Christmas eve bridges ride and review

I celebrated the holiday by rising early this morning - around 8 am - to begin my city tour. First, I ran straight down Park to the financial district, and proceeded to cross and re-cross each of the major East-side bridges; Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, Queensboro, George Washington and Triborough. My bike gives me a great, high seating position, so I could easily look out across and over the guard rail each time.

Brooklyn bridge ***** 5 stars
By far my favorite bridge, Eastbound out of the city gives a great Southern view, and I enjoy looking out to the boats for miles down the river. Westbound gives a great view of the financial district. The view is truly awe-inspiring.

Manhattan bridge *** 3 stars
A specialty bridge, in my opinion, whose strength is in its Westbound view up-river and in its Soho scenery. Neither of these does itfor me, so I only give it 3 stars

Williamsburg bridge **** 4 stars
This one's just plain fun to ride. The bridge itself has an old iron-cast look about it which gives it great personality, even if the over-abundant cross bars do inhibit the view slightly. Better yet, the tremendous height and curvature is like a free elevator ticket to the highest skyscraper for an entire city view. Still not as fun as the Brooklyn bridge, but it holds its own

Queensboro bridge *** 3 stars
At one point in time, this bridge would have received 5 stars and special distinction... back when the top level was operational. Today, the top level is constantly under construction, and so you only get to ride on the lower level, which is essentially a tunnel of steel with very little view. Also, the guard rails are particularly high, which obstructs an otherwise nice view.

George Washington bridge ** stars
A long span, this bridge gives an immaculate view out over the West Side & Hudson river. That alone would give this bridge a 4 - maybe 5 - star rating. But I subtract 2 stars for poor road surface quality and insane traffic patterns, which make for a thrilling but nerve racking ride.

Triboro bridge * 1 star
The last bridge, and also my least favorite, this barely qualifies as a bridge. First of all, there's a toll on the bridge, which is a royal pain until I get my EZpass in the mail (hopefully sometime in the next week). It's also barely a bridge, because it hops over to Randalls-Wards Island so quickly, you're only over water for a hundred meters or so.