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.