Midday

Scofflaw that I am, I took off from work today so I didn’t have to get to bed early last night after seeing my surprise-favorite Chanticleer perform in front of the Christmas tree at the Met. Early afternoon seemed like a perfect time for a bike ride, so off I went.

This time, I took a straight path down Clarendon Road, which I had always been curious about since a high school classmate lived there. There is now a nice bike lane in each direction (well, nice except for the gazillions of sewer grates and stuff that made the path bumpy) and so I toddled off to Ralph Avenue, site of the Wyckoff farmhouse, apparently the oldest house in the five boroughs, dating from, if I recall correctly, 1656 (!). There was not too much to see since the museum did not appear to be open, but my bike and I walked down the path and saw the house itself as well as the gardens around it--what looked like apples and tiny eggplants were growing to glory. The house was quite a sight, nestling in quite comfortably amidst the drive-throughs and factories and single family homes in the area. It also verges on a fun geographical nexus, where East 59th and 83rd streets intersect. What?!

While I am on my favorite topic of streets, I will spare some love for the New Yorky set of avenues starting at New York, heading to Brooklyn, Kingston, Albany, Schenectady, Utica... I believe that the farther east the roads are, the farther away the cities are from this one. Also worth a mention is the meandering Kings Highway, which is much more highwaylike out here than at the urban-law-unto-itself Kings Highway Q stop.

On my way back down Clarendon, tiny sharp rainbows emanated out from my bike's wheels as I paused at street lights. All in all, an hour well spent.