After booking a red-eye flight from Seattle to New York, we wanted a brisk outdoor activity to keep our energy going on our first day in the city, and a tour booked with Bike and Roll NYC was just the ticket. Our tour guide, Ross, took our group of a dozen or so on a fun, pleasant ride through Central Park, stopping every 10 or 15 minutes to provide a bit of background or history on the park, or getting off our bikes to explore a nearby site.
My favorite was the detour down the steps of Bethesda Terrace and through the tunnel, where we listened to an amazing doo-wop foursome sing for about five minutes. On our way out, we gazed up at the beautiful tiled ceiling, and I snapped a few photos at some of the great carvings on the stone pillars at the top (an owl, bat, and witch, among others).
The ride itself was easy enough, mostly on level ground with a few short hills. The trickiest part was merging onto the bike path and avoiding the other bicyclists, walkers, and joggers, but Ross provided ample warnings and reminders so we avoided any issues.