A Whirlwind Tour

With my current job at the Guggenheim slowly drawing to an end, my boyfriend across the Atlantic, i start to wonder exactly where my life is taking me. I have another gig set up with Jesse, my on again off again employer but its short term and not in my top pay bracket. He booked me for a set assistant this time, which doesn't necessarily bring home the bacos but it will pay some of the bills, eventually. the wonderful thing about freelancing in new york is sending out invoices and waiting for the checks in the mail. they are ALWAYS in the mail. its a standard procedure

With my new found employment vacancy, my missing lover, and the coldest month of winter approaching, I'm persuaded to join tony and his crew in India for a short holiday. Did i mention he and his companions are traveling around India via bicycle.  now i am no stranger to the cruiser. i have a vintage 52 Schwinn that gets me around town, complete with a metal basket on front that perfectly stores a 6 pack of Brooklyn lager or Magic Hat. yum. but it broke its front rim last fall and has been sitting in its own misery in the corner ever since. not to mention its made out of steel. its heavy. really heavy. so, i have had no proper training let alone any experience on a mountain bike or road bike in almost a decade. crash course in bicycle safely here i come. 

I keep assuring tony that my type of holiday includes a backpack. a map, a good book, and a few hundred bucks. lots of hiking, beaches, exploring, trains, planes, and automobiles if you will. but come on. wheres your will to be weird, to try something new. to reach out beyond your horizons and taste life. A self sustainable life. traveling soley on human power. the wind in your hair. life in the palms of your hands. tony researches some bike online and we (he) decided on a  folding mountain bike hybrid from dahon, the matrix.. tony offers to split the cost as a token of our love and his desire to spend this wonderful experience together. I begin immediately searching for a sublet, cat and turtle care taker, flights to India, visa, passport, shopping for gear, panniers, shorts, gloves, and the necessary bullshit that is going to make my life easier for the next few months. a few days later i head to union square to the bike shop to check it out. take if for a test spin and im fully confident I CAN DO THIS. 

Mean Green Norma Jean

i begin by heading down first ave towards east village and make my to the lower east side. the Manhattan bridge is looming in the distance. i have walked this bridge before, once with my flatmate Brett on a lovely autumn afternoon. we strolled from the Staten island ferry back to our apt in bushwick because the weather was nice. and another time with tony after an evening out having drinks with friends it was warm and drizzling and couldn't be fucked to wait for a cab or make a few subway transfers. but this was a whole new world. i was part of something great, something epic. all the scensters on their fixed wheels, cuffed jeans, hip sneakers, and tight leather jackets were waiting at the light right next to me. ok, just follow there lead and you wont end up in the middle of rush hour traffic. or on the evening news. waiting, waiting and green light go.

i start grinding the gears because i haven't figured out which way is up or down or what gear i should be taking off in anyway and start pumping. piece of cake. until i hit the incline, my heart is racing, my sides are stitching I'm sweating my ass off because duh it was freezing when i  left my house so of course i wore my down jacket. my face is throbbing, and I'm sucking in ice air like im inhaling a freezer pop. i cant take it anymore and I'm only 100 feet into the uphill battle. when i hop off and push the god damned thing to the top. amongst all the bell ringing,"right behind you"  and "outta the way" shouts from the few the proud the hipsters. even grandpa passed me on the oldest ten speed i have ever seen. i was mortified. well get used to it lady, this is how your going to spend your vacation. To see more on fixies read this

i finally made it back to brooklyn in one piece and immediately skped tony to brag about my new ride and gain some sympathy for the effort. ive ordered my gear, ive found a last minute sublet, sailed through the replacement passport and 1 day visa application. lastly i need to book the flight. tony hooks me up with his travel agent who promptly gets me on a flight in 3 days and a return ticket reservation. I will admit at this point i dont actually have a  return ticket and this little trick proves to be essential to my existence.