Starting at Columbia University, we'll bike across South Harlem through El Barrio to get to Randall Island, a cute little nature preserve in the middle of the East River. From Randall Island, we'll climb the Triborough Bridge (the only somewhat sketchy bridge in the whole ride given that we'll have to use the pedestrian path, which we can ride or walk) to get across the East River to our first Queens neighborhood, Astoria. We'll take a little breather at Astoria Park to soak up the gorgeous Manhattan skyline to the west. From Astoria Park, we'll ride down Vernon Blvd through Astoria and Long Island City (maybe picking up some Greek food along the way) toward the Pulaski Bridge. The Pulaski Bridge is our gateway to Brooklyn, specifically the neighborhood of Greenpoint, in which the only population to outnumber the hipsters are the Polish immigrants. Breathe in the smell of pierogis! Depending on what time we get there, we'll either make a pit stop at one of my favorite indie bookstores in the whole city (Word) or keep steaming ahead into Williamsburg. After a quick stop at Domino Park to soak up the expansive view of Lower Manhattan in all its glory and to stare at some really cute canine Brooklynites at the dog park, we'll cross back into Manhattan via the Williamsburg Bridge, which is always a thrilling adventure. From the bridge, we'll start our tour of all corners of the Village, starting in East Village, moving through Greenwich Village, and sliding into West Village through the (in)famous arch at Washington Square Park, where we're guaranteed to be exposed to some of the most exquisite people watching in the city, if not the world. From WSP, we'll move south through SoHo and take a turn into Chinatown. Here, we'll touch base with each other and see where our energy levels are. If we're still feeling really good, we can commit to two more bridges: the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge. (If we're starting to feel tired, we can easily omit these bridges and start climbing back up Manhattan toward Columbia, perhaps after grabbing some dim sum.) The Manhattan Bridge will take us into the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn, an upper-class neighborhood that can brag about having the best view of Lower Manhattan, and thankfully we don't have to live there to enjoy it ourselves. After a tiny tour of Dumbo, we'll hop onto the iconic Brooklyn Bridge to start our long journey back uptown through some central arteries of New York City, visiting such places as Astor Place, Union Square, Chelsea, and the Theatre District (but I promise not Times Square) along the way. At the top of Midtown, we’ll sweep into and through Central Park as the grand finale of our long journey.
