The bike path arrived suddenly. I noticed it in the afternoon. I did not see them stop the trucks, take out the paint, put down the long white lines. It just…showed up. It was sharp and bright and the city had yet to put down the stencils of a bicyclist, the universal symbols that explain what a bike path is for. But everyone knew what the bike path was for.

It's for ruining the neighborhood!

I am kidding, of course. I am pro-bike, pro-bike path, pro-bike share, pro-bike everything, even Spandex when Spandex isn't called for. I believe that the argument over bikes in New York City is one of those "arguments" that exists in provocative headlines and not in real life. This is not to say everybody loves bikes and bike paths—they do not—but just that the "bike debate" is less a 50/50 split than a majority and a loud, dissipating howl. There are 800 people running for mayor in New York right now, and if bike paths were truly an issue, they'd be a central thing in the campaign. They are not a central thing in the campaign.

So I am psyched for our bike path. It's long overdue. The street we live on is like lot of New York streets. There are neighborhood people and newcomers, people who grew up in the houses their grandfathers bought, and people who are just passing through. Old trees have curled toward the street, cracking the sidewalk. On summer nights, people gather on the stoops. Sheesh. This sounds like the first page of a terrible first novel.

But you know what I mean. When my brother visits, he looks around and says that if he lived on this street, he would never move. We agree. Here's the bad thing about this street: It is straight and wide, and it is fast. Trucks haul down it like they're in "The Cannonball Run." There is easy access to the highway, to the bridges, to every shortcut Google Maps doesn't know. A lot of times you can't believe how quickly the traffic vrooms past. Drivers are aggressive. I have yelled at some. I have offered my middle finger. I am not embarrassed by this. They deserve it. There are kids everywhere.