For many New Yorkers, summer in the city means biking and with it the freedom to explore unencumbered by obligations and the limits of pedestrian travel.
There are, in fact, many safe and beautiful places to bike in or near New York that offer camaraderie, tranquility food and adult beverages. But biking in the city can also be a bloody and terror inducing prospect, especially for those new to the two-wheel life.
So with summer unofficially underway here’s a guide on how to get started in town or out, some trips to aspire to and how to get there.
“It’s a different kind of freedom when you’re riding a bike,” Joel Popoteur, a group bike ride organizer, said in an interview. “When you see your neighborhood by bike, it puts your feet to the ground a little bit more naturally.”
No bike? No skills? No prob
If you haven’t ridden a bike in years (or ever), the nonprofit Bike New York offers dozens of free classes a month for adults and children in all five boroughs.
“From learn-to-ride classes for kids and adults, all the way to urban cycling skills,” said Alicia McCauley, a spokesperson for Bike New York.
Classes include a bike and helmet and last about two hours. Their website also hosts a virtual education center to give intimidated newcomers a pressure-free way to get acquainted with cycling.
If you don’t have a bike, McCauley recommends the company Unlimited Biking. Popular with tourists, they also rent mountain bikes and high-end carbon road bikes.
“If you’re just starting out, or if you just like the efficiency of it, there’s e-bikes that you can rent,” McCauley said. “The only downside is that they do have a mileage limit before they have to get charged again.”
Citbike’s popular rides are an easy way into Gotham-centric biking. If you’re over the quotidien Central Park and Prospect Park loops, there’s also Governors Island and the Jersey City waterfront, which has an extensive bike network. Be mindful, however, that Citibike’s rules prohibit taking their bikes on ferries and trains so you have to undock and redock in Jersey City.
Citibike also offers two in-app challenges to spark bike adventures. The City Explorer function will track the stations you visit while goading you into exploring as much of the city as possible. And the Bike Angels program offers financial incentives to riders willing to ride bikes from supply-heavy docking stations to those in want of the ubiquitous blue machines.
Highbridge Park is one of the many popular biking destinations maintained by the city parks department.
City of New York
Stay Local, stay Social
Have bike, will travel. But where?
NYC Parks has a number of nearby bikeways including three mountain bike trails in Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. Their site also lists maintained routes for all five boroughs, favorites being Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and Jamaica Bay Greenway running between Brooklyn and Queens.
The Department of Transportation, while still behind on its bike lane goals, just updated its bike maps and have 15 suggested self guided bike rides. Staff picks include the 8-mile East New York ride and the 7-mile Astoria and Jackson Heights ride.
For the social biker, group rides offer a way to explore and schmooze with a crew.
Good Co. organizes multiple public group rides a month through its Instagram page. The group starts each ride with a safety lesson and assigns safety marshals to keep bikers together. The group welcomes everyone and started as a way to promote Black cyclists and minority-owned businesses. Each ride typically ends at a restaurant with an emphasis on those owned by people of color.
“It’s definitely a physical activity, but it’s about the experience, a positive fun experience,” said Andrew Bennett, who organizes group rides for Good Co. “It’s about the vibe.”
On the second Friday of each month Joel Popoteur leads group rides starting at Treads Bike Shop in Inwood. Popoteur, a freewheeling evangelist of cycling, said he loves uptown Manhattan and guides his friends and newcomers to where Henry Hudson landed, the courts where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar grew up, and the old Polo Grounds. He welcomes everyone — even those joining on Citibikes — and wants you to leave with a love of biking.
“People get lost in their commute or their job or day to day life,” Popoteur said. “When you’re on a bike, you’re like, ‘Let me go up this street. Let’s see how far I can go without getting tired and then coming back. It’s a journey, a more efficient way to explore the city.”
Other popular group rides can be found through Bike New York, Social Cycling and many local bike shops.
A man riding a bicycle along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail at the Corning Preserve.
Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)
Getting further (and much further) away
Those with a decent set of bike legs might consider venturing on longer rides. The nonprofit Rails-to-Trails has a map of 145 trails in New York state that can take you from New York City to Montauk or Niagara Falls. Some of the favorite, more local rides include the 13-mile Shore Parkway Greenway or 13-mile Hudson River Greenway.
Rails-to-Trails offers descriptions and mileages for each ride, but those seeking spoilers can plug the route name into Youtube and view find ride-alongs posted by other bikers.
Some bike trails are easier than others for beginners. A good starter route might be Shirley Chisholm State Park.
“Going around Shirley Chisholm Park would be an amazing day for families,” said McCauley. “If you want to do some fun hanging out by the beach, I would highly recommend the Jamaica Bay loop.”
A more challenging path might be the Palisades Interstate Park which is a hilly yet gorgeous scenic roadway running along 9W from the George Washington Bridge to Alpine, NJ where riders can get hamburgers and beers at The Filling Station.
At this stage in the biking exploration, riders need to make logistical considerations: food, water, locks.
“There’s food that you can eat on the bike like a granola bar or they make these Shot Blocks you can get at any bike store,” McCauley said.
When riders start incorporating other modes of transportation, the list of biking opportunities greatly expands. The bike path at Sandy Hook beach via ferry, for example, is a car-free respite from the city. The MTA also has several recommended bike trips, 11 on Long Island and three in the Hudson Valley.
The MTA does have restrictions on passengers bringing their bikes on Metro-North and LIRR, such as during peak hours and the number of bikes per car. Trains have dedicated cars with bike storage — look for the bathroom cars which are typically every other car and have a large windowless space where the bathrooms are.
While it’s perhaps more aspirational, there’s also Niagara Falls.
The Empire State Trail has 560 miles of bikable trails, mostly flat and mostly segregated from cars, that will take you from Battery Park all the way to Buffalo. And there’s nothing that says you have to do the whole trail in one shot.
“You can just go to any one of the towns along the way,” MCauley said. “There one day and then come back the next day.”
