Potholes And Those Damn . . .

I went riding on Staten Island yesterday. Yep, now that I’m living in Manhattan almost 100%, I figured I’d tie the bike to the back of the girlfriend’s car and join the Staten Island club for the round-the-island-dodge-the-potholes-and-bicycle-friendly-drivers ride.

Rather than provide a play-by-play, there are a few things about riding on Staten Island that I’ve missed the past ten months and there are a few things about riding on Staten Island that I will never miss.

THINGS I WILL NEVER MISS ABOUT STATEN ISLAND:

1. Goddam effing drivers, commonly referred to Joey Macaroni, Joey Goombah, Fat Joey, Fat Danny, etc.

2. Goddam effing road quality

3. Goddam effing beautiful scenery

4. Goddam effing bike lanes in the most useless areas

4. Goddam effing dump

5. Goddam effing drivers . . . wait, I mentioned that one already, but I guess they’re worth mentioning again

THINGS I MISS ABOUT STATEN ISLAND:

I don’t technically miss anything about Staten Island with the exception of the club rides. As per my notes above, I could do without the potholes and whatnot, but the characters and conversation are second-to-none and since I simply can’t seem to find such colorful exchanges in any of the other cycling groups, I occasionally return for a ride on Staten Island. Sure, I probably did more damage to my bike yesterday in three hours than I did all summer, but isn’t it worth it to listen to Dr. Rob go off once in a while? Isn’t it worth it to listen to Ed and Vito calmly telling each other to go f#ck one another?

I think it is.