Snow, bikes, and then some more snow.
So my dad and I went to a bike show in New York City this past Saturday. We got up early, had some breakfast at a local restaurant and then went to the train station to catch the early train to NYC.
The show was great. We got to Penn station 'bout 11am and walked a couple blocks to the Javitts Center. At first I was nervous about sitting on the bikes, as I didn't want to hurt them - but then I realized that hey, that is why they bring these bike - they are floor demo models. So I started sitting on every bike I could. From the huge 2300 cc bike to a small 250 cc Ninja - which I surprisingly enough liked. I've sat on "crotch rockets" before, a large 900cc one. This little Ninja felt really good. I like it. I was a bit surprised. And the price is only $3,000. Not too bad. This upcoming spring I've got my KZ400 to ride around on, but I might take one of those Ninjas out for a test drive just to see how a "crotch rocket" handles on the road.
During the show we could see the snow had started, it looked pretty falling down inbetween the skyscrapers. After the bike show we walked though 3 to 4 inches of snow to get to a TGIFs for $16 hamburgers and $8 beers. Then back to Penn station. We got to the station at 5:30pm, the main terminal display said that the 5pm train was delayed by 1.5 hours, there was a 6pm train delayed by a half hour and the 7pm train was on time.
Seeing as how the train would be headed away from the snow, but coming from an area blanketed in snow, we could understand how it would be delayed. Heck, the 2:50pm train to New Orleans was delayed by 4 hours when it finally left. At 6pm we went to the ticket booth to ask if we could trade our tickets in for the delayed 5pm train. The lady at the ticket booth stated we could get on any of the three trains that showed up first.
So when it was announced at 7pm that the 5pm and 6pm trains were boarding on track 10W we rushed over to the track, handed our tickets to the Amtrak worker and made our way on the train. We thought the train would be crowded - seeing as how it was prolly the last train headed north during a blizzard.
But the train was empty. On the display in Penn station before we left the 7pm train was still showing on time. Was this training taking over for all three trains? We finally got to our destination about 11pm and the conductor stated that there were only 100 people on the train, well below the usual amount of passengers.
The highways were in bad condition and the airports were canceling flights, but still the trains continued. It took us a half hour to get to my mom's house in a trip that normally takes 10 minutes. We had to ask a town plow to plow us a trail up the street my mom lives on, as we couldn't make it 3 feet up the street which hadn't been plowed.
And I'm sore from shoveling, but still dreaming of sitting on those bikes and warm winds in my face as I ride down a back country road.
The show was great. We got to Penn station 'bout 11am and walked a couple blocks to the Javitts Center. At first I was nervous about sitting on the bikes, as I didn't want to hurt them - but then I realized that hey, that is why they bring these bike - they are floor demo models. So I started sitting on every bike I could. From the huge 2300 cc bike to a small 250 cc Ninja - which I surprisingly enough liked. I've sat on "crotch rockets" before, a large 900cc one. This little Ninja felt really good. I like it. I was a bit surprised. And the price is only $3,000. Not too bad. This upcoming spring I've got my KZ400 to ride around on, but I might take one of those Ninjas out for a test drive just to see how a "crotch rocket" handles on the road.
During the show we could see the snow had started, it looked pretty falling down inbetween the skyscrapers. After the bike show we walked though 3 to 4 inches of snow to get to a TGIFs for $16 hamburgers and $8 beers. Then back to Penn station. We got to the station at 5:30pm, the main terminal display said that the 5pm train was delayed by 1.5 hours, there was a 6pm train delayed by a half hour and the 7pm train was on time.
Seeing as how the train would be headed away from the snow, but coming from an area blanketed in snow, we could understand how it would be delayed. Heck, the 2:50pm train to New Orleans was delayed by 4 hours when it finally left. At 6pm we went to the ticket booth to ask if we could trade our tickets in for the delayed 5pm train. The lady at the ticket booth stated we could get on any of the three trains that showed up first.
So when it was announced at 7pm that the 5pm and 6pm trains were boarding on track 10W we rushed over to the track, handed our tickets to the Amtrak worker and made our way on the train. We thought the train would be crowded - seeing as how it was prolly the last train headed north during a blizzard.
But the train was empty. On the display in Penn station before we left the 7pm train was still showing on time. Was this training taking over for all three trains? We finally got to our destination about 11pm and the conductor stated that there were only 100 people on the train, well below the usual amount of passengers.
The highways were in bad condition and the airports were canceling flights, but still the trains continued. It took us a half hour to get to my mom's house in a trip that normally takes 10 minutes. We had to ask a town plow to plow us a trail up the street my mom lives on, as we couldn't make it 3 feet up the street which hadn't been plowed.
And I'm sore from shoveling, but still dreaming of sitting on those bikes and warm winds in my face as I ride down a back country road.
posted by Margaret @ 9:31 PM
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