Q02 Douglaston Loop

Description

The temptation.

Douglaston is a leafy suburb in the city similar to The Bronx’s Riverdale in how it is largely single-family houses and cut off from the rest of the city by water and highway. It’s another peninsula with roads designed to discourage fast driving. When the area was settled by non-Natives, the land was laid out with large lots to encourage homeowners to lay out their own extensive gardens. Bike ride Douglaston Queens.

Delving in to what you will find.

Anytime you can find a ride where through-streets are limited by parks, highways, or bodies of water, it’s a safe bet that the riding is pretty peaceful. Douglaston being on a peninsula that is cut off from the rest of civilization first by rail road tracks (LIRR) and then by a major thoroughfare (Northern Boulevard, has two layers of protection from traffic). And this makes it a great place to go for a ride. Pity it is so small.

The ride starts at the Douglaston train station. Considering Douglaston is a bedroom community, the station and environs should be busy. They aren’t. The downtown area is tiny and you exit it immediately.

Willow Drive, the second road you’re on, is a pretty steep hill, but take it steady and you’ll get over the top before you know it. This hill is the reason this ride is only a two-bike ride rather than a one. What goes up must come down; in this case, almost immediately. The payoff isn’t huge, but it’s a rush and a time to freewheel a bit to recover from your hump up Willow.

Once you’re on Douglas Road, you can just about ride on autopilot. Water is on your right, and that also means no streets coming from your right. Douglas wraps around the peninsula and turns into Shore Road and it takes nearly two miles from the moment you turn onto Douglas to hit another turn.   You’ll pass fields, then water on your right and pretty homes on your left.

And even once you’ve turned onto West Drive, you’re pretty much following the edge of the peninsula and do so right until the end, back at the beginning, in front of the Douglaston train station. Since it ended so quickly, we strongly recommend doing at least another loop or exploring the other roads on the peninsula. Now that you have the perimeter down, it will be nearly impossible to get lost.

Talking about a beverage here.  And a snack.

The Douglaston Market is right next to where the ride starts. It’s a pizza place, a deli, a local market in one. Tables are set outside in warm weather months.

More than just riding.

Alley Pond Park, just a little west down Northern Boulevard is one of the many under-appreciated parks in the city. Alley Pond is situated on a glacial moraine, has freshwater and saltwater wetlands, and even old-growth woodlands, including the oldest living organism in the city, The Queens Giant, a tulip tree alleged to be over 400 years old (and the tallest tree in the city as well). The Alley Pond Environmental Center is where you should begin. http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/alleypondpark

Deets (Bike Ride Douglaston Queens)

Borough(s): Queens

Distance: 2.9 miles

Elevation: 239′

Terrain: Largely flat, but a steep hill at the start

Ride Rating: @@

Notes: quiet suburbia on the bay.

Q01, Q03, and Q04 are also nearby.

Includes: A PDF with intelligence and a GPX file to upload to  your bike computer or mobile devi