Hurricane Sandy and Other Adventures

Well, as you all know, this week was filled with tumultuous weather and Hurricane Sandy.

Seaside Heights: courtesy of LATimes.com

From NBC.com 

Now let me tell you a little about Hurricane Sandy. It was scary. I was technically my second hurricane, but Hurricane Irene in Maryland was just a rainstorm, so I don't count it. I rode out the storm in Westfield, New Jersey where power was lost last Monday at 8pm, and has yet to return. I can't even imagine not having power for a week! It's cold outside! From where I was staying, we didn't think the storm was too intense or that it would cause too much damage. It merely sounded as though there was a mild wind gusting outside. On Tuesday we decided to take a drive and assess the damage around town. Boy, were we surprise and astounded at what had happened. While some blocks were totally fine, other  blocks looked as though a tornado had been through and knocked over countless trees and power lines. We couldn't believe it - and immediately regretted our decision of sleeping in the bedrooms on the second floor as opposed to in the basement. It was just crazy.

Tree in Westfield 

Like what?!? How does this happen when we weren't even worried by the wind only three blocks away from this tree that looks as though the grass was lifted up like a carpet. 

I came back to the City on Wednesday and my apartment was essentially a shelter in itself. My one-bedroom-converted-to-two-bedroom was filled to the brim with SIX people living here for a few days. Here's what happened. My roommate's sister had no power, so she was sleeping here. Two of my friends who go to NYU were stuck in a shelter and came to stay here for a few nights (I'm nice, I can't let people stay in a shelter). And my best friend was already planning on coming up from Washington, so plus me that equals 6. It was kind of crazy (ya think?) and today is the first day since Friday, October 26th that I have had to myself (I'm serious). 

In other news, I have been thinking that I need a bicycle since I moved to New York in August. A bike- I suppose most of you are thinking, why do you want a bike? Don't you have a bike? Well here's the story. In college I have a bike like this:

Dahon Folding Bike via GoogleImages 

Yes, I had a Dahon folding bike in college, and let me tell you, it is literally the worst bike ever. This is why. Those wheels are, in reality, as small as they look. Because the wheels are so small it takes significantly more effort to ride the bike than it does to walk, and you don't end up going very fast. My original reasoning behind wanting this bike was that it folds and I would be able to keep it in my dorm room. While that seems like a good idea in theory, it was such a pain in the ass to ride that I never, ever, rode it. 

Now, you might ask me why I want a bike in New York City, since this blog originated as a running blog (oops). I am definitely terrified to go outside and run by myself for a few reasons. 1) I still suck at running. 2) I don't feel particularly safe running alone (read - I AM SLOW). 3) I don't look particularly cute while I run and I feel like New Yorkers might just be a tad judgmental (who would've thought). Now, reasons why I wanted a bike - 1) I wouldn't have to take the bus, subway, or walk places that aren't particularly far away (bikes are fast). 2) I feel pretty safe on a bike (read - bikes are fast, or at least faster than on foot). 3) I can be super cute and ride my bike around Central/Riverside parks. 4) I can ride my bide to school/work and get exercise while doing something I have to do anyway. 

My friend who was visiting this weekend is an avid cyclist (read - road biker/sometimes racer). I knew that if I wanted to buy a bicycle, I should do it while she was here because she is immensely more knowledgable than I am (about bikes). So all in all, we visited three bike stores on the UWS and only looked at two and a half bikes. 

The first bike store we visited (Friday) was Metro Bicycle, and were completely underwhelmed with the service. Later on Friday we went to Toga Bikes and thought it was awesome. We had an awesome salesman, and he taught me a lot about bikes. The only downside was that they didn't really have any bikes in my size, so I couldn't test drive the bike I wanted in my size. My friend insisted that we look at a third bike store so on Saturday morning we went to Bicycle Renaissance. Bicycle Renaissance was awesome for a few reasons - 1) the salesman we had was super cute and equally knowledgable to the salesman at Toga. 2) They mad multiple bikes in my size for me to test drive including the bike I was looking at buying. 3) The salesman taught me why it was so important to ride a properly sized bike, which I didn't really understand before. So, needless to say, I bought my bike at Bicycle Renaissance. 

Specialized Vita Women's 

Now before you make some snide remark, yes, I know, how predictable of me to get a black and pink bike. Whatever, it was one of only two bikes in my price range, and the color matters a little (like a car). Today I did a test ride of my bike to school and door to door it only took twenty minutes, it only took that long because a biker has to follow driver laws and cannot ride on the sidewalk. I'm a little worried I'm going to get hit by a car, but less worried about that than I was as a runner. I'm a pretty happy camper and am very excited to have a bike in The City.

Hopefully this week will get back to normal with school, work, and public transportation. I'll post again soon.