LRG

Hmm.... Where do I start... There are TONS of them all over but some of them are so steep that I get nervous just walking down them. I was walking down one during one of the snow storms and thought I was going to slip and hurt my @ss. lol They really are steep when I think about how many hills Staten Island has...

 

Anywho there is the hill that starts from 239th where Riverdale & Henry Hudson Parkway East meet by the Bell Tower that goes down.  Not sure I'd recommend that one though because it's steep and there's a lot of traffic.  There's another hill by West 236th closer to Fieldston Rd which is also steep off of Riverdale Avenue that leads you to Greystone/Waldo Avenues, and then on Waldo and 238th you have all of those bloody stairs down to Kingsbridge which may have hand rails for grinding if you will, though I can't recall off hand.  There's the winding hill in Spuyten Duyvil down by Kappock which meanders and slops from over by the Hudson River and down to Johnson where you have the long meandering hill towards Riverdale Avenue and the nice steep hill further up along Riverdale Avenue in Northern Riverdale... Then you have the hills in Spuyten Duyvil and North Riverdale by the MetroNorth stations... They're basically endless because they seem to run from North-South and East-West...

 

I see people actually biking up the hills along Riverdale Avenue and the Henry Hudson Parkway on weekends, but I haven't seen too many folks boarding, though I'm almost certain they exist because I see them walking around with the clothing and such.  I would guess that they must use one of the parks located west of the Henry Hudson Parkway... There's the Henry Hudson Park, Riverdale Park and the big park (Van Cortlandt Park as well and of course you have the hills in "downstairs" Riverdale over by Broadway from Fieldston.  Manhattan College Parkway has some crazy meandering roads with hills that you might like and that one IIRC isn't as steep as the others.  There are others too along Johnson and along Oxford but those are also pretty steep and/or meander so take your pick.   If it sounds like I keep mentioning the same streets it's because some of these streets start and continue in random spots since there is no street grid up here. I always get a chuckle when someone asks me where is Riverdale Avenue, then I point to it and they have no clue of which way to go because it stops for a while due to the Henry Hudson Parkway then continues.

 

LMAO! That helps I guess. I don't mind the hills that meander (a lot of turns), but if a hill is way too steep, it'll take a while to get used to before I'm comfortable with it. Yesterday was my first time skating down the Williamsburg Bridge since last summer and I slowed myself down so many times. You should have seen me, dragging my foot constantly along the pavement so I wouldn't go too fast.

Thankfully I never had to bail off my board, like jump and run off onto a patch of grass or dirt to soften the impact if I should fall. But I guess I should prepare myself in case that does happen.

I also might go to Jersey and skateboard over the George Washington Bridge. If I have enough time, I may even skate from the GWB to the Bayonne Bridge. But that will be one hell of a trek though.

LOL... Well consider yourself lucky... Riverdale is so quiet and suburban that I'm always rather amused to see tourists walking about up here.  Aside from Wave Hill, Fieldston and some historical properties, there isn't much to see up here unless you're into walking your dog, nature, parks or eating.

Any hills in Riverdale you know of by the way? I'm due for a visit to the Bronx soon but not for buses...I'm in the mood to discover some new skating spots. I'm getting bored of Brooklyn and Staten Island, thought I'd expand my horizons a bit.

I went through massive migraine headaches since yesterday. I was vomiting this morning and I felt like I was going blind. Kitty had to call in sick for me. What caused it was work burnout and sleep deprivation against bipolar disorder.

 

I was working 13 hr shifts since Thursday through Sunday to set up the three offices for a firm (2000 computer strong network as I was telling you guys). I am seeing the doctor later. She made me take a combination of Klonopin (anti-anxiety drug in the class of benzodiazepines, Valium and Xanax is in the same class) and Tylenol to stop the migraines. I rarely go though this experiencing migraines but that's what happened my girl keeps on telling me. (She's the nursing student so she would know....) She's with me now watching me because she got scared with how bad the migraine was this morning, but under the medication I am feeling OK so here I am. But I must see the doctor later.

 

I guess I would add that the IT field is a VERY stressful field to work in. I think I said to mtattrain that there is something called biting the bullet. But I have to realize there is only so much a man's body can take mentally when it comes to his nervous system.

Overworking yourself can damage your body as well. I've been real exhausted lately and even getting seven or eight hours of sleep doesn't really do much for me. I have a day off coming this Sunday, my first day off in months. I'm probably gonna stay in, no buses, no skating. Just catching up on some good old sleep.

2737 was on the S55 this morning. It did a school tripper from the Transit Center to Wendy Drive.

I'm going to the Transit Center early tomorrow and see if I catch it. It left the same time it did on Friday when an MCI ran on the S55 as well.

If a Prevost ran on the S55 I would be no good at all!!!

YES! Those auras are a real b!tch. I try to read something and I can't read it. I look at someone or something and all I see is blur. My friend had a migraine one day, we were taking the bus together from school one evening and she could barely see me, but she at least recognized me though.

You're right about trying to eat something. My friend recommended eating something dry like crackers. I do love Ritz and Saltines so one day before meeting up with my driver friend I bought Saltines and a Ginger Ale (that also works wonders) and sat on one of those zero-gravity massage chairs in Brookstone in the mall. I hopped on the bus and took a nap on the trip into the city. By the time we got into Manhattan I felt completely better.

So food and rest does help tremendously. I'm just finally glad I know what it was that triggers my headaches, took about three years to find out but at least I know what it is so I can prevent them and if I do get a headache like that again, I can be able to alleviate the pain so it won't ruin my day.

Oh yeah, I remember I head a migraine that was REALLY bad. I was heading to work one day and all of a sudden I started to get the migraine symptoms (saliva thickens, blurred vision, nausea, etc.) and it was unbearable. I got to work early and shut my eyes for like half an hour before I started, but it didn't do any justice. I was at work for only an hour and I just couldn't stand up anymore because my stomach was aching me terribly and then I ran to the bathroom and hurled. My manager allowed me to go home, luckily there was enough staff in the store to make up for the loss of one person, but I was passed that I only got an hour in because I was scheduled for six hours that day. As soon as I got home I took a nap, the only downside was I was awake for the rest of the night and I stayed in bed the next day because I needed a day to relax. I hate staying in at home all day but sometimes you need to catch up on some rest.

That's why I avoid caffeinated drinks as much as possible. I used to get really bad headaches and was trying as hard as possible to figure out what was the root of it. I tried everything...made sure I wasn't skipping meals, getting plenty of rest, but I couldn't figure it out. I then looked up more about what causes migraines (they were THAT bad) and it says that caffeine can trigger headaches. I realized I would drink a lot of soda that has caffeine in it, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, etc. I stopped drinking those sodas and would switch over to non-caffeinated drinks like Sprite, Ginger Ale and even seltzer water, the latter of which is good stuff. You get the carbonated feel/taste without the heavy sugar or sodium.

I started this new regimen back in the summertime, early August. I've only had migraines in late September, at the beginning and at the end of January, and haven't had any since. Knocking on wood to hope I don't have another one ever again because those can really spoil your day.

Once in a while I'll have hot chocolate from Starbucks. I looked up the contents of the drink, which has very little caffeine. The white hot chocolate has no caffeine at all (that stuff is so good!!!), so you put them together and it "dilutes" the caffeine contents of the drink to a degree.

Damn, I'm looking up the Bx12 SBS on the desktop Bustime and over half of the buses running now aren't even the ones wrapped in the SBS scheme (1200-1232). One of them isnt even an LFS (5506)

 

Mind you, this is on a Saturday two months before beach season. During the week, they also send out a couple of XD60's on SBS service. For a line that's supposed to have dedicated buses, that line sure has some variety...

 

In no particular order:

Unwrapped LFSA's out:

5808

5318

5323

5316

5797

5801

 

D60HF in SBS service:

5506

 

Wrapped LFSA's out:

1211

1230

1232

1218

1226

1215

1220

It's just like the S79 that will have unwrapped hybrids or Orion 5s that pop up on the line from time to time. Probably the other wrapped Nova Artics were unavailable to make service, so they sent something else out.

Does the Daily News really care that much? Leave the man alone. They must have some problem.

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/orthodox-jew-dons-plastic-bag-flight-article-1.1314734

Lmfaoooooooooooooooo that is hilarious

Why the hell would they have LBSS on an MCI? A local bus I can understand (a little), but an express?!

The piss-poor reliability of the XD-40s suggests to me that maybe the should just get the LFS with the newer rear seating arrangement.

Well, the 5300s have the new seating configuration anyway, so I guess new 40' buses should the MTA order any (keeps fingers crossed), they'll just have the new seating config.

And before anyone complains about the seating issue, because I've been reading up on loss of seats due to the seats facing the aisle, there are NO loss of seats. The seat that once faced backwards not faces the aisles, that is it. There is absolutely NO loss of seats with the new seating config.

And although I'm not a fan of ZF, if it means no LBSS then fine (although they can always turn LBSS off on the Allison units, which is doubtful).

Honestly I don't think it has anything to do with the depot assignment of the buses, although I find it funny that Ulmer Park had ample trouble with the XDs at Castleton when they finally got their 29 in January. I never really experienced much trouble with the XDs myself except for an incident back in September when two XDs were taken OOS at Bay Ridge on the S53 due to foam coming from the passenger side of the bus in the back, meaning there was a half an hour gap in bus service.

They sent 4899 back to the Vendor yesterday after service in the morning.

 

It doesn't have a school bus engine that's a truck engine. It's a Navistar Maxx Force 9 engine. It didn't have engine problems, I heard they just had to fix some things on the transmission. I know that last Saturday day before the pick ended, they held all xcelsiors they weren't to go out. They held them all out back and the mobile vendor came over to fix them. I think this LBSS is killing them, seems like they're having more trouble with the XD's more than the LFS.

I don't think it even has anything to do with LBSS, it's the buses themselves, otherwise the 15 Novas that have Allison transmissions in them would be OOS for the same reason.

If a bus going to the vendor after one or two weeks after being in service is normal, then fine. But the buses constantly being taken OOS is not normal, not to mention we've had them for over a year now.

I wouldn't say that since Yukon has been sending MCIs to Castleton and Charleston for work as of late

LMAO...at least Yukon's Orion 5s are in good hands. Everything else (except for the Prevosts) I could really care less about.

Drifting off, I heard that 4899 (the bus with the school bus engine, forgot what the hell it's called) went back to the vendor due to engine problems. So that makes how many Xcelshits been recalled?

I swear, the XD40s suck...people all hype over them all because of looks. The looks of the bus isn't that appealing to me at all. And if the bus model was as great as people proclaim them to be, then they wouldn't constantly be in and out of service, going back and forth to the vendor. So yeah, Xcelsior fans, looks like your favorite buses aren't "Xcelling" very well !!!

/rant

Correct, the operator programs the farebox to collect either local or express fares, no matter what the bus type is. You can have a Nova LFS for what it's worth and it can do an express trip. Back when the Orion 5 and RTS suburbans were still around, those buses would do trips on both express AND local routes, all the driver has to do is program the farebox.

It's a beat up piece of Yukon junk.

Still better than Castleton's garbage MCIs....

It's probably based on the run. An operator could have a school piece and an express run in the AM, not allowing much time to swap buses at the depot. So they might as well take out whatever MCI or Prevost they get.

That's possible and with Yukon they do have guys that will do runs on short notice... In other words take on a run that no one else could fill.

It was an express run, 92 on the X1-9 straight. Instead of the driver swapping buses at the depot, they dispatcher probably told the driver to take an MCI and keep it, then once he drops out from the school he finished the school piece at, he start at the Transit Center instead.

Something was telling me to leave my house early this morning, I was seething when i saw the bus come up on GPS ! Not to mention 6300 was right behind it....

2733 was on the S55 this morning. You read it right, the S55, doing a school tripper from the Transit Center to Wendy Drive. I did a double take when I saw it on GPS, but tracked it until it got to the end.

Florence and the Machine on Pandora Radio!

On 7027 on the S53, front right suspension on the bus is gone. At least the bus isn't shuddering like it's sister 4xxx's.

X1: 4300. AC was ass on that bus.

BM3: 3155. Rear axles were shit, way too slow rebound, felt like rear was taking off on some bumps. Also made a tire-dragging sound occasionally. Transit workers on here clarify what that was? Not used to hearing the sound.

 

Also, on the BM3, that schedule means nothing. I'm at the stop in time to catch the 3:35 to BK (I'm there at 3:30) and a bus doesn't show up till 3:43, which is then not a midtown express but a midtown/downtown run. How do the drivers leave that damn early?

If it sounds like a dolphin call, probably a worn-out fan belt.

 

 

I'm sure you know about the variants.

 

x17A - Annadale Road/Arthur Kill Road - Downtown-Worth Street & Vice-Versa(the shorter variants of the x17C and x17J, the x19 is considered to be the downtown x17C/J except it bypasses Eltingville Tranit Center)

x17/x17C - Arden Heights - East Midtown-57th Street and Vice-Versa. The C designation was removed for the most part because its designation was useless.

x17J - Arden Heights - East Midtown-57th Street via New Jersey/Drumgoole & Vice-Versa

 

They are there to serve the three major areas in Manhattan during the rush hour. They are also there to specify what branches they are and where they go/serve, but I'm sure you know that too.

 

I can't see that working for the Hylan Blvd routes, you have New Dorp routes and routes that use Father Capodanno. It would probably work for the x1 since it has a 23rd and Central Park South branch, but there are also differences.

 

The x8 is the Downtown variant of the x7.

The x3 is the Downtown variant of the x2 and x9

The x4 is the Downtown variant of the x5

 

The reasons the routes are labeled the way they are is to differentiate the destinations and areas they go through, they also serve two entirely different areas in Manhattan, but I'm sure you know that too.

 

Relabeling them to x1A, B , C , D, ect ect ect would be even more confusing than it is now. This is a more simplified way of sorting the routes apart.

Believe it or not, in the 1990s the X17J used to the the X17B as it operated via West Street to "bypass" Lower Manhattan. In the early 2000s they rerouted the X17B to New Jersey, and called it X17J.

 

R62A?

Why does it matter what car type it was?

I remember I worked a week straight...probably longer (eight or nine days). They weren't all eight-hour shifts, more like a combination of four, six and eight-hour shifts. Either way I was exhausted from working every single day !

Got to visit the old South Ferry station yesterday. It was so weird being in that station again. Last time I stepped foot there was back in 2009 when I was 17. Four years later and I got to relive a brief moment of my childhood.

I have to say that 2013 has been an interesting year for me. I relived a few moments of my childhood: R62As on the (6)/<6>, R62As on the (post 9/11), and now the old South Ferry. What a year so far, and it's not even half over !

4139 is repainted as well. And I agree 4000 looks damn f***ing good !

Caught 7046 on the S79 Select last night !!!

The cylinder head on 9626 I can understand, but the reline is suppose to be depot work...

They probably didn't have the time for that ! LOL!