I took 9^th street today on my ride in. There’s a bike lane there but it’s really the worst possible street that they could’ve put a bike lane on. Between 4^th and 6^th Avenue is always congested. There’s a very busy supermarket, the YMCA and a post office on 9^th between 4^th and 6^th avenue so it’s always super congested. There’s always delivery trucks blocking the bike lane or someone dropping people off at the Y. Today was a good day. I only had to dodge one car and one cart with cans. 9^th from 6^th or 7^th to the Park is great for riding, there’s very limited traffic and the street is very wide but the stretch between 6^th avenue and 4^th avenue is a mine field. Once you get below 4^th avenue it actually gets a little better between 4^th and 3^rd is still congested but there’s much less commercial uses on that street (it’s somewhat residential with some light industrial) and the stretch between 3^rd and Smith is actually pretty nice. You can haul ass and there’s no commercial with a bunch of light industrial uses that for the most part are underutilized.

I have a friend that has a music studio in one of the old factory buildings. The whole area around the Gawanus Canal is going to blow up. You can already see it with places like The Bell House and Low Lands and the restaurants that are popping up along 3^rd Avenue. I went to see The Felize Brothers a couple weeks back and walked down 3^rd Avenue from 9^th to 6^th street. There were a ton of restaurants either opened or in construction, I was completely surprised. I’m not sure it’s the absolute best location. Yes, you’re close to Park Slope but there’s not that many houses on the blocks between 3^rd and 4^th Avenue and you’ve got absolutely no residences on the other side, only the Gawanus. The area completely makes sense for a destination place, like a club or a supermarket. A Whole Foods is supposed to be in development for 3^rd Avenue and 3^rd Street but a restaurant seems iffy to me.

I went to the Met's game at Citi Field last night. It was super fun and gave me an opportunity to ride through Queens, a section of the City that I don't get to that much. I road over the Williamsburg Bridge which is rediculously steep but a fun ride. It's much more nuanced then either the Manhattan or Brooklyn Bridge, there's some turns and splits, etc. that make it interesting. It let me out in Williamsburg and, of course, I had to ride down Bedford Avenue, the heart of Billiesburg. Fun street to be on, there's a ton going on, lots of people.

I road over to Queens, past my father's old house in Long Island City and got onto Queens Boulevard which turns into Roosevelt Avenue. The 7 train runs above the avenue for the much of the way and I figured that I'd just follow the 7 because that's the train that brings you to Citi Field. I passed a great restaurant that I used to frequent when I lived in Sunnyside, La Flor. A really nice spanish place. The housing stock in Sunnyside is incredible, a bunch of stacked multifamily houses. It was a nice place to live for the three months that we spent there.

We only moved to Brooklyn because we were offered a nice place in Park Slope for $880 and couldn't pass it up considering that we spent most of our time driving to Brooklyn to visit friends, anyway. I'm a little sad that we never got to spend more time in Sunnyside, it seems like it could be a great place to get to know.
I continued out Roosevelt Avenue past Woodside and through Jackson Heights and Corona. I stopped at a bodega and got a beer and some water and took this picture of the El. Corona is definitely a place I'd love to bring the family and just explore for an afternoon in the fall any maybe end up at a Met's game!

The Mets game was great, it was a beautiful evening to hang out and watch some baseball. I've never been to Citi Field, so it was a treat to finally get there. We had great seats in the promenade and got to see Angel Pagan win it with a walk-off homer in the 10th. And I got a ride home, sweet!