I didn’t expect to get choked up, and yet there I was, fighting back tears on the ascent to the 59th Street Bridge (aka the Queensborough Bridge, the Ed Koch Bridge and, of course the Feelin’ Groovy Bridge, in reference to the famous Simon and Garfunkel song).

Not only did I used to sing that song to my daughters but I had also been wanting to cross this bridge and others here in New York City on my bike for so many years. With the exception of one trip across the Brooklyn Bridge by bike a year or two ago, the limit of Citibike bikeshare (requiring me to pretty much spend every ride just looking for stations at which to switch out the bikes at the 30-minute point) had always clipped my wings.

Yesterday, however, I had my folding bike with me and could not be stopped. Three bridges (59th Street, Pulaski and Williamsburgh) and three boroughs (Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn) later, I was, indeed, feelin’ groovy. It was my first time riding my own bike in the major city closest to where I grew up since I was 25 years old and living right here on the island of Manhattan. God, I’ve missed that feeling.

Here’s the 15-mile route. (Looks like a lot. The funny part? That’s three errands in suburbia, which I do by bike all the time. You’d be shocked how quickly you can get around by bike in cities.)

As opposed to when I originally pedaled around here as a young umarried not-yet-mother, now I utilized some of the best-in-class bike infrastructure in the USA today, saw art, met lots of nice strangers (and even made a New Best Friend — I’ll write about Bernard soon), and even got to see my younger daughter for lunch.

Thank you, New York City. Pass the tissues, please.