Five Boro Bike Tour

Amazing.  Exhilarating.  Much needed.  I rode the Five Boro Bike Tour this past weekend.  40 miles (actually ended up doing 48 – rode from the ferry back to Grand Central) through the 5 boros in NYC. I signed up before I was diagnosed and was excited to reunite with two friends I made on the Berkshires to Boston Bike Tour last September.  Then, I was diagnosed and dissuaded from riding by reading the side effects and not know how chemo would effect my body.  I tried to cancel the tour but there were no refunds.  What was I doing?  Why was I thinking of cancelling?  I got a text from Josee that said she would walk all 40 miles if we needed to.  That’s all it took.  A simple statement full of love.  I was back in. I took the train from Wassaic into Grand Central and sat in a chair flanked by one looking at two others.  Sort of like a four person area.  Wassaic is the last stop on the Harlem Line East of the Hudson River, so as we got closer to the city, the train continued to fill with people.  I wondered why no one sat with me until I realized it was because of how I looked?  I had three other seats to myself and have never experienced that before.

Gary, who organizes the Berkshires to Boston Tour pointing out on Facebook that three of its riders are doing the Five Boro Bike Tour. I of course shared it to my personal Facebook page.

Everything I needed for the overnight was in those two back bags. Nothing over 420 cubic inches was allowed. One bag was 126 cubic inches, the other 50 cubic inches.

Switched trains at Southeast into Grand Central terminal.

I was timid at first at riding in the city.  My bicycling is on country roads where you can get close to deer if you’re quiet enough.  I wasn’t used to cars, traffic, horns, chaos.  At first, I walked my bike from Grand Central down Park Avenue some way before growing a set and GoogleMapping a route down Broadway over into Wall Street where I would be staying for the night.  I rode carefully, on high alert.  Stopping at stop lights and not zooming around traffic like most of the bikers who passed me.  My hotel room wasn’t ready by the time I was ready to check in (3:30pm) so they comped me a $25 meal which I gladly accepted.  Then, I checked into my hotel, picked up my Rider Identification Kit from the Bike Expo and settled in for the night.

If you look close, I could have spent all $25 on alcohol. City prices that equates to 1.25 Bloody Marys or 2.75 beers.

Snippet of the Bike Expo in NYC.

Walked from the Expo back to my hotel (1.5 miles) and watched the sun setting on the gorgeous architecture of the city. Just beautiful.

In the morning, I had breakfast and rode to the start line.  I was Teal: the Second Start (out of Four Starts) with a start time of 8:10am, I was at the line at 7:05am.  Josee arrived soon after and we hugged and lamented with another ride we met and got talking with.  Bicyclists are a certain kind of folk.  They’re like horse people.  They’re different.  We’re a certain kind of breed.  Craig (the other rider from Berkshires to Boston) we couldn’t find until the end, despite 9 well written text messages and multiple stops to see if we could find him.  What were we thinking… this tour was 32,000 strong.  Insert needle in haystack reference.

I debriefed myself about the upcoming day while getting ready the morning of the Tour.

First city light the day of the Five Boro Bike Tour. My hotel was very close to Ground Zero.

My 7:05am arrival. People were already lining up like crazy for a 8:10am start.

Filled up quickly. Sorry we couldn’t find you Craig!

From Bike New York’s Facebook Page. This is what 32,000 cyclists looks like! I’m in there somewhere.

The morning was chilly but quickly warmed up to 80s.  I was so happy to be with Josee.  She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met.  Seriously.  She’s a dictionary of all the best adjectives in every language.  She handed me a card to open whenever we reunited with Craig which I put in my bag under my seat.  We rode together modestly at first and then cranked through til the end.  She waited for me at the top of hills, I waited at the bottom of them for her.  You see, I have a steel framed bike – a shock to bicyclists when they see it.  One guy called it “the beast”.  One guy asked where my gear shifters were. I’m going to digress a bit.  I prefer steel frames to carbon fiber for many reasons.  Carbons are mass produced and will crumble if you’re in an accident.  They’re ridiculously expensive, flashy, and not worth it, in my opinion.  Steel frames are steady, reliable and offer a comfortable, predictable ride.  They’re well balanced, sure they’re heavy, but you get a really good workout when you’re going up hills.  You fly downhill and they’re simple, classic, elegant.  One of my wheels weighs the same as those fancy carbon fiber bikes, I guarantee it.

Anyway, we rode along and talked about our lives since we’ve last seen each other.  It was a brilliant reunion.  A beautiful day.  A tremendous time.  We finally reconnected with Craig and met Kim, a woman he works with who joined him for the ride.  We all hugged and I almost cried when I finally opened their card to me.  They’re sweet people who I couldn’t imagine not knowing.  We talked about doing another ride together before the Berkshires to Boston this September (which I’m not sure I’ll be able to do, but will see where I am come the third week in September).

The crowds eventually filtered out as people passed and fell behind one another.

These two people made my experience of the Five Boro that much better.  The Tour was great, but Josee, Craig, and meeting Kim was everything.  I’ll be riding the Tour next year – they already have the date on their website: May 1, 2016.  It’s already on my calender.  And I’ll be wearing my Five Boro jersey to chemo this Friday.

Me, Craig, and Josee in front of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at the FInish Festival of the Five Boro Bike Tour.

A fuzzy panorama of the Finish Festival on Staten Island after riding across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.