Class-less girl

Wooohooo!!!! I just finished my last class for my doctorate! I can't believe it. I can't quite accept it and have a weird feeling that I will suddenly remember a class I forgot to take and will have to start all over in the fall. Haha. 

Just because classes are finished doesn't mean I am out of the woods yet. I still have to do a few things next week and play a final jury and hopefully my lecture recital the week after. But it's super exciting to have finished my classes! So excited for summer break!!!

Biked the Boros!

Bike ride a success!  Yay!  I felt pretty good during most of it.  If I could do one thing differently I would have worn long pants instead of capris and maybe another layer of shirt.  It was on the cold side, especially when the wind kicked in.  But I had fun and feel a great sense of accomplishment from my day.

There were so many great parts of the ride.  It was amazing how fast we made it to Central Park from lower Manhattan when we didn't have to stop at traffic lights.  Blasting through red lights was fun, as was going up 6th Avenue and seeing iconic buildings like the Empire State Building. Central Park was beautiful in bloom for spring. The views of the city were spectacular, especially crossing the Queensboro bridge with the Roosevelt Island tram passing to my left.  I enjoyed when I was approaching the bridge from the FDR and could look up and see all the bikers riding across the bridge instead of the usual traffic.  It was also fun looking down at the FDR from the bridge and seeing it completely packed with cyclists.

There were a LOT of people participating today.  (Maybe too many.  There were several times we got so cluttered we actually had to stop to space out.) I loved when we went onto the BQE and no one could resist the natural urge to "check to see if any traffic was coming" as we merged from the entrance ramp onto the empty highway.  I chuckled when I saw people in front of me do it, but still caught myself doing the same.  The Verrazano bridge was exciting because it was a tough uphill, but it was the very end, so I knew I could give it all I had left and I would be okay.  I loved going over that last hill and racing down to the finish.

I had a great team of friends to ride with and hope we do it again sometime!

Important Observation

Watch out world: two posts in one night.  In one hour even.  But this is big.
I was browsing my blog, looking back at old posts, etc. I noticed the "labels" to the side and saw that I have only had ONE post with the label "shoes."  HOW. IS. THAT. POSSIBLE???? I'm madly passionate about shoes.  I have a wonderful collection of much loved shoes.  So how in the world have I only written about my shoes ONCE?  I don't know. Maybe I forgot to add the label or something. I should go back and check.  It can't be true. I will tag this post with "shoes" to at least double the number.  Maybe I should feature a pair of shoes a week and write a post about them, since I've been so neglectful.  That could be fun.

Update: 9:44 pm: I was able to find a couple of posts that I could add the "shoe" label too, but it's still pretty pathetic.  This must be fixed.

Bike!

My big ride is tomorrow!  The weather forecast looks great. I got my bike tuned up today and I'm excited!  Last night I went to the Bike Expo to pick up my registration packet.  We wear a snazzy vest with our number on it so they can keep track of all of us.  I heard there are 32,000 people registered to ride.  That is a LOT of bikes! One thing I am looking forward to is riding on some of the major roads that will be closed to traffic.  We are riding on the FDR (big highway down the east side of Manhattan) and the BQE (Brooklyn Queens Expressway - Interstate 278).  I mean, they are CLOSING an INTERSTATE for us to cycle on!  Who does that?  I love it!

Does this look like NYC?

I did a couple of rides this week since I have barely been on my bike since last summer.  I actually rode to work and home on Thursday and then rode down there again today.  I'm excited because it only took a little bit longer to ride than to take the subway.  And after the first 10 blocks or so the ride is completely on the Hudson River Greenway: a path for biking, walking, or running that runs the entire length of Manhattan.  It is completely protected from cars (SAFE!) and runs along the water the whole time.  There are lots of trees (which are full of pink and white flowers now) and benches to stop and rest.  It's really one of the nicest things about NYC.  A lot of people use the path, but it rarely seems crowded or clogged up. I like to ride and see everyone from serious bike riders in their spandex, to families teaching their kids, to grandmas with little dogs in their bike baskets.  Everyone is out to have a nice time, get a little exercise, and enjoy their day. I'm excited about riding my bike a lot to work this summer.  It's so much better to be above ground biking through a park rather than underground crowded on a subway car.

Okay...wish me luck tomorrow!  :)