Take a bike ride.
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The second Saturday of every month, the biking advocacy group Time’s Up! rounds up a peloton for Saturday-night rides through Prospect Park. Go to times-up.org for times and meeting spots.
Afterward: Sip a cooldown beer on the spacious patio at Soda Bar (629 Vanderbilt Ave., nr. Park Pl., Prospect Heights).
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Get your ping-pong fix.
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Invent new ways to spin-serve at the New York Table Tennis Federation in Tribeca (384 Broadway, at White St., lower level; 646-772-2922), which stays open until 11 p.m. on weekend nights.
Afterward: The lights are dim enough at Anotheroom (249 W. Broadway, nr. Beach St.) that no one will notice your pong sweat.
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Climb a REALLY big rock.
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Gowanus’s warehouse-size, graffiti-covered climbing gym Brooklyn Boulders (575 Degraw St., at Third Ave., Gowanus; 347-834-9066) is open until midnight on weekends ($20 for a day pass).
Afterward: Catch a show a few doors down at bar–cum–underground performance space Littlefield (622 Degraw St., nr. Fourth Ave.).
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Stimulate your synapses.
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The Mela Foundation’s Dream House art installation (275 Church St., nr. Franklin St., third fl.; 212-925-8270) invites you to remove shoes, lie on a carpet, and stare at colorful light sculptures while listening to trippy music.
Afterward: Rouse yourself with a Dark and Stormy at Smith & Mills (71 N. Moore St., nr. Greenwich St.).
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Stargaze. In Manhattan.
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The Inwood Astronomy Project invites the general public to join it every Saturday at 8 p.m. to examine the night sky from the island’s highest natural point, in Inwood Hill Park. Telescopes provided. Go to moonbeam.net for dates and times.
Afterward: Shake off the cold at lively Dominican restaurant Mamajuana Café (247 Dyckman St., nr. Seaman Ave.).
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Score a peak-time lane.
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There are nicer bowling alleys, but authentically kitschy Melody Lanes (461 37th St., at Fifth Ave., Sunset Park; 718-499-3848) is more likely to have Saturday-night slots. Late-night perk: From midnight to 3 a.m., the lights dim for glow-in- the-dark bowling.
Afterward: Stick with the retro-kitsch theme at Brooklyn’s Tiki Bar (885-B Fourth Ave., nr. 33rd St.).
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Take the best medicine.
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The Peoples Improv Theater, otherwise known as the Pit (154 W. 29th St., nr. Seventh Ave.; 212-563-7488), has four Saturday shows, none of which will set you back more than twelve bucks.
Afterward: Elbow your way through the Breslin Bar (Ace Hotel, 16 W. 29th St., nr. Broadway) for one of the local cask ales.
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A Semi-Sober Saturday Night
Scale a wall. Spot a nebula. Circle the park. Then have a nightcap.
From the 2010 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine