BROOKLYN TOUR~Terrifying and Disappointing (DO NOT TAKE CHILDREN ON THIS TOUR!!!)
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First of all, I cycle a fair amount. I had never cycled in NYC, and expected a lot of traffic. However, I hadn't expected a harrowing experience. My friend and I signed up for the Brooklyn Tour. She really wanted to cross the Bridge and I love to cycle, so I thought a seven mile tour would be fun.
To save the money, I registered for the tour online, two days prior to going. I wanted to touch base with the company the day of the tour to find out how soon we should be there, etc. I tried calling the phone number posted online, repeatedly. Nobody ever picked up and I left several messages. Next, I tried the email address on my receipt. Nothing.
We showed up in plenty of time to sign paperwork, get our helmets, bikes, etc. The tour was to begin at 2pm.
When our "guide" showed up, he didn't introduce himself and was quiet and non-communicative. I made a point to introduce myself and my friend. He said he was a professional photographer and that he'd be happy to take pictures for us anytime. I figured that was an ice-breaker and we got started. There was no safety talk, no suggestions for street-wise biking, nothing. Keep in mind, my friend was NOT an experienced cyclist. And our guide didn't even wear a helmet!!!
After crossing through some busy streets, we made it to the Hudson Bay Bike Trail. It was wonderful and pretty much led us to the Brooklyn Bridge. The Bridge was VERY crowded and one had to be careful of pedestrians in the bike lanes, as well as aggressive cyclists who didn't communicate when passing. (Did I mention that there were no mirrors on our bikes? For a tour such as this, there certainly should be!) Anyway, the Brooklyn Bridge was fun, for sure. We spent some time at the top, getting water, taking pix. Then, it was on to Brooklyn. We did make a stop in Brooklyn Heights and took some amazing pix of lower Manhattan's sky-line. Our return trip was over the Manhattan Bridge, and it was a lot better, as there were fewer pedestrians.
The advertisement for this tour states that among other sights, we were supposed to see Walt Whitman Park, Fort Green Park, & Admiral's Row/Brooklyn Naval Yard. We did not visit any of these places. After leaving Brooklyn Heights, where our guide spent most of the time on the phone, the tour went downhill. We did make a brief photo stop at the Trump Tower and our guide pointed out a few other buildings, but only named them. We received no history about the landmarks or anything.
The company has this tour leaving at 2pm. That means the last hour or so of the tour is spent returning in RUSH hour in downtown Manhattan. Unless you're an avid cyclist with a LOT of heavy traffic/inner-city riding experience, STAY AWAY from this tour. And definitely DO NOT include children !