17 Miles to New Heights

Starting off on Brooklyn’s Ocean Parkway, this commute took me up Prospect Park Southwest/West before getting on Flatbush Ave. Just 3 years into bike commuting, I was not wearing a helmet. I was both lucky and foolish. Looking back, never again would I ride without a helmet or reflective gear. It was on Flatbush where my knuckles were scrapped by a 53-foot trailer. Over the course of a year, I fell swerving into a curb as I was just waking up at 5am. I also rear ended (ran into) the back of an SUV on a busy Manhattan street.

From Flatbush, I veered to the Brooklyn Bridge. Riding this bridge every morning for a year, before tourists wake up, was amazing. Anyone who has ever rode a bicycle should get the opportunity to ride the bridges entering NYC. From here an easy stretch up the Hudson River Greenway to Washington Heights and NHACS.

I cannot say enough about the school where I was teaching in 2010-11. Equally as awesome as the commute, New Heights Academy Charter School was (and likely still is) the best middle/high school in NYC. An incredible group of students, staff, and administration, NHACS is a welcoming environment with small classes, friendly faces, and a high level of energy.

Each morning, I showered at New York Sports club on 145th St. I rode to NHACS on a GMC Denali bicycle. Big box bikes catch a lot of flak, but they work well, the price is right, and if stolen it may not hurt as much. I call these “get around” bikes as I have owned a few.

Darcy P.