So yesterday some friends and I rode the 55 mile route of the NYC Century. It's a yearly event organized by Transportation Alternatives, with the money they raise going to improve biking conditions in the city. You have your choice of 15, 35, 55, 75 or 100 mile routes. We did the 55, which is the solid orange line in the map below. I am definitely going to train & shoot for the 100 next year:
I didn't take any of my own pictures, but a bunch of people have already posted some to Flickr, so I'll just borrow a few.
The beginning 10 miles or so through Manhattan are really fun - it's early, the streets have very little traffic, and packs of bikers take over most of the road:
Then over the Brooklyn Bridge in the early morning sunlight:
The first rest stop is at the 15 mile mark in Prospect Park, and you do a full loop of the park on the way in. Note the leaves on the ground! YAY!
Then out of the park, through some nice Brooklyn neighborhoods, and over to the waterfront where you head south to Coney Island. I like this picture because you can see Manhattan in the background and get a sense of how far you've biked so far. That's Manhattan on the right and Jersey City/Hoboken, NJ on the left.
Then past Coney Island:
After that you wander back north through Brooklyn and into Queens, eventually making your way to the Triboro Bridge to head back into Manhattan. Cruel joke: bridges WITH STAIRS at mile 50 on a 55-mile ride (if you're doing the 75 or 100 mile rides, this is about the 70 mile mark):
After that it's just a few leisurely miles back to Central Park and the finish line.
I looooove this ride. It's such a cool way to see a lot of neighborhoods and sights you'd never otherwise see in a really fun way. People all along the route always ask you why everyone is riding. There are always a ton of people doing it on single speed fixed-gear bikes, which blows my mind. Better them than me, I guess. ;)
I felt really good through almost all of the ride. I was pretty tired by the end, but I feel fine today. My butt, though, is KILLING me. I need a new saddle and/or new bike shorts, clearly. I'm picking up my new bike this week (yay!), so we'll see if that saddle is better, but I suspect my bike shorts are chafing me in some weird way.
So yeah, great weather, great ride, fun day. This biking thing, I am starting to see why you all like it so much. ;)
I didn't take any of my own pictures, but a bunch of people have already posted some to Flickr, so I'll just borrow a few.
The beginning 10 miles or so through Manhattan are really fun - it's early, the streets have very little traffic, and packs of bikers take over most of the road:
Then over the Brooklyn Bridge in the early morning sunlight:
The first rest stop is at the 15 mile mark in Prospect Park, and you do a full loop of the park on the way in. Note the leaves on the ground! YAY!
Then out of the park, through some nice Brooklyn neighborhoods, and over to the waterfront where you head south to Coney Island. I like this picture because you can see Manhattan in the background and get a sense of how far you've biked so far. That's Manhattan on the right and Jersey City/Hoboken, NJ on the left.
Then past Coney Island:
After that you wander back north through Brooklyn and into Queens, eventually making your way to the Triboro Bridge to head back into Manhattan. Cruel joke: bridges WITH STAIRS at mile 50 on a 55-mile ride (if you're doing the 75 or 100 mile rides, this is about the 70 mile mark):
After that it's just a few leisurely miles back to Central Park and the finish line.
I looooove this ride. It's such a cool way to see a lot of neighborhoods and sights you'd never otherwise see in a really fun way. People all along the route always ask you why everyone is riding. There are always a ton of people doing it on single speed fixed-gear bikes, which blows my mind. Better them than me, I guess. ;)
I felt really good through almost all of the ride. I was pretty tired by the end, but I feel fine today. My butt, though, is KILLING me. I need a new saddle and/or new bike shorts, clearly. I'm picking up my new bike this week (yay!), so we'll see if that saddle is better, but I suspect my bike shorts are chafing me in some weird way.
So yeah, great weather, great ride, fun day. This biking thing, I am starting to see why you all like it so much. ;)
But you're likely right that people are more respectful of bicycle traffic in the city. Beautiful pics -thanks for sharing them!
