The streets of NYC aren't great if you're looking for an uninterrupted ride, but I always made the most of it and used the stop-and-go nature of city riding to work on intervals often using the surrounding cars and messengers to chase. I used to love the adrenaline rush and racing messengers through 6th Ave traffic at the height of rush hour was a blast.
In terms of variety there's plenty to see in terms of architecture and neighborhoods; when I used to ride to Coney Island I loved the seemless neighborhood transition from West Indian to Jewish to Arab, and finally Russian. The city is great to experience by bicycle so I'd go on "exploratory" rides on days when I wanted to go on a recovery ride. The parks are nice in their own right and give you the convenience of not being far from help in case anything happens or you need anything. While there aren't the climbing challenges or scenery of the west it seems sillty to say there's nothing to see, it just depends on what you're willing to appreciate.
As I've gotten older I find that city traffic just isn't that fun to be in when you're looking to minimize the possibility of having an accident on a bike; I don't want my wife and daughter to worry about me riding recklessly. Since I moved to NJ I prefer the quiter more predcitable riding I can do there, but I'm just over the river so there's enough traffic to keep it lively as well.
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Last edited by roadiejorge; 12-02-09 at 02:25 PM.