Tag: Downtown Princeton

Witherspoon Street

The fog and dim light seemed like a good day to use Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow.

From The Kiosk, I walked over to Witherspoon Street. Things were different on this street. There was more activity. I stood outside the Princeton Public Library on the corner of Witherspoon Street and Paul Robeson Boulevard, observing this part of the downtown come to life.

Despite the eerie surroundings, people walked confidently, their feet moving along the familiar pavement with a sure-footedness born of frequent repetition. Some walked with purpose, while others meandered slowly, perhaps taking in the strange and mysterious beauty of the fog. As I looked up Witherspoon, the buildings that lined the street disappeared into the mist.

bicycle rack outside the Princeton Public Library
Outside the Princeton Public Library · Monday 26 December 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2

The bicycle rack with the jumbled bicycles looked twisted and mangled like a dead animal's entrails. The metal frame that was once straight and sturdy was now bent out of shape, contorted into grotesque angles that seemed almost unnatural. The scene was made even eerier by the dense fog.

Near the bicycle rack, a man sat, his phone in one hand while he warmed the other inside the pocket of his hoodie. The man seemed lost in another world, engrossed in whatever held his interest in his electronic brick.

The Kiosk, Nassau Street

The fog and dim light seemed like a good day to use Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow.

As I walked north along the southeastern side of Nassaudense near Palmer Square, the viscous fog enveloped me like a comforting blanket. The air was thick with moisture, and the heavy veil of mist muffled the sound of my footsteps. The Kiosk, a small wooden kiosk surrounded by benches, was barely visible in the haze, but its familiar silhouette was visible in the dim light.

Kiosk at Palmer Square, Winter, Fog
Monday 26 December 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2

I could feel the dampness of the fog on my skin and the chill in the air. The usually bustling shopping mall was eerily quiet as if the mist had dampened all sound and movement. Usually so vibrant and full of life, the trees were now ghostly apparitions, their branches and leaves shrouded in the mist. A man stood up from the bench and walked away, head down, staring at his electronic brick.

As I continued walking, I felt like I'd entered a different world of mystery and enchantment. The fog had transformed the familiar into something strange and new, and I walked more slowly, savouring each moment in this ethereal realm.

Tuesday 30 August 2022 - Electric Bicycle

I sold my car, and I am seriously considering an electric bicycle as a replacement.

Over a decade ago, while sitting at work on a hot summer day, I looked out my office at my 2006 Honda Accord EX-L V6 sitting in the hot sun in the parking lot. I commented to my co-worker who sat in the workspace next to time that owning a car was a waste of money. I talked about how they are so expensive that most of us have to take out multi-year loans to buy them. I was paying thousands of dollars a year to insure this thing that I used only during the week and only to commute the

Bhavna commutes five miles roundtrip to her office. This summer, as I watched the price of gasoline almost double, I was happy that we only needed to fill the tank on Bhavna’s car.

I had some medical issues in 2019, right before the global pandemic, which required high-dose steroids for treatment. I gained a little weight. Then the pandemic hit, and after two years of being locked inside, I became so inactive that I gained 25 pounds.

Inspired by Jim Grey's bicycle+camera blog posts blog posts, I attempted to fix the issue this summer. I thought, "It would be great to ride a bicycle to nearby towns, stop for a bite, and maybe photograph some bicycles". So I dusted off my daughter's bicycle and tried to ride around my neighbourhood. I didn’t get too far. My 55-year-old knees are shit. After about ten minutes on the bike, I can barely move them.

Pre-pandemic, I worked from home two days a week. I worked home five days a week when the USA went into its two-year pandemic lockdown in March 2020. I put my car in my garage, and except for the occasional mid-week trip to Source Brewing, it sat in the garage, unused. After the "great re-opening," I continued working remotely1. My car has sat unused for the last two years. My 16-year-old Honda has sat mostly unused in the garage for over two years. A few weeks ago, I sold it.

LECTRIC XPREMIUM
Lectric X Premium

On Sunday, I used the money from that sale to purchase a Lectric Bikes X Premium electric bicycle. Over the last few months, before I sold my Honda, I read a lot of articles about electric bicycles. After much reading, I knew that I wanted an electric bicycle with pedal assist, at least sixty-five kilometres of range, disc brakes, and a mid-drive motor. I poured over every review and narrowed my choices down to the Lectric X Premium. I hope that the power assists in this mid-drive electric bike will allow me to get some exercise while reducing the impact on my knees. I have dreams of riding the Delaware & Raritan Canal Park trail into Princeton, Griggstown, Manville and other towns along the canal.

Kopp's Cycle Shop was established in 1891 by E.C. Kopp and is the oldest continually running bicycle shop in the Americas and the second most continually running bicycle shop worldwide. Kopp’s has very few electric bicycles. They sell primarily traditional bikes and focus on serving leisure and enthusiast cyclists. I hope they pivot soon.

Kopp's Cycle
10 June, 2022 | Minolta XD-11 | Minolta MD W.ROKKOR-X 28mm F2
  1. I am an independent consultant. My contracts usually start at six months but sometimes get extended for two or more years. I started a new contract in 2021. ↩