Escape To The Island: Governors Island

We jumped out of the cab and ran through the hubbub on Old Fulton Street. We would have preferred to be on our own two wheels but the construction on every single subway line in the system forced us to take a cab, jump on the ferry and rent bikes when we got to the island, Governor’s Island.

The ferry ride was beautiful, with scenic views of lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and especially amazing, views of our wallets still holding every penny it arrived with... because the ferry ride is free. That’s right, FREE! P and I soaked in the view and before we knew it, arrived at the dock on Governor’s Island and began marching off the ferry.

As we walked off the ferry, we tried to acquaint ourselves with our new surrounding and figure out where to rent bicycles. We followed some signs along a path and suddenly, we were absorbed by a colony of gnats. We dubbed this area “Gnatville” and avoided it at all costs from that point on. After a quick trudge through their colony, we reached clearer pastures and the bike renting area.

The bike rental area was fairly disorganized. After a few questions and run-arounds, P and I figured out the form filling-out/waiting procedure and found a place in the 40 minute line. We eventually, received two halfway decent bikes that were functional enough to ride and see more of the island.

In the future, P and I both agreed that it would be worth taking the extra time and energy to bike from home to the ferry or if the subway was working, take our bikes on the subway and proceed from there. The extra time and cost of renting halfway decent bikes (albeit, a reasonable $12) was not worth it if you have other options, which we do.

Finally, our feet were off the ground, the scenery was flying by and we were making laps around the island. It felt amazing to explore a whole new place that is so close to home.

Governors island seems like it should be a major tourist destination, with some of the most breath taking views of the Statue of Liberty, lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. At other moments, parts of Governors Island can seem like a strange suburbia with tree lined streets and quaint houses, or a military installation with castle like fortifications, or an Area 51 like place with fenced off portions containing people in hard hats examining lost hamlets or finally, a close, convenient place to visit, picnic and bike. All of the above are true.

P and I had an amazing day of biking in and around Governors Island. We explored, we discovered and even had some time to take advantage of the strong, island winds to fly our kite. I highly recommend jumping on the Governor's Island ferry, with or without a bike and check out this unique destination (next season that is. Governor’s Island is closed for the winter).