Citi Bike Spin in NYC

Way back in 1998 I did the Five Borough Bike Ride.  It's a huge event with thousands of cyclists riding through all five boroughs which make up New York City.  The most memorable parts of that were the unendurable segments of walking/queuing, zipping along FDR Drive, the rain soaked pierogies at the finish (no, really, they were fantastic), and the abject terror I felt cycling back to a friend's car from Battery Park after the ride.  

Cycling in the city was really frightening.  In the past 25 years there have been a few changes.  There are lots of bike lanes, some protected.  There's an amazing plethora of cyclists on the roads.  All of the food delivery folks are on ebikes.  More bikes means more drivers are more likely to look out for non-car shaped objects on the road.  

In Greenwich Village by Stonewall

Times Square in an e-rickshaw taking tourists for a ride

I've been back to NYC any number of times, but this past weekend I had the time to do a little solo ride on a Citi Bike.  Citi Bike is NYC's bikeshare system, similar to Montreal's Bixi and Boston's Hubway.  $5 for 30 minutes, $0.23 for every minute thereafter.  Great for short trips, less so for a ride-ride.

Amusingly & memorably for me, the closest bike station to me was at 53rd & 3rd, you know, like the Ramones song.  Once I got the app and payments squared away undocking the bike was easy.  Just scan the QR code on the bike.

Off I went down 3rd Avenue.  Which did not have a bike lane, but it was the weekend and really traffic wasn't bad.  Unlike 1998, no one was actively trying to kill me.  It was already an improvement.  Now, had I done the slightest bit of research, I could have found out which cross streets have bike lanes on them.  Since I hadn't and I didn't notice the protected lane on 55th, I ended up taking 57th.  I wanted to ride up and over to get down to the bike path along the Hudson River.

Protected bike lane as seen from above

Riding down 57th was surprisingly mellow.  I kind of got used to the weird motorcycle shifting on the bike.  Forward for easy/hill climb/start, back for PUTTING THE HAMMER DOWN.  I'm kidding about going fast.  While there are e-assist Citi Bikes, I opted for an "acoustic" traditional bike.  These things do not go fast.  You kind of urge them forward.  In spots I did have to do some typical riding in the street negotiation with drivers (uh, gotta take the lane here, there's a double parked car/construction/what have you).  Again, unlike in 1998, the drivers took it in stride.  It was comparable to Boston riding.  Maybe slightly more mellow.  For an inexperienced cyclist, either way I'd recommend doing some research ahead of time to get on one of those excellent separated bike lanes.

I got to the Hudson, rode along a bit until I found an access point, and boom, I was on a wonderfully paved scenic wide bike path.  There was a separate path for runners most of the time.

Yeah, I couldn't find a shop selling helmets, so I went without a skid lid.  Just because it worked out doesn't mean it was the right decision.  I would have preferred to ride with a helmet.  Don't do what Donny Don't Does, ok, kids?

I just had a great time riding along.  I went down far enough to start to get a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty in the distance.  It was a warm spring day and I ended up putting my jacket & hat in the bungee cord secured basket.  Finally I stopped and bought a bottle of water from a vendor.  There's lots of little parks, museums like the Intrepid, etc. along the path.  I had my family to get back to plus a Broadway show to go to, so I had to cut it short.  Note: anything less than 60 miles is cutting it short!  :-)  I was just happy to get my ya-ya's out on the bike.

Snacks & water on the bike path. Vendor & cart in the background.

There was also a memorial White Bike in this spot.  Something to keep in mind and push for more and better cycling infrastructure.

Anyway, I flipped the record on the ride and rode back the way I came.  This time I followed a sign and got onto a protected bike lane that took me all the way across the island to 3rd Ave.  Yeah, it was blocked by cars in a couple places, but riding around them wasn't a big deal.  Of course, it's never a big deal until it is.  

You may be tempted, but don't give cars blocking the bike lane the Beyoncé treatment. As Queen she gets special dispensation to deal with parking scofflaws.

Entry to the protected bike lane from the Hudson side.

A negative was walking through this construction. The positive was it stopped cars from going down the same street.  Could be a portent of the future?  Block car traffic from specific avenues & streets entirely?  Why not?

I ended up riding for 90 minutes, so the whole thing cost me $20.  Citi Bike does sell a day pass with unlimited unlocking & 30 minute rides.  For more general tourist purposes, that could be an excellent way to get around town.  

Anyway, I had a great time and was glad to see Manhattan's marked improvement over the past 25 years.  Hope to see more space dedicated to cycling in NYC -- and the rest of the country.  Thanks for reading & keep the rubber side down.

Look ma, no cars.