I set out at about 11:30 and the winds were pretty strong. Probably around 15-20mph with gusts up a little higher. They were coming from the northwest, so I was going headlong into them for quite awhile. Well, there would be my workout! I made my way into Queens via Dutch Broadway and then up north to the Greenway. Once I got into the tree-lined bike path, the wind cut down a bit. Which was good because I was only averaging around 14mph so far. The path had a lot of people on it, so I wasn't going to improve much there. This is why I like to bike a little earlier in the morning, but it was still a beautiful day. I got to Flushing Meadow Park after going through a network of bridges over the highway system and then over to 34th Ave. I snaked through Queens and then found myself staring up at the Queensboro Bridge.
The song hit me very quickly in this ride. The night before was game one of the American League Championship Series (my poor Yankees!) and Derek Jeter broke his ankle trying to field a ground ball in the 12th inning. The morning of my ride, I was listening forlornly to the radio and they played Kelly Clarkson's Stronger as kind of a motivator for the fans that were upset. Of course, once I heard it, I had the song in my head for the rest of the day.
I have to be honest with you, I'm not a huge fan of overplayed simplistic pop songs, especially from American Idol alumni (although I really love David Cook), but you really can't do much better than this song when it comes to biking. I didn't remember how the verses went, so I had 55 miles straight of just the chorus. Annoying, yes, but it's got a really driving beat. And the fact that the vocals rise with energy as the chorus develops makes it even better.
I got to the East River and then headed north a little bit with the intent to get onto Roosevelt Island. I'd been there once with my father-in-law and family and it's nice, but I wanted to do a loop around. The only thing I hated was the site of a giant power plant on the mainland before the bridge. That was an eyesore. But once I got on the island I noticed that everything got quiet. There weren't many cars and the sounds of the Queensboro bridge were muted off in the distance. It was really nice. I couldn't go very quickly on the island because of the mass of walkers/fishermen and the cobblestones weren't great to ride on. But it was almost like a haven in the sea of chaos that is Manhattan and the other boroughs.
This was a boat going under the Queensboro bridge while I rode along the west side of the island. I took a break at about 28 miles at the northern lighthouse.
That's my bike on the left by the way. I had a little snack and then left to return to Queens, go over the Queensboro and then along 1st Avenue in Manhattan. After kicking over to the shoreline of the East River, I then took my next Island on (that would be the 4th - Long, Roosevelt, Manhattan and now...): Randalls Island. I went over a walking bridge and ended up in a nice park.
This was an interesting looking shot across the river. I have no idea what that building is, but it looked nice enough to take a snapshot. I've been biking on this island a lot lately, but this time I was on the western edge. I then got to the RFK/Triboro bridge and ended up back in Manhattan again.
From there I went north to the Macomb Dam Bridge, one I had never taken before. I was a little worried about where in the Bronx I'd end up, but to my surprise, I found myself staring right at this.
It was about 2pm before a 4pm first pitch, so there were a lot of people looking to enjoy the game. Unfortunately, they didn't enjoy it much - unless they were a Detroit Tigers fan. I headed north and then over another bridge back into Manhattan again. Then it got a little hairy...
Once I got back into Manhattan, that area is extremely hilly. So much so, that the GPS incorrectly had me on a path that was along the water line, but I was about 300 feet above it on a parallel road. I wound my way around a bunch of switchbacks at the top of Manhattan crossing my way over and missing my route. Eventually I found my way back onto Dyckman and then got to Broadway and headed south. Again, I had cliff problems as my GPS wanted me on the shore - heck, I wanted to be on the shore - but I had to climb a 300 foot stairway to get there (and I did). I also had to use an elevator at another point to get down to the shoreline, so I was a little frustrated. But finally I found my way into Riverside Park and then headed south to the 90s and cut over to Broadway again where after 50 miles, I found my parents who had a booth in a craft fair.
I spent a little time with them and even helped them clean up a bit and then headed to Central Park. I went on the main roadway and looped around the southern end and finally exited on the East side in the 90s, where I found my in-laws apartment on Park.
Road conditions and pedestrians and wind slowed me town tremendously, but it was a very enjoyable ride.
Vitals:
| Distance: | 56.15 mi |
| Time: | 4:16:56 |
| Avg Speed: | 13.1 mph |
| Elevation Gain: | 1,941 ft |
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