Paula's Ice Cream Ride

2002 August 11

By Paula McKinley

We had 10 people for the ice cream ride on Aug 11: four women and six men, four of whom were on two two tandems: one mixed-sex riders, one ridden by two men. The group went out for a very pleasant ride on Fordham Road and Pelham Parkway to get to the Pelham Greenway, which took us to the northern border of the Bronx. From there, we took scenic residential roads, Shore Road, then a few miles on Boston Post Road to Mamaroneck, where we had a scenic rest stop in a shaded beachside park by the Long Island Sound.

I've been to this park many times and knew the beach was private, but that day an elderly security guard became very agitated and told us to keep a low profile and not to eat or drink there because the whole park, including the non-fenced area where we sat, was private. Local residents who walked by, on the other hand, were friendly and chatted about where we were riding, how far we had come, etc. All the locals we saw were dressed in either tennis whites or white/khaki combos, so we did, indeed, stand out as being "likely rifraff."

Even so, after a refreshing break, we headed back the route we came. Had another rest stop in the park along Pelham Parkway where we feasted on homemade guacamole and frozen (yes, that's right!) margaritas supplied by Richard Brause. We drank them in the tiniest Dixie cups I've ever seen, so afterward none of us was too loopy to ride.

We took a different route through the Bronx to avoid Fordham Road and explore University Blvd.'s bike lane. We returned to Washington Heights via the Manhattan Bridge and learned that next time we will use the bridge's somewhat narrow footpath rather than ride with traffic. Even so, it is an alternative to the horrible "Sunday on Fordham Road" experience.

We then went west to access the footbridge across the Henry Hudson Parkway to reach the Hudson Greenway. Rode all the way on the greenway to the West Village, then ended at Cones Ice Cream Artisans on Bleeker, which is worth working into future Fast and Fab events! Their creams and sorbets truly deserve the F&F "fabulous" rating for gustatory ecstasy.