I’m not sure if it’s my fault, but since I got my new bike it has rained 25 of the 28 days. Yesterday I had time and sun, so I decided to knock off the second thing on my 101 list – riding my bike to Lauren’s.
The ride isn’t too long (just under 11 miles), but you have to pass through an interstate five times and go through several less than ideal neighborhoods (either slightly unsafe or simply places where you are apt to be hit by a car for sport).
It took me about half an hour to set up the odometer that Lauren’s dad got me and then I set out. I didn’t plan out a definite route before I left, so I stopped every so often to check Google Maps on my Blackberry, which was a nice mix of a relaxing getaway with, well, the opposite.
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The beginning was pretty easy, since my neighborhood is very residential. Once I started going south things started to get more interesting. I entered a commercial area, and I spent a lot of time riding between traffic and parked cars. It wasn’t terrible, but you never want to be doing anything where the margin of error between smooth sailing and ingesting a car’s side mirror is about a foot.
Once I hit Jackson Heights, oddly enough, things were better. I was riding through Kurzhead’s old neighborhood on Northern Blvd and 84th so I got to see some of my favorite empenada places. You haven’t lived until you’ve had Mama’s Empenadas after a night out (not to be confused with Papa’s next door).
Next I got to ride through Flushing Meadow Park. I didn’t put this on the map, but I basically rode through the entire park. It’s pretty nice – there’s the US Open (tennis) courts, a zoo and botanical garden, numerous soccer and baseball fields, fountains, etc.
The only downside to the park is that it’s very difficult to find your way out without riding your bike on a highway.
At this point I was pretty tired but I managed to find a slightly unlocked gate to get around the Van Wyck and move towards the second half of the trip. I headed east on the Booth Memorial Turnpike, which should be renamed to Giant Hill When You’re Very Thirsty Boulevard. Even though the map shows it as bordering a park, a large majority of the trip follows a cemetery. That said, there were some more parks and nice areas.
Eventually I made it to Utopia Parkway, crossed over to 73rd Ave through Cunningham Park and made it to Lauren’s. She had dinner ready and was waiting for me in the driveway, which was a great way to end the ride. Unfortunately, since I had the equivalent of Niagra Falls on my face, I opted to shower before eating.
Overall, it was a very doable trip and I’d love to do more riding in Queens, with some minor route adjustments. I didn’t stop for pictures since it would take forever, but Google has come to the rescue as always.
I embedded a map of my route above, but if you want to see any parts of the trip, just click the “View Larger Map” link below the map above. That will take you to a bigger version, where you can use Google Street View anywhere I went. Just drag the little yellow guy from the top left to anywhere on the map and it will show you what things look like. Enjoy.
