ChiroVette

I live in Brooklyn and when riding to Queens, I try to stay off Queens Blvd. It is a HUGE thoroughfare cutting across the entire borough from the south side of the 59th Street Bridge almost all the way to the Belt Parkway, or rather it ends on Hillside right near the Van Wyck around the Kew Gardens Interchange.

All that said, because of its practically bisecting Queens, running almost dead-center through the congested borough, it is often more difficult to avoid than to traverse, and trying to stay off it more often than not, can get you lost because of the confusing labeling of Queens' streets and avenues. lol You have 40th Avenue, 40th Street, 40th Drive, and 40th Road, for instance, all in the same general area. Now I can navigate Queens, having lived in the Big Apple my whole life, but it is tough for a new resident. Make sure you have a good smart phone with GPS or a bike computer with GPS, because Queens is not a "grid-style" map like Manhattan, which is a very easy borough to navigate because of it being a grid.

The good news about Queens Blvd. for a cyclist is that you do have the benefit of a service road that runs the entire length from south to north. It is very navigable on a bike, but I would maybe slow down a tad, stay as far to the right as is safe, and watch out for traffic going from the service road to the main part of the boulevard and the traffic from the boulevard into the service road. Queens Blvd. is also one of those streets where motorists drive fast, so STAY OUT OF THE MAIN ROAD. Stay in the service road and resist any temptation to use the main drag.

I have ridden on Queens Blvd. many times, and it is totally doable, and because it is a huge, landmark, it makes going from north to south or south to north a much easier time. Trust me, if you try to take other streets and alternate routes and don't know where you're going, you will get lost fast.

Here is another nice route into the nicer parts of Brooklyn:

Take Queens Blvd to Woodhaven Blvd. (right near the Queens Center Mall). Then take Woodhaven a couple of miles until it becomes Crossbay Blvd. Now as you pass over the Belt Parkway, you can make your first right onto the Shore Parkway Service Road, then a left onto 84th Street, going under the Belt Pkwy., then your first right then first left right onto the Belt Parkway bike path. This goes right into Brooklyn, passing Erskine Street (nice outdoor mall) then Pennsylvania Ave., then Rockaway Parkway into Canarsie. You can also keep going on the path to the Marine Park area via Flatbush Avenue. You can take it one more exit through Gerritsen Beach and get off at Knapp Street, where the path ends. You can then take Emmons through Manhattan Beach and then through Coney Island (where it becomes Neptune Ave) then you can work your way around to Bensonhurst and pick up the Greenway again at the end of Bay Parkway, where you will be treated to a gorgeous, waterfront ride under the Verrazzano and into Bay Ridge.

Oh and make sure you sign your name and give your riding info in this thread I created: http://www.bikeforums.net/northeast/...t-version.html

The old thread has not been maintained by the OP and so I started this one to coordinate rides and stuff for anyone interested.