Friday Easy Lunchtime Bike Rides

• Park Park

An easy ride to one of the hidden treasures of the Cornell Plantations, with a quick stop at the Dairy Bar (for sandwiches or snacks) before enjoying lunch by the side of Fall Creek.  Return is with an easy ride along Forest Home Drive.

• East Ithaca Recreation Way

An easy ride to explore an old railway line that was converted to a multi-use trail, and is located adjacent to campus.  Stop for sandwiches or snacks at the little cafe/bake shop located in the historic Coal Office building on Maple Ave, and then head down the trail to one of the picnic tables.

• Game Farm Trail

A fairly easy ride along the Game Farm section of the East Ithaca Recreation Way.  We will stop briefly at the Cornell Dairy Bar to pick up sandwiches or snacks, and then head to the trail that runs across Judd Falls Rd using an old railway bridge, and then through the woods behind East Hill Plaza to Game Farm Rd.  There are a couple of places with nice shade and picnic tables which make for a perfect lunch spot.  Please note  that to get onto the trail we will push our bikes up a short woodchip path that is a bit steep.  It’s a little challenge that will reward us with a wonderfully flat bike ride along the trail.

• Ithaca Commons & Cascadilla Park Rd. Hill

You may have heard of Lombard Steet in San Francisco — it’s claimed to be America’s crookedest and hilliest street, with sharp curves and switchbacks.  It’s also one of the prettiest streets as the local residents adorn it with manicured gardens.  Did you know that Ithaca has it’s own version of Lombard Street?  It’s called Cascadilla Park Rd, and is just as pretty (and almost as hilly) as it’s cousin in San Francisco.  Come explore this unique street on Friday’s lunchtime bike ride.

Yes, I know that these are supposed to be *easy* lunchtime rides.  And the first half of this ride will be particularly easy as we depart Day Hall and head downhill to the Ithaca Commons, where we will eat our brown bag lunches or grab something to eat from one of the cafes.  After enjoying our lunches on the commons, we will head over to Cascadilla Park Rd, and snake our way back up East Hill.  You can either bike or walk up the hill (walking has some advantages as you will be able to spend more time enjoying the flowers and gardens along the street).  Be sure to bring a water bottle as you are likely to get thirsty on the bike/walk back up to campus.  I think that many people will be pleasantly surprised as to how bike-able East Hill is — particularly if your bike has low gears to make it easier to pedal uphill.  Come and give it a try!  You will be with a very supportive group of people.

• Sunset Park

Several of our lunchtime rides follow Fall Creek in order to minimize the hills, and this ride is no exception, although there will be a gradual climb back to campus on the return.  The relatively short roundtrip distance of less than 4 miles makes this ride suitable for cyclists of all abilities.  Our destination is a quiet park in Cayuga Heights, called Sunset Park.  From Day Hall we will head out toward North Campus and make a brief stop at the red lunch truck, to pick up sandwiches and other snacks.  We will follow Thurston Ave and then Cayuga Heights Rd, arriving at Sunset Park, where we will try to find the best view of the surrounding hills and enjoy our lunch.