I wondering if I could tap into the collective wisdom of the club on this one:

I've been using a couple of Garmin chest strap heart rate monitors (the one that came bundled with the head unit, and a second one I later bought), and have been rather disappointed in their performance--more specifically, their reliability.

It is rather deflating to do a demanding set of laps in the park only to find on returning home that the HRM decided to crap out!

I don't exactly what the problem is, but I've had it with both of these Garmin units.  Sometimes they work great, and sometimes not at all.  And frequently takes a good 10-15 minutes into the ride before they start giving a reading.  

Today, I enjoyed a nice, mid-week getaway to Westwood led by Julie Blackburn and Ron Wechsler. 

It was good to get out in the fresh air and get the blood flowing during the recent cold snap.

Even better was discovering that Allison Park, Allison Park Rd, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632, really does exists and really does have ample parking.

Heretofore, there should be no more excuses for any of us who need to drive to the start of a ride failing join one of the many NYCC rides that come over the GW Bridge from Manhattan.

So, maybe I missed an announcement of some sort, but I thought the 'official' NYCC facebook page was the "members only" version.  The original FB site -- I thought the last I read was hijacked and was no longer in use by the club.  I happened by the old site however, to see a lot of official NYCC news, bulletins, announcements, etc.   So to make a long question short, should members make it habit to check both FB sites?

I live in a co-op apartment on the fourth floor of an eight story building. I’ve been living here for more than 30 years, taking my bike up and down the passenger elevator all that time. This week the co-op board surprise me with the news that they’re going to ban bikes from the passenger elevator. They say that I have to use the service elevator which only the super can run. And the super is only in the building from 7 AM to 2 PM. All other times I have to take the stairs. Needless to say I’m very upset by this. The stairs are narrow and with turns. I feel like the building is putting me in danger of a fall by this requirement.

Time marches on. 

Yesterday, the Fulton Fish Market building was gone. It happened earlier, but I noticed it yesterday. Somehow I had assumed the city was saving it for a landmark. Unless they have labeled each girder, it is toast.

The bike path on the East River along East River Park is closed. The East Side Coastal Resiliency Project is off the drawing board and into the field. Last exit from the park goinng south is Houston Street. Between Montgomery and Houston Streets, you on a bike, are on your own. What was a straight shot is now a new adventure. [I'll scout a re-route for the best option.] A sheet by project managers, posted in the East River Park advises taking avenues to get to the 10th Street overpass. Side streets might be more bike friendly.