Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - yo new york!

I'm coming to your town for a week on wednesday.

I'm bringing myself, my bike, and a little bit of other crap like clothing and a toothbrush that I plan to stash at HQ.

as per suggestions given on this here board I have dug up and dusted off my helmet, bought a heavy chain+lock to couple with my standard mini U and made a vow not to bomb around town like I own it because I have no idea where the potholes of death lurk.

now the question is, what do I do with myself while I'm there?

suggestions are now being soliticed for neighborhoods I should explore, views I should take in, cheap vegan eats I should shove down my throat and perhaps even some other stuff like art galleries and tourist attractions worth looking at.

also, where shouldn't I go? I dont really want a repeat of last month's escape onto the Muni in SF because I had no idea I was in a really rough neighborhood until the crackheads got to informing me of such in that special crackhead way.
granted I'll be on a bike this time, but where wouldnt you want your sister to ride alone?

Vegan eats: Veggie Castle (Flatbush), brunch at Kate's Joint (LES), dessert at Atlas (LES).

do you know what neighb you're gonna be stayin in? i'm headin out right now, but when i get back i'll give ya all kindsa tips

When you get here, pick up a free nyc bike map from any bike shop. That'll be useful to you in the coming days.

If you're coming out to brooklyn, check out Valentino pier in Red Hook for the best view of the Statue of Liberty (head on) in the city. I also enjoy the view of lower manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge Park (d.u.m.b.o/brooklyn heights). Both the Brooklyn Bridge bike/walk path and the Williamsburg bridge have really nice views of manhattan. And if you're feeling particularly saucey, crossing the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson is pretty too.

For food, I have a hundred suggestions, but check out Caracas (1st and 7th) for tasty Venezuelan arepas. It's super good. And there are both carnivore and veggie options.

As far as riding around, I feel like anywhere has the potential to be dangerous at night. Carry a spare tube and a pump (or CO-2 if you're not bringing one).

just off dekalb/bedford.

staying with a bunch of pratt students.

most of nyc is dangerous, stay close to a police station, its safer there.

most of nyc is dangerous, stay close to a police station, its safer there.

thank you for that incredibly helpful suggestion.

sheesh.

foodswings is always a hit with out of towners of the vegan persuation, veggie castle is a great suggestion, uptown juicebar is alright, similar to veggie castle, brunch at kate's is a great idea, be warned the soycheese at kate's is not vegan, baby cakes is a great vegan bakery, i don't remember where it is exactly, you've got zen palate, i mean look on happy cow and you'll get plenty of ideas, http://www.happycow.net, there's alot of vegan food in this city and there's plenty of places that while they are not vegan they have decent options and will tell you what is vegan if you ask, don't assume though, if you're around williamsburg much there's a great veiw at the end of north 7th, it's technically tresspassing but i've never heard of the police giving anyone trouble, enjoy your trip

thank you for that incredibly helpful suggestion.

sheesh. just trying to be helpful......

i live super close to there. who are you staying with? I got some friends on bedford and dekalb.

what about red bamboo? when i was in new york i fell in love with that place, i guess it's not too cheap though. i was only there for like 5 days.

i live super close to there. who are you staying with? I got some friends on bedford and dekalb.

the house I'm staying at is actually on skillman. I guess I should have said off bedford and dekalb. oh well. whatever. my friend's name is andrew mckibben. I dont know his roommates. yet. he rides a beach cruiser as of my last bicycle oriented discussion with him.

thanks everyone for the suggestions so far!

I'm sure I'll have much more coherent things to say when I'm not drunk and ready to pass the **** out.

edit: oh wait, I did say that.

here's what i reccommend:

1. do at least one loop in central park -- more if you're into it. it's beautiful and there's LOTS of bikes although most are roadies.

2. ride the hudson river path (west side) for as long as you like. it will take you from battery park all the way up to 200th street (that'll take you about 1.5 hrs one way, depending on your speed).

3. if you ride in soho, be careful of houston st. there's lots of construction and weird **** going on there and several cyclists have been killed this year alone.

4. definitely ride over the williamsburg bridge

5. ride thru chelsea and especially the meatpacking district. its not vegan, but grab a bite at florent, on ganesvoort st. its open 24/7 and its a really cool new york institution.

6. avoid east harlem.

7. check out union square, cooper union area, and tribeca.

8. hit the whole foods in columbus circle for vegan stuff (59th st)

9. a helmet is definitely a good idea. watch out for weird inconsistencies/ruts in the pavement, and dont get doored!

ps.

10. art galleries are primarily in chelsea. there is a very good one in soho called geitch gallery, and deitch projects. in bklyn, check out the riviera.

11. definitely walk over the bklyn bridge.

12. if you are into cheap designer clothing, hit centruy 21 at the WTC.

13. if you are in chelsea, you could also hit the enormous chelsea market for all kinds of food, baked goods, and general sensory overload.

avoid anywhere thats called harlem!

avoid anywhere thats called harlem!

west harlem is fine....very up and coming actually. hey, at least donald trump thinks so...

i am in love with the southern fried "chicken" at VP2. go there, get it, and be sure that you save at least one to put in the fridge and eat in the morning, because they're just as good if not better when they're cold.

i've really got to make it down there sometime soon.

i am in love with the southern fried "chicken" at VP2. go there, get it, and be sure that you save at least one to put in the fridge and eat in the morning, because they're just as good if not better when they're cold.

i've really got to make it down there sometime soon.

yeah. they really are the best fake chicken nuggets ever. for real. i've tried a lot. get extra sauce.

j

edit: red bamboo has the same exact ones, at both their city and brooklyn locales. the owners of VP2 are the parents of the owner of Red Bambu. (maybe you can impress someone with this trivial knowledge...)

9. a helmet is definitely a good idea. watch out for weird inconsistencies/ruts in the pavement, and dont get doored!

yeah, I'm bringing it, but lets see if I actually use it.
I'm really not worried about riding.
I'm very used to riding in the street with heavy traffic and navigate through downtown portland multiple times daily. the roads here are pretty terrible. I've basically memorized the potholes on 6th.

but holy cow! thanks for all the other suggestions! I love lists.

ps.

10. art galleries are primarily in chelsea. there is a very good one in soho called geitch gallery, and deitch projects. in bklyn, check out the riviera.

11. definitely walk over the bklyn bridge.

12. if you are into cheap designer clothing, hit centruy 21 at the WTC.

13. if you are in chelsea, you could also hit the enormous chelsea market for all kinds of food, baked goods, and general sensory overload.

EDIT: its Deitch galley...not geitch. typo, sorry. check it here: http://www.deitch.com/, and the riviera here: http://www.seeyouattheriviera.com/

if you fall in love with the fake meats at foodswings, red bamboo and veggie castle, you can buy the frozen version of many of them(usually unseasoned) at may wah in chinatown, it's on hester at centre

Also for super good vegan chinese food try The Greens in Brooklyn Heights. $6 lunch special. They are closed on saturdays though.

Stay outta the bike lanes in Manhattan, and Keep to the left on the Avenues. Take and plit lanes when needed.

Stay away from Yoshi so you don't get hit :D

Oh and watch out for jaywalking pedestrians, They have a habit of darting across the street at the worst times. I hit one full speed head on last week! flew off my bike luckily I didnt get hurt... cant say the same for the other guy :eek:

And watch out in brooklyn, they have the WORST drivers on the planet

ok so it sounds like between here and myriad "vegetarian in nyc" guides, I've got food pretty much covered. truth is, I probably wont be eating out a ton because I'm not planning on spending a lot of money, but i still want to be able to drink. gotta prioritize y'know :)

anyway, how about more speicifc ride suggestions. the ones ELC and xccx threw down sound great, but the whole point of this trip for me is to tour the city via bike, and I could check off all of those things in a day or two and I'll be there a week!

hit the runcible spoon muffin shop in nyack. though it takes you out of the city, it is worth it.

Stay away from Soho. It's boring and the cobblestones suck (just rode through there, still bitter:)

+1 on doing a loop in CP and checking out the Brooklyn Bridge and staying far away from Houston. Ride through the East Village too, on Ave. B, it's really nice. The West Side highway is long and flat and nice for a picnic on the water. Also, riding up 1st or down 2nd Ave. late at night/early in the morning is awesome, especially if you time the lights right.

personally, i dont know how you can swallow veggie anything. i once tried a veg burger, i felt like i wanted to PUKE! you peeps eat werd stuff........

i don't eat a lot of fake meat.
in fact, being generally broke. almost none.

you gotta problem with potatos, rice, or pasta?

And watch out in brooklyn, they have the WORST drivers on the planet


Ever heard of a place called the Bronx????

cheap cheap vegan burrito:
burritoville. i think you can actually get a side or rice/beans and a seperate tortilla for a make your own burrito and it runs you abut $3. its in manhattan, i cant remember where or exactly what to order because its been about 6 months. good food there though.

Brooklyn? Bronx? Bad drivers? LMAO!!! Come down to the DC Metro area during rush hour especially on a Friday and experience road rage capitol.

or try to ride through dc's adams morgan neighborhood on a saturday night. then you arent looking for cars, but peds. they step right into the road. but seriously, drivers here do suck.

aureole on 61st/madison. order the foie gras...


=)

no one has mentioned prospect park yet...you could always ride there.

but i think CP is WAY better

_there is also a velodrome in queens

_you could take the hudson greenway bike path up to 181 (exit the ramp) then ride on the street to 176th and go over the george washington bridge. this will give you good views of the city, and a weird experience of being on a huge bridge on your bike. if you want, you can go all the way over the bridge and take a left...going down the hill....this will take you to "river road" which is a beautiful and peaceful stretch of road with no cars that runs along the river for about 5-6 miles. really, really nice.

_if you do ride uptown...you can go to the cloisters museum (about 190th street). this place is sick. incredible.

_if you want to hit some good (clothing) shops, try famous friends in the lower east side, rogan nyc, and UNI-QLO

Here's some information including the bike maps you can download and print:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bikeped/bikemain.html
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/bike/cwbm.shtml
http://www.nyc.gov/html/edc/pdf/greenway_mapside.pdf
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/bike/mapfront.pdf
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/bike/mapback.pdf

Welcome!

if i remember right, you can jump on the bike path right around the queensboro bridge, ride it all the way down to the bottom of manhattan on the east side and then catch it all the way up to the cloisters on the west side, no?


been a long time since i rock and rolled...


and def take a few turns through cp; you'll be in nyc...it's a must.

The Greenway going downtown along the East Side, starts a good bit lower than the Queensboro Bridge. I believe it starts after the U.N. which means it would start around 41st or so.

Actually just checked the map provided above. The greenway along the East Sides stops at the QB Bridge and does not pick up again until 37th Street. They have bike paths (not too useful ones though) on 1st & 2nd avenues though.

i know i used to catch it higher than that, but it was a different section maybe? near an elevated, fenced dog park, i think. had to be in the fifties...


or not.

Ride out to Coney Island and ride the Cyclone. If you're into gardens, there's Botanical gardens near Prospect Park and one in the Bronx. Hit up the Bklyn Museum on Eastern Pkwy. There's a scale model of NYC in Flushing Meadows in Queens somewhere. Nothing to see in SI except some Buddhist temple. That's a bunch of rides not easily done in a day.

Take a ride out to queens to the Kissena Velodrome and catch a race, the **** gets intense on wednesdays

go visit the little red lighthouse under the GW bridge, set in a nice little park with a paved path that heads south along the hudson.

http://www.montauklighthouse.com/giftshop/images/book_little_red_lighthouse.jpg

http://www.roberts-1.com/bikehudson/v/r/verr_gwb/photos/jun-02/mn/9_Little_Red_Lighthouse_400x263.jpg

/my favorite book when i was 5.

check out our upcoming rides here:
http://www.times-up.org/calendar/calendar.php

also, the season at kissena is over. no more wednesday night races until next year.

Damn, I totally thought this thread was going to be about Flavor of Love...
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g264/nyindamtfhouse/NY.jpg

YEEEEAH BOYYYY

Take a ride out to queens to the Kissena Velodrome and catch a race, the **** gets intense on wednesdays

twilight series is finito for the season.

well, after 2 hours of sleep, 20 minutes of pleading with northwest airlines not to charge me an oversize fee, and 7 hours in the air I made it.
the bike is back together and I'm too ****ing tired to even think of riding tonight.
plus - although the house I'm staying in has a million kids and a million bikes, there isnt a single floor pump here.

can anyone reccomend a shop somewhere near pratt where i can get some air in my tires?
I used my flat repair pump as best I can, but that really only gets me 80psi max.

adventures start tomorrow!

thanks again to everyone for the suggestions.

The closest shop I can think of near Pratt would be Bicycle Station. The address is as follows:

Bicycle Station
560 Vanderbilt Ave
(718) 638-0300

here's what i reccommend:

2. ride the hudson river path (west side) for as long as you like. it will take you from battery park all the way up to 200th street (that'll take you about 1.5 hrs one way, depending on your speed).

6. avoid east harlem.

7 doored!

If you do the Hudson river path go to Tubby's to celebrate your ride and get a northern view of GWB.
Don't avoid any neighborhood. It's all beautiful and dangerous.
Delancy and Houston are the two most dangerous streets in Man.

to get to Tubby's aka: the tubbyhook, when you get to the end of the path go down the stairs and onto dykeman. turn left on that first street right there and when you get to the bottom of the hill make another left. go to the dead end and that's the tubbyhook. good times. there's also a park to the right of it and if you go to the northern edge of the park there's a nice view as well.