New York for The Thrill Seekers: a Friday-to-Monday weekend
Steel, steam, and a harbour that never sleeps.
You see a city from its hills, its water and its bike lanes. Early starts, real sweat, a hike or a paddle out of town, and the best recovery meals in the place.
Friday: Heights and tacos
- Brooklyn Bridge at golden hour
Run or walk the pedestrian deck from Brooklyn to Manhattan as the light turns copper; the gothic towers and cables come into focus.
- Edge at Hudson Yards
The highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere, a triangle jutting out of the 100th floor with a glass floor; the City Climb is extra.
- Los Tacos No. 1
A counter in Chelsea Market with a line that moves quickly: adobada, carne asada and a cactus quesadilla for the legs.
Saturday: Reservoir run and a climbing wall
- Central Park Reservoir loop
The 2.5 km cinder track around the water, with the skyline across the reservoir; run counterclockwise with the locals.
- Brooklyn Boulders Gowanus
A converted warehouse with bouldering and rope walls and a big training floor; rent shoes, pick a grade and climb until noon.
- Roberta's
A wood-fired pizzeria in a Bushwick cinderblock building, with a garden and a long wait; the Bee Sting pizza earns it.
Sunday: The river from the saddle
- Hudson River Greenway to the Little Red Lighthouse
Take a Citi Bike up the riverside path, past Chelsea Piers and the Intrepid, to the lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge.
- Red Rooster Harlem
Marcus Samuelsson's Harlem bistro, with fried chicken, cornbread and a long bar; the right lunch after thirty kilometres.
- North Woods of Central Park
A short hike through the park's wild north end, from Harlem Meer to the Ravine and the waterfall; the least-visited part of the park.
Monday: Bridge, battleship and pastrami
- Brooklyn Bridge Park run
A flat run along the river with the lower Manhattan skyline across the water; end at the pier with the Brooklyn Bridge overhead.
- Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
A WWII carrier with a flight deck of aircraft, a submarine and the Space Shuttle Enterprise; the flight simulators are extra and worth it.
- Katz's Delicatessen
Pastrami carved by hand on rye, with a pickle and a ticket you must not lose; the fuel for the airport.