I’m going to be in NYC on Thursday/Friday for work. I was planning on bringing the bike for some central park loops. I haven’t been there in a while. Any issues with biking Central park in the 7-9pm timeframe? Are they still giving tickets to cyclists for running red lights?
Bob
There is now a policy not to ticket for red lights in the park in the morning, unless a biker doesn’t yield to pedestrians. Not sure if it applies in the evenings, but in general it’s ridiculously crowded then with runners, pedicabs and rollerbladers everywhere. Early mornings are much better if you want to get a real workout in.
Concur…central park is not the best place to bike anytime after…say 9 am.
Yup, not optimum for training puposes but it’s a fantastic show. Go for sure. It’s not like it’s gonna be your main training area for life. Stick to the upper - 5 mile loop with the 72d Street Traverse as the Southernmost turn. Turn left on it and go slow past the Fountain and the Boathouse.
7pm and the cars leave. Turns into a real circus. I once saw a crash where the Horse Carriages come in, on the lower loop, that must’ve had 70 bikes go down.
They are not really ticketing anymore … don’t ride like an ass and you’ll be fine.
keep in mind this weekend is the NYC triathlon… so the park is GOING to be more packed than usual for people trying to get an idea of the run course etc…
I’m going to be in NYC on Thursday/Friday for work. I was planning on bringing the bike for some central park loops. I haven’t been there in a while. Any issues with biking Central park in the 7-9pm timeframe? Are they still giving tickets to cyclists for running red lights?
Bob
I find the park scary crowded at those hours or at least 7-8:30pm - even just to do harlem hill repeats my heart rate spikes out of fear
I’m going to be in NYC on Thursday/Friday for work. I was planning on bringing the bike for some central park loops. I haven’t been there in a while. Any issues with biking Central park in the 7-9pm timeframe? Are they still giving tickets to cyclists for running red lights?
Bob
I don’t know what others consider ‘scary crowded’ as but I regularly ride the park from around 8pm onwards (occasionally will get there around 7:30pm) and I am able to ride around perfectly fine at highish speeds (this last week did 4 loops on Thursday, each in the 15’s…~24mph). Obviously the southern end of the park is the busiest but nothing to worry about and think once it starts getting dark all the tourists run out of there like Cinderella at midnight. If go in the morning then need to go very early and it tends to have more cyclists & runners than in the evening. BUT, this Thursday/Friday will likely be busier with peeps coming in for the tri and checking out their bikes after travelling, etc. Also, definitely don’t need to worry about cops in the evening with regards red lights, but don’t be a muppet and go through them at high speed if there are pedestrians on the crossing (but like I say, very few at night)…if you got a green light and they are walking (commonplace in the park) then proceed to castigate them.
If you really want a decent workout, I would suggest you ride in the morning and run at night.
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It can definitely be done, but IMO it’s pretty dangerous. There are kids on bike swerving all over the place, people crossing without looking, and all the fast guys flying through everyone at 4x the speed of the people on rented bikes. I thought it was all fun and games for the first few months I biked there, then I ended up crashing, separating my shoulder, and being off the bike for 4 months. I have a whole new respect for it now.
If you can’t go in the morning, the safest thing to do is actually to go late at night, say 10:00pm. There’s some increased risk due to being dark in spots, but it’s outweighed by the fact that there are far fewer people.
If you have some time in the morning I’d skip Central Park and go for a ride on the Hudson River Greenway (I wouldn’t ride this too late into the night). You can ride from the bottom to the top of Manhattan and you can even continue along the East River into the 30’s. The 6 mile loops in Central Park get boring.
It can definitely be done, but IMO it’s pretty dangerous. There are kids on bike swerving all over the place, people crossing without looking, and all the fast guys flying through everyone at 4x the speed of the people on rented bikes. I thought it was all fun and games for the first few months I biked there, then I ended up crashing, separating my shoulder, and being off the bike for 4 months. I have a whole new respect for it now.
If you can’t go in the morning, the safest thing to do is actually to go late at night, say 10:00pm. There’s some increased risk due to being dark in spots, but it’s outweighed by the fact that there are far fewer people.
It’s good practice for racing when you don’t start in the first wave. There was some woman that was getting medical assistance in the park on Thursday evening right where those horse carriages enter, but that’s the first serious incident I have seen there at night. I will ride the park early on the weekend (7-8am) but I personally feel it is busier than at 8pm in the week…far more runners and cyclists (mostly clubs/programs)…plus NYRR seem to own the park at the weekend. The problem with going too late at night is that it gets very quiet towards the top and there are some nobs that can hang around the swimming pool area (i.e. kids that think it’s funny to pretend to jump out in front of you, etc). I find though after the first few times that happened to me that if you start towards them (a ‘preemptive strike’ of sorts) that they are far likely to not bother to do anything than if they see you making a big veer away to begin with…it helps if you have some speed as well.
I really think though if you are used to riding your bike in a city, then CP is nothing to be worried about at 8+pm and the only place you can ride at high speed in Manhattan relatively safely. I also think you have to ride aggressively/purposefully to be safest i.e. let others know exactly where/what you are doing. I don’t know, I have had 2 big crashes in NYC (car and pedestrian (street & WSH bike path respectively…right of way both times (the pedestrian one was a dude running out through the bushes and the car didn’t stop at a Give Way sign, and still didn’t stop after hitting me))…both wrote off each bike) and plenty of near misses but none in CP and once I get there that’s when I relax a bit more. Although, I do like the challenges of the WSH as it keeps you on your toes and can be fun if you are not looking to do a quality workout (still can be good if you aim to sprint to get back up to speed after each stop/slow down, etc), a kind of fartlek.
If you have some time in the morning I’d skip Central Park and go for a ride on the Hudson River Greenway (I wouldn’t ride this too late into the night). You can ride from the bottom to the top of Manhattan and you can even continue along the East River into the 30’s. The 6 mile loops in Central Park get boring.
Really? Thats worse than the park no matter the time. All it takes is one runner, pedestrian, cyclist, etc to dart out from one of the nicely hidden walkways along any point on that path and its game over. Its narrow enough that there is literally no where else to go if/when that happens. Nevermind all the families with young children who use the path as an outdoor playground, which they should. Its one of only a few outlets for all the cities residents.
The only place for a quality workout thats within riding (or by taking the subway which is what I’ve resorted to as of late) is 9W. The park has its limitations, as has been stated, even in the early mornings or late evenings. And the loop around Manhattan is good for nothing more than a leisurely pace.
I really hate NYC at this point in the season. I also hate my trainer (when its so nice out, it kills me to be doing threshold work in my bedroom). I want to just be able to get in a quality workout right out my front door but cant. No matter what you do, its always a process. Never thought I’d enjoy running more than cycling but right now its very close.
That’s why I prefaced it with ‘in the morning’. I don’t get anywhere near the trail on the weekends or evenings.
And I’m saying ‘at any time’. At least in the park you can see all around you and theres enough room to maneuver. On the path, no matter the time, all one has to do is run out from one of the hidden walk ways and its game over simply because you dont have anywhere to go.
Depending on where you are staying you might be better off venturing into Brooklyn and coming over to Prospect Park, no tourists, no horse carriages…
Hands down, bite the bullet and ride from 5-7am. It’s fast paced and no tourists. It probably the only time of the day where you can really train in CP.
And they do give red light tickets. I got one about a month ago. I’d never heard of such a thing before I got it. It was around noon on the weekend though. If you see a cop around a stop sign stop. If you ride from 5am-7am don’t worry about the lights.
Doing a loop around manhattan from 5-7 is pretty nice as well. You have to ride on the road though on the lower east side.
I’ve been running in the park this week (here for a wedding, and only brought running shoes). Lots of runners and tourists, but only a few serious bikers doing the loop (probably 6 roadies and two guys on tribikes). Just be careful near all the pedestrian crossings; lots of people walking without looking, kids running ahead of their parents…the usual.
It’s been in the high 80s/lo 90s and wicked humidity, so dress accordingly.
Depending on where you are staying you might be better off venturing into Brooklyn and coming over to Prospect Park, no tourists, no horse carriages…
X2
And unless you are being super aggressive, cops don’t ticket.
(1) friday night the park is empty.
(2) if it is nice out, thurs night will be a nightmare at 7. by 8pm, most of the masses will have cleared out and you can ride fast then.
(3) 5-7am is good to go every day but, by 6:30am, the masses (bikers and runners) are all over the place and the danger factor is elevated.
(4) they are not ticketing bikes in the morning and at night during the week. if you ride recklessly on the weekend in the park when it is packed, they will ticket you. running a red in the middle of the day on the weekend is riding recklessly and should get ticketed.
(5) whoever said to ride along the hudson must not ride very fast because that is a horrible place to ride for a workout. it’s packed at all times of day with bladers, joggers, slow bikes and meth addicts, is very narrow and has no hills. avoid.