A few years ago, I had been on a longish ride from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to the George Washington Bridge, down to Battery Park and back to where I started. I had my camera with me but despite the perfect weather had not seen a single dog in a basket all day. I was somewhere in the 50s, block-wise, and passed this young woman and dog going the opposite direction. I did a u-turn, passed them and waited for them to ride by, which they did.
The car passing in the background ruins the shot, however, we live in a car world and if you think about it, cars ruin everything except road trips on winding country roads. And fooling around in the back seat.
Anyway, we moved from New York a few years ago and I don’t see dogs in baskets anymore. You need that critical mass of millions of people crammed onto an island to have a chance of catching dogs in baskets. Sure, you’ll see one now and again, but do you have your camera with you at that moment? In NYC, there’s a better than 50-50 chance of seeing a dog in a basket on a weekend ride or a walk along the loop in Central Park.
On our infrequent trips back to the city, I’m there, camera in hand, looking for that freewheeling pup. Meanwhile, I post stories on another blog and if you like stories, many set in New York, here’s the link.
Dogs and Bikes 