Every year the first Sunday of May is the NYC Five Boro Bike Tour. Since May is National Bike Month it is fitting that the event takes place on the first Sunday of May.  The tour offers you the opportunity to ride through all the five boroughs of New York City on your bike for 40 miles without any cars.  This would make my seventh time doing the Five Boro Bike Tour.  But this year was different from all the other years, the weather was not cooperating, it rained the entire time.  In the beginning, the rain was lite but as the ride continued the rain got stronger.  But before I start on the tour, let me give you some information on how the tour works. 

The Five Boro Bike Tour is put on by Bike New York (https://www.bike.nyc).  You need to register for the tour and the fee is $110.  Five Boro Bike Tour is one of the biggest bike tours in the U.S. with a total of 32,000 cyclists.  The registration opens in the Fall.  You will need to check Bike New York’s website to know exactly when the registration opens.  Once the registration closes and you still want to ride in the tour, you will need to raise money for a charity.  Once you are registered then you will receive your email confirmation.  As the tour date approaches, you will receive an email from Bike New York to pick your start time which is called Waves and register your group if you are riding in one.  Friday and Saturday on the weekend of the Bike Tour, Bike New York put on a Bike Expo. The Bike Expo is where you will pick up your ride package and buy any Five Boro Tour apparel.  Also, if you are in the need of anything for your bike there are several vendors at the Bike Expo selling all kinds of biking gear.

Now let’s get on with the tour!  The starting line is great with so much excitement with anxious cyclists ready to start riding.  You will never see so many people on bikes than the Five Boro Bike Tour.  Since 32,000 people participate in the tour there are four start times which are called Waves.  I prefer to start in the Second Wave which had a start time of 8:15 am.  There are four waves.  The first wave begins at 7:45 am; the second wave starts at 8:15 am; the third wave begins at 8:45 am; the fourth wave begins at 9:30 am.  The reason I prefer the second wave because you have fewer cyclists in front of you so you don’t have to worry about bottlenecks which slows you down. 

Now let me say the tour is not a race. You have all ages out riding so just ride at your own pace and there are several pit stops where you can get bananas, power bars, and other snacks, and water but make sure you bring your own bottle.

Now as I said, in the beginning, this year tour was very wet because it rained the entire tour. I would have to say in constant rain the tour isn’t as enjoyable compared to when it is nice and sunny. When it is raining constantly the main thing you are thinking about is making it to the end. As when I did the tour on a sunny day, you enjoy being outside on your bike with so many other cyclists.

Now that you have decided that you want to do the Five Boro Bike Tour, now you need to decide who will join you or if you are doing it alone. I have never done the tour alone. Instead, I have done the tour with one friend or with a group of friends. Each has its pros and cons. Riding with one friend it is easier to keep up with each other as compared to a group. Everyone rides at different paces so with a group it is harder to not get separated at times. I actually prefer groups because more the merrier but every time I did ride with a group we ended up separating at some point.

Group riding with Brooklyn Bike Crew 2015

I would say the hardest part of the tour is the bridge crossing. And the last bridge which is the hardest is the biggest bridge in NYC, the Verrazzano Bridge which I call the beast. Now if for any reason you can’t make it to the finish there are several buses throughout the tour call Sag which will take you to the finish. As I said in the beginning, I have done this tour seven times and only once a friend was taken to the finish by the Sag bus. But my friend was on the last leg of the tour.

The Five Boro Bike Tour is a fun outdoor cycling event, just you and your bike with 31,999 other cyclists riding uninterrupted from cars through the five boroughs of New York City. And when you get to the finish in Staten Island after crossing over the Verrazano Bridge take a picture of you spiking your bike in front of the beast. YOU FINISHED THE FIVE BORO BIKE TOUR!

You will receive a medal of completion. And you will have to ride to Staten Island ferry from the finish to catch the ferry to go back to Manhattan where the tour started.