The Top 5 Bike Day Trips in Brooklyn
- c/o gowanuslounge.blogspot.com
- Time your ride to get to Red Hook at sunset.
Crown Heights to Red Hook
Start your ride off at Gueros (605 Prospect Place) and fill up on breakfast tacos before setting off on your way. Then head up Franklin (that hill is a killer, but is the toughest part of this trip) to Eastern Parkway, where you’ll head toward Grand Army Plaza (make sure to hit the farmer’s market for more provisions if it’s a Saturday—you’re exercising, after all), past all the stately apartment buildings and the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, and then go right onto Union Street. Coasting down Union all the way from Prospect Heights to Red Hook allows you to take in the sights of several Brooklyn neighborhoods, from Park Slope to Gowanus to Carroll Gardens. You might want to take a pause at Runner & Stone (285 3rd Ave) for some freshly baked bread, and just to rest your legs. From there, you’re going to want to head over to Van Brunt Street in Red Hook, where you can stop off at any number of places—I highly recommend hitting up Fort Defiance (365 Van Brunt St) for a drink or two—before heading down to the water where you can cycle along the shoreline, taking in all of New York Harbor before heading back home.
This ride is approximately 4 miles. Difficulty level: 1.5/5, in other words, you really ought to be able to do this one