Labor Day Weekend 2021: Prospect Park, a donut ride and unsolicited advice from a man.
I keep having this strange, inexplicable allergic reaction around my eyes/face (I swell up and look like a different person - should perhaps start taking advantage of this) but I didn’t let that stop me from riding my bike Saturday, Sunday AND Monday of this long, holiday weekend.
I rested most of Saturday because I was feeling shitty from whatever was happening with my face but the weather was too nice to not get outside for at least a bit. I made the ride to Prospect Park, choosing to enter from Ocean Ave, instead of near Grand Army Plaza - I’m wild. I did a little riding on some of the paths before settling down in the Long Meadow fields. You know it wouldn’t have been a trip to Prospect Park without a stop at the dog beach…
Dog beach!
I sat at the field for a bit, looking at the new NYC bike map and reading a book on my kindle. I rode around for a little afterwards and ended up making it an 8 mile ride, a distance that I’m learning to enjoy as I try not to put so much pressure on myself. Remember, biking is supposed to be fun! I’m saying this more for myself than anyone else.
I’ll tell ya, that new rack and basket has really made traveling with items much easier.
And guess what! The next day of riding WAS fun. SO MUCH FUN. My friend, Maria, planned a little donut ride for a few of us to go on. Our friend, Jenny, joined us and I got to meet Maria’s friend, SK, who I am now forcing to be my friend. That’s usually how my friendships work.
We started the ride by meeting at Fan Fan Donuts, in Bedford Stuyvesant, which was pretty equidistant for all of us to get to from our respective homes. Fan Fan was near my old place in Bed Stuy and I had always meant to check it out so I was so glad Maria made this our first stop. Jenny stood guard by the bikes while SK, Maria and I debated which flavors would make the cut in our first round of donut tasting. We went with the Mango Lassi, La Donna (a raspberry-currant glaze), the Luna Limón and the Spain (a donut topped in chocolate and a miniature churro):
Next up was Dough in Prospect Heights. It’s great riding with other people and not having to plan the route so for real, a big shout out to Maria for planning this.
We had a quick ride over to our second stop, where we had the Dulce de Leche donut with sliced almonds and the Hibiscus donut (which I just looked up and found out is vegan!). It was also here that I tried out Maria’s bike and rode a fixie for the first time ever! Something I want to do again. I know I just bought the Pack Rat but a single speed/fixie would serve a whole other purpose, right? Right??? (n+1)
From there, we were off to Chinatown and took the Manhattan Bridge into the city. SK and Maria scooted off ahead of Jenny and myself, who took our time going over the bridges on this ride. Our third destination was Alimama Tea. We tried two varieties of their mochi donuts, a white chocolate matcha and their cereal mochi donut:
Cereal Mochi donut on the left and the white chocolate matcha on the right.
We rode through Chinatown and Little Italy before heading over the Williamsburg bridge to get back to Brooklyn. Maria tried out the Pack Rat on the other side of the bridge!
Our final donut stop was the Doughnut Plant on N 6th and Bedford Ave. Doughnut Plant has a few locations around the city and SK and I both admitted that we were skeptical for this reason but these may have been some of our favorite donuts from the day! We decided on the carrot cake and pineapple donuts, which were simple, but really delicious! I got yelled at for trying to use the bathroom, which is for customers only, and had to explain that my friends had made the purchase on our donut tour…
After our last stop, we wanted to try and go for a lap around Prospect Park but some of us were feeling a bit tired and the rear wheel on my Pack Rat was giving me some more trouble. SK and I set to work on it and then we decided it would be best for each of us to head home from there.
Attempting some repairs.
It was so great to ride with my lovely friends, Jenny and Maria, who I haven’t seen since June! And it was great to meet SK in my efforts to build a group of bike friends. Riding with friends is fun, don’t forget that folks!
On Monday, I was still fiending for another ride and I had been planning on visiting the Eastern Queens Loop, suggested by the Greenway Adventures NYC guide. I’ve been feeling bloated, with having my period, but thought exercise and getting outside might help me a bit. I had some coffee to start my day but as the morning wore on, I felt less inclined to ride. I still got myself on the bike but didn’t have a lot of fun, if I’m being honest. I was back to being alone, routing myself, and loathed the ride from Brooklyn to Queens. On the way, I received some unsolicited advice from a man who decided that driving his car next to me while I tried to ride uphill on a narrow, residential road through Queens, was a good idea. He began by letting me know that he, too, is a bike rider and that my seat is too low and needs to be raised. I disagreed with him and it wasn’t until I shared that I had JUST had my bike fit that he decided to drive away, probably wounded by my refusal to take his advice.
Some parts of this ride were really delightful, like riding through Kissena Park, but Flushing Meadows Corona Park was a bit busy with the US Open happening. It was a nice ride but I really wasn’t happy again until I arrived at Fort Totten. I love riding my bike for reasons like this - when else would I EVER go to Fort Totten? Never, that’s when. So it was cool to ride through that part of Queens and end up right under the Throgs Neck Bridge (which I mistook for the Verrazano while on the phone with a friend because I just followed my computer and who knew where I was, really? A kind man corrected me when he overheard my conversation).
From there, it was an annoying slog back to my home in Brooklyn. I almost got hit by a car and got into a shouting match with the man who nearly hit me. This made the ride especially unenjoyable so it was nice to finally be home at the end of the 40 miles. Glad I did that route and got to check it out but probably won’t do it again, sorry folks. Here’s the POV from my obligatory post-ride crash on the kitchen floor, where I lie until I decide I want to move again:
Marty joined me on the floor.
