A Long-Distance Run, If Ever There Was One

Date: 7 November 2010
Day of Chronicles: 12
Hours: 2:40-7:40pm
Rides Given: 6

I must say, there were times today when I was neither proud nor happy to be a pedicab driver. Broadway was one big clusterfuck, north of Columbus Circle; for a while the police weren't even letting pedicabs up there, thanks to bunching and other bullshit behavior. One jerk on a yellow Main Street urged me to move aside, at a red light, so he could get through (OMG! with his passenger!) and then, when I didn't move fast enough, rammed his wheel into my wheelcover (as a result of misjudging the distance between me and the next taxi over). Last year on Marathon Sunday I was exhilarated to be one with the rickshaw swarm whirling around Columbus Circle; this year, I was like, get me out of here. Maybe next year I'll stay south of 57th Street.

Partly in response to the stresses of the behavioral sink, partly in response to a dumb mistake I made at the Hilton, I ended up huddled in my blanket, in the passenger seat of my pedicab, across the street from the Manhattan Times Square Hotel, at around 5:00pm, melting down. That didn't improve my mood, so I wiped my glasses, put on some warmer clothes, and headed on down 7th Ave towards the depot, still (not so discreetly) weeping. What do you know, a marathoner stopped me at 41st & 7th, asking for a ride to the 33d Street PATH station. And just after I'd dropped her off a foursome from Texas  begged for a ride to the Carlton (on Madison between 28th & 29th). So there I was, back in the high life, through no proaction of my own.

I figured I might as well keep it going, so I put my solicitation cap back on, and got a ride pretty quickly, from about 36th & 6th to 44th & 8th. I still needed $18 to reach my goal for the weekend, so I decided to make one more trip up to Marathon central. I rode all the way up to 68th & Broadway, and most of the way 7th Ave - no luck. And then, at 39th & 7th, I saw a couple of homeboys desultorily sending out the one-fingered salute, four lanes away from me. I yelled over to them and what do you know, they got in! And they were only going to Penn Station! I told them $16, they gave me $25, and damn, was it ever an easy ride!

So I made my goal - and in a way it wasn't wise, since it probably took me an extra 2 hours to make my last 40 or so dollars - but the upside is that I've substantially upped my confidence that when I set a goal, I can reach it.

Bye bye, Marathon. See you in Midtown next year.