This morning, just before dawn, I was riding north on the East Drive of Central Park just past what is called the East Green when the early blooming Kwanza cherry trees, crabapples, cherry and magnolia fragrances brought me to a stop on my bike. With fallen blossoms carpeting the ground, the pink glow of morning Manhattan rising above the blossoms and hundreds of people out far too early exercising, the experience was overwhelming. The photo can’t even come close to capturing it… you had to be there.
These are those unpredictable weeks of early springtime when cycling in and around New York City is hit or miss. Too many rainy days, mixed with periods of cold, which make planning and then dressing for rides an adventure in meteorology. Today the rains are predicted at noon, so I braved my first early morning ride with the temperature hovering around 9 or 10 degrees. It turned out lovely and the much safer riding in the Park than I have been experiencing recently when doing laps at noon while dodging clueless tourists.
Here is the Garmin Connect GPS and ride data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/3232143
After the crazy traveling in January, February and March, I’m mostly home in Manhattan for almost two months, enjoying the pleasures of a single time zone. Life is work, ride, yoga, family, repeat. And now, as the mornings warm and this end of the planet tilts toward the sun, making the dawn come earlier and earlier, I’ll be in the park most mornings riding hill repeats, cranking out the 350-400 watt climbs of the Great Hill and Cat Hill alongside dozens of other aging lycra-clad urbanites on overpriced carbon steeds.
But this morning, at that particular instant, the whole experience was so overwhelming that life just gob-smacked me and I stopped riding, got off my bike, inhaled all the prana … and took a picture.
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