Ferdinand NYC

I am very glad that my response is useful to you! I hope it's useful also to the original poster.


Ah, a problem there. As I mentioned in my previous response, the Belt (Shore) Pkwy. Greenway is still closed west of Flatbush Ave. You can get on it from Flatbush Ave.; but you will soon encounter sections that are impassible due to being covered with sand.

If you are starting in Mill Basin, then you can go up and pick up Ave. T. Take that west to the edge of Marine Park, then go up to the Ave. S entry to the park. Take the park road so that you come out on Ave. T again on the other side (the west side) of the park. (Of course, you could just take Ave. U all the way, and never enter the park. But there is lots more traffic and many more lights that way.)

Exit the park on Ave. T, and take that all the way to its end at Stillwell Ave. A right at Stillwell and then the next left at 84th St.; then take 84th St. west to Bay Pkwy., on which you can make a left and take it down to the Greenway section that goes under the Verazzano.


The best view of Yankee Stadium is to be had coming over the Macombs Dam Bridge. This would mean getting off the Hudson River Greenway well short of the George Washington Bridge area, at 155th St. (Minor inconvenience: there is a short stretch of cobblestones as the road leading from the Greenway joins 155th St.) Take 155th St. crosstown; after St. Nicholas Pl., get on the sidewalk on the left side, which is protected by a wall. (As I understand it, this is legal.) Both sidewalks are protected by walls; but only the left-side sidewalk will allow you to get onto the bridge.

Go over the bridge and marvel at the sight of the Stadium coming into view. (I'm still bitter that they tore down the real Yankee Stadium, my Yankee Stadium. But the location of the new one, just north of the old one, provides a view from this bridge that we wouldn't have had before.)


The Macombs Dam Bridge lets you off at Jerome Ave. and 161st St., right in front of the Stadium. Take 161st St. east for a couple of blocks to Walton Ave. (which is not very scenic, but which has a bike lane for much of its run) or one block further to the Grand Concourse (which a big street, but one not nearly as bad as Queens Blvd.), and then make a right. The Concourse is interesting because at each corner there are "Bronx Walk of Fame" signs commemorating famous Bronx residents ranging from Gabe Pressman to Robert Klein to Ace Frehley.

Take either Walton or the Concourse south to their end at 138th St., then make a left. Take 138th St. to St. Ann's Ave. and make a right; follow St. Ann's to its end at 132nd St. At that point, you make a left to go one block to Cypress Ave., where you find the entry to the Triborough Bridge.

The Triborough Bridge takes you to Randall's Island. It's hard to explain the exact way to get from the landing from the Bronx to the entry going to Queens; so I'll leave that alone for now. But, once you find the Queens entry, you go over the bridge and come out on Hoyt Ave. and 27th St.

What I'd do next is the following: go south one block on 27th St. to Astoria Blvd. and make a left. Take Astoria Blvd. to 36th St., and make a right. (There's a nice bike lane on this small, quiet street.) Take 36th St. down to 31st Ave., and make a left to go west.

Here it gets a little weird; so bear with me.

Turn right at 75th St., and go south to Broadway. That section of Broadway is not a particularly good bike street; but you'll be on it only for a short while. Turn left to take Broadway east, through Queens Blvd., where it will become Grand Ave., and continue on Grand Ave. The weird thing is that you were heading east on Broadway; now you're heading west on Grand Ave. without ever having turned around! That intersection of Broadway, Grand Ave., and Queens Blvd. is a bit of a magical one; it's a place where three of the four possible directions that you can go are technically "west".

Proceed on Grand Ave. to 80th St., and turn left to go south. (Eventually there is a right turn that you'll have to make in order to stay on 80th St.; this comes in where the 80th St. merges with Dry Harbor Road.) Take 80th St. all the way to Myrtle Ave., and make a left. Take Myrtle to Woodhaven Blvd., and make a right to go south.

In order to minimise the time spent on Woodhaven, take it only as far as 101st Ave., then get off of it by making a right. Go to the three-way intersection of 101st Ave., 88th St., and Rockaway Blvd.; make a wide left onto 88th St. (not a sharp left onto Rockaway Blvd.), and proceed south on 88th St. You'll have to do a bit of a ziggety-zag manoeuvre at Pitkin Ave. to stay on 88th St.: first left, then right. Continue south on 88th St. to a very small street called Arion Rd., and turn left onto that street. Take that to its end, where you will find a bike/pedestrian bridge over N. and S. Conduit Aves.

When you come off of that bridge, you'll still be on 88th St. heading south. Make the next right at 151st Ave. to go west to 84th St., then turn left to go south. Take 84th St. to the end of that segment at the Belt service road; turn right to go a half a block; then turn left to get on the next segment of 84th St. Less than 100 yards later, on the right, is the entry to the Shore Pkwy. Greenway, which you can then take as far as Flatbush Ave.

In order to go north on Flatbush Ave., you can take the sidewalk on the southbound side up until Ave. V. Make a left at Ave. V; go one block to Hendrickson St.; turn right to go north to Ave. T; and then right on Ave. T to take you back to your home area.

Anyway, sorry for the length. But I hope that this will be helpful to you!

ChiroVette

Yeah I know that. If I am doing a short ride, I will avoid that stretch like the plague. However, for a ride like this, I am not looking for the shortest route. The goal is to sort of ride a circle around a good chunk of NY City here. So if I am going to do about a 75 mile ride, then I don't care if I lose a very small 1/8 to 1/4 mile stretch where I have to walk my bike. Because I will get off at Knapp, take that along the water at Sheepshead Bay, past Manhattan Beach, then into Coney Island. Then Cropsey over the little bridge into Bensonhurst, then left onto Shore Pkwy following the Belt (since there is no bike path), then through Ceasar's Bay, etc..

This is definitely quicker, and I have done this route. But I am looking to make that cool circle, around the horn, not find the straightest distance between two points.

By the way, better than T to Stillwell, I have found, is Fillmore Avenue to Gerritsen, then left on R, then right on OP, left on Kings Highway for a shert stretch, which becomes Bay Parkway, which goes right into the Greenway. This path is the closest thing to a diagonal line between Bergen Beach and the Greenway. As I have said, I have done all these routes, and they are fun! But I am looking to make a sort of circle around the city for this run.

I don't want to come all this way and then get off for convenience. I love the GWB and I would definitely be cycling under it, then going around into the upper west side of Manhattan before heading to the Bronx. I am a huge Yankees fan and have seen both stadiums from every conceivable angle, so my goal here is to go as far north as a little past the bridge before heading west then south.

I was actually thinking of taking the 181st Street Bridge over (I think its called Washington Bridge or High Point Bridge??) if it has a walk or cycle path. I can't remember if it does, but I think I remember reading about the city opening up this bridge, as a landmark, to pedestrian traffic. But l could be wrong and thinking of another bridge? This would be the most convenient way of getting into the Bronx. I know I crossed over a year or two around here, but I forget where! I know it was a real nightmare trying to get onto the Alexander Hamilton Bridge to get into the Bronx! lol

I remember taking Jerome Avenue down to the Stadium once, after biking over from Manhattan to The Bronx from whatever crossing I used.

So all that is tentatively planned (well all except WHERE to cross from Manhattan to The Bronx, that is, because I am still not sure about the bridge at 181's street.)

But from here into the heart of Queens is where I desperately need your expertise! Once I am on Queens Blvd., obviously I'm fine. But that stretch from the stadium to here is a tough set of directions on a bike!

Yeah, once I am anywhere near the Belt, I am golden. Hell, I have even ridden Queens Blvd from the 59th Street Bridge right to Woodhaven then right to Crossbay. It ain't pretty and it is a little demanding of constant attention, but it is doable! Also, bear in mind that this ride, when I do it, I am likely to start it at 5:00 to 6:00 AM on a Saturday. Traffic even on Queens Blvd and Woodhaven isn't going to be crazy like it would be, say lunchtime on a weekday or 2:00 PM on a weekend when everyone is shopping. I would expect to be long through this area before Noon. Still, I like your route, and assuming I can remember it, or if someone like you is willing to come on this little ride and be the navigator and tour guide, I'll go your way through Queens. I don't mind the extra riding, it's trying to remember all of this on a bicycle that is giving me the Willies.


No at all! Greatly appreciated. I am going to study your route from Yankee Stadium to and through Queens!

So are you up for this ride? Anyone else from the forum is also welcome!

Ferdinand NYC

Right, I understand that you want to do the big circle. Well, if you don't mind walking your bike through sand, then Bob's your uncle.


I see. Well, then, you can get off the Greenway after passing the George Washington Bridge; but, as I recall, the ramp leading to the street is an almost unrideably steep climb. So you might need to walk it for a few yards there. The ramp leads to Riverside Dr., which you take for a block south to 181st St.; then turn left to take 181st crosstown.


Right, it's called the Washington Bridge. (The High Bridge is a different bridge near there that isn't open yet.)

The bike paths are on the sidewalks. You come out in the Bronx at University Ave. (also signed as "Edward L. Grant Hwy.") around 174th St. From there you'd make a right to take University south to its end where it merges into Jerome Ave. at 167th St. Then go left on 167th to either Walton or the Concourse, as mentioned above, and resume the previously-given directions.

A side note: if you are going to be up there on University Ave., you might enjoy a small detour north to Bronx Community College, which has on its campus the Hall of Fame for Great Americans. This is an outdoor display of busts of various literary and historical figures. The campus is on University Ave. and 180th St.


Right, I also have done that many times. I don't consider it as bad as other places, such as Linden Blvd. in western Queens, or Pennsylvania Ave. in Brooklyn. But it's just not a lot of fun, with all the stopping and all the necessary vigilance.


Yeah, unfortunately you won't be hitting Queens Blvd. at 5am when it's serene, but in late morning when the midday crowd is in full force. But, as you mentioned, it's far from undoable; it just requires some extra attention. If that's what you're after, then go for it!

Have fun. There's no better way to enjoy our City than by bicycling through it.

ChiroVette

It's actually not that bad. The sandy. un-rideable stretch is really short. If I am doing cardio, I will jump off the bike hold it shoulder level, and jog the short length of the damage, then jump back on the bike and ride off into the sunset, as it were. lol Makes me feel like I am doing a triathlon. All I need to do is jump into Jamaica Bay an swim it out to complete the event.

Seriously, if I am doing a short ride, say 30 to 60 minutes, I will avoid that stretch of the belt parkway. But on a longer ride at least several hours, walking the bike for less than a large city block is no biggie.

I am not 100% sure so I may be wrong about this, but I think the last time I rode up to the GW, I was able to ride like another half mile or so north and get off that way. Again, this was back in 2011, so I may be remembering it wrong. Still, on a really long ride like this, the same as I said above applies. I don't mind jumping off and walking a few yards. No bggie at all. The only reason I would care about a few scattered spots of walking the bike is if I am doing a quick 30 minute cardio workout and stopping isn't desirable. But as long as I have strung an hour or more of straight, uninterrupted pedaling, no problem at all in short walks here and there.

Next time I am up there, I am going to try the way you just described of getting off the Greenway and into the streets.

Awesomeness, thanks!

Definitely will have to check this out, At this point I will likely be about 2-3 hours into the ride, so it sounds like a great spot for a little break and some pictures.

Don't forget the vast majority of Flatbush Avenue. Hell, I have ridden Pennsylvania and the East Flatbush Brooklyn to Ozone Park stretch of Linden, and they aren't so bad. I even rollerbladed the entire length of Pennsylvania Avenue a few times. I am a chiropractor, and one of my early stints was working in a No Fault practice on Atlantic Avenue right off Pennsylvania. It was a nightmare to park around there, and I had a brand new Corvette, so whenever weather permitted, I biked or bladed to work. From Bergen Beach it is a nice skate. Short bike ride, though, maybe 20 minutes or so.

Yeah, but it shouldn't be too, too bad.

I was just looking at a map and wondering about this route coming off the Triborough, for pure simplicity's sake:

Astoria Blvd to Steinway, then Steinway to Broadway, and Broadway to Queens Blvd, which I would only be on basically for a few blocks past the Mall, then Woodhaven, another avenue I have ridden on several times. If I remember while riding (which is tough in real time and not looking at a map, I could get off Steinway at Newton and take that to Broadway, sort of like the hypotenuse of a right triangle rather than riding both its sides. That is somewhat of a derivation of the instructions you gave me. The virtue of your instructions is that they are probably more scenic and safer. The problem is that without a tour guide and a turn-by-turn GPS (and who would know hot to program it to force your route) I would lose more time trying to figure out where the hell I am.

The good news is I know Queens well enough that I could "find my way" to an area I am familiar with from anywhere. So if when I am ready to do this ride, and it won't be for a few weeks probably, if you want to join, then I will go whatever route you like through Queens. The good thing about my route (unless you find some major flaws in it) is that it is simple and at least has the virtue of being fairly direct. But trying to memorize your route would likely wind me up fishing my phone out every few blocks to pull up Google Maps.


Edit: Okay, you know what Ferdinand NYC? I had sort of zoned out when I initially read your directions to get through the areas through and near Forrest Hills, Middle Village, etc., around Penelope Ave and Dry Harbor Road. I just took a look at them again now and realize I am pretty familiar with the area. I know Grand Ave Broadway, and 80th Street well enough to navigate them in Lieu of Woodhaven and the short stretch of Queens Blvd. Now toward the end of your directions, you recommended a left onto Myrtle and then a right onto a short stretch onto Woodhaven. But What if, instead, I made the right onto Myrtle and the left through the park via Forest Park Drive (assuming bikes can ride hat stretch through the park). Then I can take the left onto Park Lane South and snag 88th Street from there and follow your zig-zagging route to the Belt. Again, all this is assuming I can bike through that I can cycle on that road that runs between the cemetery and the golf course! That would avoid Woodhaven all together.

To be frank, Woodhaven is quite mellow when you first snag it from the road veering southwest off Queens Blvd. If memory serves, it stays very mellow through the Forrest Hills and Middle Village areas past Penelope, Elliot, Yellowstone, Metropolitan, etc. Where Woodhaven starts to get bad is right before Myrtle where Woodhaven becomes a very dangerous overpass over the abandoned trains (fun fact: Those tracks are the OLD Long Island Railroad, which ran from the Brooklyn College area through that section of Queens!). Your route, however, does have the virtue of circumventing that horror-show stretch of Woodhaven.

Thoughts?

Ferdinand NYC

You definitely can go through the park. You don't even need to make a right on Myrtle; just go straight across Myrtle as 80th St. hits it to find an entry to the park on the south side of Myrtle. You then follow the path to where it goes through an underpass and exits that section of the park going south.

The bike lane takes you in between the golf course on your left and the Interboro on your right. Right past the underpass there is a very short hill (like only a few feet long) that is a completely unfair grade. If you know it's there and if you have prepared by downshifting to your lowest gear, you can ride up it. If the hill takes you by surprise, you might have to walk for just a few feet.

The path will seem to end at one point; but there you turn left into the golf course's parking lot. Proceed that way until the first intersection with one of the in-park roads; make a right to get to the light where that road crosses Forest Park Drive. Then make a left at the light, and take Forest Park Drive down to its end at Park Lane South. (It's a pretty nice downhill coast.)

ChiroVette

You know what? I did a long ride around the complete circumference of Brooklyn yesterday, and used some similar routes to what you suggested because I decided that instead of simply making the circle around Brooklyn and going home via the Belt, that I would go east and grab Crossbay into the Rockaways, then take Beach Channel to the Marine Parkway Bridge, etc..

A few notes:

I took Liberty Avenue to the Conduit and braved it out for a decent stretch toward Crossbay, but while no car came anywhere close to hitting me, I was simply NOT comfortable cycling on that thoroughfare, with cars driving at or close to highway speeds. So I got off on the little strip exit to Linden, and started heading east on that, only to realize (and remember) that this put me right back on the Conduit! So I took the Conduit from Linden only another block before getting off at 88th street (remembering the tail end of your directions) and took it to 153rd, which I then took easily to Crossbay. I did miss the turn and went a block or two too far and had to U-Turn to go East.

But after yesterday's ride, I think the more I think about it, the more I like your original directions of making the left on Myrtle and taking that to Woodhaven for a mere two blocks before making the right on Park Lane South. (I know you said 101st Ave, but I like Park Lane South. Very mellow road) Honestly? After driving through the park yesterday (I went through at Cypress, though, somewhat west of where you were sending me) it was a lot more dangerous than I anticipated. The cars race through the park, and I am not comfortable sharing the road with cars doing 60+MPH with no actual bike path. So I think your original directions are better than the alternate I asked you about.

Here is the ride I did yesterday so you can see the points I mean, along with the map I took:

Rode 51.80 mi on 08/19/2014 on 08/19/2014 | CYCLING Training Log Entry | MapMyRide

Ferdinand NYC

Right. The Conduit is definitely on my list of streets to avoid. Remember we were talking about Queens Blvd. earlier; the Conduit is far worse. Queens Blvd. is a street that I tend to avoid, but will take from time to time; whereas the Conduit is one that I avoid at all costs.



Park Lane South is OK; the only problem is that there is very little room on the westbound side. There is parking only on the eastbound side, so the yellow line is far off centre. Because of this, westbound drivers move very far over to the right, almost to the curb, often leaving absolutely no room for bikes. But I have used this street many times.



You didn't go through Forest Park. On Cypress Ave. you went in between the cemetaries that are adjacent to Forest Park; then you entered Highland Park when you turned onto Vermont Pl. You might have chosen Cypress Hills St., which is located a few blocks east, instead. That street has a bike lane, and there is a pretty nice downhill coast going south, known as "Snake Hill". You would have come out on Jamaica Ave. just a little east of where you actually hit it at Highland Blvd.

Anyway, I agree that that section of Cypress Ave. is an unpleasant road to ride on.


So, nice going! It's always interesting to hear people's stories.

I was going to take a day off this week to do a similarly long ride, as I have done in all but one other week since the summer began. But I backed off, because the cool morning weather is really getting me down. I like it as hot as possible; so a morning of 65 degrees just destroys my motivation. By comparison, on a day when it's going to be 90+, I cannot wait to get out there, and I go all day in the glorious summer heat. The frustrating thing is that, while on the global scale this year is another of the hottest on record, we here in New York are experiencing unseasonably cold weather.

Still, despite this down week, I have a decent chance of hitting 800 miles for this month, which would be great coming on the heels of having done more than 800 in June and more than 1000 in July. And I realised this morning that, if I do accomplish that, then I can hit 6000 miles for the year if I can amass 1725 over the final four months, or an average of just over 430 miles per month (which is not easy for winter months). Even if I don't hit 6000, I could surpass my 2013 total of 5857 miles.

Keeping a record of my mileage is a good way to keep me motivated to ride when the summer ends. I had never ridden through winter before the winter of 2011-12, as I hate the cold; and I still find it very hard. I do it to keep in shape (physically and mentally), not because it's fun. And last winter was pretty traumatic (for example: I rode only 167 miles in February); so I need all the help I can get during that season.

Anyway, I hope I can squeeze some more goodness out of the summer before I have to deal with the bad months.

ChiroVette

Yeah, I knew this going in. Truth be told, I have ridden this stretch before. And the drivers yesterday on the Conduit were cool, giving me plenty of room, not honking at me, or anything. But lately, on these forums and seeing all the cyclists getting run over, I have become a little skittish. All it takes is one. So I got off even though I was more than capable of finishing the stretch to Crossbay.

Yeah, I wouldn't use it for a long stretch, but four blocks to 88th Street wouldn't be bad at all.

Thanks for the correction. I Always refer to that whole area, erroneously, as Forest Park even though I know it isn't. lol Either that, or I could call it, "The Long Series Of Parks That the Jackie Robinson Runs Through..." Yeah in retrospect, I should have just taken if over to Cypress Hills St, but at that point in the ride, I was stilll meticulously trying to stay right on the Brooklyn-Queens border, which it is generally agreed that Cypress Ave is. Still, if I do this ride again, I will go the few blocks East.

Yeah it really is lol.

I am not scared off by the heat, but neither do I require it. Hell, I cycle all throughout the winter months, so I don't care. The only thing I hate about winter cycling is snow, ice, and black ice. The temperature I could honestly care less about.

I like your riding goals. 200 a month is a nice goal to shoot for.

ChiroVette

Thanks again for your help! I did the ride today and used a great deal of your route instructions through Queens. I posted all the info in the Long Island: Good Ride Today? thread.

A few notes:

I had a helluva hard time finding the Triborough because I got flummoxed with the local Bronx geography! For some strange reason I can't explain, I kept searching for the entrance to the Triborough WAY TOO FAR WEST. I confused the Madison Ave Bridge with the Manhattan to Bronx end of the Triborough, and it took me a while to realize that I was nowhere near far enough East. If you look at the map that MapMyRide generated, you can see me basically cycling around in circles for the better part of 20 minutes until I FINALLY took a breath, stopped, broke out the phone (pulling up Google Maps) and smacking myself in the head realizing I was waaaaay too far East. Weird brain-fart, but I figured you would enjoy!

I followed your route almost completely from Broadway to Grand to 80th Street. I deviated up to Crossbay (instead of geting on the Belt Parkway bike path right away) because I wanted to grab some frozen Yogurt at a place I really like in Howard Beach, before resuming the route home!

The insane uphill (two or three blocks) on 181st Street going east to Pinehurst of Fort Washington Ave (I forget which one) was sheer, unadulterated murder! And the huge uphill getting out of For Washington Park was just insane. I ended up walking the bike out for a good part of it.

UnfilteredDregs

For the serious fun crossing the GWB and riding through Henry Hudson Park then North to Bear Mountain via 9W is where it's at. Other variations as, well.... Blauvelt State Park has some fun hills...Harriman State Park is excellent riding..

I'm biased but the Bronx has the easiest access to all the major bike routes...

I can ride 5 miles and I have a choice of going 50 miles North to Carmel/Croton Reservoir area...or I can drop down the West side of Manhattan to the GWB to Jersey 9W, or I can shoot down to the Brooklyn/Manhattan Bridge complex and yell at hipsters, or continue straight to the Battery... if I feel like it I can split off at 104th St and head to Central Park via the Riverdale switchback..CPT sucks on weekends...too many folks with heads fully inserted in their posteriors....

Bronx is nice for cyclists. ....shhh! Don't tell anyone!

UnfilteredDregs

Lol....those are little hills! Just get out of your saddle....