I live to ride bicycles. I grew up in Astoria, NY riding a 3 speed Royce Union with a banana seat around the block as a kid. Stopped riding as I got older and got into other sports like football, track, raquetball and then some distance running. Eventually tore my achilles tendon which stopped me from running entirely. I wanted to keep a level of fitness so I started cycling.
It felt like I was reliving my younger days. One day I convinced my friend Barry to ride to Central Park from Astoria. He thought I was nuts but came with me anyway. We had a blast and started doing many miles together through the streets of Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and out to Long Island. We did the NY Century and the 5 borough bike tour.
Once we left Jackson Heights at 1 AM in the morning and arrived at a campsite in the Hamptons on Long Island at 7 AM in the morning.
Amazing that it started as a fun way to get around. Then it became transportation to work from Astoria to lower Manhattan. Eventually I started doing some messenger work part time. I am now living in South Florida and the roads along the beach and throughout the area have been my playground since 1998.