Off to New York City

So I head off to NYC to meet the surgeon who is going to re-surface my hips and guarantee that I can ride like Floyd Landis. (Keep your doping comments to yourself) The meeting was great and I feel confident in the doctor and the process. I celebrated the news by riding from the upper west side of Manhattan to Astroland at Coney Island.The best parts of the ride were getting to the tip of Manhattan and seeing the Statue of Liberty
and then riding over the Brooklyn Bridge. It has a big lane dedicated to bikes and you just have to remember that it is shared in two directions or you could be in a bit of trouble. Coney Island was a trip though and the people on the boardwalk and the beach were out of central casting: "What da f_ck are you lookin at bike boy..." So after eating a few hotdogs I pedalled back to Manhattan where it's safe and walked around SOHO with my cheerful friend Andy. Luckily there were people as nice as Andy and we made lots of friends.
So after running around lower Manhattan for a while we headed uptown where I had left my car as I had to drive in with my bike. I was a little worried about it getting a custom paint job after seeing this truck. But I ended up meeting a Graffitti Artist and he said I had nothing to worry about as my car was too small and too black to bother painting on, unless I was from out of state!
Then he laughed and said.."just kiddin..really". Anyway is this guy ready for the urban graffitti wars or what.A special thanks to my friend Heather who expertly guided me through Manhattan and Brooklyn except when she was kind of lost or nearly getting creamed by someone making an in-attentive right turn. Following behind I saw it all happening and I was already wondering if they take bikes in an ambulance but she managed to break and avoid the crash without falling over, the benefit of riding without being clipped in!
So I thought I'd end this blog where I began with my hip-resurfacing. I will have the operation on October 26th, two hips at once and this is what they will look like individually. Yes, I will need a special letter to go through the airport security but once these metal parts are working I will be able to ride pain free, except the pain of keeping up with Brendon, Amanda, and the other fasties. See you all on the 11th in Manchester.