Cabin Fever

After hibernating for months, you can finally leave the confines of your minuscule overpriced apartment and make the city your personal playground. With so much to do this summer—from sunbathing in the nude to jumping off rooftops—you may never have to go back indoors again!

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Looking to get a little fresh air? Exercise? A beating? Perfect. Drop in on the SOCIETY FOR CREATIVE ANACHRONISM's fighter practice in Union Square. The SCA is a group of hobbyists (and some deadly serious about it) interested in re-creating the costumes, customs, and clothing of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. And as it's no fun being a peasant, there are knights aplenty. Fighting with rattan swords and homemade armor and shields, the friendly jousters are easy enough to approach, and even easier to cheer on or just gawk at from the sidelines. Or you can sign up, learn to make your weapons, and have at it! Tuesdays between 7 and 10 p.m., Union Square, Broadway and 17th Street, in-nyc.com/ sca/index.htm#fighter_practiceMAMATAS

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Our date at CONEY ISLAND is going well. You've ridden the Cyclone without throwing up or dying; the evening is warm but not oppressive; you and Datie have on several occasions laughed out loud, and not at each other's expense. Now you're settled on a bench on the boardwalk, looking out at the ocean and trying to eat your soft-serve rather than wear it. So far, so good—but you're just not sure if there are fireworks here. Worry not; that's where we come in, to tell you that there are: They happen every Friday night at 9:30 (starting June 25), and, assuming you're seated near Astroland, you'll have a primo view from your very bench. Help with seduction techniques and/or commitment issues not included. Coney Island Astroland, Surf Avenue and 10th Street, Brooklyn, 718.372.5159, coneyisland.comGROSS

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Pedal pushers: The Critical Mass bike ride photo: Jay Muhlin

For those who've been too terrified to pedal down a New York City block, its time to shed those fears and brave the pavement—at least once a month, when cyclists take back the streets in the CRITICAL MASSbike ride. With no destination in mind, hundreds of bike lovers coast alongside skating brethren and become traffic in an effort to show a need for a more biker-friendly and pollution-free city. Drivers get grumpy since dipping around cars is inevitable, but you'll finally get the chance to let out all the pent-up aggression from years of being deprived of the open road. Every last Friday of the month at 7 p.m., Union Square Park North, 212.802.8222, times-up.org/cm.phpFRANKLIN

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If you've lived under the misperception that everyone went through a horse phase in second grade, usher in the summer by cantering over a grassy knoll, wind whistling against your ears. South of Prospect Park, KENSINGTON STABLES is a cheap and accessible (on the F) horse stable. Don't worry, there aren't any nose-in-the-air, chaps-wearing country clubbers grooming their purebreds. An hour's ride, at only $25, can accommodate any level, whether you want to daydream at an ambling pace, or cling tight and take off. But leave the holster at home. Open 10 a.m. to sunset, 51 Caton Place, Brooklyn, 718.972.4588, kensingtonstables.comWISLOSKI

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If you encounter something like an outtake from The Matrix in the middle of the city—people leaping, running, back-flipping, and swinging all over the place—it might be a PARKOUR jam. Le Parkour, also known as "free running," is a sport (or discipline, or art, or whatever you want to call it) invented by David Belle and Sebastien Foucan in the late '80s. Its practitioners, or "traceurs," treat the city as an obstacle course, moving as fluidly as possible. It's ridiculous, dangerous, occasionally borderline illegal ("Hey! You're not supposed to be jumping off my roof!"), and totally fun to watch. urbanfreeflow.com has information on Le Parkour and associated events.WOLK

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South Brooklyn natives might scare you with tales of floating turds and drowned mobsters, but the formerly fetid Gowanus Canal is making a major comeback. The long-mistreated estuary is now a blossoming ecosystem (home to migrating birds, mating crabs, an assortment of fish, and the occasional raccoon) and a playground for the GOWANUS DREDGERS CANOE CLUB. The club provides free paddling tours and a series of public eco-events throughout the summer. Sign up online for a two-to-four-mile float past oyster gardens, century-old cable bridges, and the ghosts of plugged mafiosi. Through November 1, 126 4th Place, Brooklyn, 718.243.0849, waterfrontmuseum.org/dredgers/home.htmlSTEINBERG

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If you're a baseball purist, then get out in Central Park with the GOTHAM BASE BALL CLUB OF NEW YORK, the city's own purveyor of vintage base ball (two words, back in the day). Gotham BBC participates in a revival league that researches and resurrects the rules, uniforms, and even on-field slang of the 19th-century game. In 1864, the year Gotham plays, that meant no gloves, funny hats, a ball caught on one hop was an out, a "turkey merchant" was an asshole, and more. They play on the Great Lawn or a softball field. Central Park, location varies, 718.268.4121, zyworld.com/gothambaseball or e-mail fradycat68@hotmail.comKING