Central Queens Route

15 mile intermediate/advanced route.
Starts Elmhurst, ends Glendale. 

Destinations:
A- Ayada Thai 
B- Benfaremo- The Lemon Ice King of Corona
C-World Fair's Marina
D-Flushing Main Street
E- Unisphere
F-Forest Park
G-Finback Brewery
H-Metropolitan Avenue

Get ready to explore Eastern Queens! I rated this ride intermediate/advanced, because Eastern Queens could definitely still use some improvement in the bike facilities arena. Some of these streets don't have bike lanes, and others have nice protected bike paths, but just something to be aware of when you embark on this journey. If you don't want to bike to the start, you can take the train to either Elmhurst Ave (E, M, R) or Roosevelt Ave/Jackson Heights (7, E, F, M, R) to start. I have had Ayada on my list of restaurants to try for awhile, and I was happy to see that they are still open and operating as an Open Restaurant. 

Get ready to explore Eastern Queens! I rated this ride intermediate/advanced, because Eastern Queens could definitely still use some improvement in the bike facilities arena. Some of these streets don't have bike lanes, and others have nice protected bike paths, but just something to be aware of when you embark on this journey. If you don't want to bike to the start, you can take the train to either Elmhurst Ave (E, M, R) or Roosevelt Ave/Jackson Heights (7, E, F, M, R) to start. I have had Ayada on my list of restaurants to try for a while, and I was happy to see that they are still open and operating as an Open Restaurant. 

Currently, Woodside Avenue from 76th Street to 78th Street is operating as an Open Restaurant street, and it was great to see all the Thai restaurants on this strip taking advantage of their outdoor setups. That small strip is home to a row of Thai restaurants, all delicious in their own right! After you fuel up on Thai food, your next stop is going to be The Lemon Ice King of Corona. It's a relatively straight shot to get there, just be careful on Corona Avenue, there isn't a bike lane and you are also fighting for space with the bus. Definitely a spot I would recommend taking the lane! 

The Lemon Ice King of Corona has been around for 75 years, and has been making delicious Italian Ice for the neighborhood since. They have a wide variety of interesting flavors such as peanut butter and licorice. I recommend going over to William F. Moore Park to eat it and to soak up some of the neighborhood ambiance. 

It would be possible to shorten the ride by cutting out the Flushing section and heading right into Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and I mention that because after years of advocacy, a 2 way protected bike lane was installed on 111th Street and it's pretty great! However, I also really recommend biking up to the Flushing Bay Promenade, it's a beautiful bike/pedestrian path right by the Flushing Bay, and if you take it all the way to the East, it will lead you to the Northern Boulevard Bridge. I was a little confused because it does seem like the bike path just ends at one point, but just keep going on the sidewalk and you will see signs pointing you to the bridge. Once over the bridge, you can take Northern Boulevard to Main Street (I would use the crosswalk signaling for this turn) and explore some of Flushing! I didn't see too much outdoor seating set up in Flushing, but the bun shops were fully functional and I was able to grab a delicious red bean bun. 

​The rest of your route takes you through Flushing Meadows Corona Park. My favorite part of the park is the remnants from the two World's Fairs that took place there, one in 1939 and one in 1964.  Definitely check out the Unisphere, which was installed in 1964, the New York State Pavilion, designed by Philip Johnson and Richard Foster and installed in 1964, and the panorama installed in the Queens Museum. From the Unisphere, you can travel through the park past Meadow Lake until you reach Grand Central Parkway. Grand Central Parkway is not exactly cyclist friendly, and you will have to go up quite an incline to get to Forest Park. But once you get to Forest Park you will be able to enjoy a nice, quiet, currently car free path in 500+ acres of park land! The path cuts nicely through the park, and is currently open to cyclists and pedestrians only during the city's Open Streets program. Once you cut through the park, you can turn and go down Myrtle Avenue to Cooper Avenue and head on over for a cold one at Finback Brewery, which has been operating in Glendale since 2001. ​