Confession

I haven't ridden a subway in over three weeks. Crazy huh? I spent two years of my life hopping from subway to subway. Absorbing people, watching things, getting to know faces that I recognized on a daily basis. Running into random friends and then pondering all of the weirdness that had to occur to put us both on the same subway, same car at the same time.

So what has replaced my obsession with my beloved subway?

I went to Amsterdam. Fell in love with biking again. And since then, I haven't been able to step foot on one.

While in Amsterdam, I fell in love with the canals, the flat streets, the separate bike lanes. There was a community about biking. And everyone rode these beautiful, heavy, commuter bikes. No one wore helmets. And there are less than 10 bike deaths a year in Amsterdam, versus our nearly 20 per year in NYC. Now this may seem unsurprising since Amsterdam is a smaller town, but think about it...A couple million people commute via bicycle per day. Versus maybe a few thousand in NYC.

The pace was slow and easy. Everyone was on their way briskly, without a doubt...but not hurried. It was beautiful.

Upon my return, I committed to riding my bike here. To say the least, its not as pleasant. This city is not well built for a cyclist--AT ALL.

Anyhow, maybe I'll write a book about cycling as well. Who knows.