My own schedule (without the F-train)

Well I got to tell you,
my bike riding days to
Manhattan couldn’t have
come at a better time.
The once very reliable
F-Train has recently become a “moving calamity on 64 wheels”
almost every day.

Did anyone see the MTA workers switching the track by hand at Bergen Street a few months back? A three foot wrench and human muscle made sure the next stop was “Jay street Boro Hall”, but the back-up that day added a wonderful 45 minutes to my regular 45 minute trip to work. Then there was the crazy homeless guy at 34th street last week; he pulled two emergency brake cords on two separate trains that morning. Oh, right, one was my F and the other was the D everyone switched to across the platform. Then to add insult to injury he pulled the cord in the last car of my F on the way home that same day.

But one of my recent days to remember had to be the morning two “loud mouths” started fighting with each other on the train at 42nd street. Some real “in your face” action that only a couple of real Brooklyn guys were capable of. Yeah, some real fun, even the gun that one of the guys dropped on the floor right by my feet. Got to tell you, I've seen alot on the F for the past 37 years, but that was a "first" for me. I hope he bought a "holster", because keeping it in his underwear just didn't work.

Your right, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.
I want my "own" schedule back again, and it's NOT going to include the F-train. No “sick passengers”, “switch or signal problems” at Bergen street. Forget fistfights, dropped guns and mental patients pulling the emergency brake.

There are going to be no “delays” on my trip anymore.

And today is the day!

This is my 5th year of riding my bike to work, starting in March and ending in late November. The trip takes my about 55 minutes door to bike rack every day. That’s from East 4th and Beverley to 1251 Avenue of the Americas at 50th street. That’s a 20-mile round trip, and a guaranteed 15-pound weight loss by July.

And let me tell you there’s nothing like riding a bike through the streets of the city. From the beauty of Prospect Park in the mornings, to the view of the City from atop the Brooklyn Bridge. And you know what? It's all FREE. Plus I save four bucks a day! Hey, every dollar counts in a “recession" you know.

So the next time your stuck on the F-Train, think about a bike.
Because there's no better way to get to work and feel good about it each and every day.

And the "calamity on 64 wheels?"
Well, you can just save the "delays" and the "break-downs" for someone else's very sad "Kensington Story". Because I'm going to
spare myself the pleasure of the Subway and the F-train at least
till late November.

Ron Lopez


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