by swinter on Sat Nov 24, 2007 10:25 pm
It's been a while since I lived in New York (and even longer since I biked there), but here are some suggestions for next Spring.
Prospect Park is a nice loop (with one little hill), but you'll have to go around many times to get in a decent ride.
You'll have to get out of the City for good riding; a car would help, but once you learn your way around the city it's possible to manage the bike on public transportation on the weekends.
There's some beautiful riding on the North Shore of Long Island (LIRR) especially around Oyster Bay, around the Arboretum, and Cold Spring Harbor. Parts of Westchester, too, especially as you get further North. (Metro North)
You might want to contact the railroads (LIRR & Metro North) and double check about bringing a bike on the train, but I would think that on the weekends it shouldn't be a problem.
In the City, you can ride along the Hudson River either through Riverside Park on on Riverside Drive (once you're past 116th St.) up to the George Washington Bridge. (There used to be a bike path from the park that runs along the river and under the Bridge, all the way up to the end of Manhattan.) There also used to be a pedestrian walkway across the George Washington (I don't know whether it is still open), but one of my favorite rides was to ride across the Bridge to New Jersey; if you loop to the left (south) there's a state park (site of a British fort in the Revolutionary War) just south of the Bridge with a road that runs down to the river, runs along the water about 15 miles or so, and then climbs back up the Palisades. You can return south on (I think it is) Route 9A. Not the Alps, but beautiful and a good climb.
I would suggest picking up some books of rides in the New York area. Do a search on Amazon.