This document summarizes and promotes several upcoming bicycle tours along the East Coast Greenway in New York City and surrounding areas. The tours include a 5-Island Tour riding through Manhattan, Randall's Island, Ward's Island, Roosevelt Island and the South Bronx; a National Park Service anniversary tour from Castle Clinton to Grant's Tomb through the Bronx; the annual Manhattan Loop ride around the island with views of the Hudson River; and a joint New York-New Jersey Hudson Loop ride over the George Washington Bridge with views of Manhattan and improving riverfront paths in both states. Details are provided for each tour such as distances, highlights and meeting locations and times to encourage participation.

1. Intro: I got into this from a local ac1vist’s posi1on, wan1ng especially to close the 1-
mile greenway gap past the United Na1ons. One year we had State Senator Liz
Krueger speak about closing the gap at the beginning of our annual ManhaHan Loop
ride. And the same complicated mi1ga1on plan to Close the Gap (hHps://
www.change.org/p/close-the-gap-2) is s1ll pending at the U.N, going on 20 years
now, but in the mean1me, I’ve learned to appreciate what we already have and are
slowly geQng more of. It’s never fast enough, but there are over 200 miles of
Greenway in the 5 boroughs, out of 350 planned (hHp://bikeroute.com/
NBGBikingCi1es/NewYorkCity/NYCBiking.php). All the rides are available by going to
Eventbrite.com and searching for “east coast greenway.”
Let’s explore…
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2. This year will be the second year of the 5-Island Tour and it’s already one of my
favorite rides. For one thing, if you tell people you biked the 5-Island Tour in just the
right tone of voice, they’ll think you rode all 5 boroughs of ManhaHan!
Well, we actually only ride through 3, plus Randall’s and Ward’s Islands – technically 2
islands – and Roosevelt Island. But this year we added the exci1ng South Bronx when
two new bridges opened up – the High Bridge up north, which is a great photo stop –
and the Randall’s Island Connector linking the Bronx to Randall’s Island. Both are
walking/biking only spans. How many of you have ridden on Roosevelt Island? It’s
really fun, with great views of Queens and ManhaHan. Plus, you get to take the Tram
back to the star1ng point at the end. Don’t forget your metro-card!
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3. The NPS anniversary tour is brand new and may be done only this year, so you don’t
want to miss this one. We will start at Castle Clinton, with a probable ranger-led tour
for the first 30 bikers at 9:00am, TBA. Then we will ride up to Grant’s Tomb, where
you will have 1me for a self-guided tour. The ride is more than ¾ on the greenway,
but we do go on-street briefly in the Bronx, before finishing up on the official East
Coast Greenway route through Pelham Bay and ending at St. Paul’s Church in
Westchester around 1:00pm. There will be Colonial Day celebra1on events this year,
which you can stay for before returning by subway or Metro-north.
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4. The ManhaHan Loop is the first ride I co-led for East Coast Greenway and this will be
my sixth year doing it. This is a fantas1c ride with great river views almost the whole
way. It goes counter-clockwise around ManhaHan, and it ought to be on everyone’s
bucket list. It’s our longest ride, at 32 miles, but we stop for a nice lunch at Hudson
River Park near the Fairway supermarket at 125th street. This is the ride for ac1vists
to get excited about, and to learn where we s1ll have to pe11on our electeds to Close
the Gap.
See one proposal here: hHp://www.slideshare.net/ScoHOnTheSpot/land-value-tax-
gap-closure-proposal-29529037
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5. The joint NY-NJ Hudson Loop is one of the oldest rides offered by East Coast
Greenway and the last one we offer in the season. Hopefully, by October, you’ll have
your biking legs at their maximum strength to ride up the 179th street hill to the
George Washington Bridge! Fortunately, it is literally almost all downhill to Hoboken
on the other side aoer that. This is one of the most interes1ng rides with
unparalleled views on ManhaHan and because of the varied ways the Hudson River
Bikeway has been completed, and every year there is a liHle more on-path and off-
street riding. This is truly the ride that gets beHer every year! Return to ManhaHan if
you need to by ferry or PATH train or just bike or drive home if you live in NJ.
Thank you and I’ll be available for quesitons later.
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