With sunny skies and rain forecasted for later in the week, we hit the ground rolling on our first day in NYC. Not wanting our first pedal strokes to be in the heart of Midtown Manhattan during rush hour, we walked up 8th Avenue and rented bikes near Central Park. I’ve rented bikes in enough cities to keep expectations low, but I must say my “Mt Pocono” bike was the sorriest nag I ever swung a leg over. Nonetheless, Mt Pocono took me on an epic journey across 30 miles of noisy urban landscape.
The route took us through Central Park, up to the Upper West Side, down the Hudson River, through the Meat Packing, Greenwich Village and Financial Districts, across the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Heights, back across the Manhattan Bridge, through Chinatown, past Ground Zero and then back up the Hudson. We survived!
Of all the challenges we faced–cars, taxis, buses, pedestrians, double parked vehicles, navigation and bad pavement–you may be surprised at how we ranked them. The biggest challenge? Pedestrians. They stood, walked and ran in bike lanes, crossed streets against the light, and were willing to step right in front of not only bikes, but oncoming vehicle traffic. A close second was stopped vehicles, from taxis unloading passengers to delivery trucks to city vehicles. That video of the guy crashing in the bike lane was very accurate.
The surprising positive note were the cars, buses and even taxis–as long as they were moving. In general, they anticipated what you needed to do and would adjust accordingly. And they were cool when you wove through standing traffic or needed to take the lane to get around the all-to-common double parked vehicles. Another positive note was the way-finding signage the city has installed. It got us through almost everywhere, except the difficult Manhattan Bridge detour that dumps you onto the Bowery. That said, we’re not renting bikes again today. We need a mental break. Riding in NYC is INTENSE.
Where’s the most intense place you’re ever ridden?
One woman. Many bicycles. 
Brian
September 20, 2011 at 9:15 pm
That’s an awesome video. I have kitchen disaster videos, why not bike lane disaster videos?