Step into Old Bethpage Village Restoration and Long Island's suburbs vanish: a nineteenth-century farming village of houses, barns, a church, a tavern and a blacksmith's shop, many of them moved here from elsewhere on the island to save them from demolition. Costumed staff work the fields and crafts, and the contrast with the busy roads outside is striking.
The surrounding area is classic Nassau and Suffolk County suburbia, with houses, shopping centres and parkways. But it has its own claims to fame. Bethpage State Park, next door, is home to the Black Course, one of the toughest public golf courses in the United States, which has hosted the US Open. And in nearby Bethpage, the Grumman aircraft company built fighter planes for the Second World War and the Lunar Module that landed astronauts on the Moon, a remarkable piece of history for a suburban town.
The riding here is not particularly exciting, with traffic lights, busy roads and suburban sprawl. The Bethpage State Parkway and the Northern State Parkway offer faster routes through the area, with tree-lined curves, but traffic can be heavy. The roads towards the North Shore, with its hills and estates, are more interesting, and the Gold Coast mansions that inspired The Great Gatsby are not far away.
Old Bethpage has plenty of fuel stations, delis and diners, and the bagels are as good as anywhere on the island. It is a good place to stop for a break before heading east towards the North Fork, where farms, vineyards and lighthouses replace the suburbs and the island narrows to its tip.