It’s the good part of summer right now, the part where it’s warm and sunny and the days are long but it hasn’t gotten too humid out. I went on a nice bike ride yesterday morning along a route I used to take years ago when I first moved to Brooklyn that I haven’t done since. Truthfully I have not been riding my bike as much as I used to (and I used to ride it EVERYWHERE). I am constantly amazed by how quickly this city evolves. The thing that was once another thing is now a new thing. I also forget how different it is on foot versus cycling versus in a car versus a bus versus the subway.
On this particular ride, I went from Brooklyn Bridge Park to Domino Park, neither of which existed when I first moved here. My first destination was Brooklyn Bridge Park. It was a quiet morning and the only other people out were the runners, and parents with young kids. The park is nice, if a bit sterile since it’s so new. There’s a bike lane that runs through it, but like many bike lanes in New York, it’s more of a suggestion (that is usually rejected) than a dedicated space for cyclists, since most of it isn’t physically divided from pedestrian areas. It’s still a decent ride between trees and water if you go slowly enough, though, with great views of downtown Manhattan.
View of lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6
My next destination was Domino Park in Williamsburg. The ride along Kent Avenue past the Navy Yard is one I used to do several times a week. There’s now a protected two-way bike lane along most of it, which makes it feel somewhat safer. (I remember riding home at 4 am from Williamsburg during my years of maximum poor judgment and it is definitely safer than that.) There is also a giant Wegman’s, which I remember hearing that people were very excited about (I did not go inside but it looked more like a compound than a grocery store from the outside).
Even with a fancy bike lane, that part of the ride still felt somewhat industrial, although the Navy Yard seems a lot more buttoned up these days. Even the shipping containers were kinda cute.
Cute shipping containers on Kent (my favorite is the mint green in cell C2)
I stopped at Domino Park, which is even newer than Brooklyn Bridge Park, and sat on a bench in the shade overlooking the East River. I’ve only been there twice and both times I didn’t feel I was meant to stay there long. Maybe because it’s a long, narrow park. Or because I’ve never really felt totally welcomed in Williamsburg (why else was I booking it out of there at 4 am?).
Anyway, it was a nice way to spend the morning, and got me excited about riding my bike around the city this summer!
My route map (partial), from Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6 to Domino Park