Riverdale to 42nd Street

I knew it wasn't going to be pretty with all the ice, and in some spots it really wasn't. Despite having a few close calls here and there, Tuesday's walk went off mostly without a hitch.

Took the early F train to Bryant Park, and from there walked to Grand Central Terminal. The 6:50 to Crotona dropped me off at Riverdale, and there I began my walk.

As expected, the lack of sidewalks in many parts of northern Riverdale (namely Sycamore and Independence Avenue north of 246th made walking on the snow quite tricky. Thankfully there wasn't much traffic, and I made it off fine.

I always get spooked while photographing and walking in Riverdale. Between its many private streets (some of which don't ban trespassers outright) and antsy residents (one of them berated me a few months back because I dared take pictures of the houses), it's no picnic. Yet it's one of the most suburban and beautiful neighborhoods the city has. More on that on another post.

The most slippery part of the journey was in the parks and bridges. Henry Hudson park was just lightly plowed, and the pedestrian access to the Henry Hudson Bridge was full of icy snow. I don't know why the TBTA spent all that money refurbishing the walkway if they are not going to plow the Sputyen Duyvil end for over a week.

Once in Inwood Park, the pathways were reasonably paved, but for a few stretches in which yours truly almost fell on his ass. Once on Broadway, it was just beautiful. I did make my stop at El Malecón for a delicious Sancocho (the menu's bland translation calls it Caribbean Soup, but it's really more like a leftover concoction. I usually frown on eating too much during walks, but I didn't regret it.

I made it down to the Time Warner Center, and no surprises there. Plenty of tourists and down in Whole Foods, packed to the hilt. I estimated the 10-items-or-less line was 5 minutes long. Really, people?

Once in 46th Street I made use of my monopod, taking some night-time pictures of the Ambassador Hotel and the theaters on Shubert Row and Alley. Subway was packed, but made it home in 20 minutes. All in all, a little over 16.5 miles. If you look at it on a map, it's a pretty straight line.