Bluejake

I had been coding all morning, so by 4pm I was ready to get out of the house. I took off East on Spring Street. By the time I turned on to Kenmare I was moving pretty fast. The weather was cool and overcast- perfect for skating. The Williamsburg Bridge was filled with Orthodox Jews coming back into the city. Whole families and some couples walking alone.

I sped through Williamsburg and Greenpoint and didn't see anyone out on Bedford. Tons of hipsters having brunch in the restaurants but not so many walking on the street. From Bedford I followed my new route up Lorimer to Manhattan Avenue, and then over the Pulaski to 11th Street. Long Island City was empty- completely abandoned. As usual I almost got hit by a car coming off the ramp from the 59th Street Bridge- I really have to learn to stop at the lights. The bridge was beautiful. I'm finally starting to catch my stride this year- I was hardly out of breath when I came over the other side into the city. J and I were hanging out at Diesel looking at clothes, so I took a twenty minute break with them before heading into the park.

I generally hate skating in the park. For street skating I wear jeans, which make me look ghetto next to all the joggers and bikers in their spandex. Then there are the hills- it's like blading in Vermont. Of course, skating in the park sometimes can be an interesting experience: when I rounded the path at 110th Street, the NYPD CSU was carrying a body into an ambulance. I asked some guys who were watching what happened, and one of them said that someone had killed themselves by self-imolating on the hill above the path. Anyway- that freaked me out so I skated on.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. By the time I got down to 23rd Street along the West Side, I was way past exhausted. One of my wheels froze up as I crossed Houston- but I made it home alive. Which is more than I can say about that guy in the park.

Skating