Great morning ride
Jul 3, 2004I woke up early and took a ride before it got too hot. I didn’t have anywhere particular tongo and wasn’t meeting anyone so I meandered my way out into New Jersey.nnI rode through Brooklyn on Ft. Hamilton parkway to the Verrazano to Staten Island. nThere I went down Father Capodanno Boulevard to Hylan. I rode into, and quickly out of,nGreat Kills park. It’s a dead end for vehicles but bicycles could probably pass. Staten Islandnparks are nice before 9am, there are a few people exercising and, given itsnwell-deserved reputation, the air is surprisingly fresh.nnI continued to the Southern end of the island and Tottenville. nI rode slowly around, trying to find a way to the shore but there isn’t any. nThere really isn’t any accessible shore except in the parks but I did take the time tonadmire the Victorian era houses. I picked up Amboy road and wandered around.nSadly, the McMansions that plague New Jersey have cropped up even near the historic Richmond settlement. I’ve heard that they’ve revised their zoning in response to it. nnThe sun was warm and I felt good so I followed what I thought was a huge service roadnto the Korean War Vets highway but was actually Drumgoole and when it ran out, nRichmond Ave. People were out and about by now and the traffic was getting to be whatnI expected so I cut over to Arthur Kill Road and headed to the Goethals figuring I couldnescape it by heading West.nnFrom the New Jersey side, I hauled up the New Jersey Turnpike to Route 46, where I cut West to Denville in the Mountain Lakes region. It’s one of the prettiest parts of New Jersey.nFrom Denville, I swung back to 202 and up into Boontown. Outside of Boontown, I got na little lost and rode more or less North on Boontown Ave until I saw a sign fornRoute 23 and shortly thereafter ones for the lakes bordering New York state. nI turned around and rode 23 back toward I-80 and the Turnpike. nnSplitting lanes, I crossed the GWB in minutes. No automobile driver would be as lucky.nIdiots, and it’s an insult to low-functioning people everywhere to grace these ncomplete boneheads with the name “idiot”, had succeeded in closing off the threenleftmost E-Z Pass lanes by trying to cheat the long lines for Cash & Receipts lanesnand sneak into the gates from the left. nIf I were a Port Authority cop, I’d empty my ticket book on the entire pack of losers.nnA floating city- I didn’t notice which cruise line- had recently docked and I more ornless lane split the entire length of the West Side highway to the Battery Tunnel.nnAll in all, a nice ride. I need to plan some longer ones outside the metro area.