New York 5 Boros Bike Ride

[DTD]

(Apologies if this is in the wrong forum)
A very big thank you to forum member BJH (though he does't seem to have been about for a while).

He did the New York 5 Boros Bike Ride which sees 32,000 people cycle on closed roads around all five boroughs that make up New York City last year, which was something I fancied doing this year to celebrate my 50th birthday – anyway to cut a long story short, with helpful advice from BJH I entered, hired a bike went to the USA and did the ride last Sunday. As a sportive it's no great shakes, but to ride up Broadway and through Harlem etc. was a great experience and one I think a lot of people would enjoy and one that's very 'do-able'.

 

[ScotiaLass]

Well done!
I got married in Queens

 

[midliferider]

Great!
Some more detail information on the tour will be very helpful. I may do it next year.
How to enter, website details
How did you get there?
Finding bike? where to get one etc.
Any tips, dos and don'ts etc.

 

[DTD]

The event is held every May (around the first Sunday) and organised by:

http://www.bikenewyork.org/ride/five-boro-bike-tour

Sign up for their newsletter, they will tell you when registrations open in January, be ready to register as it sells out.

I followed BJH's advice and hired a bike as part of the registration process through 'Bike and Roll', their preferred partner:

http://www.bikenewyorkcity.com

It's worth looking at your credit card to make sure you get a good exchange rate as obviously it's priced in US $.

There's nothing to stop you taking your own bike to the USA, or contacting a bike shop in NYC and making your own hire arrangements, but this way was very straightforward.
You could pick up the bike the day before or on the day (which I did) at the time of booking you specify what type (road or hybrid) and what size of bike you want (as far as I know they are all Treks (Madone 1.5 I think mine was) you can take your own pedals or use theirs (I got them to change the toe clips to flats).

I went on holiday and booked it to coincide with the event (actually I was a total jammy git and before we booked my partner won a holiday in NYC as a prize).

You have to collect your Ride Number and stuff the day before ride, they have a bike show where you collect it from. To be honest I found finding places where you were supposed to go a little unclear, but it all turned out right in the end.

The morning starts very early, but so does the subway (which you can take bikes on). The ride is more like a massive Sky Ride, this year there were a few times you had to walk as it was that crowded. They have broom wagons, ambulances, mechanics who ride along, ride marshals and stuff, the food stops were many and well stocked (though BJH said that wasn't the case the year before).
If you hire a bike from Bike and Roll, at the end of the course you get on the Staten Island Ferry which takes you back to Manhattan and they collect the bike off you just before you board.

There are more serious rides that go on around this time, but to be honest the experience of cycling down some of the most iconic streets in the world is pretty good – probably not something I'd do again, but the highlight of my holiday.

I'll PM the event booklet, which gives you some more information.

 

[DTD]

That's interesting – there's a chance I may be going back, but think it might be a bit earlier. There were some 100 mile Gran Fondos I believe as well.

As an aside, at last year's Bespoked Bristol, there were some blokes who was cycling from Portland Oregon to Portland Place in London – they said the size of the USA was brought home to them when the maps arrived – the ones for Britain were 1:25,000 scale, the ones for the USA were 1:250,000 scale.