Bike the Big Apple

New York: is it a "melting pot" where cultures meld? Or a "salad bowl" where different cultures maintain their own customs? Or both? On this tour, you’ll find out!

Fittingly, this tour begins in Queens, one of the most ethnically diverse places in the world. At this borough’s Gantry State Park, we see restored "gantries" and learn about their critical role in the city's commerce in the first part of the 20th century. The view across the East River, directly opposite the United Nations and what was the world's tallest apartment building, provides an unforgettable photo opportunity.

In Brooklyn, we encounter the most dramatic example of New York’s ethnic mosaic—Williamsburg—where a centuries-old culture lives on within the orthodox Jewish community, and where, on a Friday afternoon, everything is bustling in preparation for the Sabbath. We’ll see how this culture has adapted, on its own terms, to the broader American society. You will find it hard to believe that you are in New York City in the 21st century!

In Greenpoint, another great Brooklyn neighborhood, we’ll discover a vibrant Polish community that honors its roots with native cuisine and language. Here you’ll see how New Yorkers live outside the frantic pace and congestion of Manhattan. We’ll also visit the Lower East Side of Manhattan, an area generations of immigrants have called home. Here, early and recent arrivals from Europe, Latin America, and China intermingle with assimilated New Yorkers.

As we complete this tour, we pass directly in front of the United Nations. What better place than this to reflect on the unique urban mosaic that makes the Big Apple such a fascinating place to explore!

This tour begins with a ride through the Lower East Side—traditionally the immigrant enclave of Manhattan, now one of the hottest spots for nightlife—where we uncover the gritty remnants of the Bowery's late-night past and, as the weekend officially begins, pass by some of the city’s hippest hangouts. Here, we see how the Five Point slums and tenements of the 19th century have meshed with modern New York.

In the Financial District, even after the final bell rings on Wall Street, there is no shortage of “suits” staying well past Happy Hour at the neighborhood’s swank steakhouses. This area has always been the place for nighttime revelry for New York’s rich and powerful, as the site of the first Dutch saloon of New Amsterdam and where George Washington celebrated the end of the Revolutionary War!

From the Hudson River waterfront, we get a sensational view of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty. Veering inland, we experience two of the most sought-after neighborhoods, with a rich late-night history of their own, as we spot the famed bars and cafés of the 20th-century counterculture movement in Greenwich Village, while keeping an eye out for celebrities arriving in limos at the chic clubs of the Meatpacking District.

A nighttime tour of New York would not be complete without a look at midtown’s dazzling skyscrapers and billboards. As we ride into the middle of Times Square and pause on its pedestrian mall, we’ll take in this homage to modernity.

Beginning on the Lower East Side of Manhattan—once the most densely populated neighborhood in the world, now a very hip area with a thriving nightlife and plenty of quirks—iwe delve into Brooklyn. In the high-end Bohemian neighborhood of Williamsburg, we visit one of the Big Apple's truly underground microbreweries (where riders 21 and older can sample craft beers on tap).

Only a short ride away, yet seemingly centuries back in time, is a Hassidic "shtetl," where the orthodox Jewish population still tries to live as it did before the Holocaust. On Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, all businesses are closed as the synagogue becomes the focal point of existence.

As if traveling through time, we pass by the Brooklyn Navy Yard, site of nearly 200 years of ship building history and the birthplace of scores of famous ships, from the Fulton Steam Frigate to the USS Maine!
We complete our return to the 21st century as we ride to the now-posh neighborhood of Dumbo and, finally, pedal over the Brooklyn Bridge to take in incredible views of the New York skyline and harbor.

This tour begins on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where we’ll encounter the extravagant Plaza Hotel--temporary and semi-permanent lodging for New York’s wealthiest visitors and residents (including the famous children’s book character, Eloise!).

A short ride away is magnificent Central Park, which never fails to amaze with its natural beauty (all man-made!). As we travel through the park, we’ll visit Strawberry Fields for a Beatles sing-along and explore various other sites rarely seen by tourists, including the only “beach” in Manhattan, a 3500-year-old obelisk, an $18-million lawn, and much, much more.

On to Harlem, one of the most important places for black history in America. Here, we attend part of an authentic Sunday morning gospel service! Other highlights include a poetry reading outside what was once the home of Langston Hughes, and a visit to a former synagogue that is now a major Black church.

This evening bike tour is a unique opportunity to see the city glimmer at twilight. And Sunday evening is an ideal time to pedal around Lower Manhattan as there is considerably less street traffic.

While it is still daylight, we pedal through the historic and charming West Village. Here, we’ll see the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement, learn the fascinating story behind its inception, and have a photo op at a powerful sculpture by the renowned George Segal.

From there we’ll cycle along the Hudson River Greenway, a bike path with magnificent views of the New York Harbor. We also pass by the World Trade Center and 9/11 memorial, a monument to human despair and resilience.

On a Sunday night, the Wall Street area is nearly deserted. Here, the spectacular Stock Exchange building is especially impressive at twilight, as is the fountain at City Hall Park--illuminated by a whopping forty gas lanterns!
The highlight is the ride up the Brooklyn Bridge, as daylight slowly dissipates and the lights of the city emerge.
This tour is truly a special opportunity to experience a very different side of the Big Apple.

On this bike tour, we explore a bit of the fashionable East Side, traffic-free Central Park, and the fascinating neighborhoods of the Upper West Side, Harlem, East Harlem, and Morningside Heights.

In Morningside Heights, we visit the magnificent campus of Columbia, the third oldest university in the country, and take in the gorgeously gothic St. John the Divine, an enormous cathedral with beautifully sculpted artwork on its grounds and façade.

In Central Park, we access areas seldom seen by those just walking through the park or biking the loop road. The Park’s three distinct Conservatory Gardens, of Italian, French, and English styles, illustrate the breathtaking changes Central Park has undergone since the 1980s. And, of course, we’ll be sure to visit the must-see attractions, like Strawberry Fields, Bethesda Fountain, and much more!

Further east, we find El Barrio, otherwise known as Spanish Harlem. Here, the streets, parks, and community gardens come to life with some of the city’s most vibrant Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Mexican communities.
Instead of a more traditional sit-down lunch, we make a couple of shorter stops for two of New York’s most iconic edibles--bagels and pizza.

This tour begins with a ride through Greenwich Village and a stop at the Stonewall Inn, birthplace of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 70s. We then ride along the Hudson River Greenway to Wall Street, where bankers rub shoulders with bike messengers, and brokers down their lunch as fast as the stock market fluctuates. Then on to the World Trade Center, where the new tower rises tall—a monument to human despair and resilience.

Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, we learn the story of this glorious architectural wonder and, once in Brooklyn, discover the amazing history of an underground railroad stop. We’ll discover how unique churches, a few tropical fruits, and a fabulous hotel made Brooklyn Heights one of New York’s gems.

Then back over the Manhattan Bridge and into Chinatown, where we find ourselves on a street where secret meetings were once held to overthrow the dynasties of China and, later, in an alley leading to the site of one of New York’s strangest gang fights. Dim Sum cafés, street signs stacked one behind the other, and Chinese funeral parlors--they’re all here. Finally, we ride through a thin strip of territory that was once a very big Little Italy. As waiters serve pasta and saltimbocca in open-air cafes, we realize that only one floor above, other residents are burning incense and setting aside fruits as offerings to the Buddha.

This tour begins with a ride into the South Bronx, a neighborhood in the midst of transforming from one of the country’s most notoriously dilapidated into a revitalized community with an increasing number of hip bars and galleries. We also pass through a surprisingly suburban part of the borough, now without a trace of what, 25 years ago, was compared to a bombed-out Berlin at the end of World War II. Then, at the serene falls of the Bronx River, set against the forests of the Bronx Zoo, you won’t believe you’re still in the city!

Lunch in the Bronx’s Little Italy sets you wandering through an indoor market with hanging sausages, homemade pastas, gourmet sandwiches, and delicious pastries. At Poe Cottage, you learn the story of Edgar Allen Poe’s move to the Bronx and hear a reading of his poem Annabel Lee, written upon the death of his wife in this very home. From there, we visit the magnificent campus of Bronx Community College, home of the first ever “Hall of Fame” and set of the Hollywood movie A Beautiful Mind!

This more challenging, faster-paced tour has us climbing over four great bridges! It all begins in East Harlem as we head to the Triboro Bridge, which links three of the five city boroughs. We make a stop in Randall’s Island, a large park in the middle of the East River. As we bike over Hell’s Gate, we learn its fascinating history as the most treacherous waterway in the city and the site of numerous shipwrecks, all while enjoying the amazing urban panorama. In Queens, we enter Astoria, a traditional Greek neighborhood and home of Socrates Park, which presents an eclectic mix of sculpture you will not see anywhere else in the city. Passing through Long Island City and entering Brooklyn, we explore the Polish neighborhood of Greenpoint and the two distinct communities of Williamsburg: one inhabited by upscale bohemians, the other by traditional Hasidic Jews.

Our jaunt across the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan’s colorful Chinatown is followed by a ride over the Manhattan Bridge back into Brooklyn, where we visit Dumbo, another newly chic section of the city, with a view of the Manhattan skyline that will have you wanting to end the tour right there! But no, a world-class chocolate shop awaits us around the corner! The culmination of the tour is a ride over the Brooklyn Bridge, an engineering and aesthetic masterpiece. The spectacular views from the bike lane, located above the traffic, provide another Big Apple photo op!