Red Herring

As the trail grew tricky, I was about to turn around. And that's when I saw it in the distance - a tiny patch of red deep in the thick dark woods. I could not tell how far away it was. No doubt it was just someone's barn, but from a distance it looked mysterious and full of promise. It could be anything. As the sun began its afternoon decline, instead of heading home I made my way toward the red shape flickering in the dappled light.




Back in junior high, we had this scary patch of woods behind the school yard. They said an abandoned shack stood there, where in the '60s a serial killer had taken his victims. Children would go missing from the neighbourhood, and it was not until decades later that their disappearances were solved. Only the killer's remains were found in the shack. An old man by then, he must have died of natural causes. Or did he? Everyone knew there were thingsin the woods where we lived. The kind of things that made ordinary mortal serial killers the least of our worries. This was what we 12 year olds thought about when a ball would fly over the chainlink fence at recess. We dared not go into those woods.




Cycling along the narrow trail, the memory of all this popped into my head, as did the horror flick Don't Look Now - where Donald Sutherland's character pursued what looked like a girl in a red coat only to find something dark and sinister. Did I really want to reach that red object deep in the woods? I laughed to myself, at myself. This was evidence of how unaccustomed I'd become to riding alone. I would not be having these thoughts with one of my cycling buddies around. It was the silence and the lack of any sign of human activity on the trail that lent itself to being shaped by my imagination.




Of course none of us had ever seen the abandoned shack. We knew there was a spot in the chainlink fence where you could lift it up and crawl under. My friend and I had been brave enough to do that - though once we did, we just stood there, too paralised with fear to venture furtherinto the woods. But 12 is an age of dares, pacts, and acts of courage. And one day we decided to find the shack. After school let out, we waited for the yard to clear. Then we ducked under the fence and kept walking before the fear could get the best of us. It was hard to know where to go. The woods were unkept and there were no trails to follow. Eventually we spotted what looked like a narrow overgrown path.It was late September, and the dry leaves made crunching sounds under our shoes. We heard no other sounds, not even birds.




Now too the woods were quiet as I rode through them. Where were the birds, the squirrels, the dog walkers? There was only the soft sound of my tires rolling over roots covered with a blanket of pine needles. I kept the red object in sight, but somehow it was no closer after 15 minutes of cycling. In fact, now it began to seem as if I had passed it. It occurred to me that it wasn't along the main trail, but deeper in the woods. And then I saw a path that seemed to lead toward it. It was overgrown. Covered in roots. Barely a path. But I saw no private property signs, so I turned and followed it.




That day after school we walked for what seemed like forever, though judging by the actual size of the lot it could not have been more than 5 minutes. We gasped when we saw it through the trees: A dirty white wall, surrounded by a heap of bricks where the rest of the structure had once stood. And we gasped once again when we heard footsteps behind it. My friend grabbed my arm, and we began to tremble, not sure whether to run or hide. And then they came out: A middle aged woman in overalls carrying a rake, and a teenage girl, a few years older than us, following her with a large burlap sack. They said hello and warned us about the poison ivy. "It's all over the place, girls. Do you know how to identify the leaves?" They were from the land preservation society. Cleaning up woods, labeling trees. We would have to wait until 8th grade to join. And the white shack? I looked it up years later. It was once a shop selling European auto parts, built in 1982 and abandoned after a fire. It could not have possibly been the hideout of a serial killer in the 1960s.




I knew I was on the right path, because the patch of red grew closer. The path became muddy and difficult to ride through, which only made my journey feel more important. It was damp here. Mosquitos circled and I could see a small bog through the trees to my left. The vegetation was mostly moss, ferns, and poison ivy. The latter slapped my bare legs, but, knowing myself to be resistant to it, I paid no attention. Now and then I dodged low-hanging branches. The mud thickened. Churning through it, I felt like a determined explorer - until finally, there it stood in front of me: A small red tool shed. No more, no less. Seeing it up close - a generic, prefab thing - even my overactive imagination had to acknowledge the complete lack of anything mystical about the structure or the atmosphere surrounding it. I was at the back of someone's property. And now I had to hurry back before dark, cycling through all that mud again.




How funny we are, with our love of setting goals, solving mysteries, inventing worthy destinations - when in actuality what we are after is the experience of the pursuit itself, the goal being just an excuse.

Ah, Spring!

It's that time of year when Mother Nature can't decide whether it is should still be winter or if she'll let us pass into warmer weather. Last night saw thunder and lightening along with quite a bit of rain come through northeast Indiana. Then I heard it turn to sleet and freezing rain. I looked out the back door about 11 p.m. and there was at least an inch of slush on the patio. By then the mixture had turned to snow. The front of the apartment, which faces the south and which is where the flowers are, didn't get near as much snow/slush as the north side.

So, will my daffodils bloom when their time comes?


As always, click on the image for a larger version...

Snoopy in the moonlight

After spending the last hour of daylight exploring the Devil's Garden we walked back to our campsite and waited for our friend Roger to arrive. We sat at our camp table and chatted for only a few minutes when we heard a vehicle approaching on the dirt road. Sure enough, it was Roger. He had been driving all day and hadn't eaten yet so after a quick meal and some visiting, since it was such a beautifully calm moonlit night, we decided to head back down to the garden to do some moonlight photography amongst the hoodoos. For the next hour and a half Roger and I wandered through the towering sandstone formations looking for interesting compositions. The image shown here was my favorite of the evening. I call it "Snoopy in the moonlight". See if you can tell why I gave the image this name :-)

On the Vine

This was a big watermelon. We guessed it at about 20 pounds. Biggest we ever raised. And it was good. The next photo down is of it cut open.

The skiers are taking over!

New snow and warm temperatures this final weekend in June brought out the most skiers I have ever seen on Rainier. The DC, Emmons, Winthrop, and Fuhrer Finger were all skied. The ski conditions were great for the most part. The snow was firm but somewhat punchy down to 13,000 feet. Conditions improved as the snow softened and became less wind- affected. There was good corn skiing from about 11,500' to about 10,000'. The snow became heavy and wet below that altitude. Above is a photo of one of those skiers descending the Cleaver. Although the skiing can be fabulous, be realistic about conditions and your ability, and be sure to be "on your game", as exposure to cliffs below can severely impact your outing in the event of an uncontrolled slip!

Conditions and weather have combined this week to give us stable weather and great climbing. Climbers summitted via the Disappointment Cleaver, Ingraham Direct, Fuhrer Finger, Kautz Glacier, Tahoma Glacier, Liberty Ridge, Winthrop Glacier, and the Emmons Glacier. Of course, the warm weather has its downside: rock fall and ice fall have increased exponentially, and a few routes have started to melt out... notably Gibralter Ledges, which had seen quite a few ascents this year.
--Adrienne Sherred - Photo by Andy Anderson

La Sportiva Batura

The NEW La Sportiva Batura!



It may look the same, but trust me, it aint!



Above: Jack Roberts in the 1st generation Batura climbingCurtain Call in .



La Sportiva makes two of the most popular and highly technical alpine single boots on the market, the Nepal Evo and the Trango Extreme ExLt GTX . Both are truly benchmarks in current technical alpine/ice footwear. I and many others get an exceptional fit and performance in either of these La Sportiva boots.The Batura is a bit heavier and a good bit warmer than the Trango Extreme. And now abit heavier andstill a bit warmerthan the Nepal Evo. So the Batura is in heady company here. It is easily slotted into the La Sportiva mountain boot line, between traditional single boots and heavier double boots.









La Sportiva Spantik 3#.05oz / 1362g

La La Sportiva Baruntse 3#2.5oz / 53oz 1502g

La Sportiva Batura 1st gen. 2#7oz / 39oz, 1105g

La Sportiva Batura 2nd gen 2#11/ 43oz 1219gm

La Sportiva Nepal Evo 2#10.5oz / 42.5oz/ 1205g

La Sportiva Trango Evo Extreme GTX 2#3oz (35oz) / 992g



More here on weights

http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//04/weights.html





The Batura is state of the art technology in a stiff soled, flexible upper cuff and warm mountain boot. What is not to like here?



Before I answer that question, a couple of comments before I get in tothe gist of this Batura review.



I think the Batura style boots (boot with a built in insulated gaiter) have the most potential in cold weather alpine climbing of all the boot designs currently available. The "best design" might well evolve into a super thin dbl boot or new technology (OutDry for example) might allow the single boot design to finally live up to the task of multiple days out with no worry of accumulated moisture.in the boot. I don't know. But I do think the boot manufactures are on the right track. La Sportiva, Zamberlan, Scarpa and Kayand all have similar styled boots available now.



The new Batura



At the moment my two favorites are the current version of the La Sportiva Batura and the Scarpa Ultra. And while close to being prefect for my needs, neither are perfect,as of yet. So you are about to read a detailed and very specific commentary on my thoughts of the Batura. It was and is a very good boot. The potential is so great I think it worth the effort in being very specific in my critic and comments. Mycomments to followmight sound harsh out of context. So think about the next sentence before you decide just how good or bad the Batura is.



High praise? The Cold Thistle blog's opening picture is a pair of Batura on my feet for the2nd ascent of Blue Moon, IV WI4 R M6 5.8 At the time the climb was a good challenge for me. It was no accident I chose to climb in thethe Batura on"Blue Moon".











I started climbing in the original La Sportiva Batura in 2007. I used the same pair of boots off and on until I sold them last winter (/) while they were still in decent shape and lots of life left in them. They had held up well and no issues on the zipper or boot for that matter. But I have not been kind in my previous reviews of the Batura. All thewhile having specificallychosen the Baturafor some of my best winter climbs in the last couple of years. Some quite cold, where a double boot would have been more appropriate, And not even a hint of a cold injury in the Batura let alone cold feet.



I had hoped La Sportiva would have done it better for fit and comfort the first Batura go around. The previous Trango Ice series of boots certainly gave La Sportiva the back ground and insight to get it right on the Batura. I bet my $550 cash on La Sportiva getting it rightthe first time in fact.



I wouldn't have made the effort to get another pair of Baturas recently or do this review if La Sportiva had not chosen to make a few significant changes to the Batura Changesfor the better, imo. Having spent the last 6 months in the 3 Scarpa, Phantom series of boots,the Ultra, the Guide and the 6000, I can make some easy comparisons.



Worth stopping here for a moment I think and discussing design in general. Often times I look at several products from differing companies builtfor a singular purpose. It might be boots or crampons or ice tools for example. Three different categories of gear and all very specific and highly technical. Making direct comparisons of similar items makes it is easy to see things that get missed. Sometimes it is durability. Some times it is fit. Some times you just have to wonder why they stopped "there" instead of finishing the project. Or may be they thought the project was finished. It might bea pair of boots, a crampon design, ice tool, or a pair of pants.



Classic example? I looked at a British's climbing company's new lwt belay jacket the other day. Amazing jacket. Primaloft 1, Pertex shell, nice long arms, perfect cuffs and a generous helmet compatible hood. One internal zippered pocket and two unlined outside pockets. Unlined to be lighter and absorb less moisture. Beautiful jacket that I'll never buy. Why? No zippers and no other way to close those two outside pockets. What were they thinking?



It happens a lot on anything you want to look at and compare in detail. Even boots.



Back on task. Here are the previousBatura reviews and comments:



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//04/la-sportivas-batura.html



The comparison post belowis rated 2nd for all time hits on the Cold Thistle blog! A comparisonI don't believe is valid now with the newest modelis now available.



Comparison here:



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//04/scarpa-phantom-guide-vs-la-sportiva.html



Whilestill an issue just not as much, thankfully. One way to address the soft ankle support issue.



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//01/added-support-for-la-sportivas-soft.html



If you are buying new bootsnow, make sure you don't get just the new zipper and the old boot internally!

Which is exactly what the boots shown in the picturebelow are, a new zipper and the old boot. There is a BIG difference between that boot and what I am now reviewing.









The main reasonsI think the Batura is worth another look?

The new zipper is nice, incredibly so compared to the previousyellow YKK toothed version. This one looks to be asmall, continuous coil, YKK that hastaped seams on the inside and a decent seal on the outside. But it is only water resistant. Water proof maybe in perfect laboratory conditions where nothing flexs the zipper. No where close to being water proof once you move the zipper around a bit.. Great over size slider and pull strap though. At least the zipper moves up and down very easily. That should no longer be a zipper failure point.TheScarpa TZip is pushing the definition and seems fairly "water prof". The TZip has been whateveryone seems to havemeasuredreliability byto date.. I've never felt a zipper "ooze quality". This new zipper on the Baturadoes. It remains to be seen just how reliable it really is. The small coils worry me. But I would expect adistinct improvement on durability and water resistance over the original YKK. Why La Sportiva didn't just buy the T Zip for this project still baffles me. But that isn't the reason, thezipper is trivial in my mind. I didn't have anyissue with the first one but almost everyone else certainly seemed to.



I think the change making the Batura worthy ofanother look and detailed reviewis themajor redesign of the lace system, heel pocketand a totally new boot tongue. All threeof whichgreatly improve the over all fit. Heel lift is totallyeliminated now even with my funky feet and super skinny ankle volume. I had to come back and add this part becauseI hadn't yet stuck my hand inside the boot and felt around. These boots have the biggest,specifically built heel pocket I have ever seen in a mtn boot.And I have seen a lot of mtn boots! Thepronounced heel pocket is comfortable on my foot so far. No track record on the heel pocket but gotta say it sure impresses me. The fit, because of the new heel pocket, is incredible. Thetongue is noticeably thicker, better articulated at the ankle and much more comfortable. The old wear pattern on the sides of the previous boot's tongue is also reinforced now.



La Sportiva says the Batura is built on the Nepal last. It may be true but you couldn't prove it by me. I find th Batura much tighter in the heel now and much bigger in the toe box than the Nepal Evo. I found the original Batura had a bigger toe box as well. The bigger toe box makes for a warmer boot I think. I certainly have room to roll my toes and wiggle them around tokeep them warm or warm them if chilled.

More room in the toe boxis a big advantage over the Nepal Evo I think. It feels like the Batura was designed specifically for cold weather climbing......with the appropriate attention to detail and build quality.



The more I wear and use this boot the more impressed I become. I am not easily swayed because of my experience with thefirst generation of Batura.



.











The fitis really important to me. This versionof the Batura really delivers there. The Batura hasalso gained a bit of ankle support on the forward flex by adding the extra and well spaced eyelets. Which were really needed imo.



The advantages the Batura has over the Scarpa Phantom Guides/Ultra are worth listing;

Not all are obvious to first inspection let alone 1st use. It took 6 months to come to these conclusions.



Batura advantages:

Muchbettercrampon fit (and it is a biggy as almost anything snaps on perfectly)

Betterand slightly taller gaiter

More comfortabletop gaiter closure

slightly better Achilles ergonomics on the cuff design

Much stiffer midsole

Laces that stay tight first try

A strongerand reinforced toe box

Better boot/ankle protection from crampons

Slightly larger external volume should mean a warmer boot



But the Baturais at least 3oz(7.5oz on the Ultra) per boot heavier than the Guide.

And it isbuilt like a truck. It can afford to be "better".



Above: Check out the new positions of the fivecuff "eyelet"on the ankle and upper cuff compared to the previous version pictured on the right below. Basically 4 eyelets where there were only 2. before. And they are all better positioned and more comfortableon my skinny ankles and shin.





The previouspicture is the newest Batura. In thepicture above compare how thelock lace has been moved down, another lace eyelet added above it. The metal speed lace on the original Batura have been replaced with a lower profile and less intrusive fabric "eyelets". The actual lock lace eyelet is lower profile and way less likely to bite my (your?) ankle in use. As the previous one did occasionally on my foot.

You might wonder why, if I like the Scarpa Ultra and the ScarpaGuide so much, why would I bother playing the Batura again. Easy answer. The first being, crampon fit. Yes you can get a crampon to fit the Guide but it takes some effort. The Ultra and 6000 take more than a little effort and some serious desire with a bit of trickery thrown in to get a perfect fit. The Baturahas a more rigid sole that the Scarpa Phantom boots....any of the Phantom boots. Another majoradvantage on steep ice.From my experience with both brands of boots I also prefer the gaiter on the Batura. That is notan opinion easy tocome by. The Batura gaiter seems tobreath better in really cold conditions and is easier on the back of your calf and Achilles tendononce tightened.The Batura cuff is ergonomically better cut for Achilles tendon relief. Seemingly trivial but I also find the Batura gaiter easier to tuck my pants into instead of using a pant leg over them as a gaiter. Not so trivial if youwant a smallerprofile on yor lower leg. And lastly the reinforced toe box on the past Batura seems much more durable and reliable than the Scarpa toe box. The Scarpa Guide toe boxis rapidly gaining a reputation for collapsing on water icefrom the pounding they take.



Tucking your pants into the Phantom line almost guarantees wet feet as the tight elastic gaiter stops evaporation from the boots cuffs. For me the condensationand freezing only gets worse in really cold weather.







By the numbers you can see the Batura is 99g or 3.5 oz heavier per bootthan the Scarpa Guide. More than a fair trade for a slightly stiffer boot sole, toe boxand a softer cuff if they fit your feet. 3.5 oz heavier than the Scarpa Guideor 7oz heavier per pair. As I mentioned the volume is slightly larger than the Guide. And the boot is a bit heavier (115g or 4.2oz) than the 1st generation design. I would expect the Batura to be a slightly warmer bootthan the Scarpa Guide simply by volume alone.



What I am looking at is over all weight and thickness of the mid sole on theLa Sportivas as a comparison.. "MIDSOLE: 8-9mm "



By thenumbers?



TRANGO EXTREME GORETEX



WEIGHT: 35oz- 992g-Gore-Tex® Insulated Comfort Footwear INSOLE: 9mm insulating Ibi-Thermo MIDSOLE: 6-7mm HP3 SOLE: Vibram® Lavaredo (Sticky Supertrek Rubber)



NEPAL



WEIGHT: 42oz 1205g -leather with high-abrasion resistant fabric/ Vibram® rubber rands LINING: Gore-Tex® Insulated Comfort Footwear INSOLE: Insulating Ibi-Thermo 9mm MIDSOLE: 8-9mm TPU/ PU inserts/ SBR Aircushionion resistant fabric/ Vibram® rubber rands LINING: Gore-Tex® Insulated Comfort Footwear INSOLE: Insulating Ibi-Thermo 9mm MIDSOLE: 8-9mm TPU/ PU inserts/ SBR Aircushion SOLE: Vibram® with Impact Brake System



BATURA EVO



WEIGHT: 39oz 1106g-Elastic Corduraynamic™ with water repellant membrane UPPER: High tenacity nylon/ Insulated anti-dragging felt/ Insulated PE/ Insulating aluminum layer LINING: Polyamide Thermic layer/ Mesh INSOLE: Insulating Ibi-Thermo 9mm MIDSOLE: 8-9mm TPU/ PU Inserts/ SBR Aircushion SOLE: 8-9mm TPU/ PU Inserts/ SBR Aircushion





The real numbers on weight?



La Sportiva Batura original version 2#7oz / 39oz, 1105g

La Sportiva Batura 2nd gen 2#11/ 43oz 1219gm

La Sportiva Nepal Evo 2#10.5oz / 42.5oz/ 1205g

La Sportiva Trango Evo Extreme GTX 2#3oz (35oz) / 992g



SCARPA Phantom ULTRA new model 2#3.5oz (35.5oz) 1006g

SCARPA Phantom GUIDE new model 2#7.5oz (39.5oz) 1120g



The Batura is going on 5 years old this winter. That is a long time to leaveanytechnical bootin today's market place unchanged. Obviously La Sportiva has sold thousands of them world wide. That isn't luck. The Batura is a good boot...just not yet a great boot. It is a good step closer though imo. But I'm glad La Sportiva is still invested in the idea and continues to improve upon it. The technology and basic design have huge potential.



Here is some of what I have learned in those 5 years on the Batura. The old zipper wasn't very reliable and certainly wasn't water proof. Both of those issues the new water resistant YKKzippershould havesolved. The original Batura had a reputation of "eating your feet". Foot cramps were a common complaint. I suspect that was because of the fairly rigid sole, not enough rocker (although La Sportiva did try on the rocker) and the really soft ankles. The soft ankle will let us walk a long ways in some pretty stiff soled boots. I suspect the soft ankle is making your foot do things it normally would not be doing. My theory anyway. Lots of ankle flex and a virtually rigid sole makes a great mixed boot. But if La Sportivawould only add a little additionalankle support, you would havehave a great alpine boot as well with littlelosson hard mixed.



The Batura excels in this kind of mixedterrain.

photo courtesy of Daniel Harro



If the mixed is going to be very difficult(as in modern mixed and bolts) most will have a fruit boot or a lighter pair of mtn boots like theTrango Extremeon anyway.



Durability is always an issue with fabric boots. La Sportiva 's Batura answer forcrampon durability, lots of heavy rubber reinforcement on the fabric at the instep of the boots.







For whatever reason, fourof us stopped usingthe Batura after theonset of some serious foot issues last fall. Which happened to co inside with the NA release of the new Scarpa Guides, thankfully. Used Batura were turning up in numbers on Ebay.The foot issues were not something any of ushadever experiencedbefore. Neuromas and bone spurs were common with this boot onmy and other Batura owner's feet. I have not had the same issue with the Scarpas. My foot issues have almost totally disappeared while climbing in the Scarpa Ultras. May be it is just the better insole that Scarpa provides but I would hate to think it was something that simple. Insoles are easy to replace.



I am not a biomechanical kinesiologist. But myguess is the extra flexibility of the mid sole and the added ankle support of the Scarpa Guide and Ultrais what saves your feet.Again only my guess here but something is defiantly happening with these only slightly different combos of stiffness, sole rockerand support between the Scarpa boots and the La Sportiva boots. The flex in the Scarpa sole allows your foot to more in a more natural way when walking.I suspectthe extra support in the ankle limits thestress on the foot as well. Down side to that is I would rather climb on a rigidsole forice and alpine. I don't have huge concerns on how well a climbing boot "walks". With any45/46 size bootall have a littleflex. Some just less than others.



The new Batura has substantially more rocker in the sole than the original version. I noticed it immediately in the few few steps I took once in the boots.



While my photos with the yard stick shows 1 1/8" for rocker on the Batura and 1 1/ 4"on the Scarpa Ultra, the soles are enough different that the extra 1/4" of rocker and how I measured it is questionable. But even then that is only1/16" per foot. TheBatura actually feels like it has more rocker than the Ultra. All the while the Batura is stiffer in the sole by a good bit and about the same now compared to the Scarpa Guides for ankle support.



Batura shows 1 1/8" rocker.



Ultra shows 1 1/4" rocker.









Scarpa Ultra, super thin (and light weight) lugs on the left, the Batura with full depth lugs on the right.

Scarpa Ultra's uber sticky and low profileVibram® MULAZ sole on the left. On the right the Batura'sIBS is a sole born from the collaboration between La Sportiva and Vibram. The sole presents a new treading system, the IBS or Impact Brake System which was designed by La Sportiva and developed by Vibram to reduce impact on hard terrain. I am thinking, a lwt weight and super sticky rubber may have been a better answer :)





The old plastic Kolfach Ultras double bootswere totally rigid boots with a good amount of rocker built into the sole and some reasonable ankle support front to back. Ispent some time in my old Koflachs recentlyjustas a comparison. I have walked may miles in those boots and never had foot issues. Shin bang...sure. But my feet were generally happy. The Kolflachs climbed rock and ice well enough. And we all like "happy feet".



The next couple of months of climbing should give me an idea if any of theinternal changes have made the Batura a more comfortable boot on my feet. But I already know they are a much better boot for me than the previous generation. Have to say I am pretty stoked at the end result. The test will be my opinion 90 days from now. I'll report back my findings here.. But so cool to have multiple pairs of perfectly fitting crampons again!



More details of the Batura and a Scarpa Ultras as a comparison. What you don't get from the pictures is the obvious better build quality of the La Sportiva. Which to be honest, surprised me.







The toe's sole profile is the reason crampons fit the Batura so much better than the Ultra.

Cycling in Lower Manhattan

I am in New York City for a few days, with all sorts of nice cycling people who have gathered here for the New Amsterdam Show this weekend and the Bobbin Bicycles/ Adeline Adeline party last night. One of the first familiar faces I encountered was the beautiful Julie, of the Julie blog. This lady works in the fashion industry and rides all over the city on her white and pink Linus loop frame named Kate Middleton... which I think speaks for itself: Cycling in New York has certainly become more accessible over the past few years.






On my way down here on the train I realised that I had not been to the city since maybe - which is almost 4 years ago now. I have to confess that I don't love New York. It's not that I hate it. I just fail to see the magic and romance in it that everyone gushes about. Maybe it's because my family briefly lived in Washington Heights at a time when it was anything but romantic and my impressions are forever coloured by those childhood memories. Whatever the reason, I just see New York as a very large, very crowded city where you have to watch yourself despite all the art galleries and coffee shops and lofts and trendy boutiques that have popped up in neighbourhoods that used to be considered "dangerous."






And despite hearing about all the new cycling infrastructure here, I couldn't easily picture myself riding through the streets of New York, at least not right away. What about the dense traffic? The notoriously aggressive drivers? Walking from Penn Station to Tribeca it was hard to imagine myself sharing these busy streets on two wheels.





But an hour later I was doing exactly that - on a beautiful Retrovelo, courtesy of Adeline Adeline. While my travel radius was mostly limited to lower Manhattan, it was still a surprise to experience how relatively easy riding in the city has become.





I started out on the West Side Highway bicycle path, which is quite impressive. The 5.5 mile stretch of major road along the Hudson River has a protected greenway running through it the entire way, with somewhat frequent but well designed interruptions where bicycles even get their own green light.






The lanes are wide, allowing bicyclists to pass pedestrians and each other if need be. Cyclists were courteous and used their bells. Pedestrians behaved predictably. With views of the city ahead and views of the river alongside, it is a great path.





Many of the piers in this are have been renovated and developed with all sorts of little restaurants an recreational complexes. The weather was pretty terrible on Thursday afternoon - heavily overcast skies and cold temperatures - but there were lots of people strolling along the piers and enjoying their day.





One great thing about New York City, is that no one found it strange at all when I would stop to photograph the bike. In Boston passers-by will sometimes comment how wacky it is that I am standing there and taking close-ups of a bicycle, but here no one batted an eye.






Having had my fill of the West Side Highway, I took to the streets. Some streets have bike lanes and others don't, but honestly I found that it did not matter hugely. The bike lanes were so frequently blocked by double parked cars and delivery vehicles that a degree of comfort with vehicular cycling was necessary regardless. There was a lot of traffic, but it was slow moving and drivers seemed accustomed to cyclists. I got honked at a couple of times, but so did everyone else around me - honking just seems to be a way of communicating here. When I needed to make a left turn and didn't change lanes early enough, a taxi driver saw my predicament and let me squeeze in ahead of him with an impatient but not unfriendly wave. Overall it was entirely manageable and not any more stressful than riding in downtown Boston.






I will not be in town long enough to experience riding in the city as a person living here would, but my Thursday afternoon jaunt was a nice introduction to cycling in New York. After 4 years away it was certainly the best "welcome back" I could have hoped for. I will eventually be posting about the New Amsterdam Show and all the other things I am doing here, and you can check my twitter feed for "live coverage" snapshots of all sorts of neat things. Have a good weekend!