The Bridges of New York County Part 1 - Climbing up Broadway

I am not a morning person. Nor do I usually like to do anything on Saturday other than hang out at home and surf the internet. Still, on Saturday, May 24th I somehow managed to get up at 6:00 AM, shlep out to Jersey, and then spend the next 14 hours straight walking 35 miles through 4 boroughs and 56 Census Tracts. That's what the bridges of New York do to me. When I heard that this guy was leading an all-day walk across all the bridges to Manhattan (with pedestrian access), I had to get in on it. You can check out the entire route here.

5 years ago I would have been super-enthused, and in good enough walking shape that it wouldn't have fazed me at all. Nowadays, however, it was a little tougher to get up the motivation, and I've sworn off walking significant amounts for the next week or so. Still, it was a worthwhile time. Even though there were very few areas I hadn't been before, it was cool to do all the bridges in one day - especially the ones that hold various memories.

There were some I actually did twice. I was late, and I walked over the GW to the starting point, I passed the group of about 30 people heading into Manhattan. I told them I'd catch up, walked to Jersey, and headed back. I headed up through Washington Heights and caught up to the group at the Broadway Bridge.

The Broadway Bridge was the second one I ever climbed, and it almost made me swear off climbing bridges. The Broadway Bridge is a lift bridge, which are more common in New York than drawbridges. Essentially, instead of the bridge deck splitting in half and opening up in order to let boats through, the entire deck stays horizontal while it's raised into the air by huge cables that are anchored in the towers above the deck.

The first part of the climb was relatively easy - we monkeyed our way up to the platform above the tracks for the #1 train, and took the ladders all the way up to the lift room at the top. But when we got to the lift room at the top we were in for a nasty surprise. The entire area was filled with pigeons. Not one or two - colonies. They were flying onto our faces, landing on our heads, scratching and pecking at us until we got up to the top. I felt like I was on an episode of Fear Factor - it was easily one of the most disgusting things I have ever encountered. Plus trying to navigate a climb up rusty machinery in a swarm of pigeons can be a bit tricky.

Still, as always, it was worth it when we reached the hatch at the top. We were a bit worried about being seen from the ground while standing on top, but it was a small risk to take for the reward. There is really no feeling I can think of that's the same as being on top of a bridge in New York City.



Neighborhoods: Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill, Riverdale, South Riverdale, Kingsbridge, University Heights, Morris Heights, High Bridge, Ft. George, Harlem, Central Harlem, East Harlem, Mott Haven, South Bronx, Port Morris, Ward's Island, Randall's Island, Astoria, Long Island City, Hunter's Point, Midtown, East Midtown, Upper East Side, Roosevelt Island, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Lower East Side, Chinatown, Downtown Brooklyn, Downtown Manhattan, Financial District, Civic Center, St. George

Tracts Walked: M265, M273, M271, M279, M287, M303, M307, M309, BX293, BX271.02, M289, M311, BX53.01, BX201, BX193, BX189, M236, M210, M206, M204, BX17, BX81, M192, M240, Q99, Q95, Q69, Q83, Q81, Q37, M238, M110, M106.2, Q27, Q19, Q7, Q1, B579, B575, B567, B569, B517, B549, M14.02, M18, M16, M8, B21, B13, M29, M15.01, M15.02, M1, M9, M319, SI15