Bicycle - this is one of the best ways to see NYC. There are a lot of bike friendly areas, like Central Park, Hudson River Park bicycle path, Brooklyn Bridge. These company offers nice bicycles for hire. We chose a bike tour in NYC. These guys showed us best places in New York and it was a lot of fun. So for those who like cycling - i strongly recommend this company, they located just one block from Central Park.

bikerentalsnyc.com/

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This is a great way to see the Park, but I beg you all to wear a cycle helmet at all times and to exercise every caution you would on the open road. The Park is frequented by extremely fast cyclists, who sorry to say, do not always obey the traffic signals or even the most basic safety rules. People are killed and injured here every year by speeding cyclists. My 15-year-old daughter was hit from behind by a speeding cyclist and sent flying over the handlebars last summer in the Park, despite the fact that she was cycling in the designated bike lane, in a perfectly safe and orderly manner. The cyclist who knocked her off was admittedly concussed, but he started telling the attending police and paramedics that she had been the one who caused the collision, because she had ‘come out of nowhere!’ Luckily, other cyclists who had witnessed the incident stopped and gave their version of events, so we heard no more, but it was a very unpleasant experience and the speeding cyclist had to be taken to hospital. Also, if you are a pedestrian using a crossing in Central Park, be aware that cyclists seldom heed the crossing signals – quite often they are simply going too fast to stop. Use your ears and eyes to cross safely. Part of the problem is that not for nothing was Manhattan named the island of hills by American Indians. There are quite a few hilly parts in the Park and bikes can reach a fair old speed when going downhill. Please don’t be put off – this a fabulous cycle ride – but don’t assume that you are ‘safer’ in the Park and relax your guard!

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If you haven't been to Central Park before and love bike riding, rent a bike and explore the park yourself. I found this company on Google - you can choose bike rentals or bike tours, price is good and the service is very nice.

Central Park Bike Rent
www.centralparkbikerent.com
158 West 56th Street New York, NY 10019
1-917-892-9279
www.centralparkbikerent.com

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If you haven't been to Central Park before they have a really nice and informative guided bike tour. You get to see movies scene sights, celebrity sighting, architecture and much much more. Or you can rent a bike and explore the park by yourself.

348 W 57 ST New York, NY
1-212-664-9600
www.bikerentalcentralpark.com

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Get the NYC DOT bicycle map (download or free at bike shops). Also note DOT has information on bridge closings. Sometimes if a bridge is closed they have a free van service. Stick to the paths on the map, watch out for pedestrians, and car doors. Good luck.

www.bikeforums.net is a good source of info. See info on avoiding bike theft. Hint: get a strong U lock and take the seat post with you.

Consider buying a folding bicycle in NYC and returning with it. bfold.com, nycewheels.com and others have folding bikes. Strida would be a good bicycle for touring NYC. Dahon make very nice general purpose folding bikes. Folding bikes can usually be brought on the subway and trains. A bit iffy on crowded buses.

www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikemain.shtml

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What better way to see the weird and wonderful sights of Central Park on a beautiful sunny day? We had planned to go rollerblading but didn't have the gear or the skill.
We hired 'cruiser' bikes from the boathouse for $9 per hr and proceeded to cruise around the car free one way road that takes you on a tour around the whole park.

It was just glorious. Not too energetic or time consuming. It took about 40 minutes at a gentle pace. It was on a sunny Saturday so we got to see every sort of New Yorker and tourist doing what they wanted to do - playing baseball, 'football', chilling out, frisbee, juggling, dancing, shouting, singing, getting married, sailing, people watching and on and on.
It was the highlight of our trip.

The Boathouse is in the Central Park on the East side between 74th and 75th streets.

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I really recommend hiring bicycles to get the most out of an hour in Central Park. Hire from the Loeb Boathouse is $9 for an hour on a "cruiser" which is a bike without gears (or actually brakes, but don't let that put you off!). You will also need to leave something like a passport or a driver's licence as a deposit. There's a good path around the outside of the Park, which is about 8 miles (apparently). There is one awful hill at around 103rd street, but once you're over that (I pushed my bike up), you're away. It's a great way to see all the sights of the park, without taking up an entire day - the full circuit took us about an hour. Finish off with a frozen lemonade from one of the stands by the Bethesda Fountain -you'll deserve it!

Loeb Boathouse, Central Park (roughly in the middle of the Park, at about 72nd Street)

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If the weather's dry - especially on a Sunday - seek out the bike hire stand near the Boat House restaurant in Central Park and for just $9 an hour you can feel like a New Yorker. Traffic is banned on Sundays so it's just you - and the joggers, horse drawn carriages, 'serious' cyclists and other brave souls - seeing the splendour of the green heart of Manhattan. At a steady pace even someone over 50 and unfit can do a full easy circuit of the entire park - though you may want to walk it up Big Hill!

www.centralparknyc.org South end of the Park, not far from The Carousel, Sheep Meadow, Strawberry Fields etc.

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