Today he hustles, uncharacteristically five minutes late, toward our fidgeting group of 26 mostly strangers. Gathered near City Hall on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge, we’re anxious about what lies ahead: crisscrossing the East, Harlem, and Hudson rivers over 15 bridges—on foot. We’ll walk some 27 miles and ride the bus or subway about six miles, taking maybe 12 hours to stitch our way up the east flank of Manhattan, around the northern tip, over to New Jersey, and back. “This will put my ‘personal best’ into new perspective if I make it,” says Raynell Boeck, who came all the way from San Francisco to join me on this crazy lark.

	Bridging the Past
	Here’s the real drama behind that East River span from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

The nice thing is, it won’t matter if she doesn’t make it. “You can drop out anytime along the way,” Walt assures us. After all, we’ve donated only $3 each to participate, and “there’s always a bus or taxi or subway nearby,” Walt says.

Still, this route is so arduous that I ask Walt, “What if no one showed up?” Rapid footfalls sync with his response: “In a city of 7 million, there’s always a handful of lunatics who want to walk over 15 bridges.” Unflagging interest in this marathon-plus experience proves his point. We’re fueled by 360-degree vistas of vitality from our changing perches over this urban land- and seascape. Workboats ply the tidal strait of the East River below. The artistry of great (and some not-so-great) architects etches the skyline. And a kaleidoscope of cultures colors the diverse neighborhoods that bookend each bridge.

“These aren’t really ‘guided’ tours,” Walt says as we tromp the Williamsburg span and leave the Lower East Side behind. “If I wanted to give a five-minute spiel about this bridge, the group wouldn’t stop and listen. This walk appeals to people who want to walk.”

So true. In the late afternoon, as we near the University Heights Bridge linking upper Manhattan and the Bronx, one walker suggests a park-bench break. “Why are we stopping?” another asks innocently. (We’re seven hours into the jaunt at this point, having rested only during two bus connections and three pit stops.)

“This walk has three phases,” Walt says. “First is all the way to 125th Street in Harlem. We have a lot of people. The second is a series of short bridges over the Harlem River. Then people start to drop off, and the hard core remains. It’s a struggle to keep going, but there’s a sense of accomplishment.”

Our imaginary gold medal gleams into early evening, as the remaining dozen or so walkers trek toward the Henry Hudson Bridge—the last one before the George Washington Bridge grand finale.

Lester Beck, a walker who has been pretty quiet all day, chimes in. “I’ve lived in New York all my life, and I’ve never seen some of these places,” he says. “If somebody asked me to repeat this route, I couldn’t do it. I know the general direction, but not all the twists and turns, the nooks and crannies to get to the bridges.”

We owe our course to Walt’s trusty bicycle and feet—his tools for mapping out this adventure some three years ago. Thanks to him, we finish the day with insights into New York City that can’t come from a car or a tour bus. And our muscles and blisters won’t let us forget.

Monday morning, en route to LaGuardia Airport, the Williamsburg and Queensborough bridges arc mightily into the sky outside the taxi window. I tell the driver about our Saturday odyssey—crossing 15 spans.

“Those bridges are no joke,” he says. “They’re pretty long.”

Tell me about it.

Walk This Way
To promote waterfront parks and greenways, nonprofit Shorewalkers, Inc., offers more than 100 outings year-round. All expand awareness of bays, rivers, and lakes in greater metropolitan New York City, Long Island, upstate New York, and New Jersey. The next New York Bridge Walk is set for Saturday, October 7. It will include the 103rd Street Ward’s Island Foot Bridge, for a total of 16 spans. Participants should bring a Metrocard or exact fare for bus or subway shortcuts between two or three of the bridges. Individual and family Shorewalker annual memberships cost $20 and $25, respectively; for nonmembers, $3 donations are requested for each walk. For other upcoming events, call 212/330-7686 or visit shorewalkers.org and click on “schedule.”