to pay to go over the bridge?

Steven.H

Tolls are strictly for automotive traffic. Bridges that permit pedestrian / cycling traffic, don't charge tolls for those users. There are separate paths for those users, to segment them away from vehicular traffic.

rumrunn6

great ride report, thanks for sharing!

cyclezealot

NYC bridges allow for free bike passage. Quite sure I read in the Chronicle, out in our Calif., the Bay bridge toll authority wants to impose a dollar fee on cyclists. Still, The Golden Gate would be well worth a buck.

fatallightning

yep, in the 4s. i race for kissena now. look for big ol wolverine style chops. ill be riding for our protected rider, but honestly ill be racing just to hold on and stay upright, my fitness isnt there yet. which category are you doing?