BT Forum

really early (like 5 AM) in the summer or really late - like after dark.

only choice is the main loop which is 6 miles, or if you cut out harlem hill, 5 miles.

plan on runners darting out and yelling at you.

If you keep at it, you get stronger.  Goes without saying.  

After work is horrible, especially if its nice out.  Try on a weekend, forget about it, but its more crowded in the lower mile of the Park.  

There are stretches when you can go fast (LOVE the 90s on the east side, mostly just runners, and they stay to the left) and good climbs, (Cat hill, Great Hill) AND even though the tourists and pedestrians can drive me crazy, it has proven good practice for bike handling skillz -- maneuvering around obstacles, sudden braking, etc.

Silver lining and all.

Another frequent cyclist I see there (I usually only run Central Park, not bike, due to some of the aforementioned issues -- too much stress when all I wanna do is bike. I stick to 9W) keeps a whistle between his teeth and blows on it when going through some of the intersections. Seems to work pretty well.

Good luck and be careful!

i do almost all of my bike/run in central park. i think overall its a perfect place to train, good mixture of flats, hills, downs, (and as other have mentioned) chance to practice bike handling skills.

to be frank, yes it does get crowded in some parts especially during weekends, but i cant think of a better place to train for ppl who live in the city for overall everything, that compares to loops of central park. but thats just me :p

hey there - i suck at biking too and can bike in the middle of the day. I live at roosevelt island so i could always meet you for a weekday ride at the queens bridge bike path entry and then head over to CP?? let me know if you want to go for a ride. i am trying to improve my riding as well

cheers,

Kylie

Um, 9W anyone? It has hills, wide shoulders, few cars, NO tourists AND you can get a lemon poppy seed muffin and coffee in Piermont on the weekends halfway through.  

then you can keep going up 9W to rockland lake and get OWS

I plan to bike to Bear Mt at some point this fall - either one way and take train back or round trip....

i am all for meeting for rides. pardon my ignorance though - not sure what the acronyms mean... sorry!

but yes - i am up for any ride with like minded folks who dont mind that i am not an expert bike rider. best days for me are weekdays or early saturdays.

cheers,

k

OWS - open water swim

9W - the main road for cyclists after you cross the GW Bridge (well Hudson Rd first or River Road then 9W) - common destinations: State Line (the sign welcome to NY State), the coffee shop at the bottom of the hill after the light past state line, Piermont, Nyack (both the latter two have coffee shops with bike racks outside and on the weekends racks are always full of bikes) then if you keep going you will ultimately get to rockland lake  - you can ride around the lake and every time I have done that I think to my self I should have brought a bathing suit.

Bear Mt - round trip is 100+ miles

9W is the best! I live right next to the George Washington Bridge, so that's my bike course.

Are you actually allowed to swim in Rockland lake? I would totally do that.

A friend of mine keeps trying to convince me to do Bear Mountain, but the fact that it's, you know, a mountain sorta scares me off a little. I've hiked up that main road before and it's tough.

of course you can swim in rockland lake! 

bear mountain is doable. small chain ring, spin....

I rode up Greylock last year - it was fun

Yes, yes there are. I love it when I'm doing a steady 20mph and get blown by like I'm standing still.

totally awesome in the morning

no the tourists are ALL OVER THE PLACE so weekends still would not ride there unless you paid me lots of $$

and when I commute home from work it is sometimes sketchy so I have not tried any evening rides though I would bet better than last year!

will be out there at 5:45 AM tomorrow morning meeting at the west 72nd street entrance for any interested parties

maybe HH repeats....