5/6/2012 - TD Bank 5-Boro Bike Tour

 

In spite of all the complexities of getting into this event this year, and the color-coding of numbers and staggered start times, it was a great ride. The area where everyone usually parks was under construction, and there were no parking signs everywhere. So, we parked about 8 blocks to the south. I had planned a path away from Central Park, up the East side. Unfortunately, the "Greenway" as it's called, is not marked well, and is not complete. We had some good parts, hit a couple of dead-ends, saw lots of homeless people who live along the river, and got off the "path" where it wasn't marked. The most exciting part was where the path took us out into traffic, and then had traffic splitting off on either side of us. We were in the middle of the road, with taxis bearing down from behind, and thankfully going left or right around us. After joining the other 32,000 people for a few miles, everything stopped. There was at least a half mile backup. So, we decided to skip the Bronx and cut through Central Harlem to find our way back to the FDR Drive. The rest of the ride was easy, and we got to the ferry at 12:05 - a good time. We rolled right onto the ferry, and were back at the car by 12:50. While walking to Jeremy's, we saw that the cars that parked in the construction area all had tickets.

 

There are many videos of the event on YouTube.  Here's one to get you started: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy-QCqgZbWk

 

A few photos were taken by some of us.  The rest are photos I borrowed from other websites.

 

 

This was the first year we had to pick up our "stuff" at the Bike Expo.
 

Bikers fill the streets, waiting to start.

At the start line.
A flaming start.
 
People cheered us on.
Heading down the FDR drive.
On the 59th Street Bridge.
 
In Astoria Park.
"Real bikes".
 
Donna
Donna & Mike
The Brooklyn Bridge
 
Faith - after the ride.
George & Faith.
  • George
  • Faith
  • Marc
  • Kathy
  • Suzanne
  • Allan