Apart from the people I missed, if I were to be honest, after a few months in the USA, there were few things from my British existence I remembered well enough to miss. Aside from the people at home that I miss, there is not much that I have felt I have lacked.
My Mum and Dad's Cat (despite my being allergic to it), the Wright's Bar Mixed Grill, Premiership Football and 20 fl oz pint glasses, would probably rank amongst the top 'non-human' things. Nonetheless, with New York so exciting, the present has been too exciting to spend too much time analysing things that I miss.
One hole that I have not been able to fill however, is cycling. A catalyst for my homesickness? The thought of my two-wheeled friend, slouched - presumably rusting - in a dark corner of my parents' North Hertfordshire Garage.
Now, granted, I could have a bike here in NYC, but given my finances and given the various factors affecting my propensity to ride one whilst here in the "Big Apple", the idea of returning to two wheels cannot "fly" - at least for the moment.
The relative lack of cycling is a big difference in New York City. Far fewer people use bikes.
In London, it is a large part of the culture and an apparently expanding one. Green bike lines wind round streets. In built up area, you can actually overtake cars by weaving through gaps between revving engines; you claim safety in the slow crawl of the traffic around you. Last year we Londoners elected a cycling aficionado mayor.
There are differences between the two cities. The biggest problem for the humble Manhattan biker is the damn efficiency the NY grid system gives its roads. Unlike London with its ancient illogical spaghetti layout, of thin roads and bottle necks, New York traffic is typically divided in to Avenues of 4 lane traffic rapidly moving north to south, in straight lines and that means cars can actually drive and do so, fast. This means that the cyclist who thrives off lethargic traffic movement, is effectively shuffled off the road. The cyclist zealous taxi drivers are also quite a menace, frequently and unpredictably, turning on red.
However, it is changing. I was surprised how many green lanes of its own that there were running down Manhattan's streets. On the main roads, you see the odd person riding most times. Couriers and Delivery men use them quite a bit.
The other big problem here is the actual road surface. New York roads are in a similar state to those in Blackburn, Lancashire that The Beatles sang about. Though there are probably more than 4,000 holes, the real problem is their depth. London roads do have the odd grill or dip, a precarious hazard on an otherwise flat road surface here and there, but New York's are huge. Tarmac crevasses, drain entrances inches below surface level, crumbling tarmac, holes in the road dug like archaeological excavation. In short, I would not want to ride over one and bet my lunch money on my cranium remaining intact (helmet or not).
Nonetheless, this is not really the reason why I have not made yet a trip to a NY bike shop. Being a "Tunnel and Bridge" Jersey-ite, traveling with a bike to Manhattan would pose certain logistical difficulties and though a worthwhile investment if I was staying longer, a bike wont fit in to my BA luggage entitlement, once I eventually make the return trip across the Atlantic.
However, I miss a ride and might yet look at buying a second hand bike. Why? Cycling gives a sense of freedom and control that you cannot get from any other means of transportation.
I have been reading through the early chapters of Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance recently and Robert Pirsig perfectly describes this feeling of control (albeit from a Motorbike):
"You see things on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame"
With so much to see of a city from the saddle, there is so much to absorb and from a position in which you actually know that you are part of it. Unlike Pirsig, of course, when on a peddle bike, you know that it is up to your thighs and navigational nous - rather than a petrol can to get you there and that makes it doubly thrilling.
Bikes can be annoying, of course. Taxi drivers, crunching gears and frequent trips to Evans bike shops for elusive but critical bike parts are a frequent difficulty. Then there is theft (I've had two stolen, one in London) which is obviously pretty disastrous. Still, through my University days, there was nothing better to pick up the adrenaline than to take a ride on my bike and it was the reason I got to know London so well.
I will miss NY pretty badly when I leave, but the Bicycle Buzz will be one thing offering some compensation.
However apathetic or lethargic you might be feeling at a particular moment, a bike is guaranteed to re-open anyone's latent adrenaline pipes. For those who have not experienced it, go out and experience life in a "higher gear".
My Mum and Dad's Cat (despite my being allergic to it), the Wright's Bar Mixed Grill, Premiership Football and 20 fl oz pint glasses, would probably rank amongst the top 'non-human' things. Nonetheless, with New York so exciting, the present has been too exciting to spend too much time analysing things that I miss.
One hole that I have not been able to fill however, is cycling. A catalyst for my homesickness? The thought of my two-wheeled friend, slouched - presumably rusting - in a dark corner of my parents' North Hertfordshire Garage.
Now, granted, I could have a bike here in NYC, but given my finances and given the various factors affecting my propensity to ride one whilst here in the "Big Apple", the idea of returning to two wheels cannot "fly" - at least for the moment.
The relative lack of cycling is a big difference in New York City. Far fewer people use bikes.
In London, it is a large part of the culture and an apparently expanding one. Green bike lines wind round streets. In built up area, you can actually overtake cars by weaving through gaps between revving engines; you claim safety in the slow crawl of the traffic around you. Last year we Londoners elected a cycling aficionado mayor.
There are differences between the two cities. The biggest problem for the humble Manhattan biker is the damn efficiency the NY grid system gives its roads. Unlike London with its ancient illogical spaghetti layout, of thin roads and bottle necks, New York traffic is typically divided in to Avenues of 4 lane traffic rapidly moving north to south, in straight lines and that means cars can actually drive and do so, fast. This means that the cyclist who thrives off lethargic traffic movement, is effectively shuffled off the road. The cyclist zealous taxi drivers are also quite a menace, frequently and unpredictably, turning on red.
However, it is changing. I was surprised how many green lanes of its own that there were running down Manhattan's streets. On the main roads, you see the odd person riding most times. Couriers and Delivery men use them quite a bit.
The other big problem here is the actual road surface. New York roads are in a similar state to those in Blackburn, Lancashire that The Beatles sang about. Though there are probably more than 4,000 holes, the real problem is their depth. London roads do have the odd grill or dip, a precarious hazard on an otherwise flat road surface here and there, but New York's are huge. Tarmac crevasses, drain entrances inches below surface level, crumbling tarmac, holes in the road dug like archaeological excavation. In short, I would not want to ride over one and bet my lunch money on my cranium remaining intact (helmet or not).
Nonetheless, this is not really the reason why I have not made yet a trip to a NY bike shop. Being a "Tunnel and Bridge" Jersey-ite, traveling with a bike to Manhattan would pose certain logistical difficulties and though a worthwhile investment if I was staying longer, a bike wont fit in to my BA luggage entitlement, once I eventually make the return trip across the Atlantic.
However, I miss a ride and might yet look at buying a second hand bike. Why? Cycling gives a sense of freedom and control that you cannot get from any other means of transportation.
I have been reading through the early chapters of Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance recently and Robert Pirsig perfectly describes this feeling of control (albeit from a Motorbike):
"You see things on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame"
With so much to see of a city from the saddle, there is so much to absorb and from a position in which you actually know that you are part of it. Unlike Pirsig, of course, when on a peddle bike, you know that it is up to your thighs and navigational nous - rather than a petrol can to get you there and that makes it doubly thrilling.
Bikes can be annoying, of course. Taxi drivers, crunching gears and frequent trips to Evans bike shops for elusive but critical bike parts are a frequent difficulty. Then there is theft (I've had two stolen, one in London) which is obviously pretty disastrous. Still, through my University days, there was nothing better to pick up the adrenaline than to take a ride on my bike and it was the reason I got to know London so well.
I will miss NY pretty badly when I leave, but the Bicycle Buzz will be one thing offering some compensation.
However apathetic or lethargic you might be feeling at a particular moment, a bike is guaranteed to re-open anyone's latent adrenaline pipes. For those who have not experienced it, go out and experience life in a "higher gear".
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