Biking in Manhattan as a tourist.

I will visit NYC in May and it is my intention is to rent a bike there for
a whole day at least.

But It is not my intention to be killed on the streets, as the guides I am
reading (Lonely Planet mostly) clearly suggest not to try to bike through
Manhattan traffic.

I downloaded a map from the web, and a Greenway that looks very interesting
is the one that goes all over the Island: would you suggest the whole trip
(or even a part of it) for its sightseen and/or the beauty of the parks
around it? Is it safe (no holes...) and not to much clogged by fellow
bikers? And what are the chances of finding restrooms and places to eat
around the greenway?

And I will bike in Central Park, of course...

Others interesting biking trip?

I would happily hear your suggestions.

Jimi wrote:
I will visit NYC in May and it is my intention is to rent a bike there for
a whole day at least.

But It is not my intention to be killed on the streets, as the guides I am
reading (Lonely Planet mostly) clearly suggest not to try to bike through
Manhattan traffic.

I downloaded a map from the web, and a Greenway that looks very interesting
is the one that goes all over the Island: would you suggest the whole trip
(or even a part of it) for its sightseen and/or the beauty of the parks
around it? Is it safe (no holes...) and not to much clogged by fellow
bikers? And what are the chances of finding restrooms and places to eat
around the greenway?

And I will bike in Central Park, of course...

Others interesting biking trip?

I would happily hear your suggestions.


Manhattan is an okay place to ride if you are careful (wear a helmet!),
have some experience in riding in traffic and pick your spots.

On business days it's just as well to avoid the midtown and downtown
business districts. Too much traffic.

The greenway is enjoyable--although others will disagree I think the
best stretch is on the West Side down to Battery Park. Most of this
stretch is in very good condition. There are nice water views along much
of the way and there are some nice parks down by Battery Park City, as
well as some sights to see down there.

Likewise, Central Park has a nice loop (about 6 miles) which is closed
to traffic much of the time.

During May--on a nice day--both the Greenway and Central Park can be
crowded with cyclists and others (runners; skaters) so these might best
be done on a weekday.

Other things you might try are bicycling over the Brooklyn Bridge and
through Brooklyn (largely flat)--possible destinations are Sheepshead
bay, Coney Island; Prospect Park; the Brooklyn Museum of Art; bicycling
over the George Washington Bridge and up route 9w in New Jersey (this is
one of the more popular rides for Manhattanites trying to escape the
City) to Piermont, Nyack. This route ultimately leads to Bear Mountain
(about 50 Miles from Manhattan).

Jimi wrote
But It is not my intention to be killed on the streets,
as the guides I am reading (Lonely Planet mostly)
clearly suggest not to try to bike through Manhattan traffic.

Funny, I had a Lonely Planet guidebook for France say that it was good to
try bicycling on the streets of Paris. So Sharon and I did it for a day last
September. I came away feeling that I'd rather ride on the streets in New
York. And that Manhattan also has better off-street bicycling than Paris
(the West Side Greenway is prettier, and Central Park more fun riding, than
anything off-street we found in Paris).

I did not feel safer riding on the streets of Paris. During our day of
bicycling there we saw two car-car accidents, and we saw one bicyclist in
front of us get into an argument with a car driver who had cut him off. So
where's the guidebook warning against bicycling on the streets of Paris?

I've found the New York City Cycling Map to be a helpful guide to which
streets are better for bicycling. For links to two websites to view it (and
other useful linkes) see
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/nyc/bike_info
And I thought Josh Mermelstein's advice was rather good.

"killed" ?
Do these books even attempt to offer any statistics showing that more
bicyclists per mile ridden (or per hour ridden?) get into fatal accidents in
New York City than any other city? I've never heard of such a comparison.
It's very difficult to gather such statistics (halfway accurately). I wonder
how these guidebook authors had the time for it.

I find that New York City drivers tend to be more alert than other places.
They have to be ready for lots of unexpected things on the streets. So I
often feel comfortable skating on the streets of Manhattan. (Just don't
expect much consideration from bus and taxi drivers.)

Ken

On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 21:45:46 GMT in rec.bicycles.rides, "Ken
Roberts" wrote:

Funny, I had a Lonely Planet guidebook for France say that it was good to
try bicycling on the streets of Paris. So Sharon and I did it for a day last
September. I came away feeling that I'd rather ride on the streets in New
York.

I felt safer cycling across Paris with a full set of panniers+
the day before the finale of the Tour than I ever have in any
major urban area in the US. For one thing, French drivers
actually expect to see cyclists, unlike oblivious US drivers.

Like local cyclists, I stuck to the bus lanes, since they were
mostly empty, and the bus drivers are used to it. The only place
I had problems were at the various star intersections, and that
was only because I wasn't always certain which was the street I
was looking to exit to.

"Ken Roberts" wrote in
:

"killed" ?
Do these books even attempt to offer any statistics showing that more
bicyclists per mile ridden (or per hour ridden?) get into fatal
accidents in New York City than any other city?

My Lonely Planet "Newe York" (italian 2003 edition)goes something like
this:

Cars don't consider Cyclists. Be wary of parked cars, they leave the
parking without notice; cars cut bicycles off. Bring a whistle or be
ready to shout when such things happen. And, after warning about thieves
("do not expect to find your bike there when you return, even if it's
locked"), the conclusion is that theft isn't much of a problem, as it is
the fear of an accident...

So no "killing" actually mentioned, but riding in such conditions made me
think that it might be one of the possibilities... I should have add a
smile though... :-)

I find that New York City drivers tend to be more alert than other
places. They have to be ready for lots of unexpected things on the
streets. So I often feel comfortable skating on the streets of
Manhattan. (Just don't expect much consideration from bus and taxy
drivers.)

Nice to hear that, and glad to have New Yorkers don't discourage tourists
from biking, you know, I am the fearful type.

Dennis wrote
French drivers actually expect to see cyclists,
unlike oblivious US drivers.

Good point about driver expectations. Actually what French and Italian
drivers expect to see is lots of motor-scooters, as well as bicycles. (If
we had a "scooter" culture in more American regions, that would help make
the roads safer for bicycles.)

"oblivious" -- The place to look for "oblivious" drivers in around New York
is in the suburbs. I'd feel safer any time riding or skating on a random
street in Manhattan than on a random road in upper Westchester county.
"oblivious" will not survive for more than ten minutes on the streets of
Manhattan: double-parked cars, cars making sudden U-turns, suddenly changing
lanes to make a turn, assertive pedestrians darting out, etc. (perhaps
Dennis is thinking of some other American city for "oblivious")

cycling across Paris ... like local cyclists,
I stuck to the bus lanes

Sharon and I did not stick to the bus lanes in Paris, because many many
streets in Paris do not have bus lanes, and many many interesting things in
Paris which are not reachable by streets with bus lanes. Unlike Dennis' goal
of getting "across" Paris, we wanted to see lots of places in Paris.

Once away from the bus lanes, we soon discovered that many many "local
cyclists" in Paris were also not sticking to the bus lanes.

Ken

Jimi
My Lonely Planet "Newe York" (italian 2003 edition)
goes something like this:
Cars don't consider Cyclists. Be wary of parked cars,
they leave the parking without notice

? which never happens in cities in Italy?

Which is the American city or suburb or village in which oblivious car
drivers do _not_ sometimes start pulling out of parking spaces without
looking, or open their car doors on the traffic side without checking?
There are known strategies for preventing that; smart road bicyclists just
need to learn them.

cars cut bicycles off.

Cars cut off other Cars too, on New York City streets. And City bicyclists
cut in front of cars. Everybody on the streets has to be alert.

But lots of bicyclists in the suburbs and villages of America have been hit
by cars in the notorious "right hook" turn-cut-off move -- there's nothing
special about NYC for that. There are known strategies which smart road
bicyclists everywhere must learn in order to prevent that.

On the off-street paths in America, oblivious pedestrians cut off bicyclists
and skaters. And bicyclists cut off skaters and pedestrians. (which never
happens in Europe ?)

Bring a whistle or be ready to shout when such things happen.

Better advice is to learn to use assertive "vehicular" bicycling strategies,
as described in some of these books:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/s/m/risks/#books

Ken

Dennis wrote
I felt safer cycling across Paris ... than I ever have in any major urban
area in the US.

* Have you actually ridden in New York City specifically? (I think NYC is
the most European of the big U.S. cities, notably in regard to its public
transportation network)

* Did you actually use the New York City Cycling Map? (instead of like most
long-distance touring cyclists, just "winging it" and not bothering to check
ahead for local bicycling resources)

* Did you know and use assertive "vehicular" riding strategies in NYC?
(instead of practicing traffic-avoidance like mentioned in Paris)

* Did you try riding in NYC on a quiet weekend morning, or a crowded weekday
rush-hour? (how does that compare with the day and time you chose to ride
across Paris)

* Did you experience the excitement and energy of the greatest city in North
America? (or did you just manage to cycle "across" it like with Paris) How
many days did you actually stay? Did you ride on Broadway and Wall Street?
across the Brooklyn Bridge? What neighborhoods did you visit? etc.

What cycling in Paris comes even close to the spectacular view riding the
south sidewalk across the GWB, then south on Riverside Drive on a quiet
weekend morning? What comes even close to the Central Park 10km loop? to
the southern section of the West Side Greenway?

Ken
_________________________________________
Dennis P. Harris wrote
I felt safer cycling across Paris with a full set of panniers+
the day before the finale of the Tour than I ever have in any
major urban area in the US. For one thing, French drivers
actually expect to see cyclists, unlike oblivious US drivers.

Like local cyclists, I stuck to the bus lanes, since they were
mostly empty, and the bus drivers are used to it. The only place
I had problems were at the various star intersections, and that
was only because I wasn't always certain which was the street I
was looking to exit to.

"Ken Roberts" wrote in
:

Jimi
My Lonely Planet "Newe York" (italian 2003 edition)
goes something like this:
Cars don't consider Cyclists. Be wary of parked cars,
they leave the parking without notice

? which never happens in cities in Italy?

Sure it happens a lot here in Italy; but I live in a little town and would
never try to bike in the streets of Rome(that wouldn't be dangerous, but
plain suicidal). And New York either, where, I'll stick to Greenways...

And bear in mind that the italian edition of the guide is traslated from
english, since the authors are NOT italians...

And in case you think so: I have nothing against New Yorkers, or New
Yorkers driving a car, or Taxi drivers, or anything else that moves around
there.

Jimi wrote:

"Ken Roberts" wrote in
:



Jimi


My Lonely Planet "Newe York" (italian 2003 edition)
goes something like this:
Cars don't consider Cyclists. Be wary of parked cars,
they leave the parking without notice


? which never happens in cities in Italy?



Sure it happens a lot here in Italy; but I live in a little town and would
never try to bike in the streets of Rome(that wouldn't be dangerous, but
plain suicidal).


Not to me. I actually had a lot of fun.

http://www.cycletourist.com/Rome/Cyc...s_of_Rome.html

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
Integrity is obvious.
The lack of it is common.
*****************************