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New York City?

J

Jfixit

Guest
Planning a ride that will take me do RI in late July and have had a desire to ride in N.Y. City. Is there a time mid-week that I should plan on entering or not entering the city? I was also wondering about good photo shots that I can place the bike in the city. Riding goals have to be documented you know.
 
Planning a ride that will take me do RI in late July and have had a desire to ride in N.Y. City. Is there a time mid-week that I should plan on entering or not entering the city? I was also wondering about good photo shots that I can place the bike in the city. Riding goals have to be documented you know.

If you insist on riding in the city, enter anytime after 10 and plan to leave before 4 on any day of the week.. But if it was me I'd stay away... Ride the catskills instead..
 
SNOONE is a man of few, well chosen words.

I'm sure he meant to practice driving around in Chicago during rush hour and then come on down to the Big Apple in the off hours which he gave. :laugh

For things to see and do in Gotham check out this vintage thread.
 
SNOONE is a man of few, well chosen words.

I'm sure he meant to practice driving around in Chicago during rush hour and then come on down to the Big Apple in the off hours which he gave. :laugh

For things to see and do in Gotham check out this vintage thread.

Nope, I meant what I said.. Stay away.. This city is the most motorcycle unfriendly place there is... If you come you'll have the chance to be randomly picked on by NYC's finest, hassled, ticketed pretty much for no reason except they have checkpoints that specifically target bikes..
 
Riding in the City is different than riding anywhere else: Manhattan is a special kind of crazy.

I once caused a whole bunch of cages to get tangled up in a traffic jam...
I was heading into Greenwich Village to meet up with some friends. One street was blocked off for a street fair. Streets headed to the fair were also blocked off -- no point in heading down a street and running into passers-by at the fair, right?

So I was coming up to one of the sawhorses that had one of these side streets blocked off. I could see an empty parking place, just big enough for a bike, on the sidestreet. So of course I rode around the sawhorse and parked.

I was just peeling my helmet off when I looked up to see that the car behind me had followed my lead -- but of course, there wasn't a parking place for him. And the car behind him had made the same turn, so now two cars had to back up a one-way street in heavy traffic to get back on the main road.

Oh, and a spot for your photo shoot? I'd recommend the arch at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. Iconic, and still small enough to fit in the frame with your bike.
 
Ok, I admit it. I'm bitter from my commuting experience... I bet Tessler can give an unbiased NYC biking experience.
 
You're only bitter because you have to slave away 2 blocks from Pizza Suprema and you simply can't eat lunch there every day. :ha

NYC Motorcycling is a rare and curious experience. Part balancing act, part adventure ride. But if you hit our streets at the times Snoone suggests and it also happens to be one of those glorious, sunny, cool days, you'll find that you can park just about anywhere and get from points A to B at will.

Just be extremely aware of riding amidst roving selfish packs of cars, pedestrians, trucks, bike messengers, SUVs, semis and the omnipresent yellow taxis. Give yourself plenty of riding space to anticipate, locate and avoid common street hazards (like human-swallowing potholes and steel plates) and bring your sense of humor. And your appetite. :eat

It's worth it. If you want to carve and ride, certainly there are places to do that outside of NYC. But if you want to experience a singular urban destination in all its terrific, scary, wonderful glory this is the place.
 
Wow, well said! As if you were the poet laureate of Riverside Park!!
 
as a MSF instructor in the Bronx and dubbed by Tessler "Mr. New York City" (lol) i'll say this:

if you like aggressive, quick responses, non stop concentration and the idea of combat mentality appeals to you, by all means, ride all around the five boroughs.

if not, i'd avoid it.

personally, some days i like getting on the bike and just battling my way around, part bike messenger, part rider, hell, even part pedestrian when it warrants it.


i think everyone should try it once!
 
Planning a ride that will take me do RI in late July and have had a desire to ride in N.Y. City. Is there a time mid-week that I should plan on entering or not entering the city? I was also wondering about good photo shots that I can place the bike in the city. Riding goals have to be documented you know.

hi jfixit,

NYC is a great place to ride in, but I would do it on the weekend, sunday especially. the reason for sunday, is parking is easier and free in most parts of the city. i grew up in the city, so i don't have issues riding in it. there are so many great places to photograph, starting from the south end, the whole wall street area. you will see a large bull on lower broadway, great photo op. go down to battery park (south on broadway) great older buildings. head northeast to the fulton fish market area, there is a shopping mall, many restaurants, and a number of tall ships anchored there to explore. head further north, and you will hit chinatown, tribeca, greenwich village, and little italy. you could spend days just in those area's alone. then head up to times square, the theatre district, park avenue, the section around the old pan am building, part of it goes underground, i've done the ton (100 mph) down there :whistle . then it comes back up just before entering the pan am ( i still call it that, so sorry mr trump) building, and then it winds through the building in what i affectionately called the new york grand prix. i raced many a taxi cab through there in my day. you can then ride park, fifth and madison avenues, all will amaze you with shops, interesting buildings and people. of course you will want to go to central park. park the bike on the south end, and then walk to see the zoo, wollman memorial ice skating rink, and just people watch. uptown, has some of the best colleges and universities in the country. my son went to columbia, which is on the westside. i used to drop him off, then i would head up to 125th street in harlem and drive across, seeing the cotton club, and the appollo theatre ( i saw many top acts there in the 60's) on my way back to CT. i am now in NM, but i really miss the city and riding in it especially. if you keep an open mind and you have good riding skills, the city has alot ot offer. have fun when you get there :dance .
 
Thanks for the fast replies, if this was not going to be a solo trip I would stay away, certainly don't want to deal with the city if I'm concerned/distracted by another rider but as it is I'm going to add it to my route.
Thanks again.
 
I agree with all of the above.

I can't stress with you enough to stay away from NYC riding if it can be avoided but especially on Fridays from Mid Mat to the end of August. It seems that everyone from the Big Island heads out to the Jersey Shore or the Hamptons.

Friday traffic in the Summer is awful!:banghead
 
Thanks guys, amid all the warnings I am getting some very useful information. How about the ferry that leaves the north end of the island? What can you tell me about that?
 
Planning a ride that will take me do RI in late July and have had a desire to ride in N.Y. City. Is there a time mid-week that I should plan on entering or not entering the city? I was also wondering about good photo shots that I can place the bike in the city. Riding goals have to be documented you know.

Thread Hi-jack... When your in RI and if you have some free time, check out our web site, www.OceanStateBMWRiders.com
There is something going on almost every week. :thumb
 
When I wanted to visit Manhattan with the family and kids, I always drove over the varrazno narrows bridge to Staten Island and caught the ferry to the Battery and we worked uor way to Time Square. There was always a place to park on the weekend anyways, ($6.00) at the time, the vehicle was quite secure and was no hassle.
 
Thanks guys, amid all the warnings I am getting some very useful information. How about the ferry that leaves the north end of the island? What can you tell me about that?
Do you mean the North Fork of Long Island? There's a regular ferry service from Orient Point, NY (tip of the North Fork) to New London, CT that is well worth investigating if you're intent on passing through New York City.

The ride west along the north shore of L.I. can be pretty nice in spots; a little more suburban/urban, obviously as you get closer to the city.

Please note, don't discount riding into the city on a Summer's weekday or a weekend. Like rvb1019 correctly noted, Summer Friday traffic heading OUT of the city can be a bit crazy, but so is the traffic headed OUT of the city in any direction on that day (my wife and I usually bolt on Fridays for the Catskill mountains to the North and the crawl up to the George Washington Bridge can be frustrating unless we actually leave work early and get a jump on it).

I live here currently. I've lived here all my life. When the commuters are home in their towns far away from Broadway, I'm right down the block (literally). Like we've all intoned, it can get a bit nutty, but that's to be expected: it's a BIG, big place. But if you're on a bike, you can literally park ANYWHERE (and believe me, as for crime, thieves barely notice Beemers and no you don't need a giant chain and lock) and frankly its an exciting place to visit. With the exception of Bubba and Snoone, most of the people I know who ride and ride in the city don't frequent this forum, so if you want some more insight from a larger group of NYC 2-wheel enthusiasts check out the Regional forum on Advrider:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=26

And if you think you might be here on a Tuesday night, definitely stop by the EAR Inn in the Soho district of Manhattan. There's a big Tuesday meet that happens there every week:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?goto=lastpost&t=223960

Best of luck! Hope to run into you this Summer.
 
If it was me, I'd park the bike out of the city somewhere and take mass transit in for a full day. You'll be able to avoid worrying about your bike all day, worrying about getting squashed on the way in and all the stuff that comes with riding. Instead, you'll be able to focus on enjoying one of the world's great cities, capped off by a decent dinner, a bottle of wine and a safe ride back to your hotel.

I'll ride in most of the US cities, but NYC isn't one of them I'd want to do again.

The perfect vehicle for transportation in NYC either travels in a tunnel or is yellow and has a number on the door.
 
I
The perfect vehicle for transportation in NYC either travels in a tunnel or is yellow and has a number on the door.

the perfect transportation in nyc comes in a pair, with one for your left foot and the other for your right.

either that, or a GS... and the ability to ride on the sidewalk when necessary. :ha

ian
 
Great information by all. Regional forums may work a little better than I thought they would. Tessler, thanks for the link to the ferry.
 
I am from NYC

I ride everyday here in NYC.... everywhere Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan specially.
You need to be attentive at everything, car, cabs, pedestrians, bicycles, skateboard, and specially stupid humans here they like to walk in middle of the streets instead the side walk, NYC is not Europe people here like to hangout on the asphalt waiving for cabs or chilling and there is not that many motorcycles around so if you ride here you are different. You got to use you horn all the time don't worries about tickets, just put velcrom on your plates and take it with you whatever you go but be careful where you park because nyc drivers are bad dont park to close to cars, the best is near fire hydrants.
When you come NY give me a call I can show you around.
I ride all year long here in the city.
I love NYC and I love to ride.
Fabio
917 892-9192
 
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