I had a kinda biathlon day

I helped out this morning with a big race in Prospect Park.  Lots of fun.  I got to ride in the press truck.  The photographers in the back of a pick up truck leading the elite athletics around Prospect Park for a 10 K.  But, also had to ride my bike around the park a few times, so I got to ride about 10 miles all before 11 in  the morning. The good thing about starting work at 5AM is that you can be home way before Noon

That meant I still had time to get in my last long run before I started to taper for the NYC Marathon in 15 days.

Where to go?  I certainly had enough of Prospect Park for one day....  I did not want to deal with the mid day traffic or the tourists packed Brooklyn Bridge.  So I decided to run over the less popular Manhattan Bridge and head up the East Side. This route offered me long stretches of traffic free strait running paths interrupted by  traffic jams.

So after exiting the Manhattan Bridge and beating back the Chinatown crowds I approached the shoreline of the East River I came across an oddly placed coin operated binocular.

However when I got a little closer I realized that there was no coin slot.

But upon even closer inspection I realized that it was art. When you turned the handle to the right yo got a different view of the bridge.  Some were just photos from 75 years ago and some were cartoonish  I really don't believe that my crappy camera phone was able to snap the photo below.  You can even see a little of me in the reflection.

I continued North along the East River. (Not really North, and defiantly not a river, but that is what we say.) and figured I would run over the 59th Street, Queenboro Koch Bridge.  Then take the subway home.  But as I was approaching midtown I realized that I had an opportunity to also cross an almost unknown bridge.... The bridge from Queens to Roosevelt Island..  The Welfare Island Bridge Roosevelt Island Bridge.  Then I did half a loop of the Island and took the Tram to the Subway to get home.

About 15 miles.  Let the tapering begin.

Hay, wait.  Ya know what I just found out.  Before the F Train went to Roosevelt Island and before the Welfare Island Bridge was built the Queensboro Bridge still went over the island.  That bridge used to have a trolley on it. and it had a stop on the bridge.  For a great blog about that click this