6/4/2013
By Ivan Pereira
The city touts its bike share program as a great alternative to typical commuting, so I wanted to test that idea out and give my legs a workout before work.
I couldn’t do a full ride from my Brooklyn apartment to amNewYork’s office in midtown since the closest Citi Bike station is more than 3 miles from my home so I had to take a subway to the stop.
Once I got to the station at Bridge St & Concord St Tuesday, it was fairly easy to pay for the $9.95 day pass and input the access code to unlock one of the four blue bikes that were parked there.
After that, well, it got bumpy. I am by no means ready to sign up for the Tour de France and I knew the 5.6-mile bike trek would take longer than the 36-mintues that Google Maps claimed it would be, but my goal was to make it to the office as fast as possible since I only had 30-mintues of free time.
Scaling the Brooklyn Bridge was difficult, not only because the bike had three gears to handle the steep climb, but I also had to deal with the other cyclists with better bikes in my path.
Although I didn’t get into a collision, I did get two n”New York salutes” that I wouldn’thave gotten on a crowded F train. Once I touched down on the other side, I then had to deal with dozens of drivers as I made my way north on Centre Street, but their demeanor was more pleasant.
While waiting for a red light at Houston and Lafayette streets, a cabdriver asked me how was the bike.
“A little clunky and heavy, but all right,” I answered. “I’ve ridden better bikes.”
My criticism didn’t seem to deter his Citi Bike interest.
“I used to bike a lot and would like to try it sometime,” he said.
While riding on the streets, some of which had unclear bike lanes, I had to change lanes constantlyto avoid pot holes, double-parked cars and other dangers, but being a lifelong New Yorker I expected that.
As I continued north, I banked a left on 14th Street, now 45 minutes into my trip, but missed the photographer who was waiting for me on 8th Avenue so I had to double back and ride up on 8th so he could get the shots.
About 10minutes later I arrived at the bike share station outside Madison Square Garden and locked the bike back in place.I had to pay an additional four bucks for my ride because went over the 30-minute window.
Overall, the ride was fun and would be good for smaller trips within Manhattan but I don’t think I’ll be trading my MetroCard for an annual membership key anytime soon.
