The Art of City Walking....

Monday, March 14, 2011.....


Saturday, I was in NYC and am always in awe of how you need to walk while in NYC. I should note, there is a big difference between walking the city streets on a weekday versus a weekend day.

Although, I was in NYC, I've noticed there is a special rhythm for walking in a major city. For me, walking in NYC reminds me of riding the bumper cars at an amusement park.

During a weekday, the streets are packed with people just trying to get from point A to point B at top speeds. You need to maneuver around and through groups of people at a high speed because...I'm not sure why, but you just have to walk at top speeds. If you're slow, well, you might be bumped off the curb.

On a weekend day, the tourists arrive and look at every building. Personally, I try to avoid Times Square whenever possible, but especially on the weekends. The tourists, people with strollers and slow walkers walking 3 to 4 people across the entire sidewalk can easily make me lose my mind. Unfortunately, NYC doesn't necessarily bring out the best in me.

I find I nudge people to move over more than I'd like. However, if I don't weave in-and-out of people or nudge them, I can easily be pushed off the sidewalk because they don't know how to share space or be hit by a taxi if they crawl a snail's pace in a cross walk.

I think a good city walker has perfected the pace AND knows something I don't do well -- they know to look straight ahead and not at the ground like I do.

Although I love NYC, I wish I could just blink my eyes to transport myself all over the city without injury.