Maryellen - you are correct, I'm in the Murray Hill/Kips Bay area.

I'm going to try the Park on a weekend, early in the morning, since by the time I get out of work during the week I would end up riding in the middle of rush hour and its close to getting dark then.

When I was training for my last marathon with TNT we used to meet in the Park early on Saturday mornings and neither the Park itself nor the streets were too crowded then.

Thanks for the directions from the West Side, they were clear, I know the area you're talking about.

As for Columbus Circle, I avoid it as much as possible, regardless of my means of transportation