I walked today from the top of manhattan to the tip of manhattan. From 225th st to South Ferry, a total of 13.7 miles. A few lessons:
- Breaks are bad.
- Don’t sit down. Sitting makes your legs more tired than continuing.
- Breaks kill your psychological momentum. Our team completed our 13.7mile task in 8 hours. Many people circumnavigate the island (32 miles) in 12 hours.
- Company matters.
- Our crew chatted, joked, and sang. The good vibe helps the miles melt. We started with four people, but an additional 6 joined us for various segments. Their novel energy kickstarted our enthusiasm.
- Travel light.
- Of our party of four, two carried only the clothes on our back and the items in our pockets. One had a small backpack. One had a large backpack. At least three quarters of the large backpack (by volume) went unused. This person may be the least athletic of our crew, so overpacked due to fears of being unprepared. Ironically, their fear of being unprepared made their backpack the heaviest.
- Choose your path wisely.
- We walked down broadway the entire way. A perfectly pleasant path. For my next trek, I’ll walk along the water: more beautiful scenery, and less chaos of other people.
- Keep your eyes open.
- At the end of the journey, when a man bikes by balancing a car tire on his head, make sure you see him and smile.
