It’s Friday, which means the first work week in New York City with congestion pricing is officially drawing to a close. So how’s it looking so far? Well, it seems to be looking good…depending on where you’re going and who you ask:
I’ve been skeptical that congestion pricing will work in a city where people already flood the streets with cars despite the many tolls and crushing traffic and high insurance costs and parking headaches all the rest of it, but I’m more than happy to be proven wrong, so I’ll be watching with interest–though admittedly I spend very little time inside the congestion zone these days, so I don’t know how much I’ll be seeing firsthand. For awhile there I was commuting by bike to and from Brooklyn twice a week, which did take me right through the congestion zone:
[Not Brooklyn, and not inside the congestion zone.]
Well, I’m still commuting to Brooklyn twice a week (yes, I have a whole second life you know nothing about, and while I can’t tell you anything about it, I will neither confirm nor deny rumors that I’m an in-demand cosmetic surgeon), but I confess I gave up doing it by bike. So why is that? Is it because I’m a “woosie?”
Well, yeah, I’m definitely a “woosie,” but that’s not really why. Ultimately, I just couldn’t get around the fact that a 35-mile (more or less) round trip between the Bronx and Brooklyn probably cost me at least an additional hour a day over the subway. I mean I could probably beat the subway if I commuted on a race bike in stretchy clothes, but then I’d have to change and all that stuff, which would totally negate any time-savings:
Also, as I’ve probably mentioned, while I enjoy riding bicycles as much or more than just about anything else in the world, I also like reading, which is tough to do on a bike. By the way, I asked the AI to create an image of “Bike Snob NYC Reading A Book While Riding A Rivendell Bicycle In New York City” and here’s what it came up with:
It really nailed it this time, and I for one welcome our new computer overlords.
Anyway, riding a bike is great, but sitting on your ass and reading is also pretty good, too, and now that I’m a subway commuter I’m reading more than I have in years. Of course the plastic seat of a subway isn’t the most pleasant place to sit on your ass, and when it’s freezing out like it has been this week the subway is packed with even more raving lunatics than it usually is, but overall I’m saving time and reading stuff I wouldn’t have a chance to otherwise so it’s a pretty good trade. And while I’ll spare you the rant about everything that’s wrong with the subway, I do consider myself a subway fan. Astute readers may even have noticed my transit-themed Christmas sweater in my recent YouTube cameo:
Nerdy enough for you?
[My wife picked it out, but still.]
I also totally do the Holiday Nostalgia Rides:
Though the crowd it attracts can be mildly disconcerting. If you think bike people are dorky, train people make bike people look like a bunch of A-list celebrities. They’re like that weird kid Ralphie meets in “A Christmas Story” when they’re waiting on line to meet Santa:
So will congestion pricing benefit my even nerdier straphanging alter ego? Maybe so. In the short term I think the best way to improve the subway system would be to shoot people who don’t use headphones. But I’ll try to keep an open mind.
Fortunately, life in New York City isn’t all cramming yourself into subway cars, and you can also set yourself up pretty good for riding if you know what you’re doing:
And I know what I’m doing:
So now that I’ve got the Roadini, do I still even need the very similarly-named Roaduno?
Frankly, I resent the question. I mean look at this! How could I not have a Roaduno?
I admit I did find myself thinking of turning it back into an actual singlespeed now that I’ve got the Roadini, but the singlespeed/triplespeed really is the best of both worlds:
Okay, I know what you’re thinking:
But we’ve already established I’m “woosie.” And with a 17-tooth cog in the back and that 42/32/20 MicroDrive up front I’m covered for pretty much everything:
And yet, it still satisfies that singlespeed craving some of us can never quite shake. Obviously some people don’t care about singlespeeds and don’t want them. But if you are a singlespeed person, and you’re completely honest with yourself, you will admit that this is how it works:
- You have to have a singlespeed
- You love riding your singlespeed so much you start wishing it had gears
- You sell your singlespeed and get something else
- You miss having a singlespeed so you get another one and the process begins anew
But by satisfying both the singlespeed and geared craving at once, the Roaduno puts an end to this vicious cycle once and for all:
It’s essential for my mental health.