Took a good ride through the city today. About halfway through the ride I remembered that on Memorial Day two years ago I went on a memorable ride through Cincinnati and some of its outlying rural areas.

The ride two years ago was memorable for the varied scenery and the long (for me) distance of 53 miles. Today’s ride distance was a modest 22.79 miles, but there was a lot of city scenery.

After replacing my rear tube (I only blew up one in the process, which is sadly an improvement) and picking up an extra from Bicycle Renaissance I headed to the 72nd Street entrance of Riverside Park. I rode up to the top (around 158th Street) and then all the way down to the bottom. I continued on the bike path until I hit Pier 88, where I passed some of the ships visiting for Fleet Week, and then ran into Chelsea Piers a little later. I rode further until I ran out of path somewhere around the entrance to the Staten Island Ferry.

I rode back home through the city–past Wall Street and Ground Zero, through SOHO, and then in a zig-zag west-east-west again pattern through midtown. At one point on Fifth Avenue (around 42nd Street) I ran into some sort of event with a sea of people. It was quite a spectacle to look into it from a bit of a distance. (Note to self: Bring a camera next time you go exploring New York on a bike, especially on a holiday.)

I was good on my bike today–I obeyed the traffic lights and the rules of the road. The highlight of my day was when a New York bike cop–in full Pacific Blue garb–yelled, “Take the light! Take the light!” as I patiently waited at a light in front of Radio City Music Hall. No wonder New York streets are anarchy.

Riding through the city–dodging cabs, pedestrians, and other cyclists–was energizing. There’s a perspective about places you can’t get anywhere else but on a bike. I always feel I know an area better after I’ve seen it on a bike. I know New York a little better after my ride today.

I suppose I could call Memorial Day rides a tradition if I’d ridden last year in addition to two years ago and if I’d actually planned to ride today. I guess the Memorial Day Ride is more of an accidental tradition, or maybe a tradition patiently waiting to be noticed.

Note to self: Remember to ride next year on Memorial Day. Bring some folks along. And don’t forget a camera.

I played tourist yesterday by attending the Big Onion Central Park tour.

Apparently before New York was known as the Big Apple it was the Big Onion. Or so the Big Onion Web site says.

What a shame the park threw out the sheep.

Pics here.

From the “Delayed Postings” file comes some random pics taken in Union Square a couple Saturdays back…

(If you can’t see the pics, try this link instead.)

I’m been rocking out to Radiohead’s “Updated Experimentation”, a live concert DVD, all morning. It’s pretty good, pretty damn good.

Never heard of it? That might be because you don’t buy DVDs from street fair vendors. I didn’t either, but Dave and I ran into an interesting booth on Columbus last Sunday. We were browsing through the selection when the proprietor, an older, rock and roller dude, offered to play them for us on his portable TV/DVD player. (You don’t get that kind of customer service from the average guy on the street selling King Kong).
We were impressed enough that I purchased the Radiohead DVD and Dave picked up a Led Zeppelin one (I’m sure Amy is thrilled).

So, if you’re in the market check out “Live Concert DVD’s”. (This is the literal spelling from the index card I was provided). The proprietor is Julius and he’s in the flea market at 4th and Broadway next to Tower Records. He’s open for business from 1 - 8 PM most days.

So I’m talking to my Mom the other day and she mentions we’re going to buy a camcorder for Kelly and John since my niece or nephew is on the way. “Great idea,” I tell her.

Out of nowhere she impresses the heck out of me by asking, “So, are digital cameras going to upend camcorders?” She’s noticed how digital cameras can do video and she’s wondering if it makes more sense to buy a digital camera. She’s also astutely noticed the typical digital camera memory card doesn’t seem to be able to store enough space to make using one as a camcorder practical.

I told her it was a great question but she should plan to buy a camcorder.

Does this mean the “average” person is getting smarter about technology, am I being condescending, or is she just really sharp? I don’t know, but regardless of the answer I’m still impressed.

I’ve been inspired to write several times lately but haven’t had the energy to follow through. The past couple weeks have been pretty busy.

I’m looking forward to a relaxing holiday weekend and maybe I’ll do some posting. Better late than never.

I hate voicemail. I mean, I really, really detest it. Really.

I desperately hope the Spinvox service (or something like it) is available soon for Cingular.

I stumbled upon the Yahoo! Tech Monkey Challenge on my morning walk through Bryant Park.

I took some pics (I’ll post them later).

They had a monkey on stage who looked like he (or she) was still gearing up for the day.

The rain is probably not going to help this event.

It’s goofy stuff like this that makes me love living in New York.