Thursday, May 12th
After arriving in Tokyo I spent a week not worrying about my bike, my things, and where (and at times if) I was going to sleep. I was happy to reach the city and get lost inside it.
I had a week, after which I flew back New York where i’m writing this. I had booked my flights just before leaving Korea. I felt anxious about it, i’d been able to travel without planning more than a week or so ahead up to this point, but with my budget running out I made a decision – to cycle across America.
Ever since I had first started reading about cycle touring, and dreaming about it becoming a reality, i’d become fixated on cycling in the US. I think i’ve always over-romanticised the country, through books, films, TV and music. Modern America is not an especially appealing place, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything i’d done so far was leading up to this one long crossing. I could have happily carried on in Japan, and it was hard to leave, but at the same time returning there in the future gives me something to look forward to. I’d love to come back and cycle North from Tokyo and explore parts of the country i’ve never seen before.
It took some adjustment being back in New York. It’s a gutter compared to Tokyo. But that’s part of the appeal of the place. It’s full of life, in one way or another.
My plan for the week revolved around fixing my bike, and preparing to cycle. I didn’t see a lot of the city, take many photos, or make an effort to explore, and it felt great. While I was living here it felt like time was running out and I had to fill every day with some kind of event or sight. This time around I enjoyed walking around the quiet neighbourhood I was staying in, catching up with friends over drinks or coffee, and letting my mind slowly adjust to the country and the challenge in front of me.
Though most advice tells you to cycle West to East in America (prevailing winds are apparently in your favour this way) I felt like I wanted to start in New York and end on the West Coast. I can’t explain why, but it felt more instinctive to me to discover the country that way.
My route will be based around the Adventure Cycling Association’s ‘Northern Tier’ trail. A 4000+ mile route through Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montano, Idaho, and Washington. First I will head up to join the route at Niagra Falls (the official start of the Northern Tier is in Maine) through New York and New Jersey. I’m yet to decide on the end of the route, I have a flight back to Europe from Vancouver. After reaching the pacific I might make the US to Canada stretch by train, depending on how much time I have left, and if I decide to take my route further south through Badlands and Yellowstone National Park, which would leave me somewhere close to Portland.
The tradition, I discovered, with a coast-to-coast trip like this, is to dip your wheel in the ocean at the end and the beginning. So on Thursday I cycled my newly repaired bike down to Coney Island and rolled it, just slightly, into the Atlantic.
Red Lantern Bikes in Fort Greene had taken care of the repairs. After unpacking the bike in a rather sorry looking state after the 14 hour flight from Shanghai it now began to resemble something which could, perhaps, carry someone across a country. New forks had been fitted, a new back wheel, a new cassette, a new chain, new brake pads, the drivetrain had been cleaned and tuned. To top it off I received an early birthday present – a Brooks saddle. It was probably this, more than anything else, which made it finally look like a sophsticated piece of machinery.
The ride to Coney Island was straightfoward, around 20 miles . I headed directly down Coney Island Avenue on the way there, and around the coast on the Belt Parkway Bike Path on the way back. The roads were busy, the cars are bigger than Japan and people basically don’t care about you on your bike. There are bike lanes in New York but you can’t depend on them for safety. Despite that it was an enjoyable cycle. It was sunny and hot. Coney Island felt more alive than when i’d previously seen it on a November weekend a couple of years before. People ate hot dogs and walked along the boardwalk. A mix of tourists and the typical cast of strange characters you find wandering New York.
I carried my bike over the sand, down to the sea, to dip it in the water. It felt like an odd thing to do, particualrly on my own, but the ride to Coney Island was as much to test the bike and get riding again as it was to perform this tradition. I liked it symbolically at least, and it started making me think about the vast distance between this ocean and the next.
I didn’t hang around at the beach long, despite the good weather, keen to make it back before the rush hour traffic got thick and heavy. I carried on around the coast, increasing my speed along the bike path which passed under Verrazano Narrows Bridge. I came inland by Green-Wood Cemetery and quickly made up the last five or so miles back to Carroll Gardens.
Whenever I rode my bike without panniers, tent, and so on, I was reminded how quick and easy cycling can be. It would take some adjustment again to cycle with a fully loaded bike, not knowing where or when exactly i’d be stopping each day, and with 4000+ miles in front of me.
. . .
I spent a few more days in New York after cycling to Coney Island. Making last minute preperations and deliberating over my route and what to carry. I also came down with a cold which delayed my start by several days. I will finally leave on Tuesday, May 17th, a month before my birthday.
Map
