I start in my quiet neighborhood on lightly trafficked streets, then go through Prospect Park where the 3 lane road is divided up as 1 jogger lane, 1 bike lane and 1 car lane. From there it is out on streets marked as bike share, and then a bike lane to the Manhattan Bridge which has a bike only path on one side completely away from the cars, actually separated by the subway tracks. Once in Manhattan it is bike lanes all the way up to 42nd St for me. You still have to watch for turning cars and clueless pedestrians.