Bike New York in the TD Bank Five Boro Bike Tour
Ride Your Road Bike Through the Five Boroughs of New York City
Any bicyclist who enjoys a lengthy ride and a full serving of sights and sounds should load their bike onto their cars and head to New York City. On the first Sunday of every May, New York shuts down a 42-mile stretch of city streets that runs through all five boroughs, allowing tens of thousands of residents and visitors to enjoy a day of biking through America’s largest, most diverse city without the hassle of sharing the road with cars, in an event known as Bike New York: TD Bank Five Boro Bike Tour.
Start in Manhattan
The ride starts at Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan. To make room for all of the cyclists, the start line itself begins several blocks up Church Street. Cyclists will pass the somber site of Ground Zero as they begin their adventure. Moving on, participants make their way up to Sixth Avenue, also known as the Avenue of the Americas, and into mid-town Manhattan and through the skyscraper canyons. The Empire State Building comes into view, as does 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Riders should be forewarned that bottlenecks do occur on Sixth Avenue as police shepherd the thousands of cyclists into Central Park, an 843-acre natural oasis in the midst of New York’s brick and concrete buildings. The park is in bloom in early May, providing some green scenery during the ride.
Bike Through Harlem and the Bronx
Riders exit the north end of Central Park and continue north through Harlem. When they get to intersection of W. 125th Street, riders should look to their left down the street and they may catch a glimpse of the famed Apollo Theater, where many notable African-American performers started their careers, including Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, and Aretha Franklin.
It is not uncommon for Harlem residents to stand on their porches or look out their windows and wave, cheer, and occasionally bang some pots and pans to welcome the riders of Bike New York. A bridge takes cyclists from Harlem over to the Bronx for a brief jaunt before they ride across another bridge over the Harlem River and return to Manhattan.
Pedal the Neighborhoods of Queens and Brooklyn
Back in Manhattan, riders will cycle down FDR Drive, usually closed off to bicycles. Crossing the Queensboro Bridge will take cyclists into Queens, with a rest stop at Astoria Park along the East River, with its amazing views of the Manhattan skyline, including the United Nations Building. The route will take riders into Brooklyn, first into the Greenpoint neighborhood (also known as Little Poland for its large Polish immigrant population), and then onward to the melting pot of Williamsburg, with its large population of Hasidic Jews, Italians, Germans, and Puerto Ricans. Riders will go under the Brooklyn Bridge and down the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, and eventually along the waterfront.
Onto Staten Island and the End of the Ride
An uphill climb to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, with its view of New York Harbor, will lead cyclists to the final borough of the ride, Staten Island. Riders should be prepared that sometimes chilly winds buffet the bridge, but if that's the case, they can take solace that the end of the ride is near. A festival awaits all cyclists at Fort Wadsworth Park, where food, drink, vendors, and live entertainment can be enjoyed.
Another three miles takes riders to the Staten Island Ferry, which shuttles all riders, otherwise known as "immigrants on two wheels," past the Statue of Liberty, which so many immigrants sailed past over a century ago, and back to where the ride started in lower Manhattan. On the ferry ride, cyclists can relax and enjoy the view, and take pride in pedaling through the heart of one of the world's great cities.
Bike New York
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