Nueva York

por S. Piel

 

When you say New York and bicycling you probably think of the Messenger Guys that got famous for fighting traffic every day in their line of work. Well, believe it or not, but NY offers more to the cyclist than you might guess. Not that many bike to work, although they exist but plenty of people taker their bike out on the weekend. Read on fo the best bike paths in town.

 

Manhattan
The Central Park loop is filled with riders on any nice day. The Hudson River Greenway is in place over the George Washington Bridge and through Riverside Park. It peters out through midtown but picks up again in lower Manhattan. And you can also cycle most of the eastern shore of Manhattan using the East River Esplanade. The esplanade follows the East River, passing under the Brooklyn Bridge eventually skirting the edge of the culturally vibrant Lower East Side, then past the United Nations, Roosevelt Island, Spanish Harlem. You can cross over to the Bronx at a number of places. Bronx Mosholu-Pelham Greenway is the highlight of the existing Bronx system. This route links Pelham Bay Park in the east with Van Cortlandt Park to the west. Pelham Bay Park is one of the wildest parks in the city, and has unparalleled frontage along refreshing Long Island Sound. In between Pelham and Van Cortlandt, bikers can visit the New York Botanic Garden and the Bronx Zoo.

The Hutchinson River Parkway Trail cuts south to north, starting at Ferry Point Park, then skirts the edGe of Pelham Bay until it reaches the Westchester County Park. Most of this trail is in poor condition, but if you want to make your way quickly through the east Bronx, this trail is worth a try.

Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Bridge is part of the greenway system and is the best Brooklyn access from Manhattan. This route offers classic views and fascinating people watching. For a more relaxing waterside ride, consider the Shore Parkway Greenway, which follows the edge of New York Bay, passing underneath the Verrazano Bridge. Some consider this the best multi-use, traffic-free path in the city. A significant stretch of this Greenway is interrupted, but it picks up again when it hits the Gateway National Recreation Area, taking you along the edge of the marshlands of Jamaica Bay. Bring your binoculars for this stretch; there's some great bird watching.

You can pick up the extensive Brooklyn-Queens Greenway at Prospect Park. Take a spin around the park, which contains Brooklyn's last living forest. Then head out of the park where the greenway picks up Ocean Parkway all the way to Coney Island.

Queens
If you want a cleaner beach than Coney Island and one unaccompanied by cotton candy, the Rockaway Gateway Greenway will take you out to the Rockaway beaches, Floyd Bennett Air Field, and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The Rockaway-Gateway Greenway makes a circuit of the Rockaway peninsula, and includes the Rockaway Boardwalk, which is for pedestrians only.

From Alley Pond Park you can take the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway back to the Brooklyn, which mostly follows the route of the Interborough Parkway though large cemeteries.