So my family has been visiting all week (more on that later), and on Sunday night, they had signed us all up for a bike ride… in Manhattan. When the Tennant family said that we were doing a 5-hour bike tour around New York, I was a little nervous. My outdoor adventure loving family was totally pumped. But me, the New Yorker, was nervous- cause I’ve seen bikes in New York.
Crazy people dodging in and out of midtown traffic, on parkways barely avoiding pedestrians, not wearing helmets, ignoring right of ways- I was of course scared.
I was so glad to be pleasantly surprised!
Bike the Big Apple was an amazing bike experience!
Our fearless leader Jesse… and his awesome stache.
Robbie and I looking like pimps. Reflective vests are cool.
Led by our noble leader Jesse, our 5-hour tour was some of the coolest moments of my New York experience this far, and like we know, living here for a year, I’ve done quite a bit! The trip led us through Gramercy to Washington Square Park, through the West Village, to the Piers, down to Battery Park City, down to South Ferry, through the Financial District, over the Brooklyn Bridge, into Brooklyn, back over the Manhattan Bridge, through Chinatown, Little Italy, and back! PHEW!
And it was safe! Jesse and our other guide Daniel (or as I called him our human shield) protected us from the traffic. And with 12 people we were big enough for people to pay attention to us but not ridiculously impossible for a tour group!
Taking the tour, I saw so much of New York of never seen before, and so many historic markers that I never knew existed since I had no reason to know they existed!
Washington’s Muse: An adorable row of houses outside Washington Square Park that used to be stables!
Wall Street used to be an actual wall! Remnants from the actual wall!
Biking towards Washington Square Park… where they used to hang people…
It really made me so happy to see my city from such a historic standpoint. I really loved it. That’s so hard to see when you’re just moving in and out of your daily routine.
And it was SO beautiful. Some of the sites and views were ones I wouldn’t have normally seen or noticed, and now I’ll never forget them!
View from a courtyard park in Battery Park City
That big thing? That is a ventilation system for the subway!
I mean stunning right?
And we saw Trapeze School that Joanna talked about on Cup of Jo! I WILL go soon!
While part of me was so disappointed in my complete lack of knowledge or navigation in some areas, the better part of me was excited, remembering that learning is fun and I still have SO much to explore about my city! So don’t worry blog! We have SO much more to cover….
Our view from the Brooklyn Bridge
And thank you Bike the Big Apple!! I will (and am) recommending you to everyone I know! Especially the New Yorkers!
That sounds so cool! I wish we had something like that in Ann Arbor — I’ll have to check out the NY bike tour when I visit next :)
Definitely! Seems like a lot of cities do it too! My family did it in Paris as well!
Sounds wonderful. I did something similar when I was in Munich, Germany. Definitely recommend that if you make it to that side of the world. I will definitely look into Bike the Big Apple in NYC, should I visit. :)
Oh man! Definitely would be cool!! Thanks janice!
SO COOL! I remember that trapeze school being in an episode of Sex and the City… love it!!
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