Short Bike Rides in and around New York City, 3rd (Short Bike Rides Series) (Paperback)

by Phil Harrington (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover
Most people wouldn't think of using the terms 'New York City' and 'bicycling' in the same sentence. But believe it or not, the city offers a wide variety of options for the clever urban cyclist. This book will take you on a cycling tour of New York's five boroughs, giving routes for both the urban sprawl of downtown and the wondrous countryside surrounding this hustling, bustling city. Whether you choose an urban, suburban, or rural route, every ride in this book has been chosen on several criteria, such as amount of traffic, road surface quality, terrain, scenic beauty, historical significance and general interest. Each ride includes precise written directions, excellent route maps, level of difficulty, mileage, safety tips, availability of food and facilities, and vivid descriptions of points of interest. No matter what your interest in cycling, you'll find the perfect ride in this book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Globe Pequot; 3rd edition (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762703334
• ISBN-13: 978-0762703333
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #375,153 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Guide--Better For Areas Outside of Manhattan, August 26, 2000

By A Customer

This book serves as a decent guide for cycling beyond theconfines of New York City. It is definitely geared towards the tourist or out-of-towner who is looking to tour certain areas of New York via a bicycle. However, as a longtime resident and cyclist of this fine city, I would hightly recommend AGAINST such an endeavor. As anyone who's at least visited New York City can tell you, traffic and other cyclists wait for no one, and pedestrians are even more of a hazard than anything on wheels. Pedaling slowly and taking the time to stop and view the sites is extremely dangerous.

All that aside, the detailed descriptions and historical explanations of what you encounter on these trails is very interesting. Listing the facilities that are available to the rider is a plus. After downing liters of water it's always good to know where that public restroom is! The maps are easy to read and the authors give you clear instructions of where and how to get to the trails, either by car or public transportation. I found that this guide serves better for the sections dealing with the counties and boroughs outside of Manhattan. Since there was so much great detail into the sights and surrounds along these rides, I wish that there had been just a bit more about biking the routes, not just the basic explanation of "hilly", etc. Overall this is a nice book to have for easy weekend rides.

Just as a little footnote. The authors say to ride on the right side with traffic. In New York City this is only partially usefull advice. While biking in NYC, yes, always ride with the traffic. If it's a two-way street, stay on the right. However, if it's a one-way, (which most of the streets and avenues are), stay on the left. The drivers see you better and you have less of a chance of getting "doored." Also, the bike lanes are always on the left... They have a link from their website that will lead you to some city-issued throughly detailed maps of New York City, complete with all the bike paths, all color coded so that you know which are bikes only, which are shared roadways, and which are shared but pecarious, etc. Plus the maps are free!

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough ride guide to the Big Apple and beyond, October 15, 1999

By A Customer

I've been a cyclist for more than 20 years and there are few ride guide for the New York Ciity that presents detailed routes as well as this book does. The authors are obviously seasoned veterans who have spent more than their fair time pedaling the NY-NJ-CT tri-state region. Maps are clear and the step-by-step "Directions at a Glance" make following the routes almost foolproof. This is a far better way of bringing the reader along for the ride than many other books on the subject.

Highly recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Little Book!, October 7, 2008

By	Jeff Reisner (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This book is an invaluable tool for anyone desiring to bike for pleasure or recreation in the New York Metro Area.

I did many of the rides listed and, with a few rare exceptions, the instructions given were up to date, clear and informative.

As a resident of New York City for 15 years (moved out last year) I can honestly say I would never have discovered much of the beauty of the City without this book. Some of my fondest memories of the most scenic and beautiful parts of the City I discovered either mapping out these routes or while riding on them.

Particularly noteworthy: Ride #7 - Queens Greenway. Queens is basically a cyclist's nightmare: extremely busy streets, a zillion highways and mostly poorly maintained roads and bikeways. But this book enables you to see some beautiful sites while avoiding most of the dangers. My favorite part of the ride: eating lunch under the Whitestone Bridge in Francis Lewis Park.

On a side note: I agree with the previous reviewer who warned against non-New York residents attempting these rides. However, if extreme caution is exercised, and the cyclist has some inner-city cycling experience, I believe all of the routes are navigable.