Dumb Ideas: Running the Brooklyn Bridge at Lunchtime

Yesterday I decided to go for a lunchtime run. Things aren't super busy this week at work and the extra hour or more of sleep that I get when I don't run in the morning sounded nice. All would have gone well but I overlooked one crucial fact--as soon as the weather turns nice, the Brooklyn Bridge walkway turns into a clusterf***.

Photo credit: Streetsblog.org

While the iconic bridge offers some of the best views in the city and is tantalizingly close to my office, it is no place to run at lunchtime on a nice day. Early morning? Okay. Raining outside? Should be fine. Warm and sunny? You'd have better luck traversing the seventh circle of hell. Of the three East River bridges that connect Brooklyn to Manhattan none draw tourists like the Brooklyn Bridge which unfortunately happens to have the narrowest walkway. It's divided by a white line between bikers and walkers, but few tourists manage to stay inside the line. I'm hardly the first person to document this phenomena (check out Vincent Mounier's post from last year for some great photos on the subject).

I have nothing against these tourists but the moral of the story is clear: if you want to quickly traverse the East River during peak hours, you are better off going north to the unloved Manhattan Bridge. The extra distance is more than made up by the time you save dodging oblivious tourists and the occasional angry biker. I think I'll save the Brooklyn Bridge for my crack of dawn commute runs from now on.
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Yesterday's Run: 5.2 miles at 7:48 pace.

WRONG WAY Runners

I read the NY Times daily but somehow I missed this awesome post from the City Room Complaint Box feature. It's from last week and the author zeros in on one of my running-related pet peeves: people who go the wrong way around the Central Park reservoir.

For those who don't run regularly in Central Park, the reservoir is ringed by a 1.58 mile dirt running path. The path is relatively narrow--wide enough for about three people to stand side-by-side--so users are restricted to running in one direction, counter clockwise. Strollers, dogs, and bikes are also prohibited. There are bright green signs every few hundred yards with instructions, arrows and pictures for the newcomers. Unfortunately, plenty of folks seem to ignore the signs.

During peak hours, especially in the evenings or on weekends, the path gets so packed that it can be tough to navigate when everyone is moving counterclockwise. Throw in a few folks who feel entitled to go clockwise and it's gets downright frustrating. Unlike the post's author, I've also seen the occasional bike, stroller, and dog on the path too. The people with bikes are usually tourists with their Bike N Roll rentals and I'm sure some of them don't speak English and/or are genuinely confused. I've have a harder time believing that everyone else is. As the Complaint Box author says:

Is it really so difficult to heed the signs? It may be possible to miss sighting one of them. It takes some effort, or sheer indifference to the world and other people around you, to miss all of them.

I've talked to other runners who sometimes [knowingly] go the wrong way around the reservoir and they don't see it as a big deal and plenty of commenters who posted on the Times website seem to think the Complaint Box author is loopy for suggesting they follow the signs (actually something of them seem to think she's a whole lot worse than loopy...). Clearly this issue isn't as black and white as I had thought! 

 

The Joys of a Brooklyn Bridge Run

Yesterday you learned that I am a teeny bit competitive. Well, today it's time for another confession: I've got a huge thing for bridges. Suspension bridges, drawbridges, cantilever bridges, lift bridges, you name it. I probably would have put "bridge" in the title of this blog if there weren't so many other similar running blog titles out there.

Now I just happen to be in luck because New York City has 2,027 bridges (makes sense when you have more than three dozen islands). The point is that quite a few of my runs involve bridges. I try not to play favorites but certain bridges get a lot more attention from me. One that surprisingly doesn't is the Brooklyn Bridge.

What?!? No love for the Brooklyn Bridge? No, it isn't that. It's that there's too much love for this beautiful bridge. On the weekends it's swamped with tourists who congregate on the Manhattan side of the walkway to take pictures and block the path. Because I don't like fight with all these gawkers, I usually opt for the Manhattan Bridge if I'm downtown and need to cross the East River.

Today, however, I did another commute run--a 15 miler--and had the luxury of being downtown early on a weekday. I was also coming from the Brooklyn side which can also make a difference. Sure, it's the "Brooklyn" Bridge, but a lot of folks who come to see it never make it to the other side, much to the chagrin of Marty Markowitz.

As I ran across the bridge this morning, I slowed down and looked up. Watching the beautiful cables climb up to the towers, each stone monument crowned by a flapping American flag, it's hard not be awed. I know I certainly was. I might have to start reintroducing this bridge back into my runs.