RVC to Central Park Zoo - Blow Your Glass?

So I've made the decision to do the MS Ride in NYC. So I'm keeping my miles up. My wife made plans with her father to take the kids to the Central Park Zoo so I decided to meet them there.

I left on a very beautiful Sunday morning and planned on taking a non-direct route to get there. I made my way eventually to the Shore Bike Path on the Belt Parkway. It's nice as you go along the water, although the construction is a bit of an eyesore.

When I first took off, I had a Maroon 5 song from a while back, This Love and I assumed that would stick. But while I was on Linden Boulevard in Queens, all of a sudden P!nk's Blow Me (One Last Kiss) popped in there. The new one:

(Warning - explicit lyrics)

Forget the fact that my wife giggles at the title, she's such a child...  I've decided I like P!nk's music. She's got a lot to say, and while I myself like to approach things in a positive way, I like the fact that she's got some depth to her lyrics. The songs are obviously poppy, but nice and catchy.

What was funny, was this wasn't the only song stuck in my head. It kept vacillating between that song and this one:

(Warning - explicit lyrics)

I realized something. P!nk has a formula she uses. It's not unlike a lot of pop music today. And this is the reason why I prefer to listen to progressive rock more than anything else. The formula is:

[Simple intro] - [Verse with open spaces between beats] - [Driving 4-beat chorus much louder] - rinse and repeat

Once my mind playing a few tricks to modulate Raise Your Glass into the same key as Blow (something I usually don't let it do because it's annoying), it became one song for the next 40 miles, just moving effortlessly between the two. I will say though that it's fantastic to bike to. It kept my cadence up and while I was alone on the path (not in the streets with lights or other obstacles), I was able to keep a really good speed.

Anyway, I stopped at Carnarsie Pier to take this pic:

I made my way through Brighton Beach and got back onto the Shore Path, under the Verrazano Bridge and then took a shot of an FDNY boat and then the panorama of lower Manhattan and Jersey City.

I headed north in Brooklyn and crossed the famed Brooklyn Bridge

Then it was to the west side and boy was the Hudson path crowded!!! I got into the 50s and then got to Central Park.

I did a loop of the park and finished at the zoo. What an incredible day - low 70s, a little headwind that didn't detract from the ride. It was gorgeous!

Vitals:

Distance:	51.59 mi
Time:	3:30:08
Avg Speed:	14.7 mph
Elevation Gain:	1,554 ft