How many identical weekends have you experienced in your life? After the endless wheel of catching up with friends, running errands, going to parties, waking up late and brunching, many of us blow our 52 chances a year to do something exceptional. Below are ten ideas to help you break the cycle of eat, drink, rinse, repeat.
10) Haul Ass on Some Rail Trails
Fire Island or The Hamptons might beckon with beaches and nightlife, but how many times have you gotten there only to be punched in the face by Justin Bieber. To really get away from it all, head upstate. The Hudson Valley is a gorgeous alternative to Lawn Guylind—the extensive rail trails are perfect for long leisurely bike rides and you don’t have to be in tip-top shape to complete a thirty mile ride on flat land.
9) Party Like a Good Ol’ Boy
Have you ever wanted to shout, “Git ‘er done!” and have it be relevant? Yes? Then put on your finest denim and head to Riverhead Raceway, where Long Island’s fiercest NASCAR and demolition derbies are held. For the price of an ironic t-shirt, you can non-ironically enjoy the raceway’s Monster Truck, School Bus Figure 8, and NASCAR events. Just take the LIRR to Riverhead during spring and summer and bring a bicycle—it’s two miles to the track from the station.
8) Get Ready For A Low-Tech Post-Apocalypse
What happens when the electromagnetic pulse from that solar flare destroys our electric grid? You’re going to have to start eating very local, perhaps starting with your neighbor. Learn how to play the most dangerous game at Proline Archery Lanes, LLC in Ozone Park. Proline is a family-run business that will turn you into Katniss Everdeen for only $20, which covers equipment rental and lane time.
7) The Ultimate DIY
With classes ranging from “Electric Mitten – Make Your Gloves Glow” and “Food of the Dead: A Culinary History of Funeral Food,” the Brooklyn Brainery is the place to learn all those weird envelope-pushing skills that will differentiate you from the office drone in the neighboring cubicle.
6) Get Fit, Get Dirty
Tired of ending a 5K with only an accumulation of your own sweat to show for it? Why not try a mud run in and around NYC? Events like Tough Mudder and the Run For Your Life Zombie Run mix up the staid experience of running in a straight line with a number on your back. Instead, you dive under or leap over obstacles racing against yourself and sometimes zombies.
5) Don’t Forget To Pack Your Oversized Magnifying Glass
This suggestion is really elementary, my dear. With such a big city to explore, why not make it sporting? Watson Adventures creates custom scavenger hunts in New York City for you and your friends. To avoid getting arrested for stealing priceless artwork, Watson involves solving location-based riddles to outwit competing teams.
4) Become An Honorary Winklevii
Water, water everywhere and not a drop that you should touch. But, if you learn to maneuver a craft effectively, you never have to worry about getting any Hudson River water in your mouth. A good place to learn: Row New York’s adult rowing classes. They are held spring, summer, and fall on the Harlem River.
3) Seek Out NYC’s Waterlogged Maritime Past
Once you feel comfortable on the water, it’ll be time to take your canoe or kayak and head over to The Staten Island Boat Graveyard. Yes, it’s as spooky as it sounds, with dozens of rusting hulks slumped over in brackish water just begging to fuel the power of your nightmares.
2) This Can’t Be Safe
Sorry all you clandestine bike warriors, but your secret nighttime bike joust is about to be revealed to the world: Bike Kill. Grab some PBRs and spend an evening watching the city’s bike daredevils charge at one another while mounted on mutant bikes. It’s like Portland and Thunderdome had a baby.
1) Big Brother Is Rotting
Another water-born adventure, North Brother Island, in NYC’s East River, is a former quarantine facility. Typhoid Mary spent her last years there along with thousands of people infected with the incurable diseases of the 19th and early 20th centuries. You cannot get there easily but, after receiving permission from NYC Parks Department, you can charter a boat and milk the barren island for haunting photos.