On this sequence, we reply your journey questions and supply ideas and hacks that will help you plan a hassle-free journey. This week, Brooklyn-based Sebastian Modak, Lonely Planet’s in-house biking obsessive, shares why a bicycle is definitely an effective way to expertise New York Metropolis.
Query: I’m visiting NYC subsequent month with my associate and we need to hire some bikes for a day and see a few of the metropolis that means. Do you assume that’s doable and any suggestions on the place we should always go?
Sebastian Modak: Most individuals who let you know that you simply shouldn’t journey your bicycle in New York Metropolis have by no means ridden a bicycle in New York Metropolis. Certain, this isn’t some helmetless biking utopia, like Copenhagen or Amsterdam. However, with just a little further warning and pre-trip planning it may be a pleasure to discover all 5 boroughs (sure, even Staten Island) on two wheels.
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Getting round
Your first step goes to be discovering a motorbike to journey. For fast, quick one-way journeys, your finest guess is Citi Bike, town’s in depth bike share system. Obtain the app, and you’ll hire a Citi Bike for $3.99 for a 30-minute journey or pay for a day go ($15) for limitless 30-minute rides over a 24-hour interval.
There are tons of higher-quality bike rental choices in the event you’re trying to discover just a little farther or put in a exercise. For stable hybrids or street bikes, as an illustration, take a look at Ride Brooklyn or Innovation Bike Shop, which each supply leases by the day.
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The place to go
The traditional journey: For an introduction to town, head to the western fringe of Manhattan the place the protected Hudson River Greenway runs all the way in which from Battery Park within the south to Inwood within the north, some 14 miles in all. Make a day of it with meal stops within the West Village, Harlem and Washington Heights. Riverside Park and the brand-new Little Island are additionally nice spots to cease and stretch alongside the way in which. Experience again, or take your bike on the subway or ferry, each of which permit bicycles.
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The parks: Each Central Park in Manhattan and Prospect Park in Brooklyn make for nice using (the people-watching is a bonus). Simply ensure to observe in the identical route across the loop as different cyclists and depart sufficient room for the Lycra-clad roadies to go. Each parks are near a ton of facilities within the type of eating places, bars and museums, so that you’ll have loads to do after you do a few laps.
Off the overwhelmed bike paths: After all, New York Metropolis is a lot greater than its parks, that are well-known to vacationers. In Brooklyn, for instance, why not take the coastal route, becoming a member of the newly paved Shore Street Parkway at Bay Ridge and following all of it alongside the water previous Coney Island and Brighton Seashore (with a requisite cease for Uzbek or Ukrainian meals); previous the deserted airfield at Floyd Bennet; and ending on the seashore within the Rockaways.
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The meals trails: If meals is what you’re after, then Queens is the place to be. A disclaimer: Biking by way of food-centric neighborhoods like Jackson Heights and Flushing could be much less easy than a few of these different choices due to inconsistent bike lanes. Bike-friendly routing apps like RideWithGPS, Komoot and Google Maps are going to be your finest associates right here.
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Getting out of town
Lastly, when you’ve got a bicycle for a number of days (otherwise you’ve introduced your personal), New York Metropolis makes for an amazing jumping-off level for lengthy weekends within the Hudson Valley and past. Head to Van Cortlandt Park within the Bronx, the place you’ll discover the Previous Putnam Path. Comply with that north because it results in but additional trails, all a part of the huge Empire State Trail that extends from New York Metropolis to the Canadian border.
Then come residence and inform your naysayer associates that not solely did you bike in New York Metropolis, however you biked by way of it, out of it, and again into it – all whereas not spending even a cent on a surge-price Uber.
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