b'Matters heart of thematterThingsthat Matter Since 1990 The Wheels of Featuring Local People, Places and PUBLISHER Friendship& EDITOR IN CHIEF Biking my way through ManhattanEllen DonkerBY ELLEN DONKERASSOCIATEEDITORRosemary MattsonSOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER N owthatwarmJustincase,wetookourvaluables Rachael EntineADVERTISING CONSULTANTSRene Conlon weather is here,with us in our belt bags. H. Leslie Gilman IhavebeenThe plan was to cycle north to the Amy Power yearning to getend of the Manhattan Waterfront Gre-COPY EDITORS outforagoodenway, which is part of the Empire State Nick Humez bikerideafterTrail that connects New York City with Tia Swanson spendingallthe Canadian border, and then go south winterpedalingthroughimaginaryuntil we felt like stopping for lunch. The CONTRIBUTORS lands on the smart trainer in my base- sky was blue and cloudless with a nice Adrianna Donat ment. The problem is, Ive gotten a bitbreezeexactlywhatyouwantfora Donny Levit shy about riding locally. The streets arebike ride. Right away we found our way Olivia Mack McCool just too crowded and full of hazards,to the Little Red Lighthouse, a charm-Tia Swanson starting with my own which is linedinglandmarkknownforimproving Julia Maloof Verderosa with gulleys and a few potholes. navigation on the Hudson up until 1947. My friend Betsey, who lives in Bergen County, feels theWe pedaled a bit more and there was the Grecian Temple same way and recently asked me if I wanted to meet forat Inspiration Point, empty but for a woman staging clothes a bike ride. She suggested riding along the Hudson Riveragainst its Doric columns for photos forwho knows?starting in Washington Heights, just a few blocks south ofsome sort of online business. At the end of Fort Tryon Park, the George Washington Bridge. Having just interviewedwe turned our bikes south, pausing now and again to take Maplewood resident Jon Michaud about his book aboutin the water and varied parks.Coogans, a legendary bar in Washington Heights (see pageSurprising to me, most of the paths were completely Please address all correspondence to: 18), I thought starting our ride in that neighborhood on adedicated to cyclists, smooth, and clear of debris. If the Visual Impact Advertising, Inc. beautiful Friday afternoon resembled synchronicity.way got bumpy, I just had to look for the green circles that P.O. Box 198 That morning, I interviewed Melissa Randazzo for oursomeone had spray painted to point out the dips. In fact, Maplewood, NJ 07040 Finding Home column. She told me about moving hereonce we got past the Intrepid Museum in the 40s, the path 973-763-4900 from Hamilton Heights, just below Washington Heights,seemed brand new with the blackest blacktop and crisp mattersmagazine.comso I had to tell her about my upcoming ride. She suggestedstriping, crosswalk signals for bikes, and lush gardens. info@mattersmagazine.com I stop at the Little Red Lighthouse; her friend had writtenWe didnt quite make it to Battery Park. Our stomachs Matters Magazine is owned and publisheda musical about it. Delightful! were telling us it was way past lunch. Plus we were getting by Visual Impact Advertising, Inc., P.O.Betsey and I have known each other since our earlyshort on time, so we ducked into Pier 57 for a sandwich. Box 198, Maplewood, NJ 07040. Matterstwenties and had a lot of adventures, whether it was dis- Then we got back on our bikes to return to the car. The Magazine is free, with editions direct mailed 7 times a year to the residents of Maplewoodcovering music in the city or going down the shore, beforebreeze that had gently accompanied us downtown was now and South Orange and distributed to busi- we became distracted by having our own families. Nowa strong headwind. Even so, the ride back seemed faster and nesses and surrounding communities total-ing 16,000. Subscriptions are available tothat our kids are grown, weve had more time to reconnect,we pronounced the day successful in every way.non-residents for $30 (U.S.), $40 (Foreign)and it feels like we havent missed a beat. Thats how it isLuckily Betseys car was fine, despite us feeling slight-annually. No part of the publication may bewith a lifelong friend.ly threatened by a the driver of a Lincoln Navigator who reprinted or otherwise reproduced without writtenpermissionfromVisualImpactMeeting up in Teaneck, we drove over the bridge totried to block our way out of the lot. Thats what the city Advertising, Inc. a small parking lot along the bike path that Betsey haddoes to you: It snaps you into reality just as youre tempted CIRCULATION VERIFIED BY scoped out. It was free, she said, and she hoped not tooto romanticize it. But it seemed a fitting way to leave the U.S. POSTAL RECEIPTS. dicey. We got the last space next to a bunch of guys blast- Washington Heights that Id read about in Michauds book. READ & RECYCLE ing music from their car trunks, laughing and yelling toAlthough its not perfect, it granted me a glorious bike ride each other while sipping beer from their huge coolers.with a wonderful friend. And that felt mighty fine. 8/ matters magazine / summer 2023'