RIVERBANK POOL

Probably the cleanest, most militant and oddest aquatics complexes I’ve ever swum at. Part of the Riverbank Park—a huge multistoried facility built on platforms right up against the Hudson river—the pool is something of a bitch to walk to in a rain shower when you don’t know that buses run directly to it from 145th and Broadway, just up the street. I was soaked when I arrived to rendezvous with Cara for the 6:30 lap swim.

Payment (a bargain at $2) is made not at the pool itself but in a separate facility, and there is no lock or towel service. They won’t even let you into the locker room early so you can hang out on deck. So I sat in my wet clothes and waited for Cara to arrive and was informed that if lightning happened the pool would be vacated. An indoor pool vacated for lightning. Luckily there wasn’t any.

After changing, I found four out of the couple dozen showers were running full blast when I went to rinse off, and there wasn’t a single drop of soap in any of the dispensers. In fact, they don’t even bother filling them. Someone had the good sense to take a marker and indicate which showers actually had hot water by scribbling “good” or “no good” next to the appropriate showerheads. On deck I was informed I couldn’t bring my bag of gear with me, the gear was fine, but not the bag. I had to but my bag in my locker and wrap my gear in my towel. Apparently NYC has this “no bag” rule on pool decks to avoid clutter, even though there’s enough room to have World Cup soccer game.

The pool itself is beautiful and fast; everything including the deck is remarkably clean, with high ceilings and a view of the river when it’s light out. There were quite a few good swimmers but the general vibe of the staff is oddly contemptuous towards the sport, as if because of us they actually have jobs that force them to deal with this situation.

The locker rooms are eerily deserted, and changing into wet clothes after swimming is always morally defeating. Cara and I got ourselves a roast chicken afterwards to make ourselves feel better.