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After last week’s heat, it was nice to get out on the bike in more moderate weather. Yesterday was a bit hotter than expected, however, and the route I chose was more treeless than not. Up through Williamsburgh and Greenpoint to Long Island City and over to Maspeth, then back through Bushwick and Williamsburgh on the inappropriately named Grand Ave. Again, I sweat out 3 lbs, bringing me to my lowest weight in a year. While there is some satisfaction in seeing that number on the scale again, I would have preferred a bit more life in my legs.

Today I headed for greener and shadier lanes: Baltic St, Park Place, Vanderbilt Ave, Grand Army Plaza, Eastern Parkway, Bedford Ave—which has this bike lane for much of its length—Ave K, Ocean Pkwy, Ave L, East 4^th St, Ave N, 60^th St, Dahill Rd, 59^th St, 3^rd Ave, 3^rd St and home. Just under two hours. It would have been slightly less, but I stopped for pictures, all of which are not as well focused as I would have liked, but I was breathing hard and dripping sweat (3 more pounds).

Twelve o’Clock at Brooklyn College

I assume that I wasn’t holding the camera straight. I’m sure someone would have noticed if the clock tower leaned that far to the right. Oddly, I took two shots of this, each at the same angle.

A Nice Downhill Slope on the Bedford Ave Bike Route

Bedford basically goes downhill from Eastern Parkway almost to the ocean with an occasional rise for variety. This section, at Ave I, is relatively smooth and nicely shaded and the drivers are not as nearly lunatic as you find in Borough Park and Sunset Park.

The Gowanus Expressway Hanging over Third Ave at 47^th St

While technically you could call this section “green”, I chose it because it has been recently resurfaced and on the weekends the traffic is not bad. Provided no vehicle comes flying over the railing of the Gowanus, it’s a lot safer than 4^th or 5^th Avenues. This was a nice contrast to 59^th St, which has been ground up for resurfacing next Tuesday.

Hope you all had a nice weekend.