davids0507

I live in a place where the cycling is just incredible, but I also visit and ride in NYC on occasion (it's where I grew up), and so I've thought of a few reasons to like riding in and around the city:

1. Weather: With few exceptions, there aren't any crazy 20-degree temperature changes over a quarter mile of road, so it's easier to dress appropriately. The weather may not always be great, but at least it's consistently not great.
2. Flat ground -> more consistent workouts (steep climbs and descents are fun but may require different pedalling cadences).
3. Doing loops (and loops... and loops...) around Central Park is convenient in bad weather, because you can just go home if something goes wrong (flat, crash, etc), or if it's 10 degrees out and you don't know how long it will take for the cold to catch up with you. And you can ride easily at night.
4. 9W: Flat ground, wide shoulder, you can ride for a very long time without worrying about a thing.
5. I derive schadenfreude from passing guys on $8,000 bikes.
6. Bagels
Along similar lines, cold weather isn't so bad because...
7. You're less likely to get road rash when you're wearing long pants and a jacket.
8. You're less likely to get road rash when the road is slippery everywhere. The worst is wiping out on a small patch of ice. But if the ice is everywhere you keep sliding.
9. Snow cushions your fall.


Don't post about awesome places to ride. Post about crappy places (relatively, at least, I know riding in NYC is pretty good on the scale of things) and why you don't mind riding there sometimes. Or do what you want, I just felt like posting.

patentcad

You are reaching.

sced

So like a New Yorker to always be bragging about how great it is to be in the THE CITY:-)

RichinPeoria

New York City is the greatest city in the US. (Except for maybe Chicago) He's not bragging. Its just the truth.

kimconyc

1. Incorrect
2. Incorrect
3. Incorrect
4. 9W is not even in NYC
5. Incorrect
6. Incorrect
7. Incorrect
8. Incorrect
9. Incorrect

Riding in NYC sucks.

kimconyc

Riding outside of NYC is awesome.

Jynx

fixed

sced

There's a couple of brothers down here in bumpkinville that are NY transplants. One of them is a famous cyclist that just won the US Pro road race and the other runs the family sporting goods business. I wonder why they moved.

tubescreamerx

NYC area sucks for road cycling. one of the worst places in the country. you're delusional.

SourDieseL

i lived here my whole life, a measly 28 years, that I can say is not the same place every 5-6 years. It changes faster then most places in the world, moves faster then most places in the world, and is definitely a city that sets trends (or bring a greater awareness to some). Truth is, people move away from the city for other reasons then it simply being a great city. We know as life changes, needs change. It's not easy living in Manhattan with a newborn, nor would is it financially realistic for those that aren't fortunate enough to afford 3 bedroom duplex's in doorman buildings.

I'm a brownstone owner myself, and although renting apartments, it's still not an easy ownership then property in the suburbs where space is readily available.

I do think it's a great city, but as eclectic as it is, there are many parts of the world that offer different lifestyles for different people.

More on topic, central park loop is great but I'm sure most will bark when I say, hammering harlem hill gets boring after the 6th lap. Running the 10k loop is another thing, but cycling cp I've found to be more of a tourist trap and show-n-go environment. If you don't believe me, check out sheep meadow on a summer saturday afternoon. It's a human parking lot of bikini clad girls and flesh tone beach towels, yet not a sight of water near by. What do I really see on the loop? Cervelo all day, Pinarello's pop up here and there, Colnago's, and all the likes of high-end cycling gear.

Great city that I'm fortunate to be grown up in, but definitely have seen greater light in areas outside of NYC.

kimconyc

Financial reasons, just a guess...

Urthwhyte

Fixed that for you

Edit: What's preview for anyways?

exRunner

I have lived all over the world. I have my favorite places, and NYC is not on the list.

Most of the people that love The City have never lived anywhere else. You don't hear of many people moving back unless they didn't have a choice for some reason.

FixdGearHead

The area outside of NYC certainly cannot hold up against several regions of the US...but I wouldn't considering "one of the worst". Curious: what makes you feel it's on a short list of 'worst places'?

tubescreamerx

Don't listen to me, I haven't ridden any of the roads outside of the city.

If you want my unsupported opinion: weather, lack of interesting terrain, number of cars around, dealing with getting in/out of city, poseur to talent ratio is too high...

In summary, I just don't think it's better than the average city/town in the US. So using that flawed logic, I conclude that it must be one of the worst.

I just want to move to CA.

qqy

So where IS a good place to ride around NYC for solid distance (>60 miles)?? I was thinking about taking commuter rail on weekends out of the city. Any suggestions? Sorry, but riding the central park loop for hours on end in not my idea of good road cycling...

NickDavid

Awesome indeed!

But compared to the rest of the country, it's mediocre at best. I'm in Hoboken and have plans for Vegas, Colorado and VT next year. I want to do some serious climbing routes.

kimconyc

GWB > River Rd. > 9W > 7 Lakes Drive > Bear Mountain > Nyack (pose, eat, drink) > 9W > GWB

NickDavid

Right on!

kimconyc

So. Cal is better simply because of the weather and the fact that they actually have real climbs but I like NY (I like some parts of Jersey as well ). What can I say?

Riding in NYC still sucks though.

Grumpy McTrumpy

I lived in NYC for 15 years.

The riding here is way better. Except when it snows.

I can go for 3-4 hours and never put a foot down. Sometimes cars come at the rate of one per 15 minutes.

SourDieseL

LIE > Wheatly Rd > Syosset

DScott

Isn't that what you really meant to say?



This thread is an object lesson in cognitive dissonance.

Standalone 

Lots of places to stop and EAT!

FixdGearHead

I gotcha. Yeah, IN Manhattan is a bit of a pain in the a** (Central Park being the only option). Once you get outside the city though, it's not too bad...definitely not one of the best, but not on the worst list :-)