NYC in may(10 yr. ann.)

[jeff_sc_bullit]

this will be my first post, so HI. we have never been to NYC. my wife would like to go where all the people hang out with those stupid signs and try to talk to Katey Curic (spelling?) on the Today Show, any way, so i'll just list all of my questions:
1, where to stay with in a reasonable bike ride to this location? (i can get discounts at Holiday Inns)
2, is this any where close to Central Park?
3, like to see as much as possible in 4 days, sugestions where, what, and other fun stuff
4, neat restaruants, pubs, biker bars, or places to see live bands(punk, metal, hard rock, thrash, don't like chains or pre-fab places, you get the message)
5, in general where to go and not to go, don't want to get shot, raped, stabed, mugged, or worse my two bikes stolen!!
6, want to drive in from Ohio, park the car for 4 days and tour NYC on bikes.


sorry if this is alot to ask in my first post. any info. at all would be helpfull.

bike on....

[chikor]

well as far as bikeing places everthing is within bikeing distance....there is a really good garage on 21st Street between 6th and 7th ave it's a blue and white building on the southside....there is a park in queens that has lots of single track...ssshhh! i forget the name of it right now but can find out soon.....if you're into punk and such then the east village is a great place to start...cbgb's, the bowery poetry room plently of spots....oh yeha i used to bring my bike right into Doc Holiday's....if you mean biker bars as in motorcycles then go to soho and check out the Ear Inn on tuesday's great fun....oh yeah lock your bike!!! better bring either a crappy bike or a NYC Kyrpto lock......enjoy the belly of the beast!

[jeff_sc_bullit]

i guess i shold have been a little more clear on the biker bar, i ment bicycle bar, you know, where other freaks on bicycles hang out :D thanks for the info! i have 3 bikes i could take: trek 6000(that my wife will ride), santa cruz bullit or a 24" DK cruser for me. i will look into getting the NYC lock.

[glenzx]

If you want to be sure you have it when you return, NEVER lock it up! I lived/worked/messengered in NYC for 13 years and unless you lock up your bike somewhere that's sorta "high profile" or 'fancy, say Rockefeller Center, then you are taking a serious risk. Unless you've got a "beater bike" set up, that is.

Anyhow, as for your questions:
1) Anywhere you stay in Manhattan will be proximate to anywhere else in manhattan via bicycle.

2) See above, but also note: ALL the hotels in "MidTown" (23rd-57th streets) are within minutes of central park.

3) Fun & cheap: Take the Staten Island Ferry out-and-back (aprx fifty cents to $2 if ya bring yer bike...) The views of Lower Manhattan are unbelievable! Also, nice riding along lower manhattan waterfront... south street seaport, battery park, etc...And as you were asking about the Today show, THAT is filmed in a studio in Rockefeller Center, I think on the south side of the complex, at street level.... around 49th street between 5th and 6th ave.....

4) Check out Ace Bar on 531 east 5th street.... big space for an east billage bar and has 2 pool tables, great bartenders and so on. Live Music???? check out the "Village Voice" free newspaper..... find the band/type of show yer lookin for and go to it!

5) See beginning about bikes & theft! As for where places are safe.... it's all changing all the time and you can find great people in the aorst ghetto, or total scary nut-balls in the swankiest places.... use your head and note that the furthur "out" you go on the subway, well, the furthur out you are. I lived in lots of neighborhoods like Long Island City (queens) clinton hill, fort green, greenpoint and williamsburg (brooklyn) and in the west&east villages in Manhattan.... all cool places with there own unique feel.... Williamsburg is a quick hop over the Williamsburg Bridge and the neighborhood is becoming super-cool, like the east village USED to be... go over the bridge and turn left, headed north, up Bedford Ave a few blocks.... it's a very eclectic spot, with real "flavor"!!! Old polish stores mixed with funky vinyl shops, great food, and some awesome bars!

6) Great Idea! Park the car and leave it, although it'll cost an arm & a leg in Manhattan.... look way out to the west side along the west side highway for cheaper parking, then ride or cab to yer hotel!

[chikor]

i totally forgot about the ACE Bar.....go there a definate must!!! and Sophie's right down the block for the ace.......

[jeff_sc_bullit]

this is great!! you guys gave me the kind of info. i was looking for. i really appreciate the time you have taken out of your day to help me planing our trip. i will probably print this out and take it with me. :D

as for the bikes, i'll keep them in our hands or take them inside with us, and carry pepper spray for some one wanting to take the bikes from us anyway.

didn't think that parking would be a problem? is there long term parking out side the city buy the "west side highway" parking garage or just a lot? then probably have to get a cab because of luggage, you know the wife will have to bring enough clothes for a week, i could carry all my shit in a back pak, with room to spare for beer!!

i spent 4 years in so. cal. and went into LA and Hollywood a few times so i know what you mean by use you head, glenzx, so thanks for that. one time in Compton i found myself cought in a shoot out with a few cops and some guy running from them, i was in the street in a '69 bronco with the top off and the guy was running away and shooting back at the same time, i went off in the opposit direction, and that was scarry!!! but that's another story.

[glenzx]

Parking is no 'problem', there are tons of lots and garages everywhere. It's just at a premium. You might ask the hotel your staying at, by the way, as they may usually have there own garages... it may be part of the hotel rate, it may cost a little extra. If you can get a space for $10-$20 a day, it's a pretty good deal. Most of the lots out on the west side highway are that - open lots, but they are significantly cheaper. When you've got the hotel, or are 'shopping around' for one, ask 'em about off-street parking, they should be helpful in that regard.

I may have overstated the paranoia about bike theft, as the city has "mellowed out" considerably in the last 15 years, that's a fact. I would stress that if you've got nice bikes to be real careful, and if possible, not to leave them out there too long if you can't see them from where you are. Like in Sophies or Ace bar, you can lock 'em out outside and keep an eye on them... if you're in the museums or some such "nice" place that's in a pretty up-scale neighborhood, again, your probably cool. Definately have a big ass cas-hardened chain and bomber lock, no quick release stuff left unlocked or on the bike... the usual stuff.

[glenzx]

Which week are you going to be there? I'm actually going to be in NYC from may 11th to the 18th or possibly the 16th to the 26th..... either of those weeks line up with when you guys are there? I wouldn't mind meeting up for a ride or a beer, and give you more NYC 'pointers' in person, as my mouth runs on more than my ability to type at a keyboard!

Just a thought.

[jeff_sc_bullit]

glenzx, the dates i have penciled down are 19th-23rd. the hook-up would be cool, from an ex-New Yorker!! right now i'm trying to pin down a place to stay. my good friend can hook me up with $15 rooms at the Holliday Inn. he's in Flordia right now, be back in a couple of days.

[chikor]

froest park is the name of the park in queens that has some fun single track....enjoy the bitter apple, oh yeah i just got back from a few daze with the relitives there, can you say hell!!!

[Fergie]

May 1-11 is BIKE WEEK IN NYC!
http://www.transalt.org/calendar/bikeweek.html
http://www.transalt.org/calendar/bikeweekevents.html


check out:
Times Up! www.times-up.org - great rides!
Transportation Alteratives www.transalt.org - great events!
Westchester Mountain Bike Association www.wmba.org - great trails!


Also, NYC hosts BIKE SUMMER this year, and there will be many events later in the summer.

[glenzx]

Jeff, finally got my ticket back to NYC, and it's the week before you'll be there.... the 12th-19th. So it goes I guess. Have a great time!

[jeff_sc_bullit]

the dates are set May 19th-23rd or 24th. going to stay in Secacus(sp) NJ, close to the Lincoln Tunnel. does any one know if you can get through the tunnel safely on a bike? if not i can take a shuttle North or South to a bridge.

looking forward to using all of this usefull info. on my trip. Fergie, got alot of good stuff off one of your links, for using bikes in NYC and taking them on the sub way, even printed off a permit that i might use!!
thanks for all the help.

the week of the 19th watch the Today show, that's the first place my wife wants to go every morning, she wants to talk to Katey, i sugested to do wheelies around the crowd to get a camera mans attention and then she can say " I'm with stupid" any way it will be an adventure.

live long and prosper, may free bike parts fall into your possession:D

[glenzx]

That sounds like a fun time! Unfortunately, you cannot bike through the tunnels in the metro NYC area... you'd probably die from asphyxiation anyhow.

You CAN, however, try using the ferries. There are a couple from NJ to Manhattan, and I think one of the main lines runs from "Lincoln Harbor", which is fairly close to Secaucus (it's all relative) and a lot easier to deal with traffic-wise then getting up to the GW Bridge, although the GWB is a lot of fun riding across. We used to ride up the west side of Manhattan, into the Bronx, and over the bridge, and then up to some trails along the Palisades....then back. I'm not sure if those trails are still open to MTBikes.

BTW, here's the link for the water shuttle/taxis that the Port Authority runs:

http://www.panynj.gov/ferry/fermain.HTM