Sunset across the Sound; and Light on Freedom Tower in the Distance

Couple of photos from this evening's ride 

In the west, across about 2.5 miles of the narrow part of the Sound ... the north Bronx, Pelham and Eastchester

Above: A little to right of center, a small 'stick' in the Manhattan 
skyline with a glint of the lowering evening sun's light on it: 

Freedom Tower.

Part of my oversized Park Tool fell to the ground during a seat tube adjustment.
When I bent down to pick it up, I saw my I.D. wallet had fallen in the sand (when I
pulled out my camera) and I was partly standing on it. Phew! that was lucky.
 If the right half of the tool hadn't slid off, I'd have cycled off without it.

Motto. Look down after stops; you might have dropped something.
Keep the I.D. even more secure.

If you don't look back you won't see the water ....

They say don't look back. And naturally, some folk take that literally. Well sometimes it's OK to look back, especially if you've reached some kind of milestone.

That glistening line in the middle/center of the photo is
the water on Manhasset Bay, somewhere way down
there at sea level.

This hill is the biggest around here, about 280 ft, and many times it has been a fresh challenge after injury or surgeries or deathly illness to reconquer.

This year, after a winter fraught with injury and sickness, it loomed large again. I had no plan to take it on today, it just so happened that the traffic light turned from green to red as I arrived and so I made a right down the start of the hill and went for it.

The view from the cliff. Overlooking the golf course and Hempstead Harbor.,
and beyond is Long Island Sound and mainland Rye, New York

BY the time I got to Ezring's house near the summit, I was literally looking for the "easy ring," and I downshifted and was reminded I was on a 50-34 not a triple. I stopped right there, took a pause to look back and the view was good. So I pulled out the cellphone, tapped in the code and took a couple of snaps.

The roller coaster light-timing is everything Summit to Ridge Climb was next. I don't know how folk get the times they do here; I took those corners almost fully canted over. Any more and I might have washed out.

Beyond, the hairy fast descent to Bogart. No traffic on weekends; well maybe a little. Be careful rounding those corners at speed.

Beyond that Birch Street follows the cliff to Cliff Way, and some of the better views of Hempstead Harbor and beyond it, to the Sound.

The 785R need a good clean and some tightening of bolts. But
still a great ride.

Cycling Innovation of the Year, Decade? LifePaint

There 's a wee story about bike commuting in London connected with it, too ... from the dailymegabyte:



They Spray Their Bikes With Special Paint, When It Gets Dark, It Transforms Into This
April 3, 2015

Riding a bicycle in certain cities can be a little tricky, there’s always risk of accidents. It’s easy for a driver to be unable to notice a bicycle when the weather conditions are not the best or when it’s too dark outside. Many bicycle safety measures have been implemented by several cities that definitely help, but sometimes they’re not respected. In the following clip, Volvo demonstrates their new invention, LifePaint. This groundbreaking can of paint was created to reduce the risk of accidents for cyclists and pedestrians. Watch what happens when cyclist spray their clothes and bicycles with this peculiar paint.

Dailymegabyte




P.S. when I lived in London there were nowhere near this amount of bike commuters. Times have changed but haven't gotten much safer by the looks of it.

Maybe this will help .. at night.