Take a look at this map: http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/manhattan-bike-map/ http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/manhattan-bike-map/ There are actually a lot of b

Take a look at this map: http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/manhattan-bike-map/ http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/manhattan-bike-map/ There are actually a lot of bike lanes and trails (trails are generally along the Hudson or East River). Some of this is relatively recent thanks to the controversial transportation commissioner: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/top_right/2011/08/janette_sadikkhan_new_york_city_transportation_commissioner.html http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/top_right/2011/08/j... who has, amongst other things, closed off Times Square to traffic and added bike lanes to 8th (and other) avenues. I'm not an avid cyclist but I have done some limited cycling in the Valley and it's frigging dangerous. I simply won't go on anything other than back roads and even there you're in constant danger of being wiped out by a car pulling out of a parking lot of a car turning right at a red light (worst road rule ever; it's illegal in the the five boroughs but some people are ignorant of this). I know someone who bikes in most days from Brooklyn but I think you need to be attentive. Then again, as a cyclist on roads, I think that is universally true. In Norcal you can probably bike almost year round. In NYC less so. In winter you do get issues with snow and ice. Overall it probably rains more in NYC than in the Bay Area but I'm just guessing there.