Urban Adventures & More

I was totally not expecting to do yesterday’s ride. I just went out for some fresh air, and found myself a couple hours later in Red Hook. However, along the way, I realized I have been developing what I am tentatively calling “New York’s Most Beautiful Spots”. Currently on the list is Roosevelt Island (in the “Places to Be” Category) and Inwood Hill Park (in the “Seclusion and Beauty” Category). New entries:

• 25th Street Pier in the Hudson River Park, for its view in all directions, including the Empire State, Starrett-Lehigh, Jersey City, Verrazano, Statue of Liberty, and George Washington Bridge, as well as being a great addition to the park itself.
• East River Bridge Pedestrian Paths, for the vistas, perspectives of the city and the bridges themselves. (See below for more.)
• At the foot of the Brooklyn Pier of the Manhattan Bridge, for vistas. You can see all three of the southern east river bridges, midtown, downtown, and the waterfront. It would be a beautiful spot to be as well if not for the constant rumbling of subway trains over the bridge. (See below for more)
• Red Hook Waterfront, particularly the Lous J. Valentino Park Pier, for vistas. Here you feel as though within spitting distance of the Statue of Liberty; Manhattan rises behind Governors Island, and the entire area feels like a sleepy seaside town (on the weekend at least, when the port is closed).

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I have long wondered about Roosevelt Island: who lives in the mix of public housing and gleaming condos? (No one; they live in either one or the other. Har har.) How do you get there? What is there to see?

Last summer I noticed the green ring on the bike map that encircled the island, and figured that it was easy enough to get to — go over the Queensboro bridge and turn left — that I added it to my list of trips. The interest was heightened by an article in Essential New York, and one in the Times.

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Following is my suggested route for what I call the “circum-Manhattan bike tour.” It is all river, (almost) all the time. It’s also an amalgam of two rides I did; in the first, my uptown leg was all on the streets, and on the second, I discovered the superior uptown (river) route. Since I haven’t done the whole route, I have only an approximate distance of 31. See the bottom of this post for the map with some annotations, as well as the official city bike map.
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I took a bike ride up to Inwood and ultimately Riverdale yesterday in search of the mysterious path past the George Washington Bridge. I was quite happy with what I found.

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About a month ago, I followed a walking tour in the financial district from the “Essential New York” book. Following are some pictures. I had lots of fun with panoramas. I also built on my lesson from last time; when taking pictures for a panorama, you have to make sure to fill up the corners or the visible rectangular part will be very small. On the other hand, once you do that you get greedy and want the corners to be very full, and, well, before you know it you wish you had taken a full 360 degree picture and a full 90 degrees up. Continue reading…

I took my bike out with no particular destination today. I didn’t want to retrace my footsteps, but I did visit some of the same destinations as before. Continue reading…

I took a new “urban adventure” bike ride (as my dad calls them), this time with the goal of looking at the High Bridge. I also happened to go past Jumel Mansion and City College, which are both interesting in their own regard.

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Or, Why the D train goes slow over the Manhattan Bridge,

Or, Why you should follow bike lanes when you can, or at least stick to one-way streets,

Or, Why bike riders wear gloves,

Or, Which is longer around the park drive: Prospect Park or Central Park?,

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