TA offers varying distances from 15 miles to 100 (that's the "century") to accommodate beginners and families through experienced bikers. I chose to ride the 35 mile route, which was longer than I've ever biked in one day before. I actually rode about 31 miles, factoring in my trip to the starting line and my more direct route to finish at my apartment in Brooklyn rather than at the park. I wasn't sure how I would feel when I hit the halfway point at Central Park, but I was totally fine with continuing to pedal back to Brooklyn.
I was on my own, but the fellow riders and marshals were all friendly, and I was able to join another single rider along the way at my same pace so we could have company. My fear of getting lost alone in the backstreets of Queens was unrealized. It was a gray day, but the cool air was actually perfect for biking. Serendipitously, the only rain was a half hour drizzle that didn't bother me once I had my rain jacket on.
The route is designed for on-street cycling, to demonstrate that bikes have a real place on roads alongside cars, so no roads were blocked off, and that meant we took both protected bike lanes and scary busy streets (ie. what were they thinking with having us on West End/11th Avenue and all its fast traffic heading for the tunnels?)
My favorite part was getting to see so many different parts of New York City in one day, including some locations I'd never been before. From hipster Brooklyn, to the view at the top of the Triboro bridge, to swamps on Randalls Island, through Manhattan's quickly changing neighborhoods, and over the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.
The 35 mile start time in Prospect Park was 8am, during offleash hours for dogs.
We headed north through Bed Stuy, quiet on a Sunday morning, and up the North Brooklyn waterfront. Loving the two-way bike lane on Kent Ave in Williamsburg, and capturing the strange juxtaposition of the neighborhood's artsy charm and its new towering condos.
Crossing Pulaski Bridge over the excessively polluted Newtown Creek from Brooklyn to Queens, with Manhattan in the distance.
We followed the Queens waterfront from Long Island City to a rest stop at Astoria Park, under the shadow of the Triboro and Hells Gate Bridge (awesome name). I was excited to cross the Triboro Bridge, a giant highway of a bridge I have traversed many times by car, for the unique opportunity to see views that you can only take in at this slower pace.
Looking west over the Triboro Bridge to Manhattan
Looking at Randalls Island and the industrial beyond from the Triboro
We meandered through Randalls Island's bizarre sports fields and swampy landscaped waterfront paths, which I'm now realizing were next to a psychiatric institution, before crossing this pedestrian bridge to Harlem.
Rest stop at the top of Central Park, at 110th street and Lenox Avenue. I don't think I'd been north of 85th street in the park before.
We rode down the west side, not on the Greenway, but on Riverside Drive then scary West End Avenue, and then to this protected bike lane on 9th avenue from 30th street to Bleecker street in Manhattan, complete with light signals for bikes!
After passing through the West Village, Soho, Chinatown, and City Hall, I headed over the Brooklyn Bridge, in the homestretch.
The Manhattan Bridge, as seen from the Brooklyn Bridge
I took a little shorcut through Downtown Brooklyn and Carroll Gardens to finally get home! 31 miles. 4 1/2 hours. 4 bridges. 3 boroughs. 2 wheels.
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