Jonny Leather Attempts to Break Record for Riding Subway System. Fails Miserably.
The New York City subway system is an anomaly, the true eighth wonder of the world. When it seems that everything in the world follows some sort of pattern, no matter how obvious, the MTA has managed to create a structure that is even inconsistent in its inconsistencies. It is thoroughly unpredictable. There is no explanation as to why the G train is so short—unable to fill the length of the platform. But that’s just a small except of the many oddities that surround the MTA’s greatest accomplishment in incomprehensible train lines. The smells, the late night work trains, the unhelpful station attendants, the 2nd Avenue line—they’re all part of a surreal universe that we as New Yorkers must interact with on a daily basis.
It can be severely frustrating. There are nights when an easy 1-line train ride turns into a full-on adventure that involves multiple train lines, buses, transfers, backtracking, and misdirection.
Only a few days two men successfully broke the record for riding the subway system, managing to hit all 468 stations in 22 hours and 52 minutes. They actually trained for it with four six-hour practice runs, as well as spending time researching combinations for routes, so there’s no questions these guys had far too much time on their hands, and a whole lot of patience.
Last night, I got a little taste of what their record run might have been like, when a simple ride on the G from Gowanus to Williamsburg turned into a two-hour adventure that involved five trains and a bus. With that trip, I couldn’t help but wonder how on earth they managed to do what they did. It seems like an impossible feat, not that it’s a very meaningful accomplishment but damn is it challenging.
Strangely enough, in an odd way I actually find these sort of unpredictable adventures to be pretty enjoyable. These sort of events break repetition, predictability, and can often ignite social interactions that would never happen in the normal cold subway settings.
When you always follow the same easy path, you’ll get to where you’re going, but sometimes your path becomes broken, and when forced to take another route, the series of coincidences occasionally leads you to something totally worth the adventure—in my case the cute girl who I shared the adventure with. It won’t happen every time, but when it does you’ll learn to appreciate it.
And with the MTA cutting lines and worsening service, this sort of unpredictable subway adventure will occur at even more regular rates. I’m not saying cutting service and increasing commute times is a good thing, I’m just shedding a very dimly lit positive light on the subject.
