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My NYC commute, pictures!

Old 07-11-07, 09:43 AM
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My NYC commute, pictures!

I saw the San Fran commute pictures and I thought I'd try it on the opposite coast. My commute is 100% urban, I start in the UES on 79th and 2nd and head all the way down 2nd, over to Broadway, then all the way down Wall St.

Here we go..


Starting off down 2nd ave. Traffic isn't too bad, but construction and buses make the lanes on the side crazy.


My bike.. Specialized Sirrus. I like it


Heading into midtown, traffic doesn't look too bad, but that's near the end of the redlight so it's backed up.


I learned after riding this route for the first time to STAY ON THE RIGHT OF THE ROAD for this part. I got stuck on the left because traffic is constantly flowing into that tunnel making it hard for a bike to get through.


Once you get more southern, traffic gets crazier and they have traffic cops. They're pretty nice to bikers in my experience.


The 2nd ave bike lane. Cabs, stopped trucks, pedestrians, and glass seem to occupy a lot of this.


Near the end of 2nd ave. I head right on E. Houston (pronounced how-stun) St. and then take a left onto Broadway.


Soho with another biker. Traffic on Broadway is really backed up. At points, I get to fly by stopped cars. One of those double decker tour buses killed a lady on a bike right outside my office two years ago. I try to steer clear of them.. they seem less-forgiving than MTA buses.
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Old 07-11-07, 09:43 AM
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Continued..


A little bit of congestion there that I get to avoid. Wee.


I guess more of Soho. Traffic really cleared up in this part and I had a nice whole lane to myself.


A lady jaywalking, screaming into her cellphone. Biking through here sucks. Construction narrows the road, people everywhere, and some dude dragging his lunch cart against traffic in the middle of the road.


Wall St., finally. Very congested with people at the top, so I get stuck walking my bike down till it turns into an actual road. On the left is the Trump building.


This is a shot in the opposite direction. The Trinity Church at the very top, NYSE is on the left, Federal Hall (with a statue of George Washington (woops!)) on the right.


Wall St and Water St., right near the coast. Helicopter coming in for a landing on the pier right next to my office.


My "parking spot" outside the Citibank building, because my building doesn't have a bike rack.


Office, sweet office. Forgot to rotate this one, so just tilt your head to the left.

Overall, I like my commute. I like riding in traffic.. it gives me a different perspective than just being a pedestrian. I think it certainly helps my attitude as a pedestrian (before, I'd think the biker was being a jackass and getting in the way, but it's really just about rushing to get the light so you're not stuck in a ton of traffic). I think it helps with the confidence as well, and it's a great alternative to the subway (oh, sweet sweet sunlight!)

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Old 07-11-07, 10:32 AM
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I love these commute photosets-- thanks! I have been thinking to do one, and now I am motivated. How long does your ride typically take?
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Old 07-11-07, 10:33 AM
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Fantastic Pics. I just had the pleasure of walking all around Manhattan a couple of months ago. Jumped the subway down to Battery Park and just walked all the way back to Central Park. What a fantastic city. The whole time I was amazed at how bikers managed to get through the traffic and road work congestion.
Thanks for the great pics!
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Old 07-11-07, 10:40 AM
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Originally Posted by everichon
I love these commute photosets-- thanks! I have been thinking to do one, and now I am motivated.
It's actually a photo essay, and I love them too. I've been hauling along a throwaway cam that I take some pics of, but I think I will do a more systematic series of photos some day and create a photo essay of my own (mine's Boston).
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Old 07-11-07, 10:53 AM
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Originally Posted by lil brown bat
It's actually a photo essay, and I love them too. I've been hauling along a throwaway cam that I take some pics of, but I think I will do a more systematic series of photos some day and create a photo essay of my own (mine's Boston).
I'd love to see more of them. I've never been to San Fran, especially not by bike, so I figured a lot of people probably haven't had the pleasure of biking in Manhattan and it'd be nice to share. I visited Boston a little while ago.. and man, biking there seems like it'd be crazy.. the streets are all nuts like downtown NYC. Although traffic seems a little less aggressive.
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Old 07-11-07, 10:57 AM
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Great pictures...but one thing. That statue on the corner of Broad and Wall street is not Ben Franklin, but George Washington. That is the location where he was sworn in as the first President of the United States when NYC was the capitol before it moved to Philly and then D.C.
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Old 07-11-07, 10:59 AM
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Nice. I don't think I'd bother with taking a series of photos along my commute... a little over 2 miles skirting the west edge of Old Town Alexandria. Not much to see there.
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Old 07-11-07, 11:07 AM
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How are you locked up?

From the pic it looks like you've got a U through your front wheel and a cable on your back. What's securing the frame?
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Old 07-11-07, 11:12 AM
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Originally Posted by dynaryder
How are you locked up?

From the pic it looks like you've got a U through your front wheel and a cable on your back. What's securing the frame?
Haha.. Yeah, I noticed what I did right after I took the picture Now the U is through the front wheel and the frame.
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Old 07-11-07, 11:47 AM
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some familiar streets there I come up 1st ave in the morning, and down 2nd in the evening. Be safe out there!
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Old 07-11-07, 12:01 PM
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Originally Posted by sethw
I come up 1st ave in the morning, and down 2nd in the evening.
How come you guys don't like to use the bike path down the "East River Esplanade"?
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Old 07-11-07, 12:06 PM
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Pretty cool pics. Do you stop at Caffe Dante? They have the best espresso on the planet.
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Old 07-11-07, 12:08 PM
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okay dumb question here:
I'm going to post a photo essay as well, but how do you post those nice photos? hosting somewhere?
thanks!
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Old 07-11-07, 01:30 PM
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Originally Posted by acroy
okay dumb question here:
I'm going to post a photo essay as well, but how do you post those nice photos? hosting somewhere?
thanks!
I use my own personal web hosting. There are free pic hosts available such as www.imageshack.us, www.photobucket.com, and www.flickr.com who all allow hot-linking, I believe.

And I use the streets rather than the bike path just because I think it's faster. The east-side bike path would be a longer distance for me and I'd have to deal with more pedestrians. That's just my opinion, though.. I could be way off as I haven't used it heavily.
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Old 07-11-07, 01:42 PM
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Been using Flickr for some time, now. Great site!
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Old 07-11-07, 01:46 PM
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cool, thanks for the tip. sorry to derail thread but been wondering this for a bit...
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Old 07-11-07, 02:29 PM
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Originally Posted by whatsmyname
How come you guys don't like to use the bike path down the "East River Esplanade"?
1. It adds nearly a mile to my overall commute.
2. Some of the "path" is laughable (riding on sidewalks, walking the bike at INSANELY narrow corridors)
3. While walking that corridor going south cars/trucks/busses fly towards you and kick up lots of dust in your face! wee!
4. The path near the park area is better suited for mountain bikes with suspension and fat tires.

I've given the path a few chances but it's just never gone smoothly for me at all.
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Old 07-11-07, 02:34 PM
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In my experience, the East Side Greenway is only really useful for transportation if you're all the way uptown or all the way downtown. The greenway basically doesn't exist in midtown. You have to deal with stairs and from about 60th St. to below 40th you get re-routed to the avenues, so it's easier to just stay there. If you're way uptown, you can use the Harlem River Speedway from Dyckman St. all the way down to 155 traffic-free. Otherwise, I'd stick to the avenues on the East Side unless you're riding for leisure and looking for some nice scenery.
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Old 07-11-07, 02:41 PM
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Yea... if I have a lot of time on my hands, sure, I might take that bike path, but for a quick ride home - forget it.
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Old 07-11-07, 02:49 PM
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What are those barricades on wall street in front of the Trump building?
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Old 07-11-07, 02:58 PM
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Originally Posted by jeff-o
What are those barricades on wall street in front of the Trump building?
I'm not sure if they're for security (like car bombs, etc) or just to keep cars out for pedestrians, but they're basically two lowerable barricades manned by a security guard. There are a couple of them in the area blocking passage to the upper parts of Wall. I forgot to snap a picture today, but there are generally half a dozen or so NYPD with M16s near the top of Wall as well. It's pretty cool when a politician comes in (Bush and his helicopter entourage land a few blocks away from my office. We can watch him go up the FDR. He comes in with about 4 helicopters and the military has a little base set up under the FDR.)
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Old 07-11-07, 04:12 PM
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Originally Posted by jeff-o
What are those barricades on wall street in front of the Trump building?
They're for hucking, obviously.
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Old 07-11-07, 07:20 PM
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I ride in from Queens to WTC but I usually shoot down Park and pick B'way at Union Sq.. How far down 2nd do you go before heading over to B'way? As much as I love riding Park, I'm willing to try a different route.

The East River MUP is lousy with meandering pedestrians, joggers with iPods who insist on taking their half out of the middle, and Ti Chi enthusiasts in the middle of the designated bike lane. The cabs on Park and Bendy Buses on 2nd are much more predictable.

Also the newly opened Lower B'way Bus Lane is quite good - provided the police are on a ticket blitz and the cars stay on their side of the road.
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Old 07-11-07, 07:26 PM
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Originally Posted by TrackGuy
I ride in from Queens to WTC but I usually shoot down Park and pick B'way at Union Sq.. How far down 2nd do you go before heading over to B'way? As much as I love riding Park, I'm willing to try a different route.
I take it all the way to the end then turn onto Houston. I'm not sure if that's the best route, it was just the easiest for me to remember. I think next week I'll start trying to change it up to see if I can find something better.
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