Gerritsen Beach: It's About Time

Friday 10/6, Run #61: Sheepshead Bay, Gerritsen Beach

Distance: 9.62 miles
Time: 1:15
Pace: 7:48
Temp: 54
Dewpoint: 42
Weather: overcast & windy

click on image for interactive map

Unique Miles Today: 6.80
Total Unique Miles: 486.77
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 27.94

Route: I began today's run at 29th and Avenue Y, then headed east to Knapp Ave (and did that little dirt-road segment across the street), north to Avenue X, west to Brigham, north to Avenue V, east to Stuart, south to Avenue X, west a block to Gerritsen Ave, then south to the dead end, and back up to Lois. Then I headed west on Lois, doing hitting all the dead-end streets along the water: Abbey, Beacon, Canton, Dare, Eaton, Frank, Noel, and Gain. Then it was west on Lois to its dead end and back to Hyman, than north to Seba, west to Ivan, south to the dead end and back to Seba, west to Just, south to its dead end then back up to Opal, west to Madoc then south to its dead end and back to Post, then west to Post's dead end and back to Madoc, north to Opal, west to the dead end and back east to Just then doubling back to Madoc, north to Seba, east to Just then doubling back and continuing to where Seba dead-ends, then east to Madoc, north to Nova, west to the dead end then back to Madoc, north a block to Melba and doubling back to Nova, east to Noel, north to Melba, west to the dead end and doubling back to Madoc, north to Lester, west to the dead end and doubling back to Madoc, north to Keen then doubling back to Lester, east to Noel, north to Keen, west to the dead end and doubling back to Madoc, north to Cyrus, west to the dead end and then east all the way back to Gerritsen Ave, then doubling back west a block to Abbey, south to Lois, west to Beacon, north to Cyrus, west to Canton, south to Lois, west to Dare, north to Cyrus, west to Eaton, south to Lois, west to Frank, north to Cyrus, west to Noel, south to Lois, west to Gain, north to Seba, west a block to Hyman then doubling back and on east to Gerritsen again. Then it was north up to Florence, west to Ebony, north to the dead end and back to Channel, east to Gerritsen once more, north to Allen, southwest to Avenue X, west to Batchelder, and north to Avenue V.

Notes: I'll admit it -- this run was one that I have been dreading for a while. Not so much because I don't like Sheepshead Bay or Gerritsen Beach (they're both fine places to run, as far as I'm concerned), but because Gerritsen Beach is like a maze. It has block after block of very narrow roads squeezed together (most of them are too narrow to have sidewalks, and the houses are pressed up against the streets), and -- because the entire neighborhood is on a peninsula -- many of the streets dead-end at the waters of Shell Bank Creek and Plumb Beach Channel. Furthermore, the only way in or out of the neighborhood is Gerritsen Avenue. Add it all up and it's not only a somewhat confusing place to run (luckily, whoever planned things gave the streets names that are organized alphabetically), but there was an awful lot of retracing my routes and the subsequent accumulation of a sizeable percentage of non-unique miles (close to three miles' worth). Still, it was much cooler this morning (after a couple of days of above-average warmth and humdity), so I figured it was as good a time as any to take the plunge and head down there. I'm still not done with the neighborhood -- it'll take one more trip down there, I think -- but I'm that much closer to being finished with the southern third of the borough. And thought the morning was overcast and windy, my timing was good, apparently, as it had just started to rain while I was walking into the subway station there on Avenue U. Tomorrow, I think I'll head down to Manhattan Beach and try to finish off that neighborhood.

As for pictures, I did my best with a run that was almost entirely residential and under very gloomy skies:


On the little dirt road extension of Avenue Y


Shed at the end of Frank Street (Plumb Beach Channel behind it)


On Gerritsen Avenue


Just west of Ebony Court