Category: Miscellaneous

The thing about cold weather cycling is that, if you’re moving, you don’t stay cold.

Which makes enjoying days like this one, easy.

There’s a new sign on the “pedestrian” bridge.

Basil and I came in under the weight limit.

Modern trains are nothing like their romantic counterparts of the past, yet there is still something so compelling about train spotting, even if the train is only sitting at a station.

Is it like seeing a winding path ahead?  It’s so easy to imagine the train pulling out  . . . heading for anywhere, heading for a new adventure.

This particular train came from Harrisburg, headed for Philadelphia and New York. When it arrived, the stationmaster came out to chat with the conductor, just as thrilled to see the train as I was, though he sees them all the time. But then, you probably wouldn’t be a stationmaster if you didn’t love trains, would you?

I was amazed when I saw these markings on the Greenway in New York.

Wow, I thought.  Who knew Five Fingers had made such a mark on the urban scene.

Then I realized that there weren’t five fingers.  Or toes.  Bummer.

There is a ghost bike on the West Side Greenway at 38th, a sobering reminder that a bike path is no guarantee of safety for a cyclist.

The memorial is dedicated to Dr. Carl Henry Nacht.

Nacht was killed in 2006 on the Greenway  when a tow truck driver pulled into the towing authority against Nacht’s right-of-way as he was riding recreationally with his wife.

The Street Memorial Project supports the Ghost Bikes project.  More information can be found on their website, GhostBikes.org  Read more about Dr. Nacht on his page on the project’s website.

Great signals on the West Side Greenway in New York City.

The only problem is that most of them had at least one non-functional light.  But otherwise, hey, great idea!

New Yorkers aren’t very frivolous when it comes to motor vehicles. Year-round in my eastern suburbia, some people attach flags to the roofs of their cars, and wreaths, antlers, and red noses in December.  In New York, the preferred accessory is massive chromed bumpers, front and back.  Not, as you  might guess, against a traffic accidents, but so that the vehicle will survive parking, and being parked next to.

So I was thrilled to see this van:

The driver noticed me snapping this shot, and tooted (quietly) and waved as he passed Basil and me.  New Yorkers are a lot more friendly than their rep.

You know how some people make fancy cupcakes to celebrate holidays? Well, the Met had a better idea:  Fondant Museum!

Can’t read the sign?

Here’s the ingredients list:

• 60 pounds of rolled fondant
• 30 pounds of gum paste [“sugar dough”]
• 2 months of labor
• 128 hours of work
• 6 pastry assistants

So why was this confection created?  Presumably, because it could be.  Don’t try this at home.  You probably need your job, and your kids probably need to be fed something other than gum paste.

I stay with family I’m rather fond of, when in New York City. Better yet, said family comes with excellent cats.

Basil doesn’t seem to mind the cats a bit.  This is part of the re-acquaintance process (for the felines, at least) when Basil and I return. Once the formalities are concluded, it’s visiting as usual.

I set a goal in November of publishing a post every single day — and hit my target!

For the first time in many years of blogging, I used WordPress’s scheduling feature, and it worked like a champ, even though I spent nearly a week with essentially no Internet access.

I’ll probably post a bit less frequently through the winter, but I plan to publish at least two posts each week.  One way or another, I should be able to find enough Brompton material to write about to meet that goal, don’t you think?

In spring, I’ll ramp up again.

I love autumn.  Perhaps I’ve mentioned this before?

On this particular afternoon, the shadows from the suburban trail’s fence looked like railroad tracks:

Late November; who would guess?