500 Miles Here We Come
As soon as the weather gets nice enough, we think about riding our bikes. We ride because we enjoy the relaxation and exploration that comes with riding. Sometimes, it’s commuting from our home to a destination. Sometimes, it’s simply riding and feeling the breeze on a long downhill. Sometimes, it is discovering parts of the city that we wouldn’t ordinarily visit. Whatever the reason, when it is warm outside, we find a reason to ride our bikes.
Last year, we completed 500 miles for the season and it has become the baseline for our future rides. For this year, we plan to hit our baseline and maybe surpass it.
- Goal: Bike at least 500 miles for the season.
- Aspiration: Ride as many unique miles as possible.
- Biking Season: Warm weather.
- Unique miles: Ride a new path.
- Tracking: Record GPS bike ride on tracking app.
Unique Miles
It is easy to get to 500 miles doing laps in Prospect Park or any repeated path, but a lot harder to get to 500 miles riding unique miles. Unique miles add a level of exploration that doing laps does not and it creates novelty. This is not to say that we will only do unique miles, but rather we will seek out as much uniqueness in our rides this year.
Repeat Miles
Repeat miles are ones we have ridden before and want to do each year. Also, unique miles lend themselves to being part of the baseline ride for the next year. Thus far, we always try to do the following:
- Summer Streets: The first three weeks of August each year is the Summer Streets festival, where everyone can walk or bike from Brooklyn Bridge to Central park along Park Avenue without vehicular traffic. It’s the only time to ride your bike on Park Avenue and through the Helmsley building.
- Beach: Take a ride to the beach. We usually ride to Coney Island beach to start our season. It is straight ride along Ocean Parkway or a nice loop from Owl’s head.
- Brooklyn Bridge Park: Ride to Brooklyn Bridge Park, sit at the water’s edge, and take in the view of the NYC skyline between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. If you feel up to it, ride south along the water to piers with outdoor activities and games.
- Bridges: Ride across one of the major bridges in NYC. Try Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, George Washington, Gil Hodges, and any bridge that you can get your bike on. The view from the bridge is amazing! George Washington bridge has an especially expansive view of the Hudson River. Gil Hodges gives you a view of beaches, Brooklyn and glimpses of the NYC skyline. Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges show you the core of the city, and the statue of Liberty. Brooklyn bridge is usually crowded with tourist so be prepared to tell them to get out of the bike lane.
Here we go!
