Did you know you can ride your bicycle on the Bronx River Parkway?
It’s been a tradition for 46 years.
On most Sundays between the first Sunday in May to the last Sunday in September, a stretch of highway is closed from Tuckahoe to White Plains from 10am to 2pm. you can ride both north and south on the parkway for any or all of the distance it’s closed.
I had forgotten about it until the other weekend, when I was heading north through Westchester. My tenative turnaround point was Ossining. As I was riding through Bronxville, I saw signs indicating the highway was closed to cars. I decided to ride onto the highway and see how far I could go. Not always the best idea, riding on a highway, but there were lots of cones. And no cars.
I went all the way to the County Center in White Plains before heading north on Route 100. Word to the wise: if you continue to go north after hitting the northermnost point, you’ll be riding on a highway. I found out this was illegal, after a police pulled me over. There is a bike path roughly paralleling the highway, though.
And then, I came back the next week to find a good way to get back from Tuckahoe to Manhattan. I think I found one. It’s both simpler and quieter than I expected. Quiet suburban streets, moderate-sized rolling hills. Very few cars and very few lights, at least until back into The Bronx.
I put it all together into this nearly 40-mile ride from Harlem to White Plains and back. If you’re looking for a snack break, it’s easy to find some sustenance at the turnaround in White Plains and just after you exit the BRP in Tuckahoe.
14 miles are on the Bronx River Parkway, where the only traffic is other cyclists. The rest is about as quiet and straight as I could find.
Check it out! https://www.wheretobikenyc.com/product/bronx-river-parkway-bike-ride/
