Friday Ride

I wanted to go out around 8:30 today and ride up to Nyack, but I was feeling supremely uninspired. As a result, I left around 11 after coding, eating, and reading the news. I like drinking loose leaf green tea and reading the news in the morning. It's one of my favorite rituals, in fact. I've been working on this little Python GUI that creates graphs that one can manipulate, like in Mathematica. It's a little frustrating that matplotlib doesn't allow for easy manipulation of parameters in graphs. I thought that it would be cool to build a GUI that allows the user to easily change parameters in their equations via sliders. I also thought it would be cool if the user could enter equations in non Python syntax. Additionally, my GUI also spits out standalone Python/NumPy/Matplotlib code that can be used to generate the plot that is currently being visualized in the GUI. I recognize that this kind of software has been made a million times over, but it's a good learning exercise for me, as I don't have a lot of experience in making GUIs.

Anyways, I've gotten tired of crossing the George Washington bridge during week, as the North walk is open instead of the South walk. The North walk means that I have to go up and down a bunch of stairs, which is a pain the ass with my riding shoes. No doubt this is my fault for buying ultra-stiff ultra-light riding shoes, but hey, they work well when riding. I resolved to cross the Broadway bridge in between Manhattan and the Bronx (called the Manhattan bridge, I think) and head up to Van Cortlandt Park. It was sweet! Van Cortlandt park, unlike many parks in NYC allows cyclists to use the trails. Many of these trails are unpaved and don't seem to see a lot of use. I took some air out of my fatty tires and tore shit up. I'm not very good at riding trails with lots of rocks and roots, so I had to walk some of the steeper climbs, but I think I ultimately did well. I'm excited to go back tomorrow or on Sunday and see how far North some of the unpaved trails go -- many of the trails leave the park and continue on into Westchester county. Below are some pictures of the scenery in Van Cortlandt park. It's hard to believe that I was riding in one of the most densely populated urban areas (if not the densest) in the US.

This trail was just outside of the park, actually

Behind this is a golf course