New York: Brooklyn Bridge, Prospect Park, Central Park and the Big Sister

When I booked travel for a New York trade show, I hoped the weather would allow an early-November bike ride.  On the day I arrived it was a cloudy, but mild day. 

"Bike on!"

I dropped the baggage at the New Yorker hotel (nice lobby, older rooms, good deal, great location) and walked over to City Bicycles (315 W 38th) to rent a bike for the day. The staff was friendly and helpful -- providing a free bike route map and directions to the Brooklyn Bridge.

NYC Street View

At first I was a little nervous riding in Manhattan, but the bike lanes are well-marked and at mid-day the streets weren't that busy.  Once I made my way to the Hudson River Greenway on the east side of Manhattan, it was all good.  A dedicated bike path, Hudson River Greenway runs almost the entire length of the island with few interruptions.

At Warren Street, I cut over to the Brooklyn Bridge which required riding in traffic but only for a couple of blocks.

Classic selfie of the Brooklyn Bridge (aka #bridgie)

The bridge was crowded with sightseers so I had to slow down, but the pedestrian walkway across the bridge is a "must-ride."

My daughter and I once build a model of the Brooklyn Bridge for a school project.  Since then I find it easy to recognize the bridge's iconic arches in movies and photographs.

Once in Brooklyn I rode side-streets to Prospect Park to meet my sister, Felicity, for lunch.  She works at the Prospect Park Alliance as an on-staff artist/designer.  I once told Felicity that I intended to bike the loop in Central Park and she insisted I ride at Prospect Park instead -- so I was here to fulfill my promise.

According to a local maven we bumped into on the way to lunch, Central Park was a beta version of Prospect Park as Frederick Olmstead designed Central Park five years before Prospect Park.   New Yorkers are quick to debate the pros and cons of each park even though it "is a bit like arguing over whether the Atlantic or the Pacific is the better ocean."

My sister Felicity, an on-staff artist/designer at Prospect Park, models her new signage

More of Felicity's signage.  While I appreciate the design, I abhor bicycle traffic controls.    

Felicity is my oldest sibling and the one that moved away.  The rest of my brothers and sisters still live in and around Chicago.  Felicity came to Brooklyn to study fine arts at the Pratt Institute as a graduate student.  At Pratt, she met another artist, Steve, whom she eventually married and together they settled in Brooklyn.

The five sisters dancing at Felicity's Wedding
(source: Margery Frisbie's bulletin board)

This was a significant family event because not only had Felicity run away to New York, she had abdicated her position as Big Sister.  In a family of eight children, the title of Big Sister is an important one.  Growing up, the Big Sister was the second in command after Mom, taking care of the littlest ones and keeping the others in line.  As adults, the Big Sister's responsibilities included organizing family events, attending wakes of distant relatives, and "riding in the back seat of the van with Grandma Ev, who peed on my purse."  Responsibilities that my second oldest sister, Anne, had inherited and no longer appreciated.

The Manhattan skyline from the Prospect Park Alliance's offices.

"Just because Felicity moved to Brooklyn doesn't mean I'm the Big Sister," Anne announced one evening after our parent's anniversary party.  "Why do I have to organize all the parties.  We're all in the same family.  Maybe one of you should be Big Sister."  While a few of us thought Big Sister should remain a hereditary peerage, after some discussion it was decided the next Big Sister should be selected by secret ballot.

Which one is the family's big sister?

At the time, I was a young man whose priorities were drinking beer and spending as little time with my family as possible.  So no one was more surprised than I when the results of the conclave indicated that I was the new Big Sister.  After my brother-in-law Mike's laughter died down, I addressed the group.

"Thank you for this honor.  I intend to institute a regime of benevolent indifference.  Laissez faire will be the motto.  Now, please fetch your Big Sister a roadie.  I have kegger to go to."

Big Sister Picnic Invitation

My priorities changed after getting married and having kids.  I still wanted to drink beer, but now I wanted to drink beer WITH my family and, ideally, in a nicely wooded kid-friendly venue.  This was the inspiration for the Big Sister Picnic.

The first Big Sister Picnic was held on June 15, 1991 at Deer Grove Forest Preserve, Grove #1, and honored my Grandma Pearl's 85th Birthday.  The picnics were a pot-luck affair.  It was bring-your-own-entree to grill and then a side-dish to share.  I delegated the party tasks to my siblings: Tom, soft drinks; Ellen, party favors, etc.  I would bring the beer, ice and a charcoal grill for common use.  

Cooking on the shared Weber charcoal grill was a bit of a challenge.  Grandpa liked to keep it loaded with enough charcoal for smelting base metals.  This was good as everything cooked quickly -- step right up, no waiting.  But the barbecue purists would complain bitterly about trying to cook over "your father's inferno."  Admittedly, by the end of the day, along with the uneaten and slightly sad-looking deviled eggs, would be plates of unrecognizable charred meat. 

My park signage.  Not as well designed as Felicity's, but surprisingly effective

After eating and a warm-up of softball or kickball, the picnic always featured a main event.  In the earlier years, the main event was an obstacle course made up of whatever props were readily available and whatever crazy theme the events committee invented.  A tricycle, cones, a man's business suit with hat were some of the props.  A curious piece of wooden play furniture would make an annual appearance as part of the obstacle course serving as a diving board, or a hurtle, or a bridge over hot lava.  The rest of the year, it sat untouched in my parent's basement (I think it may still be there).

Some years we played Capture the Flag.  I have a vivid memory of chasing my cousin Kathy's husband Jerry, who was well into his 60's at the time, through the woods.  Being more familiar with the grounds, I knew Jerry was trapped, but he was so determined to get away, he ran full speed into dense thicket of Buckthorn.  He was captured, but let's give him extra points for effort.

When the family's dog population grew, we featured a "Dog Show."  Events included:

• Tail Wagging -- With owners encouragement, the dog who wags their tail the most times in 15 seconds wins.
• Veggies -- Owners tempt dogs to eat vegetables.  The dog that eats the most vegetables wins.
• Help, Help! -- Owner lies on ground and cries, "Help! Help!"  The first dog to lick their owner's face wins. 

The Big Sister Picnic Dog Show

The family dogs were well-loved, but not well-disciplined.  That didn't matter because the entertainment was watching the lengths the owners would go to to get their dog to wag their tail or eat some broccoli.  The dogs didn't mind because they understood the real event -- which dog could eat the most deviled eggs and charred meat off the table before being caught.

Another year, we used my son Matt's home-built trebuchet (a type of catapult) to launch water balloons.  My brother Paul was surprisingly skilled with the device, sending the water balloons to incredible heights.  Contestants would then try to catch the water balloons much to the audience's amusement.

One of the last events was a Cardboard Regatta -- a race between boats built with cardboard and duct tape.  The contestant vessels were quite diverse in design, but uniformly wobbly and barely water-proof.  My daughter Lauren's cardboard canoe was the heavy favorite until she couldn't resist giving me a splash as she passed me by.  Her paddle caught a little too much water, briefly caused her gunwale to dip and take on water.  Moments later, her canoe sprung a leak and sank.

The last picnic was July 25, 2010 and featured my parent's 60th wedding anniversary.  That's an twenty-year run for an event -- not bad for "benevolent indifference."

Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Aha! moment.  The "Park Slope" neighborhood is named after the slope I rode up to get to the park!

After lunch with Felicity, I rode the Prospect Park loop and headed back to the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan.  My sister was right, Prospect Park was a sweet ride.  Feeling good I pushed north on the Hudson River Trail to 106th street and rode the loop in Central Park too.

Central Park, NYC

NYC Bike Trail Map -- Free and really nice!

I was feeling pretty cocky until I realized that with last weekend's time change it would be dark in less than an hour and I was a long way from the bike rental shop.

Rented bike + Manhattan traffic + tourist + nightfall = national news story

Fortunately, I took a shortcut down 9th Avenue and got back to City Bikes just as it got dark -- my reward? Dinner at Junior's.

Half-pastrami/half-corned-beef Reuben, local brew, Junior's on 45th Street

-- Frizbo 

State:	New York
Date:	2013-11-05
Route:	Hudson River Greenway, Brooklyn Bridge, Prospect Park, Central Park
Distance:	36 miles