Walking Manhattan

~ I went for walk today covering a total distance 8.1 kilometres in just under 90 minutes.

While I was out I had a crazy idea to walk Manhattan. I decided that on at least one occasion I would try and walk the whole of Broadway (or at least from 187th Street and Broadway down to Bowling Green where the famous Charging Bull is located), since Broadway runs pretty much the full length of the island.

I mapped it with Google Maps and the total distance is 18.3 kms. According to Google Maps it could be done in 3 hours and 44 minutes of continuous walking, although I don’t know how they arrive at that figure. However, it seems about right given that it took me 90 minutes to walk 8kms. Double those numbers for 16 kms in 3 hours, and there you have it. Heck, I’ve still got 44 minutes to walk the last 2.3 kilometers.

And I’ll probably need every one of them!

Starting at Public School 48 (at 4360 Broadway, not far from where I’ll be staying), the route will take me past Columbia University; the Malcolm X & Dr Betty Shabazz Memorial; close to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine; the Children's Museum of Manhattan; the Beacon Theatre; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; and into Columbus Circle.

From Columbus Circle I’ll head down into Times Square, and on down Broadway to the Flatiron Building at E 23rd and Broadway. Here I will be on familiar ground, having walked this area extensively during my New York stay in 2008. Ignoring the Barnes & Noble book store in Union Square I’ll continue on to The Strand Book Store at 828 Broadway (www.strandbooks.com). On their website they claim to have 18 miles of books, and who am I to dispute this?

Down, down Broadway I’ll go. Past Greenwich Village, the Bowery, Tribeca, Little Italy and the neighbourhood that has all but swallowed it up - Chinatown. On through City Hall Park (looking out for the Brooklyn Bridge), past the Woolworth Building, St Paul's Chapel, and down past Wall Street until finally I reach the Charging Bull.

There can’t be too many visitors – or New Yorkers for that matter – who can say they have walked the length of Broadway. At the very least I will walk down to Columbus Circle, a distance of 10.4 kms (according to Google Maps), which is certainly doable.

Having completed the walk, I then have to walk back up Broadway to Fulton Street, and find the Broadway-Nassau Street subway station. Jumping on the A train, I’ll ride it all the way back to 181st Street station, stagger home, have a hot shower/bath, and go to bed.

I reckon I’ll deserve it.

And I know I will definately need it.

iPhone App of The Week: Walkmeter

~ As I write this the clock continues ticking on those free Lonely Planet city guides I wrote about yesterday. Remember, you only have until 11.59PM GMT tonight to download the guides of your choice. You will find them in the Travel section of the iTunes app store.

Since we are once again talking about iPhone applications, one of my favourite new iPhone apps is Walkmeter, a sophisticated pedometer for the man (or woman) about town. Walkmeter measures distance covered, average speed per mile/km, elevation, calories burnt, fastest pace per mile/km, and much more. It even creates a map of the route you walk (or run, cycle, ski, swim, skate etc), and saves this as an overlay on Google Maps.

At just $5.99 this amazing application has rendered my $60 clip-on pedometer obsolete. It provides much more information than traditional pedometers with a much higher degree of accuracy. It is also a great motivational tool for people who need to exercise regularly (that’s me), since you can map out a regular exercise route, and then compare stats each time you complete a ‘circuit’.

But Walkmeter is not just a motivational tool for fitness addicts. Using Walkmeter I could map a walking route around New York City (or any location for that matter), and email family and friends to let them see where I have been. I could of course, keep these routes for future reference, and I’m sure they would make a great record of my explorations around New York.

The only caveat to all this is that you must have an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS device. Walkmeter is not for iPod Touch or first generation iPhones, which lack GPS capability. You also need WiFi, Edge or 3G connectivity for viewing maps, or using Twitter, Facebook, or email updates. Thankfully, you can use the application in Offline mode which helps avoid data roaming charges while recording your walk.

Finally, the application comes in three versions: Runmeter, Cyclemeter, and Walkmeter. However, my reading of the information on the Abvio website seems to indicate that apart from each applications default startup setting, all three apps are exactly the same. That means you only need to purchase one app rather than three, assuming you like to run, cycle and walk.

Click here to see an example of a Walkmeter route map...

Online: Walkmeter...

I Love New York in…?

~ Well, it’s been a long time germinating, but at last plans are starting to bud in anticipation of my next foray into the northern hemisphere. To paraphrase a classic song:

I love New York in June, how about you?
July can’t come too soon, how about you?
Midnight and Jake are waiting,
I can’t stop celebrating,
I am over the moon – how about you?

Yes, folks, the planets are lining up in the perfect configuration for your excited bloggist right now because I’ve recently teed up a two month, rent free, apartment sitting opportunity in Washington Heights, at the top end of Manhattan.

Yes, you read it correctly…

Two months.

Rent free.

New York apartment.

And summer in the city that never sleeps.

Did I say I was ‘over the moon’? That hardly captures how I am feeling right now, but believe me, I am flying!

Midnight and Jake are a couple of very cool cats (literally) that will be in my care for pretty much the entire months of July and August while their Australian owners are back home here in Adelaide over the American summer. In return for looking after the daily needs of the cats and keeping an eye on the apartment, I get to spend most of the northern summer in one of the most exciting cities on the planet.

I feel a song coming on…