The sheer joy of wild swimming

Sam Murphy at the FT on the renewed popularity of open-water swimming. I hereby make a vow that I am going to have as many outdoor swims as possible in 2008, I must go somewhere for a few days where I can do it a lot (Walden Pond!) and I must also find some way to do it regularly in New York. This isn't just a matter of triathlon obsession, it will be good for the soul...

When I was running along the Hudson the other morning, just at the point below 70th St. where I turn around because it is either the funny little landscaped bit and then homewards or else the slightly off-putting underpass bike path, I saw an older man who was poised quite statue-like at the barrier before the water. He was a rather peach-colored bronzey tone and from a distance I really did think he was either a kind of pylon of some sort or perhaps a statue--only as I got closer did I realize he was mostly naked, except for a tiny Speedo-type bathing suit, sort of leaning over the edge of the rail. I do not know what he intended, I think perhaps it is not really legally allowed to pop over the edge and go for a swim (and I wonder what he did with the rest of his clothes!), but I would like to think perhaps that was what he did anyway...