A Bike Friday in New York on Saturday

75th Ave. Forest Hills

Our Saturday morning adventure started with a ride on the 75th Avenue F train in Forest Hills to the Lexington Ave/53rd Street in Manhattan. After carrying our bikes down the stairs we headed for the service entrance to swipe our Metro cards and then pass through the emergency exit door to the platform.  When the train arrived we rolled on board for an uncrowded ride to Lex/53rd.  Getting on a crowded train might make things a more difficult, so make sure you are not traveling during peak hours.

53 and Lexington, Manhattan

nice tiles at the 53/Lex station

Off the train and onto the platform we headed for a very long stair climb to street level. We rode a few blocks west on 53rd Street, turned right on 8th Avenue headed for Columbus Circle and then on to Central Park.  After a short ride through the park we made an exit on W107th Street and made our way for Riverside Park and the Hudson River Greenway.

nice long stairs at 53/Lex station

On our way to the Greenway we diverted to Amsterdam Avenue for refreshments and then proceeded along 125th Avenue to the West Harlem Piers Park Greenway entrance. A cool and partly cloudy day made for a comfortable ride along the busy Greenway which had no shortage of interesting sights and places to stop at along the way.

Chokolat Patisserie on Broadway

Grants Tomb

Intrepid

Riverside Park

under Henry Hudson Parkway

in front of Pier 40 at Clarkson

We departed the Greenway at Murray Street and then headed for the World Trade Center E train station on Church Street.  With the WTC station at the end of the line the car was empty which gave us  plenty of room for two bikes.  We selected the first car and set up at the very front where there was a spacious area by driver's door.

entering WTC station

on the E train

We stood with our bikes for the 35 minute ride  back to 75th Avenue in Forest Hills.  After a short hike up the stairs we were back at street level and a 5 minute walk to the apartment.

up the stairs at 75th Ave. Forest Hills

Overall I think we had a fantastic ride and a very positive experience transporting our bicycles on the MTA.  The best time to embark on such an outing would be an early morning with an early afternoon return. Starting any later on the weekend or during the work week might result in a conflict with bulky bicycles and tightly packed subway car. As an out of town visitor this trip made for a rather fun filled day and I am sure I will be back to do it again soon.

Bike Friday Unpacked in New York

Yes, Bike friday is packable and checkable for air travel and yes I have done that on a previous trip to Boston, where I had a rental car awaiting me, however this time I decided to transport the Friday a little differently.

 For my trip to Forest Hills, New York City I decided to bypass airport luggage check and ship my Friday by FedEx.   It cost me about $100 to ship the 55 lb. case directly to my son's apartment, eliminating the need to hire a cab or to negotiate subway station stairs along with my other baggage.  In the places I was passing through I wanted my hands as free as possible.  It was very convenient and well worth the price, to have the case waiting for me at my destination.  I am sure it would have worked out just fine wheeling the case about, I just thought I would give this way a try.

Un packing and reassembly was a snap as I had the Friday ready to roll with saddle bag and fenders in under 40 minutes.

For my test flight I decided on riding over to Forest Park which is only a mile or two from the  apartment (http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1783262).  Other than crossing a couple of busy intersections it was a rather relaxing ride to and from the park.  Most of the riding was on car free roadways that meandered through an old nicely forested city park.

An old orchestra shell made for a nice portrait of the Friday

The rider posing in the seating area of the orchestra shell

The next trip will be to Central Park and the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway via the MTA E train.

Herse Cranks 1500 Miles Later

Shimano FD CX-70

After a few hundred miles of having to trim the front derailleur every time I put any torque on the drive train, it was time make a change.  Whenever the frame flexed, the Shimano CX-70 front derailleur required trimming to keep the chain from rubbing the sides of the cage.  The cage on the    CX-70 seemed a bit narrow with the inside at 12 mm for the 8 speed chain, leaving very little clearance when using anything other than the middle cog of the 8 speed cassette.  Rather than changing the chain, I went to the parts bin to see if I had an older double which would have been designed for a wider chain. I found a 1982 NOS Shimano 600 Abaresque with a cage that was 14.5 mm on the inside.  The curvature of the 600 cage was very close to the CX-70 so I made the swap.

Shimano FD-6200, 600EX Arabesque

The 600 shifted as well as the CX-70 with no issues of the chain rubbing the cage.  Problem solved....and the new old derailleur looks very nice with the Herse cranks.